Sacrifices to Ask The Lord’s Blessing
August 3, 2019
Commentary
The sacrifice to make things right is very sacred (v. 1).The animal must be killed in the same place where the sacrifice to please me is killed, and the animal’s blood must be splattered against the four sides of the bronze altar (v. 2). Offer all of the animal’s fat, including the fat on its tail and on its insides (v. 3), as well as the lower part of the liver and the two kidneys with their fat (v. 4). One of the priests will lay these pieces on the altar and send them up in smoke to me (v. 5). This sacrifice for making things right is very holy (v. 6). The ceremony for this sacrifice and the one for sin are just alike, and the meat may be eaten only by the priest who performs this ceremony of forgiveness (v. 7).
In fact, the priest who offers a sacrifice to please me may keep the skin of the animal (v. 8), just as he may eat the bread from a sacrifice to give thanks to me(v. 9), All other grain sacrifices-with or without olive oil in them-are to be divided equally among the priests of Aaron’s family (v. 10).The Lord said: Here are the instructions for offering a sacrifice to ask my blessing (v. 11) Use the finest flour to make three kinds of bread without yeast two in the form of loaves mixed with olive oil and one in the form of thin wafers brushed with oil (v. 12). You must also make some bread with yeast (v. 13). which they will belong to the priest who splattered the blood against the bronze altar (v. 14).
When you offer an animal to ask a blessing from me or to thank me, the meat belongs to you, but it must be eaten the same day (v. 15). It is different with the sacrifices you offer when you make me a promise or voluntarily give me something (v. 16). The meat from those sacrifices may be kept and eaten the next day, but any that is left must be destroyed (vv. 17-18). Don’t eat any of the meat that touches something unclean. Instead, burn it (v. 19). Don’t eat any of this meat if you have become unclean by touching something unclean (vv. 20-21). If you do, you will no longer belong to the community of Israel.
Application
Lord, help me to be a person that quickly forgives others!
Leviticus 7:1– 21 (NET)
1 “‘This is the law of the guilt offering. It is most holy. 2 In the place where they slaughter the burnt offering they must slaughter the guilt offering, and the officiating priest must splash the blood against the altar’s sides. 3 Then the one making the offering must present all its fat: the fatty tail, the fat covering the entrails, 4 the two kidneys and the fat on their sinews, and the protruding lobe on the liver (which he must remove along with the kidneys). 5 Then the priest must offer them up in smoke on the altar as a gift to the Lord. It is a guilt offering. 6 Any male among the priests may eat it. It must be eaten in a holy place. It is most holy. 7 The law is the same for the sin offering and the guilt offering; it belongs to the priest who makes atonement with it.
8 “‘As for the priest who presents someone’s burnt offering, the hide of that burnt offering which he presented belongs to him. 9 Every grain offering which is baked in the oven or made in the pan or on the griddle belongs to the priest who presented it. 10 Every grain offering, whether mixed with olive oil or dry, belongs to all the sons of Aaron, each one alike.
11 “‘This is the law of the peace-offering sacrifice which he is to present to the Lord. 12 If he presents it on account of thanksgiving, along with the thank-offering sacrifice he must present unleavened loaves mixed with olive oil, unleavened wafers smeared with olive oil, and well-soaked, ring-shaped loaves made of choice wheat flour mixed with olive oil. 13 He must present this grain offering in addition to ring-shaped loaves of leavened bread which regularly accompany the sacrifice of his thanksgiving peace offering. 14 He must present one of each kind of grain offering as a contribution offering to the Lord; it belongs to the priest who splashes the blood of the peace offering. 15 The meat of his thanksgiving peace offering must be eaten on the day of his offering; he must not set any of it aside until morning.
16 “‘If his offering is a votive or freewill sacrifice, it may be eaten on the day he presents his sacrifice, and also the leftovers from it may be eaten on the next day, 17 but the leftovers from the meat of the sacrifice must be burned up in the fire on the third day. 18 If some of the meat of his peace-offering sacrifice is ever eaten on the third day it will not be accepted; it will not be accounted to the one who presented it since it is spoiled, and the person who eats from it will bear his punishment for iniquity. 19 The meat which touches anything ceremonially unclean must not be eaten; it must be burned up in the fire. As for ceremonially clean meat, everyone who is ceremonially clean may eat the meat. 20 The person who eats meat from the peace-offering sacrifice which belongs to the Lord while that person’s uncleanness persists will be cut off from his people. 21 When a person touches anything unclean (whether human uncleanness, or an unclean animal, or an unclean detestable creature) and eats some of the meat of the peace-offering sacrifice which belongs to the Lord, that person will be cut off from his people.’”
Illustration: Survey Results in Regards to Forgiveness
Recently, a survey was made of 200 married adults in regards to forgiveness. The results were astounding! This research suggests that there is a huge relationship between marriage satisfaction and forgiveness. As forgiveness ability went up, individuals reported fewer symptoms of depression, anxiety, and fatigue! (Peter J. Larson, New Research Jan 27, 2003).