The Book of Leviticus Chapter 3

The Book of Leviticus 

Chapter

3

1. If the offering is a sacrifice of well-being, if you offer an animal of the herd; whether male or female, you shall offer one without blemish before the LORD.

(Leviticus chapter 3 verse 1)

As in the case of other offerings God is worthy of nothing but the best. God is to be the top most priority in our lives especially when considering that he has done so much for us. He is our loving father. It is never to late to make an experience of You my God and experience Your love for us.


2. You shall lay your hand on the head of the offering and slaughter it at the entrance of the tent of the meeting; and Aaron's Sons the priests shall dash the blood against all sides of the altar.

(Leviticus chapter 3 verse 2)


According to verse 2 the person making the offering was to lay hands on the offering to be offered, thus the sins of the person who is offering the animal will be transferred on to that animal, who will be slaughtered instead of the recipient.


3. You shall offer from the sacrifice of well-being, as an offering by fire to the LORD, the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is around the entrails; 4. the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the appendage of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys.

(Leviticus chapter 3 verses 3 to 4)


As in the case of the creature to be offered the fat may symbolize our sin that is also offered in the sacrifice. We are a living sacrifice with all that makes us humans. Our human self and physical self can be an object that causes sin and therefore needs to be as offered as whole as in the sacrament of the Eucharist where the sacrifice is offered in order to atone for both our sins and that of the priest making the offering on his and our behalf.


5. Then Aaron's sons shall turn these into smoke on the altar, with the burnt offering that is on the wood on the fire, as an offering by fire of pleasing odor to the LORD.

(Leviticus chapter 3 verse 5)


The priest is the link between us and You oh God. By means of your priests sacrificial offerings during mass in the form of the bread of the Eucharist and the wine in the chalice are offered to You which in turn You transform in substance into Your body and blood. However our prayers also appear before You like the pleasant odor of the burnt offering not one of our prayers is lost in the sense that it does not appear before Your Holy presence.


6. If your offering for a sacrifice of well-being to the LORD is from the flock, male or female, you shall offer one without blemish.

(Leviticus chapter 3 verse 6)


God makes no discrimination between men and women. Everybody is welcome in His presence. You love us all equally, and have space in Your heart for all of us


7. If you present a sheep as your offering, you shall bring it before the LORD 8. and lay your hand on the head of the offering. It shall be slaughtered before the tent of meeting, and Aaron's sons shall dash its blood against all sides of the altar.

(Leviticus chapter 3 verses 7 to 8)


As previously mentioned the laying of hands on the victim to be offered marks the transference of the sins of that who is offering the creature on to the creature itself. With reference to the blood oh God, your blood was shed on the sacrificial altar of the cross as in the example given of the creature with reference to verses 7 to 8 where it is said that the blood of the sacrifice was to be shed on all sides of the altar.


9..You shall present its fat from the sacrifice of well-being, as an offering by fire to the LORD; the whole broad tail, which shall be removed close to the backbone, the fat that covers the entrails, and all the fat that is around the entrails.

(Leviticus chapter 3 verse 9)


The fat mentioned in verse 9 can be compared to our sins. On the other hand we are the offering. As in the case of the offering we present ourselves as a whole offering sins and all and the priest lays his hands on us and forgives us of our sins by means of the sacrament of reconciliation.


10. the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the appendage of the liver, which you shall remove with the kidneys. 11. Then the priest shall turn these into smoke on the altar as a food offering by fire to the LORD.

(Leviticus chapter 3 verses 10 to 11)


When considering oh God that You know us as a whole, it is a fact that You know our strengths and also our weakness. However You still want us to offer You our lives as a whole, which in turn as our High Priest You disinfect our weaknesses and empowers our already positive traits and accept us as a whole offering when we appear before You at the time of our death.


12. If your offering is a goat, you shall bring it before the LORD, 13 and lay your hand on its head; it shall be slaughtered before the tent of meeting; and the sons of Aaron shall dash its blood against all sides of the altar. 14. You shall present as offering from it, as an offering by fire to the LORD, the fat that covers the entrails, and all the fat that is around the entrails; 15. the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the appendage of the liver, which you shall remove with the kidneys. 16. Then the priest shall turn these into smoke on the altar as a food offering by fire for a pleasing odor. All fat is the LORD's

(Leviticus chapter 3 verses 12 to 16)


According to Mr. Devain Pawar the author of this chapter we are all different, and therefore we are all different offerings to God. We are to thank God for all the positive traits that He has given us. He loves us even though we are composed of both positive and negative traits. God accepts us as one whole offering and does not focus only on our fat and disregards the pleasant taste of the rest of the offering.


17. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, in all your settlements; you must not eat any fat or any blood.

(Leviticus chapter 3 verse 17)

As much as God wanted these sacrifices to be offered on a permanent basis lasting forever, God wanted us to celebrate the sacrament of the Eucharist forever. In this sacrament the offering is the Son of God who was offered as an offering of offerings for the atonement of our sins.


While wishing all a happy Easter, the author of this chapter wishes to end this chapter with the following prayer.

Thank you God, for thinking not only about us but also about our future. Thank you God for giving us the Roman Catholic church were we can praise you and your name, receive your blessings by means of the holy sacraments and grow spiritually. 

Thank you God for everything.