Taking A Closer Look at the Peace Offering in Leviticus 3:1

Sequence matters in the Bible.  I learned that recently from my Life-Study reading.   I've been reading the Bible since I was in junior high, and I'm still struggling through certain places.  And I still don't get everything, but I keep reading, and I have formed a habit of reading Witness Lee's Life-Studies because they open up the word of God like no other Christian books I've ever read.   

Winter sunset

Before we get going, here's a few of the verses on the peace offering in chapter 3 of Leviticus:

If his offering is a sacrifice of a peace offering-if he offers it from the herd, whether male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before Jehovah.  Aaron's sons shall offer it up in smoke on the altar upon the burnt offering, which is on the wood that is on the fire; it is an offering by fire of a satisfying fragrance to Jehovah. Leviticus 3:1, 5

In these excerpts from pages  153-154 from chapter 17 of the Life-Study of Leviticus, you'll see what the sequence really shows:  

In Leviticus the offerings are in a particular sequence. First we have the burnt offering and then the meal offering and then the peace offering. The burnt offering signifies that we must be absolutely for God, and the meal offering indicates that Christ is our daily food. When we are absolutely for God and live by feeding on Christ, the result is peace.  We have peace with God and with one another. This means that when Christ satisfies us, He becomes the peace between us and God....The peace offering is based upon God's satisfaction in the burnt offering....The blood of the peace offering was dashed on the altar all around (vv. 2, 8, 13). This indicates that the blood is for peace in the offerer's conscience. This blood was not brought into the Holy of Holies to appease God; it was dashed around the altar where the offerer was standing....When we see the blood of the peace offering, we have the assurance that our sins have been washed away. The blood of the offering was shed for our sake, and it is now before our eyes. Therefore, we can say, 'Thank You, Lord. My sins have been forgiven. I know this because I see Your blood. The blood is the evidence that God has forgiven my sins (Lee, Witness. Life-Study of Leviticus. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1989, Print).  

     This picture shows us  that we can have peace with God and know for sure that He has forgiven all our sins.  When we don't have peace, it's hard to have boldness to come to God. Many times in the face of Satan's accusation I have spoken by faith Hebrews 10:22:  Let us come forward to the Holy of Holies with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.  And that has really helped me. 

 You can listen to excerpts of Witness Lee's speaking the Life-Study of Leviticus on Life Study of the Bible  with Witness Lee.   You can also read the online Life-Studies of Leviticus and check out other resources available to enhance your study of the Bible on Living Stream Ministry's website.

Other Posts on Leviticus:

What is the Purpose of the Offerings in Leviticus 1:2?
Why Does Leviticus Start with the Burnt Offering in Leviticus 1:4?
What is the spiritual Meaning of the Meal Offering in Leviticus 2:1?
Taking a Closer Look at the Peace Offering in Leviticus 3:1
What Do You Know About Christ as the Sin Offering? 
What is the Meaning of the Trespass Offering in Leviticus 5?

Ray's BBQ Chicken

A few weeks ago I wanted to try a new BBQ sauce.  This one comes from one of my daughter-in-law's family reunion cookbooks; it's from her cousin Ray.  Pretty tasty.  

Ray's BBQ Chicken - for 2 pounds

1.  In a medium-size bowl put:  (Double this if you have more chicken!)
(1)  1/2 cup of maple syrup (I used 1/4 cup of maple syrup and 1/4 cup agave nectar)
(2)  2 T of apple cider vinegar
(3)  1/2 cup of ketchup
(4)  2 T of yellow mustard
(5)  1 tsp. of gluten free tamari
(6)  1 minced onion

2.  Prepare chicken: 
(1)  Skin 2 pounds of cut up chicken.  
(2)  Put it in a 9 x 13 pan
(3)  Pour marinade over it and put in the fridge for 4+ hours turning occasionally.
(4)  Drain off the marinade into a small saucepan.  Right before you're ready to transfer the chicken to a baking sheet (step 2 below), heat the marinade to boiling, and let boil for 2 minutes.

3.  Bake chicken
(1)  Bake chicken at 250 for 20-30 minutes or until the juices drain.
(2)  Remove chicken and put on a baking sheet.  Chicken will bake at 250 for 1 hour or until done.
(3)  Baste with marinade while baking.    

List of other chicken recipes on this blog:

Asian:
Authentic Chinese BBQ Chicken  (From my friend Rose)
Gluten Free Soy Sauce Chicken   (Modified from Internet search)
Tasty Gluten Free Filipino Chicken Adobo  (Modified from Internet search)
Gluten Free Sweet & Sour Chicken (From my church cookbook, Come & Dine)

Italian & Greek:
Chicken Souvlaki   (Marinade for chicken from my son-in-law)
Gluten Free Chicken Cacciatore With Peppers & Mushrooms  (Modified from my mother-in-law)
Delicious Gluten Free Chicken Parmesan   (From my church cookbook, Come & Dine)
My Son-in-Law's Own Recipe for Greek Chicken

Mexican:
Pollo Guisado (Mexican Braised Chicken)  (From a church friend in Phoenix)
Belizean Chicken, Black Beans & Rice, and Belizean Coleslaw  (From my daughter's family)

American Favorites:
Amazing BBQ Chicken    (From my daughter-in-law's family reunion cookbook)
The Best Gluten Free Oven Fried Chicken   (From my sister-in-law)
Fantastic Gluten Free Chicken Kabobs  (From my church cookbook, Come & Dine)
Great for Summer BBQ - Lemon Rosemary Chicken Legs  (From my church cookbook, Come & Dine)
Curried Mushroom & Apple Chicken  (From my church cookbook Come & Dine)
The Best Homemade Chicken BBQ Sauce  (From my daughter-in-law's family reunion cookbook)
A Gluten Free Twist on Tarragon Chicken - From my  church Come & Dine cookbook
Saucy Chicken 
Chicken & Mushrooms in Wine Sauce   - From my church Come & Dine cookbook

Chicken Casseroles
Chicken Divan  - From my Come & Dine Cookbook

Chicken Pot Pie - A combination of 3 different recipes!

What is the Spiritual Meaning of the Meal Offering in Leviticus 2:1?

    Not all the offerings were animal sacrifices.  God's word about the meal offering in Leviticus 2 probably reminded the Israelites about their ancestors eating unleavened bread on the night of the Passover (Exodus 12:8,15) because they were pretty similar.  I learned from reading the  Life-Study of Exodus that leaven in the Bible always signifies what is sinful, evil, and corrupt in the eyes of God. 

A friend texted me this beautiful picture.

The footnote in my Recovery Version of the Bible  on Exodus 12:8  references 1 Corinthians 5:6-8. In these verses Paul is reprimanding the church in Corinth and telling them that a little leaven in the church would eventually leaven them all. Then Paul flashbacks to the Passover story in Exodus and tells them that they need to keep the feast with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.  

  
  Only Christ is unleavened without any sin or impurity.  As such He represents the fine flour as Witness Lee states in chapter 11 of The Life-Study of Leviticus . Christ's humanity is perfect, even, balanced, and right in every way.  Oil in the Bible always represents the Spirit of God.  In the meal offering presented in Leviticus 2 we see so many details about Christ's life:   

And when anyone presents an offering of a meal offering to Jehovah, his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil on it and put frankincense on it....And when you present an offering of a meal offering baked in the oven, it shall be of fine flour, unleavened cakes mingled with oil or unleavened wafers anointed with oil....And every offering of your meal offering you shall season with salt,...  Leviticus 2:1, 4, 13A

     The meal offering had frankincense sprinkled on it, and this signifies Christ's fragrant resurrection. In chapter 11 he says that Christ's human living always had the aroma of resurrection. In verse 13 God commands that every meal offering must be seasoned with salt.  I add salt to my food for flavor, but in the Bible salt represents something that kills corruption.  In chapter 13 I learned that salt signifies the cross of Christ that puts to death anything corrupting in our relationships with other believers in the Body of Christ.  

   I am very thankful that Witness Lee was faithful to speak the truth about how the picture in Leviticus of flour and oil mingled together was a type of Christ being a mingling of divinity with humanity.  On pages 111-113 he talks about that:

In the early part of the Christian era, there was much debate about the matter of the mingling of divinity with humanity. Some theologians thought that to speak of being mingled with God implied the belief that a person could become God....Eventually theologians did not dare to use the word mingle or to teach concerning the mingling of humanity with divinity.  Why then are we so bold as to use this term today. We speak of mingling because there is such a revelation in the Bible. Our teaching concerning the divine mingling with humanity is based on the New Testament revelation and is also confirmed by the Old Testament types.....Verse 4 speaks of "fine flour mingled with oil." Oil denotes divinity, and fine flour denotes Christ's humanity....Because  the Lord Jesus is God incarnated to be a man, He is a God-man. Do you think that His divinity can be separated from His humanity, or that apart from any mingling, His divinity and humanity are merely united to make Him a God-man?...However, this mingling of divinity and humanity surely has not produced a third element, something  that is neither divine nor human (Lee, Witness. Life-Study of Leviticus. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1989, Print).

      What really opened my eyes was learning that way back in the fourth century Athanasius, who was a deacon of the Church in Alexandria, fought for this truth when Arius, who was another deacon of the same church, started to promote the heresy that Christ was not fully divine.  Athanasius not only saw that Jesus was both God and man, but also he saw the reason.  His known for some awesome quotes on the incarnation, and here's one of them:  

 "He Became what we are that we might become what He is."  

     I've heard a lot of messages on this truth, and I've also read a lot of Life-Studies and books that have made this truth clear.  What's touched me the most is seeing that God arranges all the circumstances of our lives so that we would open our hearts to Him in prayer.  All of our conversations with God and prayers give Him the opportunity to mingle more with us. And this is what causes us like Athanasius said to become what He is. This is what the Apostle John was writing about it in his first Epistle when he said:

Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been manifested what we will be. We know that if He is manifested, we will be like Him because we will see Him even as He is.

  1 John 3:2

You can listen to excerpts of Witness Lee's speaking the Life-Study of Leviticus on Life Study of the Bible  with Witness Lee.   You can also read the online Life-Studies of Leviticus and check out other resources available to enhance your study of the Bible on Living Stream Ministry's website.

Other Posts on Leviticus:

What is the Purpose of the Offerings in Leviticus 1:2?
Why Does Leviticus Start with the Burnt Offering in Leviticus 1:4?
What is the spiritual Meaning of the Meal Offering in Leviticus 2:1?
Taking a Closer Look at the Peace Offering in Leviticus 3:1
What Do You Know About Christ as the Sin Offering? 
What is the Meaning of the Trespass Offering in Leviticus 5?

The Gluten Free Version of Those Famous Neiman Marcus Cookies

 We had a snow day on Thursday and so I was rummaging through a family reunion cookbook from my son's wife looking for a cookie recipe.  Her family has a lot of great recipes that I've tried, and many of them I've posted on this blog.  Anyway I saw this recipe for Neiman Marcus cookies. Years ago I heard a story about how this store's recipe became available, but I have long forgotten it.  I just never made them before and wanted to try them out.  

We were not disappointed!  They are one of the best chocolate cookies I've had!!

 Gluten Free Neiman Marcus Cookies  

 1/2 Recipe makes about 4 dozen large cookies

1.  Cream 1 cup of butter with 1 cup of brown sugar and 1 cup of white sugar.

2.  Add 2 eggs and 1 teaspoon of vanilla and beat until well combined.

3.  Prepare dry ingredients - In a medium-sized mixing bowl put:
(1)  2 cups of gluten free flour - I used 1 cup of white rice flour, 1/2 cup of sorghum flour, and 1/2 cup of tapioca flour.  
(2)  Put in a blender 2 1/2 cups of oatmeal and grind it up. (Because this was my first time making this recipe, I didn't pay close attention to the fact that I needed to blend up the oats so I just threw them in like I usually do.  These cookies still came out amazing!) 
(3)  Add leavening:  1 teaspoon of baking powder and baking soda.  Also add 1/2 teaspoon salt.
(4)  Grate up 4 oz of a Hershey bar.  I didn't have a Hershey's bar laying around, and because I used chunky chocolate chips that had to be chopped up, I got a lot of fine pieces of chocolate from doing that.

4.  Gradually add the flour to the creamed mixture.

5.  Stir in 12 oz. of chocolate chips and 3 cups of chopped walnuts/pecans or whatever you like.  

6.  Roll into 1" balls and place 2 inches apart on parchment paper. The recipe doesn't call for using parchment paper, but half way through I got some out because a lot of them were sticking to the pan.  I usually bake about 6 cookies to check and see how much they spread out.  These did spread out a bit too much, so I added about 1/3 cup more of sorghum flour and a handful of oatmeal.  

7.  Bake at 350 for 8-9 minutes.  Let them finish baking on the pan for 1-2 minutes and then put on a wire rack to cool.

Other Gluten Free Baking & Desserts on This Blog:

Breads & Coffee Cakes: 
Gluten free & Low-fat Banana Bread    (From my daughter-in-law's family reunion cookbook)
Celebrate Fall With Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread  (A friend's recipe)
Delicious Gluten Free Zucchini Bread (From my Heritage School Cookbook)
My Favorite Gluten Free Cranberry Nut Bread  (From my daughter-in-law's family cookbook)
Claudia's Blueberry Coffee Cake (Made Gluten Free!)   (From a former neighbor)
Here's a Zucchini Bread with a Hawaiian Twist! Gluten Free Pineapple Zucchini Bread (From my Syre School Cookbook)
Dot's Old Fashioned Pumpkin Bread   (From my father's friend)


Cakes:
Gluten Free German Apple Cake   (From my grandmother)
You Won't Believe It's Gluten Free Carrot Cake (From my daughter's husband's grandma--whew)
Judi's Super Moist Gluten Free Chocolate Cake    (From a church friend)
Judi's Gluten Free Orange Chiffon Cake    (From a church friend)
Marilyn's Spectacular Gluten Free Oatmeal Cake   (My mother-in-law's specialty!)
The Best Gluten Free Black Bottom Cupcakes   (From my Heritage School Cookbook)
Delicious Gluten Free Rhubarb Cake   (From my daughter-in-law's family reunion cookbook)
Grandma's Gluten Free Applesauce Cake   (From an Internet search--tastes like my grandma's!)
Old Fashioned Gluten Free Banana Cake   (From my grandmother)
Rosie's Gluten Free Pineapple Upside Down Cake   (From my daughter-in-law's family reunion cookbook)
Overwhelmed By Your Bumper Crop of Zucchini? Try Claudia's Gluten Free Chocolate Zucchini Cake!   (From my former neighbor Claudia of 12 years)
Scrumptious Gluten Free Blackberry Cake   
Decadent & Gluten Free German Chocolate Cake  (From my Come & Dine church cookbook)
Debbie's Delicious Hot Water GF Chocolate Cake   (From my Come & Dine cookbook)
Debbie's Less Oil Carrot Cake (Made Gluten Free!)   (From my Come & Dine cookbook)
Jud's Crazy Cake (You Can Easily Make It Gluten Free!)  (From a church friend)

Cookies:
The Ultimate Gluten Free Cowboy Oatmeal Cookies   (From my Heritage School Cookbook)
Mom's Go To For Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies (From my Heritage School Cookbook)
The Best Gluten Free Recipe for Snickerdoodles    (From my Heritage School Cookbook)
Gluten Free Rocky Road Brownies    (From a church friend)
Mark's Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies - Made Gluten Free!   (From my daughter-in-law's family reunion cookbook)
Judi's Gluten Free Oatmeal Craisin & Coconut Cookies (From a church friend)
Marie's Old Fashioned Molasses Cookies (Also Great Gluten Free!)   (My friend Marie's recipe)
Bebe's Gluten Free Whoopie Pies  (From my friend Debbie)
Gluten Free Coconut Chocolate Chip Macaroons  - (Recipe on Baker's bag of coconut)
Dale's Gingersnaps Made Gluten Free  (From my Come & Dine cookbook)
Chewy Gluten Free Molasses Cookies (From my daughter-in-law's Family Reunion Cookbook)

Cornbread & Rolls:
Beth's Amazing Gluten Free Cornbread   (From my Heritage School Cookbook)
Judi's Favorite Gluten Free Buttermilk Biscuits   (My friend Judi's sister's recipe)

Crisps & Pies:
Lena's Rhubarb Crunch (A crisp with a gluten free top and bottom crust!) (My daughter-in-law's mother. She's an amazing cook, which I think most of us moms become after a few years!)
Delicious Gluten Free Apple Crisp    (From my Heritage School Cookbook)
Ginger's Outrageous Apple Pie    (From a church friend)
The BEST Lemon Meringue Pie with Mrs. Lauralicious Gluten Free Pie Crust  (Internet)
My Grandmother's Favorite Banana Cream Pie  (A recipe from my grandmother)
Granny's Lemon Cheesecake Squares   (From my friend Judi's granny)
Simple & Gluten Free Chocolate Cream Pie   (From my Syre School Cookbook)
Judi's No Fail Gluten Free Pie Crust    (From my friend Judi)

Desserts with Fruit:
Sensational Gluten Free Strawberry Shortcake   (From the back of Costco's organic sugar)

Terrific Gluten Free Strawberry & Peach Trifle  (Modified from an Internet search)
My Favorite Gluten Free Strawberry Cheesecake (From my Heritage School Cookbook)
Just Like Grandma's (But Only Gluten Free) Berry Cobbler (My husband's grandma's recipe)
Gluten Free Lemony Rhubarb Bars (From my Syre School Cookbook)
Old Fashioned Strawberry Buckle (Made Gluten Free)   (A recipe I picked up from a berry farm)
From New Zealand - Triple Berry Pavlova  (A friend's recipe - Heritage School Cookbook)

Holiday Cookies & Baking:

Old Fashioned Gluten Free Pumpkin Cookies  (Modified from back of the Libby's pumpkin can)
My Family's Favorite Gingerbread Cookies (Now Made Gluten Free!)  (From my Heritage School Cookbook)
My Grandkids Favorite Gluten Free Peppermint Sugar Cookies  (From Syre School Cookbook)
Our Favorite Pumpkin Pie   (With extra spice-- from back of Libby's pumpkin can)
Perfect Gluten Free Pumpkin Cheesecake   (From back of cream cheese box)
Gluten Free Polish Fruitcake  ( Modified from Internet search)
Old Fashioned Gluten Free Gingerbread Cake   (From my Heritage School Cookbook)
Gluten Free Nordy Bars  ( From my Syre School Cookbook)
Grandma Pitcher's Old Fashioned Sandies (Made Gluten Free)  (My husband's grandma)
Make a Family Tradition & Make Your Own Fruitcake    (From my Heritage School Cookbook)
Homemade Gluten Free Butter Cookies  (From my Heritage School Cookbook)

Muffins:

My Favorite Banana Nut Muffins   (From my daughter-in-law's family reunion cookbook)
Gluten Free Tremendous Pumpkin Muffins   (From my Heritage School Cookbook)
Bursting with Blueberries Gluten Free Muffins   (From my Heritage School Cookbook)
Toni's Outrageous Gluten Free Corn Muffins    (From back of a Bob's Red Mill package)
Sassy Gluten Free Apple Cinnamon Muffins  (From my Heritage School Cookbook)

Puddings & Ice Cream: 

Dairy Free Strawberry Coconut Ice Cream (And other ice cream favorites!) (From searches)

Baked Coconut Pudding   (Something I worked out from my Aunt Sue's rice pudding recipe)

Tangy Lemon Pudding   (From my daughter-in-laws family reunion cookbook)