Why does all fat belong to the Lord?

The priest shall burn them on the altar as food, an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma. All the fat is the LORD's.Lev 3:16

Today in our culture the word "fat" has negative connotations. Our ideal male and female forms are slender and thin; none of us wants to be called "fat." But for most cultures in most times, this has not been the case. Since most people in the history of our planet have lived in poverty, only the prosperous could become fat. So those who are heavier than average tend to be those who are prosperous.

We found this to be the case in rural Kenya. There, if your wife looks like a fashion model, other men feel sorry for you. To call a child "very fat" is a great compliment to the parents. When a person earns a good bit of money, almost always their girth goes up with their income.

I suspect the Israelites had a similar attitude towards fat. Indeed, the word "fat" is used in the Bible in positive ways. Consider Genesis 45:18, where Pharaoh is speaking to Joseph:

'I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you shall eat the fat of the land.' (NASB)

The "fat of the land" is the best of the land, the produce of the land. Fat is an image of abundance and prosperity.

Consider also Numbers 18:12

All the best of the fresh oil and all the best of the fresh wine and of the grain, the first fruits of those which they give to the LORD, I give them to you. (NASB)

The word "fat" doesn't appear in our English translations. But the word translated "best" by the NAS and "finest" by the NIV is the same Hebrew word, "fat." Now, wine has no fat in it. But the "fat of the wine" is the best wine, the finest wine. This is why all fat belongs to the Lord; the fat represents the finest parts of our lives.

So by offering all fat to the Lord, we are reminded that all good things come from him. Whatever we have that makes life worth living is from God. James puts it this way:

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights. (James 1:17 NASB)

In order to have peace, we need to know that God is the source of all goodness -- and that there is nothing good in our lives except what comes from God. We don’t deserve what we have, we did not earn what we have, and thus we need to offer everything that is good back to God in thanksgiving.

This is a basic requirement for peace. If we are trying to hold onto what we have, protect ourselves from losing what we have, then the more we have the more we worry. If we can hold what we have lightly, with confidence that God is sovereign, we are in position to have peace.