Leviticus 7

1 “These are the instructions for the guilt offering. It is most holy.

2 The animal sacrificed as a guilt offering must be slaughtered at the place where the burnt offerings are slaughtered, and its blood must be splattered against all sides of the altar.

3 The priest will then offer all its fat on the altar, including the fat of the broad tail, the fat around the internal organs,

4 the two kidneys and the fat around them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver. These are to be removed with the kidneys,

5 and the priests will burn them on the altar as a special gift presented to the LORD . This is the guilt offering.

6 Any male from a priest’s family may eat the meat. It must be eaten in a sacred place, for it is most holy.

7 “The same instructions apply to both the guilt offering and the sin offering. Both belong to the priest who uses them to purify someone, making that person right with the LORD .

8 In the case of the burnt offering, the priest may keep the hide of the sacrificed animal.

9 Any grain offering that has been baked in an oven, prepared in a pan, or cooked on a griddle belongs to the priest who presents it.

10 All other grain offerings, whether made of dry flour or flour moistened with olive oil, are to be shared equally among all the priests, the descendants of Aaron.

11 “These are the instructions regarding the different kinds of peace offerings that may be presented to the LORD .

12 If you present your peace offering as an expression of thanksgiving, the usual animal sacrifice must be accompanied by various kinds of bread made without yeast—thin cakes mixed with olive oil, wafers spread with oil, and cakes made of choice flour mixed with olive oil.

13 This peace offering of thanksgiving must also be accompanied by loaves of bread made with yeast.

14 One of each kind of bread must be presented as a gift to the LORD . It will then belong to the priest who splatters the blood of the peace offering against the altar.

15 The meat of the peace offering of thanksgiving must be eaten on the same day it is offered. None of it may be saved for the next morning.

16 “If you bring an offering to fulfill a vow or as a voluntary offering, the meat must be eaten on the same day the sacrifice is offered, but whatever is left over may be eaten on the second day.

17 Any meat left over until the third day must be completely burned up.

18 If any of the meat from the peace offering is eaten on the third day, the person who presented it will not be accepted by the LORD . You will receive no credit for offering it. By then the meat will be contaminated; if you eat it, you will be punished for your sin.

19 “Meat that touches anything ceremonially unclean may not be eaten; it must be completely burned up. The rest of the meat may be eaten, but only by people who are ceremonially clean.

20 If you are ceremonially unclean and you eat meat from a peace offering that was presented to the LORD, you will be cut off from the community.

21 If you touch anything that is unclean (whether it is human defilement or an unclean animal or any other unclean, detestable thing) and then eat meat from a peace offering presented to the LORD, you will be cut off from the community.”

22 Then the LORD said to Moses,

23 “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. You must never eat fat, whether from cattle, sheep, or goats.

24 The fat of an animal found dead or torn to pieces by wild animals must never be eaten, though it may be used for any other purpose.

25 Anyone who eats fat from an animal presented as a special gift to the LORD will be cut off from the community.

26 No matter where you live, you must never consume the blood of any bird or animal.

27 Anyone who consumes blood will be cut off from the community.”

28 Then the LORD said to Moses,

29 “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. When you present a peace offering to the LORD, bring part of it as a gift to the LORD .

30 Present it to the LORD with your own hands as a special gift to the LORD . Bring the fat of the animal, together with the breast, and lift up the breast as a special offering to the LORD .

31 Then the priest will burn the fat on the altar, but the breast will belong to Aaron and his descendants.

32 Give the right thigh of your peace offering to the priest as a gift.

33 The right thigh must always be given to the priest who offers the blood and the fat of the peace offering.

34 For I have reserved the breast of the special offering and the right thigh of the sacred offering for the priests. It is the permanent right of Aaron and his descendants to share in the peace offerings brought by the people of Israel.

35 This is their rightful share. The special gifts presented to the LORD have been reserved for Aaron and his descendants from the time they were set apart to serve the LORD as priests.

36 On the day they were anointed, the LORD commanded the Israelites to give these portions to the priests as their permanent share from generation to generation.”

37 These are the instructions for the burnt offering, the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering, as well as the ordination offering and the peace offering.

38 The LORD gave these instructions to Moses on Mount Sinai when he commanded the Israelites to present their offerings to the LORD in the wilderness of Sinai.

Leviticus 7 Commentary

Chapter 7

Concerning the trespass-offering. (1-10) Concerning the peace-offering. (11-27) The wave and heave offerings. (28-34) The conclusion of these institutions. (35-38)

Verses 1-10 In the sin-offering and the trespass-offering, the sacrifice was divided between the altar and the priest; the offerer had no share, as he had in the peace-offerings. The former expressed repentance and sorrow for sin, therefore it was more proper to fast than feast; the peace-offerings denoted communion with a reconciled God in Christ, the joy and gratitude of a pardoned sinner, and the privileges of a true believer.

Verses 11-27 As to the peace-offerings, in the expression of their sense of mercy, God left them more at liberty, than in the expression of their sense of sin; that their sacrifices, being free-will offerings, might be the more acceptable, while, by obliging them to bring the sacrifices of atonement, God shows the necessity of the great Propitiation. The main reason why blood was forbidden of old, was because the Lord had appointed blood for an atonement. This use, being figurative, had its end in Christ, who by his death and blood-shedding caused the sacrifices to cease. Therefore this law is not now in force on believers.

Verses 28-34 The priest who offered, was to have the breast and the right shoulder. When the sacrifice was killed, the offerer himself must present God's part of it; that he might signify his cheerfully giving it up to God. He was with his own hands to lift it up, in token of his regard to God as the God of heaven; and then to wave it to and fro, in token of his regard to God as the Lord of the whole earth. Be persuaded and encouraged to feed and feast upon Christ, our Peace-offering. This blessed Peace-offering is not for the priests only, for saints of the highest rank and greatest eminence, but for the common people also. Take heed of delay. Many think to repent and return to God when they are dying and dropping into hell; but they should eat the peace-offering, and eat it now. Stay not till the day of the Lord's patience be run out, for eating the third day will not be accepted, nor will catching at Christ when thou art gone to hell!

Verses 35-38 Solemn acts of religious worship are not things which we may do or not do at our pleasure; it is at our peril if we omit them. An observance of the laws of Christ cannot be less necessary than of the laws of Moses.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or to make atonement.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS 7

The several things contained in this chapter are the law of the trespass offering, Le 7:1-7 the portion the priests had in the burnt offerings and meat offerings, Le 7:8-10 the law of the peace offerings, whether by way of thanksgiving, or a vow, or voluntary oblation, Le 7:11-21 the prohibition of fat and blood, Le 7:22-27 the parts the priests should have in the peace offerings, the breast and right shoulder, Le 7:28-36 and the chapter is concluded with a recapitulation of the various things contained in this and the preceding chapters, Le 7:37,38.