Introduction
Read Leviticus 3:1-17 / Leviticus 7:11-36.
The Peace Offering is sometimes translated as ‘Fellowship Offering’. It came about voluntarily, as a desire was expressed to thank God and to seek fellowship ‘communion’ with God.
The blood of the Peace Offering was sprinkled at the Burnt Offering Altar, the fat and inward parts were removed and the remainder roasted. The fat and inward parts were burned; this was for God’s satisfaction, as a sweet aroma. Because God had stated clearly what pleased Him, then a person who offered such a Peace Offering was truly doing what pleased God: that person was having fellowship, ‘communing’ with God.
It was also the case that the flesh of the offering was for the priest and the offeror to consume, to have a meal together, with some unleavened cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, similar to the Meal Offering.
The Peace Offering was an indication of a good, healthy, loving relationship between the offeror and God and between the offeror and the priests. There was peace with God and there was peace with fellow citizens.
Paul writes, ‘Christ Himself is our peace’, Ephesians 2:14 because ‘we who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ’, Ephesians 2:13. See also Romans 5:1.
Our fellowship with God is restored through faith in the death and shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, and sustained through the shared nourishment His life affords us as our portion to feed on.
The Christ who ‘is our peace’ in Ephesians 2:14 is also the Christ ‘who has made both one’, where ‘both’ refers to the Jews and the Gentiles. To those who believe in Jesus Christ, His death is the place for us to be one. It is the only place where oneness will work.
Everywhere else there is no peace because there are conflicts about how to do everything! Only as we begin to know ‘the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death’. Philippians 3:10, can we ‘be of the same mind in the Lord’. See also Philippians 4:2 / Philippians 2:5-8.
Otherwise, we will be just like Euodia and Syntyche, fighting and squabbling, with no peace. Ironically, ‘Euodia’ means ‘sweet aroma’, however, that would be just a name without the true experience of Christ as the Peace Offering.
