We can imagine a devout Israelite coming to the tabernacle thankful for the deliverance that he and his people had received from God. They had been rescued from slavery in Egypt and their former masters had been overthrown by God’s power displayed in the ten plagues and in the dividing of the Red Sea. He has been informed by God that Israel is now in a special relationship with the Lord and he has promised to bless his people. Yet the continued enjoyment of this relationship depends on the Israelites’ obedience to God’s commandments (Exod. 24:7).
At the same time, the worshipper knows that he is sinful, and the only way by which he can deal with this problem is by offering the sacrifice that the Lord specifies for dealing with personal sins that will prevent the Israelite from enjoying the blessings that God has promised him. What features would mark the worshipper’s approach?
One feature would be carefulness in choosing which animal to offer. The worshipper wants to experience ongoing assurance that God’s blessings are his, therefore he will choose a flawless animal. He knows that a little flaw in his chosen animal will deprive him of the enjoyment of God’s mercies.
A second feature would be identification with the animal. The worshipper takes the animal to the tabernacle entrance and identifies himself with the creature about to die as his substitute. By leaning heavily on the animal’s head, he says by his actions that his hope of enjoying divine blessings depends on this animal taking the punishment due to him.
A third feature of the worshipper’s response is an awareness that the Lord desires to share in the blessings that will be the enjoyment of the worshipper. This reality was taught to the worshipper when he cut out the fat and other items that were offered to the Lord. As the worshipper performed this task, he would know that God would receive his share of the animal (a picture of God’s satisfaction with the animal that had died to ensure that divine blessings would continue to be given to the worshipper). This action by the worshipper was an essential part of the process that led to fellowship with God at that time.
Further the worshipper would also know that others (the priests and himself) would also share in the peace offering. Yet he was being taught that a worshipper had to provide God with his portion of the animal before the remainder could be given to others. It was impossible to adjust this order. God had to be pacified before peace could be experienced.
A fourth feature of the worshipper’s activity was observation. He would note what the priests did with the various parts of the animal. As with the burnt offering, the blood of the victim was thrown on the sides of the altar, reminding the worshipper as he sacrificed a peace offering that the only way to shalom involved the shedding of the blood of a sacrifice. He would also note that the items offered to God were placed on top of a burnt offering that was already burning on the altar. The burnt offering may have been the daily burnt offering (Exod. 29:38-39; Num. 29:3-4) or it may have been his own offering (as described in Leviticus 1). Since the burnt offering signified dedication, the worshipper would be reminded that the enjoyment of divine blessings promised to Israel, especially in the land of Canaan, would only be known by those who were devoted to the Lord.
No doubt there were other attitudes in the heart of a devout Israelite as he made a sacrifice designed to preserve for him the ongoing enjoyment of the shalom promised by God to Israel. Yet I think that these four features – carefulness is choosing a substitute, identification with the substitute, awareness of what God desired from the substitute, and observation of what happened to the animal – give us sufficient understanding of how seriously an Israelite worshipper would view his visit to the tabernacle to make a peace offering.
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