Amen. And if you will remain standing for the reading of God's Word for our sermon text this morning, which comes from Leviticus 7, verses 11 through 38. We've looked at this passage already a couple of times. This will be our third and final time to look at the priestly instructions for the peace offering. So it's Leviticus 7, beginning in verse 11. Hear, O people of God, His Word. And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings that one may offer to the Lord. If he offers it for a Thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the Thanksgiving sacrifice unleavened loaves mixed with oil, unleavened wafers smeared with oil, and loaves of fine flour well mixed with oil. With the sacrifice of his peace offerings for Thanksgiving, he shall bring his offering with loaves of leavened bread. And from it he shall offer one loaf from each offering as a gift to the Lord. He shall belong to the priest who throws the blood of the peace offerings. And 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. But if the sacrifice of his offering is a vow offering or a free will offering, it shall be eaten on the day that he offers his sacrifice. And on the next day, what remains of it shall be eaten. But what remains of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burned up with fire. If any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offering is eaten on the third day, he who offers it shall not be accepted. Neither shall it be credited to him. It is tainted, and he who eats of it shall bear his iniquity. Flesh that touches any unclean thing shall not be eaten. It shall be burned up with fire. All who are clean may eat flesh. But the person who eats of the flesh of the sacrifice of the Lord's peace offerings while an uncleanness is on him, that person shall be cut off from his people. And if anyone touches an unclean thing, whether human uncleanness or any unclean beast or any unclean detestable creature, and then eat some flesh of the sacrifice of the Lord's peace offerings, that person shall be cut off from his people. The Lord spoke to Moses saying, Speak to the people of Israel, saying, You shall eat no fat of ox or sheep or goat. The fat of an animal that dies of itself and the fat of one that is torn by beast may be put to any other use, but on no account shall you eat it. For every person who eats of the fat of an animal of which a food offering may be made to the Lord shall be cut off from his people. Moreover, you shall eat no blood, whatever, whether of fowl or of animal, in any of your dwelling places. Whoever eats any blood, that person shall be cut off from his people. The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the people of Israel, saying, Whoever offers the sacrifice of his peace offerings to the Lord shall bring his offering to the Lord from the sacrifice of his peace offerings. His own hands shall bring the Lord's food offerings. He shall bring the fat with the breast, that the breast may be waved as a wave offering before the Lord. The priest shall burn the fat on the altar, but the breast shall be for Aaron and his sons. And the right thigh you shall give to the priest as a contribution from the sacrifice of your peace offerings. Whoever among the sons of Aaron offers the blood of the peace offerings and the fat shall have the right thigh for a portion. For the breast that is waived and the thigh that is contributed, I have taken from the people of Israel. out of the sacrifices of their peace offerings and have given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons as a perpetual due from the people of Israel. This is the portion of Aaron and of his sons from the Lord's food offerings from the day they were presented to serve as priests of the Lord. The Lord commanded this to be given them by the people of Israel from the day that he anointed them. It is a perpetual due throughout their generations. This is the law of the burnt offering, of the grain offering, of the sin offering, of the guilt offering, of the ordination offering, and of the peace offering, which the Lord commanded Moses on Mount Sinai on the day that he commanded the people of Israel to bring their offerings to the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai. The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of the Lord endures forever. You may be seated. This morning, that was a long passage, but this morning we'll be mainly looking at verses 22 through 36. If you have your Bibles or if you keep your Bibles open to follow along, we'll primarily be looking at those verses. But this morning will be our final look at the priestly instructions for the peace offerings. Which means that our next sermon will begin a new section in the book of Leviticus. Now remember, that beginning back in chapter 6 verse 8, we began looking for a second time at the offerings that were to be brought to the tabernacle. Now, up to that point, the first six chapters essentially, at least chapter 6 verse 8, up to that point in Leviticus, we had been looking at the instructions for the worshipper who brought these offerings. But in chapter 6 verse 8, we began looking at the instructions that were given to the priests for these offerings. What were they to do with these offerings that were brought to the tabernacle? And this first major section of the book comes to a close at the end of our passage. You probably noticed that when we read the final couple of verses. It comes to an end when it says, this is the law of the burnt offering, of the grain offering, of the sin offering, of the guilt offering, of the ordination offering, and of the peace offering. And so today will be our third and final look at the instructions for the priests regarding the peace offering. And so let me briefly review what we've learned of the peace offering, or at least just the basics of the peace offering. We have observed that the peace offering symbolizes precisely what its name states, that the worshiper and God are at peace. And this is accomplished because the animal is a vicarious sacrifice, meaning the animal was a substitute for the person. The person who presents the animal vicariously dies through the animal's death. Or said differently, the animal dies in the person's place. The animal pays the punishment for the person's sins. And so having had his sins atoned for, having his sins covered, the worshiper has been reconciled to God by the blood sacrifice. And therefore, he now has peace with God. And here's what's most important about having peace with God. The person then has communion. with God, has fellowship with the living God. And this was demonstrated by the meal that was shared between the worshiper and the priests and the Lord himself. That meal that was eaten from the sacrificial animal and from the loaves that were offered. And so it was a Thanksgiving meal celebrating the peace and therefore the communion or fellowship that they now had with God. Now, I'll leave it to you to listen to previous sermons if you need any further refreshers on the peace offering. But moving forward, now we are going to focus on verses 22 through 36. And in those verses, we're going to look at two key things, two primary things. First, we're going to look at the prohibition against eating the fat and the blood of the animal. That's the first thing. And the second, we're going to look at the portion of the animal that was given to the priests for consumption. So first, we find in verses 22 through 27 a prohibition of eating any fat and any of the blood from any animal. There are differing reasons that the Lord forbid Israel not to eat of the fat and the blood. The blood is simple, and so we'll begin with it. The blood, you see, is the life of the animal and the life of the animal was given to be it was to be given sacrificially in exchange for the life of the person. That is what makes atonement for their sins. It was the shedding of that blood, the blood symbolizing the life of the person. The life of that animal for the life of that person in exchange for the life of that person. And so Leviticus 17 11 makes this clear when it states, For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls. For it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. So that is why they were not eat of the blood or partake of the blood of the animal because it was to be presented on the altar and was representing the life of the animal, which was symbolic of the person's life. But what about the fat? Why not the fat? Why could they not eat of the fat of the animal? Well, the Lord also forbids them from eating certain portions of the fat of the animals. It was actually the fat of the sacrificial portions. The fat of the flesh could actually be eaten by the person, but not the fat of the sacrificial portions of the animal. To be more specific, it was the fat that covered the entrails and the two kidneys and the fat that was with them on the loins and the long lobe of liver, which we learned back in chapter 3. Now, I'm sorry if you're the kind of person that gets queasy easy, but this is Holy Scripture. And so it was the fat along these body parts, the fat along these sacrificial portions that was never to be eaten by anyone. It was for the Lord. Now, here's the question. Why was the fat along these portions to be given to the Lord? The answer is this. These portions of fat were the richest parts of the animal and were deeply seated near the heart of the animal. And this is why those body parts were often used, not just on animals, but those body parts even in humans. Those body parts are often used in scripture to describe the seat of a person's desires, the person's most inward feelings. Listen, for example, one case in scripture describing certain of these body parts. In Psalm chapter 7 it speaks of these inward parts and in verse 9 we read, O let the evil of the wicked come to an end and may you establish the righteous you who test the kidneys and the heart, O righteous God. Now some of your translations may render that you who test the minds and the hearts but the Hebrew word is the word for kidneys, you who test the kidneys, not the minds. And the point is that God searches the most inward parts to the very core, to the very soul of man. And so consider this, beloved, if the person vicariously undergoing what the sacrificial animal undergoes. Because the animal represents the worshiper offering it. Then the offering up of the fat surrounding these body parts symbolizes the person offering up the deepest part of himself. It's symbolizing him offering up his most, the most deep inward feelings of himself. And on this very point, Andrew Bonar writes, in an offering of thanks and fellowship, nothing was more appropriate than to enjoin that the pieces presented should be those seated deep within. What then can we bring but the most inward feelings, all of the richest kind and all from the depth of the soul? End quote. See, that, beloved, is how we are to approach our God. Who has given us peace through the true sacrifice of Christ himself. We are to offer up our innermost feelings and thoughts, the deepest parts of ourselves, we are to offer our whole selves, the best of ourselves to God. Paul puts it this way in Romans chapter 12, verse 1, I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. You see, we are to give the very best of ourselves, the richest part of ourselves, we're to give our very lives to God. Okay, so the blood and the fat were not to be eaten by the people. They were for the Lord. Israel, you see, was not to give some parts to God. but reserved the richest in the very best parts of the animal for themselves to eat in the meal. They were to give him the best, which teaches, which taught them, but also teaches us that we cannot give the Lord certain parts of our lives, but then leave the rest for ourselves. We are not to give the Lord certain aspects of our lives, but the rest is to, it's lived out for ourselves. God, here's a certain portion, but I'm going to keep the best part of my life for me. We are to give our very best. Nay, we are to give our whole selves to the Lord. So we've seen that the fat belongs to the Lord and the blood. But then in verses 28 through 36, we go on to see that the breast and the right shoulder of the animal are given by God to the priests as their portions to eat. So we're moving on to the second key thing that we're addressing this morning. which is that the breast and the right shoulder of the animal, they're first given to the Lord, and we see this in the fact, especially by the breast, is waved before the Lord. It was waved north, south, east, and west, probably, showing that it is altogether the Lord's, who owns all things. It is His, but then the Lord gave back to the priests those portions, the portion of the breast and of the right shoulder. And the breast and the right shoulder of the animal likely has a connection with the precious stones that were worn on the high priest's garments. You see, upon his garments there were the 12 stones on the breastplate. The 12 stones representing the 12 tribes of Israel. And the stones on the shoulder pieces of his garments had the inscription of the 12 tribes of Israel as well. And the reason that he bore the names of God's people on his breasts and shoulders is because he was the one as the high priest who represented them before God. And so he wore their names upon himself, upon his garments. And as he ministered at the mercy seat, he brought the people therefore near to God. But why were the stones to be upon his breast and his shoulders specifically? Well, they were laid upon his breast because lying near to his heart, it perhaps symbolized the love and affection that he was to have for the people whom he represented. And upon his shoulders, the names were upon his shoulders representing the burden that he bore as a minister on their behalf. And so, in connection with this, the breast and the right shoulder of the animal was to be given to the priest as his portion of the food offering from the peace offerings. Now, beloved, I want you to bear in mind again that the animal, the animal that was to be sacrificed, the animal represented the worshipper who brought the offering. And so it symbolized the worshipper offering back to the priest his heart and his burden to take care of the priests. These were The priest's portions of food to eat. And you need to remember that the Levites were not allotted any portion of land in the land of Canaan from which they could plant crops and grow their flocks. The Lord promised that he would be their portion. This is why the breast was to be waved before God. It displayed that it was the Lord's first, but He was giving that part of His portion back to the priests. This was how the Lord cared for the needs of the priests. So the Lord would give these portions from Israel's peace offerings to the priests, and this taught Israel, this taught the people of God to give their heart and their hand to the Lord, to the priests. And Andrew Bonar again writes, Aaron and his sons received the breast as their portion, as if to declare that the reconciled worshiper now at peace with God had true sympathy with and love towards the priest by whose instrumentality the blessing came to him. A true Israelite in the enjoyment of reconciliation felt himself bound to help the priest with heart, the breast, and hand, the shoulder, because he was the Lord's minister to him for good." End quote. Now, beloved, the priests were not to accept these portions as if they themselves were the true cause of the people's reconciliation and redemption. The priests were to teach the people that the true cause of their reconciliation, the true cause of their redemption would come from the Messiah who is yet to come. See, the priests were shadows of him who was to come, the one who would be the true high priest. And who would make the true sacrifice. Sacrifice of himself, and he would make that not at an earthly tabernacle, but in heaven itself. And so they were to direct the eyes of the people to the one who would offer not an animal sacrifice, but would offer himself as sacrifice that would bring peace between God and his people. You see, my friends, Christ did what we. Could never do. No one since man's fall into sin ever offered to God every deep affection, every emotion and desire, his whole self to God. Yet that is what we ought to do. And that is what God requires of us. That's what was being symbolized by the Israelites when they brought to God the fat of the offering. But they never did this perfectly. Nor could you. On your own, left to your sin, love the father the way that Christ does. You would never render all of your heart. Your affections, your desires, your whole self to God. As sinners, we have failed at this. But Christ. A Redeemer fulfilled this in his life for us. And if we are united to him by faith, then what Christ has done is then reckoned to us. The Father looks at us through Christ shaped lenses. That's why the Levitical sacrifices could never take away sin, not in and of themselves. But Christ was able to offer to God what we could not. God's son took to himself a human nature and offered to God every deep affection, all that love could feel. Every desire that could be yearned after. His whole life, he offered up to God at every moment of his life, all the way to Calvary's cross. And all of his innermost feelings were tested and tried there by the fires of God's wrath. And all this he did out of sheer love and devotion to God, he willingly laid down his life as a vicarious sacrifice and took the punishment for your sins. Hebrews 9, 13 and 14 says, For if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself without blemish to God. Purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Gerhard is false when writing about this, these verses, he says that the blood of bulls and goats operates in the sphere of the flesh because it's an offering of the flesh. Christ's sacrifice cleanses the conscience. Because it was an offering of spirit. It is as priest that Christ carries into the sacrifice that inward God is seeking and God reaching movement, which from the beginning makes it a true gift to the Father. Beloved, that true gift purifies your conscience. Why? Because you vicariously died with him. And now your guilt has been taken away, your old man of sin died on the cross with Christ and your sins have been atoned. Christ stands before the father with pierced hands and side and with wounds upon his brow from the crown of thorns. And these marks, beloved, they bear on his body a testimony of his love for the Father, which he poured out to him for the forgiveness of your sins. Yet what he accomplished, he accomplished on your behalf to give you peace with God, to draw you near to the Father, to give you communion and fellowship with the true and living God. Just as the high priest bore the names of Israel upon his breast and shoulders before God, so Christ bears the names of all believers. before God in heaven. In that famous hymn written in 1863 by Charity Lees Smith, we sing about a great high priest whose name is love. Whoever lives and pleads for me, my name is graven on his hands. My name is graven on his heart. I know that while in heaven he stands, no tongue can bid me Dense, deep heart, you have peace with God and access to his throne and sweet communion with him. We have been reconciled by faith in the work of Christ to God. And now, beloved, being reconciled to God, we are to give our lives to him. Just as Christ rose from the grave, so too you have been raised with Christ to walk in newness of life. You see, from heaven, he pours out his spirit upon you, giving you new life. And in so doing, pours out the very love that he has for the Father upon you. And this he did so that you too might give your innermost affections, desires and your whole life to God in love now that you have been reconciled to him. Because Christ has given us peace with God, we in turn should render our whole lives to God in their fullness. You see, the heat of Christ's love in our hearts, rather than God's wrath, is to melt our souls so that we would pour forth all of our love and all of our affections, all of our hearts to God in thanksgiving. To Him be all praise and glory, now and forevermore. Amen. Let's pray. Our great God and Father, we do thank you for sending us reconciliation through the person and work of Jesus Christ. Lord, deepen in our hearts the wonderful blessing it is to have communion with the true and living God. And may that be first and foremost on our thoughts every day. Lord, we pray that Our Thanksgiving and our love would overflow in us back to you as we give our lives to you, knowing that we are yours. And Lord, you are ours. May we be a witness to others of this wonderful, sweet communion that we have. That we've been granted through the peace that Christ accomplished. So that your people from every nation, those whom you have called from before the foundations of the world or have elected, we pray, Lord, that they would come to know you and your saving power. We lift up these things through Christ our Savior. Amen.