the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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Bible Dictionaries
Fat
Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary
or In Scripture language there is something of great importance in this word. It is used upon many occasions to signify the best of the thing to whatsoever it is applied. Thus the fat of the earth is made use of to denote the whole of temporal blessings. Thus Isaac's prophetical blessings to Jacob. (Genesis 27:28) "God give thee of the dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine." And as these temporal blessings were the consequence of spiritual mercies, and these all founded in Christ, nothing can be plainer than that the fatness had an eye to Him, in whom all nations of the earth were to be blessed. Hence, with reference to the same, the Psalmist saith, "My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness." (Psalms 63:5)
The soul cannot be satisfied with earthly things; but these are figurative expressions, to intimate the soul-enriching blessings in Jesus. Now from these explanations, we may discover what was all along alluded to in the fat of the Jewish offerings. If the reader will consult the Old Testament on the subject, he will find that in all the offerings made by fire, the fat was wholly the Lord's. (Leviticus 2:9-16) And as it was uniformly connected with the blood of the altar, it should seem to have been intended all along to mean Christ. And hence it should seem also to have been meant in allusion to the wicked who despise Christ, that they setup their own righteousness in opposition to the righteousness of Jesus. Thus Jeshurun "waxed fat and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick; thou art covered with fatness. Then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock (the Christ) of his salvation." (Deuteronomy 32:15) Hence also, such characters are said to be "enclosed in their own fat." (Psalms 17:10) If these views be well founded, it may serve also by way of additional testimony to the truth of Scripture, that the law in all points was but a shadow, the body is Christ. And JEHOVAH so strikingly saying, "all the fat is the Lord's," (Leviticus 3:16) sets forth that Christ is the Christ of God. (1 Corinthians 3:23)
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Hawker, Robert D.D. Entry for 'Fat'. Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance and Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/pmd/f/fat.html. London. 1828.
