Leviticus 3:5-175And Aaron's sons shall burn it on the altar upon the burnt sacrifice, which is upon the wood that is on the fire: it is an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the Lord. 6And if his offering for a sacrifice of peace offering unto the Lord be of the flock; male or female, he shall offer it without blemish. 7If he offer a lamb for his offering, then shall he offer it before the Lord. 8And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering, and kill it before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron's sons shall sprinkle the blood thereof round about upon the altar. 9And he shall offer of the sacrifice of the peace offering an offering made by fire unto the Lord; the fat thereof, and the whole rump, it shall he take off hard by the backbone; and the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards, 10And 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. 11And the priest shall burn it upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire unto the Lord. 12And 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 3:5‑17)
The fat, which was the excellence of the animal, was to be burned upon the altar as a sweet savor unto the Lord. This shows us in type that there was that in Christ which only God His Father could fully appreciate, which He alone could measure, and it was a delight to His heart. Oh what excellence the Father found in Christ — even His great delight.
Mingled and Anointed
Along with this peace offering there were also unleavened cakes mingled with oil, unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and fried cakes mingled with oil to be offered to the Lord. In these unleavened cakes and wafers we see a beautiful type of all the perfection of Christ’s life down here. Every act was by the power of the Spirit (mingled with oil), and then we see Him marked out by the Spirit at His baptism (anointed with oil). Every trial He passed through only manifested this. In all this we can see that, having learned the true ground of fellowship through Christ’s glorious work of redemption (like the peace offering), now we can enjoy in communion every thought of Himself, whether in His perfect life or in His atoning death. Oh what a blessed place we have been brought into! May we know more of what it is to “joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1111And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. (Romans 5:11)).
Leavened Bread
It may seem surprising to some of us that it also mentions that leavened bread was to be offered with the peace offering, for leaven as we know is a type of evil. This cannot refer to Christ, for He was “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners” (Hebrews 7:2626For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; (Hebrews 7:26)). He never had sin in Him, though it was on Him during those three hours of darkness on Calvary. Undoubtedly this leavened bread refers to us as believers, for we have a sinful nature in us, and even while we are enjoying communion with the Lord in our souls, the old nature (the leaven) is still there. However, if self is judged and in the place of death, like the bread baked in the oven where the action of the yeast (or leaven) is stopped, then we can still enjoy communion with the Lord. Communion is not hindered because sin (the old nature) is in us, but because we allow it to act. Let us then always seek grace to keep it in the place of death.
Enjoying Christ Together With Others
The right shoulder was to be given to Aaron and his sons to eat, and this reminds us of a special portion which we have when we enjoy the Lord in fellowship with His people. Aaron and his sons are typical of Christ and the church. How sweet it is to sit down with those who have learned the true ground of fellowship and feed upon Christ together. No doubt we get a little taste of this when we sit at His table to remember Him in His death with those who are gathered as members of the body of Christ.
We must mention here that no one who was unclean could eat of the flesh of the peace offering, whether he was defiled by his own personal uncleanness or by touching some unclean thing. We learn from this that not only are we defiled by our own personal sins, but contact with evil in the way of going on with it defiles too. Let us remember this at all times. Making friendships with those who are “dead in sin” whether in school, in business, or in social life, will surely rob us of communion with the Lord, for we cannot enjoy the sweetness of His love and the friendship of this sinful world at the same time. They will not mix at all.
For Further Meditation
1. What do the unleavened cakes “mingled with oil” teach us about Christ?
2. What is the difference between being friendly toward unsaved souls and having fellowship with them? We all have regular contact with unbelievers at work, school, or at the store. How can we be a light for Christ in these situations and yet not make friendships with the world?
3. A much more in-depth and scholarly treatment of these passages can be found in The Offerings of Leviticus: Leviticus 1-7 by W. Kelly. You won’t find it easy or fast reading, but it does provide lots of excellent food for your soul.