Leviticus 7:1-21
Q.1. How was the guilt offering described? What parts of the guilt and grain offerings belonged to God? What could the priests eat? – (Lev.7:1-10)
The guilt offerings were most holy and were to be eaten by the priests in the holy place, not in the courtyard of the people (Lev.7:1 & 6). All these offerings belonged to God. The fat that covered the entrails, the kidneys, and livers were to be offered in their entirety – in the smoke on the altar as an offering of fire to the Lord (Lev.7:5). However, the guilt and grain offerings – shall belong to all the sons of Aaron, to all alike (Lev.7:10). The priests were also given the skins of the burnt offerings (Lev.7:8). The Lord protected the priests from eating the portions that would not be good for them. He ensured that there was adequate meat to eat, and also skins for making leather goods.
Q.2. To whom did the peace offering belong? When was it to be eaten by the priests and offeror? What made the food inedible? – (Lev.7:11-21)
The peace offerings were presented to the Lord at thanksgiving (Lev.7:11-13). Whatever was offered – it shall belong to the priest who sprinkles the blood of the peace offerings (Lev.7:14). Peace offerings and the freewill offerings were to be eaten within a day or two at most – 17 but what is left over from the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burned with fire. 18 So if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings should ever be eaten on the third day, he who offers it will not be accepted, and it will not be reckoned to his benefit. It shall be an offensive thing, and the person who eats of it will bear his own iniquity (Lev.7:17-18). These prohibitions were applied for the protection of the priestly families. They also had to take care that the food would not to be contaminated by the touching of – anything unclean, whether human uncleanness, or an unclean animal, or any unclean detestable thing (Lev.7:21). Such carelessness would mean – that person shall be cut off from his people (Lev.7:20 & 21). The priests would not have understood the medical significance of reducing the spread of infection. This reveals clearly that these many laws were from God Who created all things, and Who knew about the spread of disease, millennia before the scientific discoveries of Louis Pasteur and others.