Leviticus 3:1 “‘If his offering is a sacrifice of peace offerings, if he offers it from the herd, whether male or female, he shall offer it without defect before Yahweh. 2 He shall lay his hand on the head of his offering, and kill it at the door of the Tent of Meeting. Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall sprinkle the blood around on the altar. 3 He shall offer of the sacrifice of peace offerings an offering made by fire to Yahweh. The fat that covers the innards, and all the fat that is on the innards, 4 and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the loins, and the cover on the liver, with the kidneys, he shall take away. 5 Aaron’s sons shall burn it on the altar on the burnt offering, which is on the wood that is on the fire: it is an offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to Yahweh.
6 “‘If his offering for a sacrifice of peace offerings to Yahweh is from the flock, either male or female, he shall offer it without defect. 7 If he offers a lamb for his offering, then he shall offer it before Yahweh; 8 and he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering, and kill it before the Tent of Meeting. Aaron’s sons shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar. 9 He shall offer from the sacrifice of peace offerings an offering made by fire to Yahweh; its fat, the entire tail fat, he shall take away close to the backbone; and the fat that covers the entrails, and all the fat that is on the entrails, 10 and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the loins, and the cover on the liver, with the kidneys, he shall take away. 11 The priest shall burn it on the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire to Yahweh.
12 “‘If his offering is a goat, then he shall offer it before Yahweh. 13 He shall lay his hand on its head, and kill it before the Tent of Meeting; and the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar. 14 He shall offer from it as his offering, an offering made by fire to Yahweh; the fat that covers the innards, and all the fat that is on the innards, 15 and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the loins, and the cover on the liver, with the kidneys, he shall take away. 16 The priest shall burn them on the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire, for a pleasant aroma; all the fat is Yahweh’s.
17 “‘It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings, that you shall eat neither fat nor blood.’”
In order to better understand the peace offering we must skip ahead to Leviticus 7:15. 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. The peace offering differs from the burnt and grain or meal offerings. First, God’s portion is consumed in the fire. Then the ceremony ends with the worshipper sharing the remainder of the offering in a joyous meal with the priests and his ritually pure family and friends who have accompanied him to the Tabernacle. Leviticus 7:20
…You shall eat before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your households, in all that you undertake, in which the Lord your God has blessed you. Deuteronomy 12:7
Psalm 107 even gives us a picture of this joyous celebration:
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story—
Let them sacrifice thank offerings
and tell of his works with songs of joy. Psalm 107:1,22
With stories and songs of joy, the worshiper recounts for the priests and all of his friends and family the many ways that the Lord has protected, upheld and blessed him. This beautiful picture of the communion of believers is expressed by the Apostle Paul: comfort one another…encourage one another and build each other up. 1 Thessalonians 4:18, 5:11. Likewise David said, “I will declare your name to my people; in the assembly I will praise you.” Psalm 22:22. The church could be encouraged and benefit from more believers telling their stories of God’s wonderful works with songs of joy.
Because both God and man share in consuming the peace offering it has also been called the fellowship offering. This offering represents the restored relationship, restored fellowship, between man and his Creator made possible by the burnt offering. With sins forgiven, communion is restored, and man is welcomed back into God’s presence. This looks forward to the peace that we now have with God made possible by Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.
Therefore having been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we also have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Romans 5:1-2