Not surprisingly, the middle offering is the place where God and His own meet to fellowship.
The middle offerings were called shelamim, linked with the well-known word for peace, shalom. What does it mean? J.A. Seiss in The Gospel in Leviticus writes: “With most persons it signifies a cessation of hostilities, harmonious agreement, tranquility, the absence of disturbance. But in the Scripture it means more. Its predominant import is prosperity, welfare, joy, happiness.” We might say it is the sense of release, of well-being, of delight, when circumstances and relationships are brought into alignment with what they ought to be. A prayer answered. A relationship restored. A difficulty solved. In all of these, God’s heart and His people are linked. It is the Fellowship Offering. In chapter 7, we’ll see the three special occasions when they could bring this sacrifice. Notice that God’s direction in the offerings is to begin with the burnt and meal offerings (chs 1-2), speaking of His satisfaction in Christ. His people begin at the other end, dealing with sin and trespass first (chs 4-5). But we meet in the middle (ch 3)! The arrangements are almost identical with the burnt offering at the beginning—the animal “without blemish” is brought, hands laid on its head, it is killed at the door of the tabernacle, and the blood is sprinkled around the altar. But there the similarity stops. We’ll have to wait until chapter 7 to see how the animal parts were used, but let me say that this is God spreading a feast to enjoy with His people. A great example is found in the story of the prodigal son. The father had been waiting and watching for the son’s return. All that time, he had been readying a hand-fed calf to provide a feast for the celebration (Lk 15:23). Yes, God wants us to enjoy those “Ah, that’s how it should be!” moments in life.