Monite Me 10, 2021
a sacrifice of peace offering
ko e feilaulau-‘ofa ‘a ‘ene kōpano
Levitiko 3 (Leviticus 3)
(v. 1-2) 1 PEA kapau ko e feilaulau-‘ofa ‘a ‘ene kōpano, ko e ‘omi mei he fanga pulu, pe ko ha manu tangata pe fefine, ‘e ta‘ehano mele, pea te ne ‘atu ia ‘i he ‘ao ‘o Sihova. 2 Pea te ne hilifaki hono nima ki he ‘ulu ‘o ‘ene kōpano, pea te ne tāmate‘i ia ‘i he mata Tēniti Fe‘iloaki‘anga; pea ko e ngaahi foha ‘o ‘Ēlone, ‘a ia ‘oku taula‘eiki, te nau luluku ‘aki ‘a e toto ‘a e ‘ōlita takatakai.
(1-2) 1 If his offering is a sacrifice of
peace offering, if he offers an animal from the herd, male or female, he shall
offer it without blemish before the Lord. 2 And he shall lay his hand on the
head of his offering and kill it at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and
Aaron’s sons the priests shall throw the blood against the sides of the altar.
*Commentary: The NIV Study Bible*
3:1-17 The Peace Offering. This offering achieves and expresses peace or fellowship between an offerer and the Lord. The ritual as a whole symbolizes a communion meal that is held between the offerer, the officiating priest, and the Lord. In OT times such meals were a means of affirming a covenant relationship (Gen. 26:28-30). Generally speaking, then, this offering was a time to remember and reaffirm the covenant relationship between the Lord and Israel (cf. 1 Cor. 10:16-18; 11:23-26). As with the burnt offering, there are various specific motives for offering a peace offering, ranging from petition to praise. In this chapter, though, the entire emphasis is on the procedure for the offering, with a special focus on the burning of the fat.
3:1-5 The procedure of this ritual involving a bull is the same as that of the burnt offering, up until the shedding of blood. Only the fatty parts of the animal, instead of all of it, are to be burned up. The fat in ancient Israel represented the very best part of the animal (cf. the "fat of the wheat," Num. 18:12). The "fat" would be like filet mignon, i.e., the most succulent and savory part of the animal. To present this to the Lord was a way of acknowledging that he was the One worthy of most honor. (When Eli allows his sons, as priests, to eat the fat of the sacrifices, he is rebuked for honoring his sons above the Lord [1 Sam. 2:29].)
Giving the best you have has always been something was instilled in us from our grandpa, from my dad and mom. In Tonga my grandpa would always give his best polopolo from his ngoue to the Faifekau of their church before anyone could eat from the rest of the ma’ala. Today my dad always tells us to give our best not only in monetary funds, gifts, but also in our singing actions and praise to the Lord. God allows us to partake in so many things we aren’t worthy of so it’s the least we can do to show our gratitude in giving Him first dibs on ANYTHING we are offering Him. 🙏🏼
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