The Peace Offering

Advent Reading

Isaiah 40:3–5 ESV

A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Isaiah 11:1–10 ESV

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.

Intro:

One of the themes of the season is Peace.

The peace offering was introduced in Leviticus 3 and expanded instructions are found in ch 7

Leviticus 7:11–18 ESV

“And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings that one may offer to the Lord. If he offers it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the thanksgiving sacrifice unleavened loaves mixed with oil, unleavened wafers smeared with oil, and loaves of fine flour well mixed with oil. With the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving he shall bring his offering with loaves of leavened bread. And from it he shall offer one loaf from each offering, as a gift to the Lord. It shall belong to the priest who throws the blood of the peace offerings. And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten on the day of his offering. He shall not leave any of it until the morning. But if the sacrifice of his offering is a vow offering or a freewill offering, it shall be eaten on the day that he offers his sacrifice, and on the next day what remains of it shall be eaten. But what remains of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burned up with fire. If any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offering is eaten on the third day, he who offers it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be credited to him. It is tainted, and he who eats of it shall bear his iniquity.

Leviticus 7:29–32 ESV

“Speak to the people of Israel, saying, Whoever offers the sacrifice of his peace offerings to the Lord shall bring his offering to the Lord from the sacrifice of his peace offerings. His own hands shall bring the Lord’s food offerings. He shall bring the fat with the breast, that the breast may be waved as a wave offering before the Lord. The priest shall burn the fat on the altar, but the breast shall be for Aaron and his sons. And the right thigh you shall give to the priest as a contribution from the sacrifice of your peace offerings.

This was an offering that the Lord prescribed for those who wished to have fellowship with God.

It could be an expression of thanks or praise to God. It could also be offered in petition for God’s help in times of hardship.

When they wanted to draw close to God, they were to offer this peace offering.

The Peace Offering

Unique among the offerings and sacrifice was the peace offering. In it, only the fat (the premium choice cuts) of the animal and its blood were burned upon the altar. The rest was divided between the priest and the offeror(s).

It was the only burnt offering where the individual bringing the offering was permitted to eat a portion of the sacrificed animal.

God gave his people the peace offering so that they could have communion with Him.

AG: Think about it, sitting down around a table in a home or at a restaurant is one of our favorite things to do with the people we love. We share meals together after weddings and funerals. A meal was involved in most lifelong sweethearts’ first dates. This is what the Lord afforded his people in the peace offering, a chance to share a meal with the God who loved them and whom they loved.

RS: Now, consider how the peace offering relates to the person and work of Jesus Christ. The OT points us to the Christ of the New Testament.

When we look for how it relates to Christ, we ask the question, is there anything like a peace offering in the New Testament? Is there a place where the worshippers gather around to eat the flesh of a sacrifice? There is!

John 6:47–57 ESV

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.

Jesus told His Jewish inquisitors that unless they ate His flesh and drank his blood they would have “no life.”

They thought He was senile, but if they had understood what He was saying and how it related to the peace offering, they would have had peace and fellowship with God.

They would have been there at the last supper when Jesus said, “This bread is my body which was given for you… this cup is my blood which takes away sins and gives life.”

At the Last Supper, Jesus took the symbolism of Passover and the Peace Offering and applied it to Himself.

He is the Passover Lamb, slain so that those covered by the blood can live

He is the bread: the offering who symbolizes communion with God as it is consumed

The Spirit revealed that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was a peace offering in reverse!

It was God sacrificing His most precious possession.

It was Him inviting us to a feast upon the Lamb that was slain by eating the bread which symbolizes the flesh of the sacrifice and drinking the cup which symbolizes His blood.

When we partake of the Lord’s Supper we demonstrate to God that we accept His peace offering.

That is what we do this morning

We demonstrate before the gathered church what happened when we repented of our sins in faith.

We display that we have entered into communion with GOD and enjoy that fellowship

One other thing: In the Old Testament it was forbidden to eat the blood of any animal.

All clean animals were given for food, but the blood belonged only to God because the blood was the animal’s life.

With that in mind, ponder this:

Jesus invites us, not only to eat His flesh but to drink His blood.

It is impossible to describe how significant this statement is!

In it, He invites us to feast on His life and take it into ourselves.

His blood gives us life!

The elements of the Lord supper symbolize His body and blood

The act of consuming them at God’s invitation reminds us of the Peace Offering and the fellowship and communion it brings with God.

That is why many call the Lord’s Supper communion.

That is why We are invited to share this meal to remember His sacrifice and show our application of His atonement to our sin debt.

Conclusion:

1 Corinthians 11:17–33 ESV

But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not. For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another—

Let us wait for each other as we pray

Repent of sin

Restore and renew your communion with GOD and your brothers and sisters.

PRAY

Stand for Lord’s Supper.

Lord’s Supper