Isn’t the Lord a wonderful Host? He wants to include us all as His guests of honor at the table.
Whether in the list of the offerings (Lev 1-5), where God starts at one end, we at the other, and we meet in the middle, or in the law of the offerings (chs 6-7), where God and the priests move together to a conclusion, we all meet at the peace offering. There are three kinds: 1. The thank offering (7:11-15); 2. The vow offering (vv 16-19); and 3. The free-will offering (vv 20-21). The thank offering was in response to God’s blessings in the past; the vow and the free-will sacrifices anticipated God’s blessings in the future, but the significance is wider than that. God was spreading a feast. After the Lord received His portion (the blood and fat), “the breast shall be Aaron’s and his sons” (v 31). The breast spoke of love and, as a “wave offering” (v 34), it was waved back and forth, picturing the horizontal benefits that come with God’s love in our hearts. Then the animal’s right shoulder became a “heave offering” (v 34), given to the offering priest. The part that spoke of the power of the offering, moved up and down in a heaving motion, shows dependence on God’s power for all we do. Paul’s prayers for the saints in Ephesians stress these two truths. First he prays “that you may know…the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe” (Eph 1:18f), then “that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge” (3:17-19). It is only through feeding on that blessed Peace Offering’s power and love that we have the two-fold secret of the peace of God within. Now see the offerer’s family and friends, with the rest of the offering, celebrating in fellowship with God. Let’s do the same!