What role do the "two lambs" play in the sacrificial system of Leviticus? Setting the Scene – Leviticus 23:15-22 • Israel reaches the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot), fifty days after Firstfruits. • God commands a unique combination: new-grain loaves baked with leaven, numerous burnt offerings, a sin offering, and “two year-old male lambs” offered as a peace (fellowship) offering. “You are also to offer one male goat as a sin offering, and two year-old male lambs as a peace offering. The priest is to wave them together with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before the LORD; they will be holy to the LORD for the priest.” What Happens to the Two Lambs? • They are placed in the peace-offering category, not burnt up in their entirety. • The priest waves (elevates) them before the LORD, declaring that they belong to Him first. • After the wave rite, the lambs become the priest’s sacred portion—shared food that God Himself has set apart. Why Two Lambs? • Witness of completeness: “Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses” (Deuteronomy 19:15). Two lambs stand as an agreed testimony that fellowship with God has truly been secured. • Correspondence to the two leavened loaves (v. 17). Bread for the people, lambs for the priest—mutual sharing that pictures unity between God, priesthood, and worshiper. • Balance of atonement and celebration: the preceding sin offering addresses guilt; the paired lambs celebrate restored peace (Romans 5:1). The Role These Lambs Play in the Larger Sacrificial System • Peace-Offering Prototype – While burnt offerings emphasize total consecration and sin offerings deal with guilt, peace offerings celebrate communion (Leviticus 3). – These two lambs anchor the joyous side of sacrifice, showing that life with God culminates in fellowship, not merely forgiveness. • Provision for the Priesthood – Many peace offerings return portions to the worshiper (Leviticus 7:15). Here the entire meat goes to the priest, underscoring that spiritual leaders live from the altar (1 Corinthians 9:13-14). • Link to Daily Worship – Two lambs are also the daily burnt offering (Numbers 28:3-4). In that rhythm God meets Israel morning and evening; at Pentecost He intensifies the picture by turning the lambs into a fellowship meal. Constant access plus celebratory intimacy. Christ Foreshadowed • Jesus is the true “Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). • At His cross both atonement (sin offering) and reconciliation (peace offering) converge (Colossians 1:19-20). • Just as two lambs are waved with leavened loaves, the risen Christ is presented with a multi-ethnic harvest (Acts 2) made of imperfect people (“leavened”), yet accepted because of the Lamb. Living the Picture Today • Fellowship with God is a gift already waved on our behalf (Hebrews 10:19-22). • Spiritual leaders still feed on what belongs to the LORD, reminding the church that ministry resources flow from His provision (1 Peter 5:2-4). • Every communal worship gathering echoes Pentecost: forgiven sinners celebrating peace through the Lamb, offering the “fruit of lips that confess His name” (Hebrews 13:15). In sum, the two lambs of Leviticus 23 stand as a double witness of restored fellowship, a priestly provision, and a prophetic signpost pointing to the perfect, once-for-all Lamb who secures unending peace between God and His people. |
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