Fellowship Offerings

2 Samuel 24:18-25 – On that day Gad went to David and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” So David went up, as the Lord had commanded through Gad. When Araunah looked and saw the king and his officials coming toward him, he went out and bowed down before the king with his face to the ground. Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” “To buy your threshing floor,” David answered, “so I can build an altar to the Lord, that the plague on the people may be stopped.” Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take whatever he wishes and offer it up. Here are oxen for the burnt offering, and here are threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood. Your Majesty, Araunah gives all this to the king.” Araunah also said to him, “May the Lord your God accept you.” But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of silver for them. David built an altar to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the Lord answered his prayer in behalf of the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped.

Genesis 22:2 – Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”

Leviticus 1:3 – “‘If the offering is a burnt offering from the herd, you are to offer a male without defect. You must present it at the entrance to the tent of meeting so that it will be acceptable to the Lord.

1 Samuel 11:15 – So all the people went to Gilgal and made Saul king in the presence of the Lord. There they sacrificed fellowship offerings before the Lord, and Saul and all the Israelites held a great celebration.

Leviticus 3:1 – “‘If your offering is a fellowship offering, and you offer an animal from the herd, whether male or female, you are to present before the Lord an animal without defect.

Leviticus 7:16 – “‘If, however, their offering is the result of a vow or is a freewill offering, the sacrifice shall be eaten on the day they offer it, but anything left over may be eaten on the next day.

Application:

• ·         The author of Chronicles identifies the region of Moriah as the temple mount in Jerusalem. Today “Mount Moriah” is occupied by the Dome of the Rock, an impressive Muslim structure erected in AD 691.
• ·         A burnt offering was offered every morning and evening for all Israel. Double burnt offerings were brought on the Sabbath and extra ones on festival days. In addition, anyone could offer special burnt offerings to express devotion to the Lord. The burnt offering had to be a male animal because of its greater value, and also perhaps because it was thought to better represent vigor and fertility. The burnt offering may have been the usual sacrifice offered by the patriarchs. The entrance to the ten of meeting was where the altar of burnt offering was.
• ·         Reconciliation and restoration of covenant fellowship were obtained by the king’s repentance, intercessory prayer and the offering of sacrifices.
• ·         Fellowship offerings were an important element in the original ceremony of covenant ratification at Sinai.
• ·         The fellowship offering was the only sacrifice of which the offerer might eat a part.
• ·         A vow was a solemn promise to offer a gift to God in response to a divine deliverance or blessing. Such vows often accompanied prayers for deliverance or blessing.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV