Leviticus 7:22-38 NKJV
22 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 23 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘You shall not eat any fat, of ox or sheep or goat. 24 And the fat of an animal that dies naturally, and the fat of what is torn by wild beasts, may be used in any other way; but you shall by no means eat it. 25 For whoever eats the fat of the animal of which men offer an offering made by fire to the Lord, the person who eats it shall be cut off from his people. 26 Moreover you shall not eat any blood in any of your dwellings, whether of bird or beast. 27 Whoever eats any blood, that person shall be cut off from his people.’ ”
28 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 29 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘He who offers the sacrifice of his peace offering to the Lord shall bring his offering to the Lord from the sacrifice of his peace offering. 30 His own hands shall bring the offerings made by fire to the Lord. The fat with the breast he shall bring, that the breast may be waved as a wave offering before the Lord. 31 And the priest shall burn the fat on the altar, but the breast shall be Aaron’s and his sons’. 32 Also the right thigh you shall give to the priest as a heave offering from the sacrifices of your peace offerings. 33 He among the sons of Aaron, who offers the blood of the peace offering and the fat, shall have the right thigh for his part. 34 For the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the heave offering I have taken from the children of Israel, from the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and I have given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons from the children of Israel by a statute forever.’ ”
35 This is the consecrated portion for Aaron and his sons, from the offerings made by fire to the Lord, on the day when Moses presented them to minister to the Lord as priests. 36 The Lord commanded this to be given to them by the children of Israel, on the day that He anointed them, by a statute forever throughout their generations.
37 This is the law of the burnt offering, the grain offering, the sin offering, the trespass offering, the consecrations, and the sacrifice of the peace offering, 38 which the Lord commanded Moses on Mount Sinai, on the day when He commanded the children of Israel to offer their offerings to the Lord in the Wilderness of Sinai.
Though we are not told why, the consumption of fat from a sacrificed animal was an offense against God which, along with the consumption of blood, resulted in divine excommunication of the offender from the people of Israel and life with God. The phrase, “and shall be cut off” refers to what amounts to divine excommunication of the offender from the people of Israel, for God Himself enacts this punishment. It also implies that the “life” of that person will come to an end, for the “life” of an animal, as it is with humans, is the blood. No blood, no life.
The priests were the keepers of God’s house, and the administrators of His affairs; thus they received their livelihood directly from God rather than the land. He assigned certain portions of the offerings to them and their families so they could devote themselves fully to God’s service, without working the land or seeking other supplementary employment.
This reminds us at the very least that your faithful pastor also receives his livelihood from his faithful preaching and administration of God’s gifts to you. Even though some congregations are not big enough to support a pastor fully, they should do everything in their power to take care of his and his family’s needs.
When Jesus sent out His apostles, He decreed that they were to receive food and other necessities as a free gift from those who heard the Gospel (Mt 10:8-10). Those ministers of the Gospel were entitled to receive their livelihood from it (I Cor 9:13-14). Since they were involved in God’s holy work, they got their living from the holy offerings that were offered to God in the Divine Service and consecrated for sacred use. The ministers of the Word therefore depend on God for their living. He supports them through the sacred gifts that He receives as an offering from the congregation.
Let us pray: Thank You, Lord, for my faithful pastor, and help me to provide for his needs as He faithfully delivers Your gifts. Amen.