God wanted his people to live holy lives and be set apart from other nations. So he gave the Israelites laws and instructions regarding holiness in life and worship. Moses recorded these laws on stone tablets for the people of God as a permanent reminder for them to be faithful.

The LORD called to Mosesa and spoke to him from the tent of meeting.b He said, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When anyone among you brings an offering to the LORD,c bring as your offering an animal from either the herd or the flock.

The LORD called to Mosesa and spoke to him from the tent of meeting.b He said, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When anyone among you brings an offering to the LORD,c bring as your offering an animal from either the herd or the flock.

Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When anyone among you brings an offering to the LORD,c bring as your offering an animal from either the herd or the flock.

bring as your offering an animal from either the herd or the flock

the meal offering was not presented alone; it accompanied one of the sacrifices that involved the shedding of blood. Our hard work can never purchase salvation or earn the blessing of God; for apart from the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin (Heb. 9:22).6 But those who have been saved by faith in the shed blood of Christ may dedicate to the Lord what He has enabled them to produce.

There are several distinctive features about the peace offering or fellowship offering that should be noted. For one thing, the offerer could bring a female animal, something not permitted for the other animal sacrifices. If the offering was not in fulfillment of a vow, the sacrifice could have some defects and still be accepted (Lev. 22:23). After all, it was basically going to be used as food for the priests and the offerer’s family; and those defects wouldn’t matter.

the fellowship offering is the only offering that was shared with the worshipers. After the priest had completed the sacrifice, a large portion of the meat went to him; the rest went to the offerer, who could then enjoy a feast with his family and friends. Since the Jews didn’t often slaughter their precious animals for meat, a dinner of beef or lamb would be a special occasion

In the East, to eat with people is to make them your friends and allies. It means the end of hostilities, as with Jacob and his father-in-law Laban (Gen. 31:54), or the sealing of friendship, as with Israel and Jethro and his people (Ex. 18:12). In the church today, the Lord’s Supper, or Eucharist, is a simple meal that shows the unity of God’s family (1 Cor. 10:16–18; 11:18–34). That’s why it’s called “the Communion.”

The peace offering meal, however, meant more than the enjoyment of good food and fellowship with loved ones. It was also an expression of joyful thanksgiving that the worshiper was at peace with God and in communion with God

He might be giving thanks for some unexpected blessing God sent him (Lev. 7:11–15); or perhaps he had made a vow to God, and God had answered his prayers; or maybe he was just thankful to God for everything God did for him and wanted to let everybody know (vv. 16–18). The fellowship offering emphasized the fact that the forgiveness of sins resulted in communion with God and with God’s people.

Sins of ignorance reveal the underlying truth that man is a sinner by nature

Note that while the fat of the sacrifice was burned on the altar, the body of the sacrifice was burned in a clean place outside the camp (vv. 8–12, 21). Why? For one thing, it made a distinction between the sin offering and the burnt offering so that the worshipers wouldn’t be confused as they watched. But even more, it reminded the people that the sins of the high priest and the whole congregation would pollute the whole camp; and the sin offering was too holy to remain in an unholy camp. Finally, according to Hebrews 13:10–13, this was a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ who died “outside the city gate … outside the camp” as our sin offering (vv. 12–13, NIV).

The result of this ritual was forgiveness (Lev. 4:20, 26, 31, 35; see 5:10, 13; 6:7). As I mentioned before, even though the sacrifice of animals can’t take away sin or change the human heart, the sacrifices pointed to the perfect Sacrifice, Jesus Christ (Heb. 10:1–15). He is our sin offering (Isa. 53:4–6, 12; Matt. 26:28; 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Peter 2:24).

The trespass offering illustrates the solemn fact that it is a very costly thing for people to commit sin and for God to cleanse sin. Our sins hurt God and hurt others. True repentance will always bring with it a desire for restitution. We will want to make things right with God and with those whom we’ve sinned against.

Jesus provides all that we need. He is our burnt offering, and we must yield ourselves wholly to Him. He is our meal offering, the seed crushed and put through the fire, that we might have the bread of life; and we must feed upon Him. He is our drink offering who poured Himself out in sacrifice and service, and we must pour ourselves out for Him and for others. He is our fellowship offering, making life a joyful feast instead of a painful famine. He is our sin offering and our guilt offering, for He bore our sins on His body (1 Peter 2:24) and paid the full price for our sins (1:18–19).