Leviticus 3

1 And if his offering is given for a peace-offering; if he gives of the herd, male or female, let him give it without any mark on it, before the Lord.

2 And he is to put his hand on the head of his offering and put it to death at the door of the Tent of meeting; and Aaron's sons, the priests, are to put some of the blood on and round the altar.

3 And he is to give of the peace-offering, as an offering made by fire to the Lord; the fat covering the inside parts and all the fat on the inside parts,

4 And the two kidneys, and the fat on them, which is by the top part of the legs, and the fat joining the liver and the kidneys, he is to take away;

5 That it may be burned by Aaron's sons on the altar, on the burned offering which is on the wood on the fire: it is an offering made by fire of a sweet smell to the Lord.

6 And if what he gives for a peace-offering to the Lord is of the flock, let him give a male or female, without any mark on it.

7 If his offering is a lamb, then let it be placed before the Lord:

8 And he is to put his hand on the head of his offering and put it to death before the Tent of meeting; and Aaron's sons are to put some of its blood on and round the altar.

9 And of the peace-offering, let him give an offering made by fire to the Lord; the fat of it, all the fat tail, he is to take away near the backbone; and the fat covering the inside parts and all the fat on the inside parts,

10 And the two kidneys, with the fat on them, which is by the top part of the legs, and the fat joining the liver and the kidneys, he is to take away;

11 That it may be burned by the priest on the altar; it is the food of the offering made by fire to the Lord.

12 And if his offering is a goat, then let it be placed before the Lord,

13 And let him put his hand on the head of it and put it to death before the Tent of meeting; and the sons of Aaron are to put some of its blood on and round the altar.

14 And of it let him make his offering, an offering made by fire to the Lord; the fat covering the inside parts and all the fat on the inside parts,

15 And the two kidneys, with the fat on them, which is by the top part of the legs, and the fat joining the liver and the kidneys, let him take away;

16 That it may be burned by the priest on the altar; it is the food of the offering made by fire for a sweet smell: all the fat is the Lord's.

17 Let it be an order for ever, through all your generations, in all your houses, that you are not to take fat or blood for food.

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Leviticus 3 Commentary

Chapter 3

The peace-offering of the herd. (1-5) The peace-offering of the flock. (6-17)

Verses 1-5 The peace-offerings had regard to God as the giver of all good things. These were divided between the altar, the priest, and the owner. They were called peace-offering, because in them God and his people did, as it were, feast together, in token of friendship. The peace-offerings were offered by way of supplication. If a man were in pursuit of any mercy, he would add a peace-offering to his prayer for it. Christ is our Peace, our Peace-offering; for through him alone it is that we can obtain an answer of peace to our prayers. Or, the peace-offering was offered by way of thanksgiving for some mercy received. We must offer to God the sacrifice of praise continually, by Christ our Peace; and then this shall please the Lord better than an ox or bullock.

Verses 6-17 Here is a law that they should eat neither fat nor blood. As for the fat, it means the fat of the inwards, the suet. The blood was forbidden for the same reason; because it was God's part of every sacrifice. God would not permit the blood that made atonement to be used as a common thing, ( Hebrews 10:29 ) ; nor will he allow us, though we have the comfort of the atonement made, to claim for ourselves any share in the honour of making it. This taught the Jews to observe distinction between common and sacred things; it kept them separate from idolaters. It would impress them more deeply with the belief of some important mystery in the shedding of the blood and the burning the fat of their solemn sacrifices. Christ, as the Prince of peace, "made peace with the blood of his cross." Through him the believer is reconciled to God; and having the peace of God in his heart, he is disposed to follow peace with all men. May the Lord multiply grace, mercy, and peace, to all who desire to bear the Christian character.

Taken from Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Concise)

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS 3

This chapter contains the law of the peace offerings, and gives an account what they consisted of, and of the various rites and ceremonies used at them, as of the bullock and the rites appertaining to that, Le 3:1-5 and of the lamb, and of the rites peculiar to it, Le 3:6-11 and of the goat, and of the rites belonging to it, Le 3:12-16 and the chapter is concluded with a law forbidding the eating of fat and blood throughout their dwellings for ever, Le 3:17.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible