Writing is an art and skill which demands a clear mind, especially as one seeks to paint portraits out of ink and paper. Sometimes the results can be disastrous. I read of a contest in which English teachers submitted the worst analogies they’d ever received. Here are a few of the winners. "He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it." "The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn't." "McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty Bag filled with vegetable soup." "From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in another city and 'Jeopardy' comes on at 7 P.M. instead of 7:30." "Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever." "John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met." "Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 P.M. traveling at 55 m.p.h., the other from Topeka at 4:19 P.M. at a speed of 35 m.p.h." Analogies do not always work. They must carefully be crafted to reflect a truth that otherwise may be lost. A good analogy is not just a stock literary device, but a guide to understand more clearly. It creates an image in one’s mind that lasts longer than the sound of the words or the image on the eye. In much the same way, the Old Testament sacrificial system employs regulations designed to enable God’s people to understand God as both their Creator and Redeemer. The sacrifices and ceremonial laws were in place to drive the worshipers to Christ, to see that He is always the subject and object of each and every sacrifice. We are looking at Leviticus in order to see how the commandments for the sacrificial system well illustrate the reality we find in Christ. The burnt offering in the first chapter points to the atoning sacrifice of Christ, His death as a propitiatory substitute. Then came the grain offering, a response of praise for God’s grace by giving of our self and substance. In Leviticus 3 we come to the next sacrifice, the fellowship offering. This sacrifice is one of celebration. The fellowship offering pointed to the proper response of joyous excitement over God’s grace. This sacrifice points to the fact that: CHRISTIANITY IS A CELEBRATION OF GOD’S PEACE The Fellowship Offering is similar to the Burnt Offering: The priest places his hand on the head of the animal to identify with it, then slaughters the animal. The priests take blood and sprinkle it on the altar. It is then burned on the altar. The differences between the Fellowship Offering and the Burnt Offering are: either male or female animals could be used, and only the kidneys, liver and fat were burned, the rest being consumed (Leviticus 7). The people are to eat the meat other than the fat sections. They are to give the right breast and thigh as the priest's portion. The meaning of the word used here - fellowship (thanksgiving, peace), selamin - is a difficult word to translate but may be related to the familiar Jewish word shalom. This includes ideas of health, wholeness, welfare, and peace. Shalom is more than the absence of conflict; it entails all the benefits of closeness with God. It is life as God intended it to be. This offering pictures by analogy what is to take place between us and God. It pictures the ideal setting: a common meal. In the ancient culture food was the symbol of a good relationship. Eating with someone was a physical reminder that there was no conflict. The idea of eating together should conjure up a pleasant time and enjoyable company. Eating part of the sacrifice was a tangible reminder that God was no longer angry, that He would provide a substitute and would then invite us to come join Him for a meal. In the midst of these bloody sacrifices is a constant reminder that peace is not the default mode of human existence. For there to be peace now made, there was at one point, as the burnt offering reminds us, warfare. A few years ago when Yitzhak Rabin and Yashar Arrafat signed the agreement recognizing the PLO, Rabin made a very telling statement. He said: "I am ready for painful compromises. Peace is not made with friends. Peace is made with enemies, some of whom - and I won't name names - I loathe very much." The cost at which fellowship or peace was to be obtained in illustrated in verse 5. The fat, kidneys and liver of the fellowship offering were to be placed on top of the burnt offering. These two can not be separate. Rabin understood that peace can be made only between enemies. We were enemies of God, estranged from Him. Paul says, "And you were dead in your trespasses and sins." (Ephesians 2:1) So we know that now, our daily acts of communion with God, our daily praise, our daily thanksgiving, must be founded afresh on the work of Jesus. While Paul is clear that our estrangement from God, our lack of peace, of communion, is due to our sin, we now, in Christ, have peace. He is our peace (Ephesians 2:11-14). Every deep affection, every emotion, all that love could feel, all that desire could yearn over, was presented by Him to the Father in that hour when He became our peace. Apart from Christ we were cut off, having nothing to hope for, but now, Christ is our peace. He bridged the gap which existed between us and God. When Martin Luther entered the monastery at Erfurt, Germany, he gave himself wholly to prayers, fastings, labors-all in a gigantic effort to gain peace from the guilt of his sins. Yet the more he tried to conform his life to God’s demands the he felt distant. The more he tried to love God the more he hated Him. He was notorious among the monks for wearing out Confessors who grew weary listening to his gut wrenching confessions. It was the simple advice of the dean of the theological faculty, John Staupitz, that enabled Luther to find the peace he sought. He urged Luther to look away from his deceitful thoughts and evil impulses, and to cast himself wholly in the Redeemer's arms. "Trust the righteousness of His life and the atonement of His death," he said. Luther did that and found peace. But a short time later he lost the joy of his salvation. "Oh, my sin, my sin, my sin!" he lamented. With utmost kindness the dean replied, "Well, would you only be a sinner in appearance and also have a Savior only in appearance?" Then he added, "Know that Jesus Christ is Savior even of those who are great, real sinners, and deserving of utter condemnation." That is the peace God offers, peace for real sinners who sense real turmoil from their sin. We have the privilege to celebrate real peace. CHRISTIANITY IS A CELEBRATION OF GOD’S PROVISION Reasons for celebrating God’s provision.We aren’t told why people are to bring this kind of offering. In Leviticus 7 we have a bit more information. Three kinds of fellowship offerings are listed in verse 12. Thanksgiving offerings express gratitude for blessings received, verse 16 in fulfillment of a vow. In Psalm 56 there is a close association between the thanksgiving offering and the vow offering. Verse 16 refers to free-will offerings, something spontaneously devoted to God. Whereas the others are a response to petionary prayers or prayers for deliverance or forgiveness or safety or children, the free will offering was a response to God’s unexpected and unasked for generosity. 1 Samuel 1 is an example of this kind of sacrifice. Notice the arrangement here. Elkanah would sacrifice and then give meat to his wife Peninnah and her children and a double portion to Hannah. But in verse 8, Hannah did not eat. Elkanah notices. Hannah’s reaction is unusual especially because of the type of sacrifice. This is not what should have been done - it was to be joyous celebration over God’s provision. But without children Hannah did not feel like celebrating. She goes to pray, weeping. Eli thinks she’s drunk, since she’s just come from a party. Eli hears her story and pronounces peace. She goes home, has a son and returns in three years to again sacrifice and this time to fulfill the vow with her own son. The reasons may vary, but the attitude is the same; such a sacrifice was a celebration for how God provided. Perhaps the closest our culture has to this is a Thanksgiving celebration or perhaps a family reunion. The attitude in celebrating God’s provision is illustrated by what was offered. What about fat? The sacrifice of fat is not a biblical instruction to keep our saturated fats low. Rather, the fat was understood to be the richest part of the animal, or the fattest of the flock, the best portion. This is seen in verse 9 in the instructions on removing the tail of the sheep. The sheep that lived in that area were known as fat tailed sheep. Their tails could sometimes grow to be a large portion of their weight, as their tails, like the hump on a camel, were a storage facility for droughts. Their tails were considered prized parts of the sheep, as the fatty substance was used like butter in cooking and to be spread on bread. Some shepherds even constructed two-wheeled carts attached to the hind quarters to hold up tails. Why the kidneys and liver? Again the text does not tell us “why” it was done, but we may safely infer the reason. The kidneys were thought to be the seat of one’s feelings, thoughts and conscience. When the Hebrews wanted to speak of the mind, they said heart, when they wanted to speak of the heart they referred to the kidneys. Placing the kidneys and liver illustrated the emotional response. It was these richest portions claimed for the altar. Every rich thought, every rich emotion, every intense feeling, was devoted by Christ for us, and is to be now sent back by us to Him. What is given is very important: the best portion as well as that which spoke of emotions, thoughts and feelings. The sacrifice typified what the response was to be. Problems in celebrating God’s provision. The problem we face is that God desires we give Him our best, that we offer our lives as living sacrifices to Him as a response to His grace. As the fellowship offering is a voluntary response, one which expresses our heart felt response to God, still it may be judged by God as very lacking. In Malachi, God expresses His frustration with a people who perform every religious ritual without a thought to its meaning. The analogy is lost on them. Through a series of questions God shows that their formalism lacks content and is therefore useless. 6. "A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?" says the LORD Almighty. "It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name. "But you ask, `How have we shown contempt for your name?' 7. "You place defiled food on my altar. "But you ask, `How have we defiled you?' "By saying that the LORD's table is contemptible. 8. When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?" says the LORD Almighty. 9. "Now implore God to be gracious to us. With such offerings from your hands, will he accept you?"--says the LORD Almighty. 10. "Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you," says the LORD Almighty, "and I will accept no offering from your hands. 11. My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations," says the LORD Almighty. 12. "But you profane it by saying of the Lord's table, `It is defiled,' and of its food, `It is contemptible.' 13. And you say, `What a burden!' and you sniff at it contemptuously," says the LORD Almighty. "When you bring injured, crippled or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices, should I accept them from your hands?" says the LORD. 14. "Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord. For I am a great king," says the LORD Almighty, "and my name is to be feared among the nations. Malachi 1:6-14 As I read that I thought of how we give so little in sacrifice, how we response with such meager forms of appreciation. We rise in the morning and offer God a faint hello, if even that. We imagine that grace is license for our sin. We slip Him a few bucks to appease our conscience. God desires that our response to Him illustrates our attitude toward His grace. During these summer months we take this time as a gift from God only to be spent on ourselves. God does give us the good seasons like this to enjoy Him through our families and friends. But yet, we give the depth of our emotions to satisfy ourselves and our pleasure. The richest of pleasure is consumed for ourselves. Every and any opportunity to get away, spend time elsewhere than here seems to be the ideal. How far are we from the biblical example here? We are richly rewarded with money, but so often act as though we are the poorest of the poor. CHRISTIANITY IS A CELEBRATION OF GOD’S PROMISE While we all stand condemned, knowing that while we should be giving so much more of ourselves and our substance to God, there is in this simple offering, this sacrifice in which there is a participation in the form of a meal which celebrates God’s promise to us. This sacrifice, the fellowship offering, is one which more than others is pictured in the Lord’s Supper. While the Lord’s Supper is the New Testament's reality portrayed in the Passover, there are elements found here in the fellowship meal. At the last supper Jesus referred to the cup of wine as the "new covenant in My blood" which He commands we drink. The one thing no-self respecting Israelite would ever do is drink the blood of the sacrifice. But here we are commanded to do so. We can find an easy out by saying, "It's just wine or grape juice, not real blood." But yet the relationship between the wine and the blood of the Old Testament sacrifices is clear. The prohibition against the blood in the Old Testament is commanded in the New Testament, for only after the Cross is it made clear that the blood of bulls and goats will not establish peace between us and God, but rather Christ’s atoning sacrifice. The burnt offering where the sacrificial animal is slain and fully consumed is analogous to Christ’s work on the Cross. But when He broke bread and gave the cup in a fellowship meal, that is the peace offering, the fellowship offering that is to be part of our worship. The Lord’s Supper should therefore be, like the peace offering, at once a solemn and joyful occasion; solemn because no human being can lightheartedly enter God’s presence and pledge to keep his laws, joyful because God’s grace and His promise exceed all that we can ask or think in this life and the next. We have that promise in the Lord’s Supper. What is so faintly pictured in this sacrifice is painted with bold strokes in the simplicity of the Lord’s Supper. What I try to explain through these faltering and mumbling words is enunciated clearly and plainly by simple bread and wine. What it proclaims is that God offers peace, fellowship, communion, shalom to His people. He comes to you as a loving Father on the basis of the work of His Son as our Savior. You can easily think that you are not worthy of such an offer of peace, and that is true. You and I are not. We do not respond to His grace as we should. But nevertheless the peace still is real. There is peace not because we have brought enough flesh to feed an angry God nor have we sacrificed sufficiently to turn aside His wrath. Rather, we can come because God’s peace is guaranteed by Christ’s atonement for us. He is our peace and God offers a table spread with magnificent morsels, delightful delicacies all because of Christ. You bring him nothing but your sin. When the fiftieth anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg rolled around in 1913, the few Civil War veterans who were still alive decided to stage a re-enactment of one part of that famous battle, Pickett's Charge. The Union veterans took their places among the rocks along the ridge, and the Confederate veterans began marching across the field toward them. Then an amazing thing happened. As the old men of the Union began to rush down the hillside toward their former enemies, a great shout went up. But instead of engaging in hand-to-hand combat as they had done a half-century before, they threw their arms around each other. They wept as they embraced one another. When we gather for worship each and every week as God’s people and consider again God’s grace, we celebrate like those aged veterans a battle which took place on another killing field. We charged up Golgatha with God’s Only Son and by our sins we nailed Him to the cross. Now, today, because of that sacrifice God leaps over the fence toward us, arms outstretched greeting us in peace. The war is over, the victory won. We the defeated enemy are now the welcomed child. We those murderous soldiers are now reconciled as friends and invited to dine with Him. Will you come? |
