Lev. 3:12-1712And if his offering be a goat, then he shall offer it before the Lord. 13And he shall lay his hand upon the head of it, and kill it before the tabernacle of the congregation: and the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle the blood thereof upon the altar round about. 14And he shall offer thereof his offering, even an offering made by fire unto the Lord; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards, 15And the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away. 16And the priest shall burn them upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire for a sweet savor: all the fat is the Lord's. 17It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood. (Leviticus 3:12‑17)
THIS sacrifice did not admit of such latitude as the Burnt offering, nor yet as the Meal offering. It allowed nothing less than a goat, which now claims our attention as a third alternative.
“12 And if his offering [be] a goat, then he shall present it before Jehovah; 13 and he shall lay his hand on the head of it, and slaughter it before the tent of meeting. And the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle the blood of it on the altar round about. 14 And he shall present thereof his offering, a fire offering to Jehovah: the fat that covereth the inwards and all the fat that [is] on the inwards, 15 and the two kidneys and the fat that [is] on them which [is] by the flank, and the net above the liver, he shall take away as far as the kidneys. 16 And the priest shall burn them on the altar, the food of the fire offering for a sweet odor. All the fat [is] Jehovah's. 17 [It is] an everlasting statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings: no fat and no blood shall ye eat” (vers. 12-17).
Though the goat could not be compared with the worth of the bullock or even with the harmless sheep, so suited to represent the patient blameless Sufferer, Jehovah comforted the Jew who could not bring either, yet desired to pay his thanks or his vow. A goat was perfectly valid and assuredly acceptable. He was to present it before Jehovah, lay his hand on its head, and slay it before the tent of meeting; nor did Aaron's sons sprinkle its blood with less zeal or care on the altar round about. He was directed to present thereof his offering, a Fire offering to Jehovah: all the inward fat, etc., precisely as he that offered the internal fat of a bullock.
One thing was expressly asked, indeed, when a sheep was offered, which was peculiar necessarily to that form of the offering; “the whole fat tail, he shall take it away close by the backbone.” In the sheep of Syria no portion was more prized or valuable, not only for its size but for its quality as fat with the delicacy of marrow. This was therefore claimed for Jehovah, and ungrudgingly given, “hard by the backbone.” So surely had the Antitype devoted all His energies to His Father, not His life only. No wonder that such a type in the sheep's case drew out the beautiful recognition, “It is the food, or bread, of the fire offering to Jehovah.”
It is all the more striking in the case of the goat, which had no such fat tail; and consequently no such demand held in this respect. Yet here sovereign grace consoled the offerer of the goat, “It is the food of the fire offering for a sweet odor.” It also was His bread, and an odor of rest to Him.
How much more may we not rejoice in His joy, Who knows the infinite reality that we have correspondingly found in the sacrifice of Jesus, His blood and death, and His inward energies without stint offered up to His glory! What delight to the Father in Him Who gave Himself for, us an offering and a sacrifice to God for an odor of a sweet smell! If all the fat, the inward richness of the victim, was Jehovah's; if no such fat was to be eaten by the Israelites any more than the blood, how blessedly Christ has made it all good for us, as the basis of our communion with our God and Father! The law of the offering says more of the deepest worth; but we need say no more now.