Leviticus · chapter 7 of 27
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Leviticus 7 completes the rules of the offerings: the guilt offering is most holy and its meat is eaten by the priests. The peace offering may be for thanksgiving or a vow, and whoever eats it must be clean. The ban on eating fat and blood is repeated, and the priests receive the breast and the right thigh.
This chapter closes the first section of the book, the law of the offerings, with instructions on which part the priest eats and which part the worshiper eats. It shows that God sustains those who serve in his sanctuary and that fellowship with him requires cleanness. It also makes clear that each offering already described has its own rule and meaning.
The guilt offering is most holy. It is slaughtered where the burnt offering is slaughtered, its blood is splashed on the altar and its fat is burned. The male priests eat the rest in a holy place. The same applies to the sin offering: the same law and the same portion for the priest who makes atonement. The priest who offers a burnt offering keeps the animal's hide, and the grain offering belongs to the priests.
The peace offering may be a thanksgiving offering, with unleavened and leavened bread, or a vow or freewill offering. The meat of the thanksgiving offering must be eaten the same day; the others may be eaten the next day, but never on the third. Whoever eats of the offering while unclean is cut off from his people. It is also repeated that no fat or blood may be eaten.
The breast of the peace offering, as a wave offering, and the right thigh, as a raised portion, are the share of Aaron and his sons by a perpetual statute. The chapter concludes with a summary of all the laws the Lord gave Moses at Sinai.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
If the peace offering is presented as thanksgiving, it comes with cakes of fine flour mixed with oil. It is a celebration of gratitude for something God has done, shared with others.
The Lord forbids eating blood, whether of birds or animals, in any of Israel's dwellings. Blood belongs to God, and that rule reminds us that life is his and that sin is atoned for by life given up.
The wave breast and the raised thigh are given to Aaron and his sons as a permanent portion. In this way the people support the priests with their offerings, and the priests live from the service of the sanctuary.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: It is most holy. — Leviticus 7:1
Answer: The male priests, in a holy place. — Leviticus 7:6
Answer: On the day it was offered, leaving none until morning. — Leviticus 7:15
Answer: He was cut off from his people. — Leviticus 7:20
Answer: The fat of animals fit for offering, and blood. — Leviticus 7:23-26
Answer: The wave breast and the raised right thigh. — Leviticus 7:31-34
Leviticus 7 invites us to examine how we come to God in community. The thanksgiving meal was a shared celebration, something many congregations forget today. In a small group you can encourage people to tell with gratitude what God has done, without waiting for a solemn moment.
It also reminds us that those who serve in ministry deserve support, a principle Paul takes up in the New Testament. And the demand for cleanness in eating leads us to ask what we are bringing into God's presence: the grace of Christ cleanses us, but it is not an invitation to carelessness.
Leviticus 7 closes the laws of the offerings and prepares the way for the priesthood to begin its service. Leviticus 8 tells of the consecration of Aaron and his sons as priests, with garments, anointing and sacrifices over seven days.
The text commands it without giving the reason. It is commonly understood that this avoided storing the meat for later and stressed immediate gratitude shared with others. The vow offering, by contrast, could be eaten until the next day.
The priests had no share of land like the other tribes and depended on the sanctuary. The portions assigned, such as the breast and thigh, secured their support while they served the Lord on behalf of the people.