Introduction
‘The LORD said to Moses, ‘Say to the Israelites: ‘When anyone sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD’s commands—’ Leviticus 4:1-2
THE SIN OFFERING
Once again we’re reminded that it’s God who’s speaking to Moses, Leviticus 4:1. Orally God had given commands, Moses had instilled in them time and time again the commands of God. In the Book of Deuteronomy, he gathers them all together in the plains of Moab and goes through the entire law with them. God through Moses, through the priests to the people were familiar with the law and what it taught and their proper response to it, Deuteronomy 12-26.
The offerings and sacrifices and the regulations which go with them originate from God, not Moses. An offering is something God has given to man, Leviticus 17:11. The first three offerings were offered as acts of worship but this offering is made for atonement for sin. These offerings have to happen when the people sinned and the priests themselves. The sin-offerings were not accompanied by meat-offerings or drink-offerings, Numbers 15:3-11.
Unintentional sins, Leviticus 4:2 / Leviticus 4:13 / Leviticus 4:22 / Leviticus 4:27, means missing the mark and there are two categories of motive mentioned here. First, there is missing the mark deliberately or willingly and missing the mark through weakness of the flesh. In the Old Testament, no provision was made for a deliberate sin, the offender was put to death, Exodus 31:12 / Exodus 35:2 / Numbers 15:32-36 / Leviticus 24:10-23. The lack of knowledge was not then and is not now, an excuse for the sin that they committed, Hebrews 10:26.
Meyrick, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Despite the fact of these other offerings having been outlined first, Leviticus 1-3, it was always the sin-offering or the guilt-offering which was first offered in the case of multiple sacrifices. The other three were presented first in the text because, “they were already in existence, and had existed from the time of the Fall.’
THE PRIEST’S OFFERING
‘If the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, he must bring to the LORD a young bull without defect as a sin offering for the sin he has committed. He is to present the bull at the entrance to the tent of meeting before the LORD. He is to lay his hand on its head and slaughter it there before the LORD. Then the anointed priest shall take some of the bull’s blood and carry it into the tent of meeting. He is to dip his finger into the blood and sprinkle some of it seven times before the LORD, in front of the curtain of the sanctuary. The priest shall then put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense that is before the LORD in the tent of meeting. The rest of the bull’s blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the tent of meeting. He shall remove all the fat from the bull of the sin offering—all the fat that is connected to the internal organs, both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which he will remove with the kidneys—just as the fat is removed from the ox sacrificed as a fellowship offering. Then the priest shall burn them on the altar of burnt offering. But the hide of the bull and all its flesh, as well as the head and legs, the internal organs, and the intestines—that is, all the rest of the bull—he must take outside the camp to a place ceremonially clean, where the ashes are thrown, and burn it there in a wood fire on the ash heap.’ Leviticus 4:3-12
If the anointed priest sins, that is the high priest, Leviticus 8:12 / Leviticus 21:10 / Exodus 29:7, bringing guilt on the people he must bring a young bull without defect as a sin offering for the sin he has committed, Leviticus 4:3. For unintentional sins, the priest offered a bull without defect, Leviticus 4:3 / Leviticus 4:23 / Leviticus 4:28 / Leviticus 4:32 / 2 Corinthians 5:21, and for sins against holy things, the sacrifice was to God, Leviticus 5:14-16. For sins against a neighbour, the sacrifice was made to God and a full restoration of property plus one-fifth was made to the neighbour, Leviticus 6:1-7.
A young bull was sacrificed for the purpose of the consecration of priests and Levites to their office. For the high priest on the Day of Atonement, Leviticus 16:3, for the sin of the high priest, Leviticus 4:3, for the sin of the entire congregation, Leviticus 4:13.
The priest is to present the bull at the entrance to the tent of meeting, lay his hand on its head and slaughter it there, Leviticus 4:4 / Leviticus 4:15 / Leviticus 4:24 / Leviticus 4:29 / Leviticus 4:33 / Leviticus 1:4. Next, the priest is to take some of the bull’s blood and carry it into the tent of meeting, Leviticus 4:5.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The treatment of the blood was special in the sin-offerings. In the inferior sin-offerings it was smeared on the horns of the altar of burnt-offering, Leviticus 4:25 / Leviticus 4:30 / Leviticus 4:34, while in this offering for the high priest, and in that for the nation, the high priest himself sprinkled the blood seven times within the tabernacle and smeared it on the horns of the altar of incense, Leviticus 4:6-7 / Leviticus 4:17-18. The different modes of sprinkling appear to have marked successive degrees of consecration in advancing from the altar of burnt-offering to the presence of Yahweh within the veil.’
He is to dip his finger into the blood and sprinkle some of it seven times before the LORD, in front of the curtain of the sanctuary, Leviticus 4:6 / Leviticus 4:17 / Exodus 29:30.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The blood of this sacrifice was applied in three different ways.
1. The priest put his finger in it, and sprinkled it seven times before the veil, Leviticus 4:6.
2. He put some of it on the horns of the altar of incense.
3. He poured the remaining part at the bottom of the altar of burnt-offerings, Leviticus 4:7.’
If the blood was sprinkled in the Holy Place or around the altar or near the veil seven times, then all the animal was burned, Leviticus 6:30.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The sprinkling of the blood so near the veil seems to have resulted from the high rank of the sinner whose transgression was expiated by this offering. The usual place for the sprinkling of blood was upon the altar of burnt-offering, and only in the case of the priest, or of the whole people, was it sprinkled near the veil. The higher the rank of the sinner, the nearer to the presence of Jehovah within the veil was the blood sprinkled.’
The offence caused by the priest or priestly nation, viewed as God’s representatives, is taken into the Holy place Leviticus 6:30. On the great day of Atonement, the offering sums up the sins of the people, known and unknown. Sins not dealt with by the everyday offerings, sins of priests, high priest, nation, and individuals alike and takes them into the very throne room itself.
He is then put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense that is before the LORD in the tent of meeting, Leviticus 4:7. The remainder of the bull’s blood is to be poured out at the base of the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the tent of meeting, Leviticus 4:7 / Leviticus 4:18 / Leviticus 4:25 / Leviticus 4:30 / Leviticus 4:34
Next, the fat and kidneys were separated from the animal and burned upon the altar, Leviticus 4:8-10. When the priest committed a sin of omission, not a deliberate sin by unconsciously contracting sins from the people in his office. Maybe it only applies to the anointed high priest, his sin affects the people. This sacrifice is closely linked with the guilt offering and continues in the style of the peace offering, Leviticus 4:10.
Clothes which had blood on them had to be washed or destroyed. Pots which were used to cook the portion given to the priests were either broken or scoured and cleaned. If the blood was sprinkled outside the bronze altar, all the fat was to be burned but the officiating priest received the flesh, Leviticus 6:24-29.
This was not something done every day, Hosea 6:6 / Micah 6:7-8. The flesh along with the skin, head and bones and remains of the animal were taken outside the camp to a clean place and burned and then buried, Leviticus 4:11-12 / Leviticus 4:21.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the flowing.
‘A clean place where the ashes are poured out See Leviticus 1:16 note. It was a place free from impurities, not like those referred to in Leviticus 14:40 / Leviticus 14:45. The flesh, though it was burned in an ordinary way, and not sent up in the fire of the altar, Leviticus 1:9, was not to be confounded with carrion, but was associated with the remains of the sacrifices. The priests could not eat the flesh of this victim or of that offered for the sin of the congregation, as they ate that of other sin-offerings, Leviticus 6:26. Compare Leviticus 10:17-18, because they were in these cases in the position of offerors, Leviticus 16:27 / Hebrews 13:11. The same rule was observed in regard to the meat-offering of the priests, Leviticus 6:23. It was only of the peace-offering that the offeror himself could partake.’
This is a picture of Jesus who was crucified outside of Jerusalem, therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate, Hebrews 13:11-13.
THE NATION’S OFFERING
‘If the whole Israelite community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD’s commands, even though the community is unaware of the matter, when they realise their guilt and the sin they committed becomes known, the assembly must bring a young bull as a sin offering and present it before the tent of meeting. The elders of the community are to lay their hands on the bull’s head before the LORD, and the bull shall be slaughtered before the LORD. Then the anointed priest is to take some of the bull’s blood into the tent of meeting. He shall dip his finger into the blood and sprinkle it before the LORD seven times in front of the curtain. He is to put some of the blood on the horns of the altar that is before the LORD in the tent of meeting. The rest of the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the tent of meeting. He shall remove all the fat from it and burn it on the altar and do with this bull just as he did with the bull for the sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for the community, and they will be forgiven. Then he shall take the bull outside the camp and burn it as he burned the first bull. This is the sin offering for the community.’ Leviticus 4:13-21
If the whole Israelite community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden, even though the community is unaware of the matter, when they realize their guilt and the sin they committed becomes known, the assembly must bring a young bull as a sin offering and present it before the tent of meeting, Leviticus 4:13-14. The elders of the community are to lay their hands on the bull’s head before the LORD, and the bull shall be slaughtered, Leviticus 4:15.
This offering of a young bull was made by the whole congregation, incurring the displeasure of God, for a reason not discovered. It was the same as the priest’s offering, but all of the elders placed their hands upon the head of the sacrifice before killing it, Leviticus 4:15 / Leviticus 4:4 / Leviticus 4:24 / Leviticus 4:29 / Leviticus 4:33 / Leviticus 1:4. The idea was to humble the leaders of the people to keep them pure and to keep them in their place.
Then the priest is to take some of the bull’s blood into the tent of meeting, Leviticus 4:16. He is to then dip his finger into the blood and sprinkle it before the LORD seven times in front of the curtain, Leviticus 4:17 / Leviticus 4:6 / Exodus 29:30. The priests is to then put some of the blood on the horns of the altar that is before the LORD in the tent of meeting and the rest of the blood is to be poured out at the base of the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the tent of meeting, Leviticus 4:18 / Leviticus 4:7 / Leviticus 4:25 / Leviticus 4:30 / Leviticus 4:34.
The fat is to be removed and burnt on the altar, just as it was done with the bull for the sin offering, Leviticus 4:19 / Leviticus 4:8. In this way the priest is making atonement for the community, and they will be forgiven, Leviticus 4:19-20 / Leviticus 4:26 / Leviticus 4:31 / Leviticus 4:35 / Hebrews 10:3-4. The word ‘atonement’, means to cover up, later in the New Testament the word ‘atonement’ means to reconcile, Romans 3:25 / Hebrews 2:17. God cannot be approached with the guilt of sin on our shoulders, atonement must be made for sin, Habakkuk 1:13.
The bull is to be taken outside the camp and burned, as he burned the first bull, Leviticus 4:21 / Leviticus 4:12. This is the sin offering for the community, Leviticus 4:21.
Meyrick, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The ceremonial cleansing of the sinful Israelite by the sin-offering in the old dispensation foreshadows the effect of baptism in the new dispensation, for as Calvin noticed in his commentary, ‘All sins are now washed away by baptism, so under the Law also sacrifices were expiations, although in a different way’.’
THE RULER’S OFFERING
‘When a leader sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the commands of the LORD his God, when he realises his guilt and the sin, he has committed becomes known, he must bring as his offering a male goat without defect. He is to lay his hand on the goat’s head and slaughter it at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered before the LORD. It is a sin offering. Then the priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. He shall burn all the fat on the altar as he burned the fat of the fellowship offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for the leader’s sin, and he will be forgiven.’ Leviticus 4:22-26
When a leader sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden, when he realizes his guilt and the sin he has committed becomes known, he must bring as his offering a male goat without defect, Leviticus 4:22-23 / Leviticus 4:3 / Leviticus 4:28 / Leviticus 4:32 / Leviticus 3:5 / 2 Corinthians 5:21.
A male goat was sacrificed for feasts and festivals, Leviticus 16:9 / Leviticus 16:15 / Numbers 28:15 / Numbers 28:22 / Numbers 28:30, for the dedication of the tabernacle and temple, Numbers 7:16, for the consecration of the priests, Leviticus 9:3, and for the sin of a ruler, Leviticus 4:23.
Turtledoves or pigeons were commonly used as a substitute for the lamb in cases of poverty, Leviticus 5:7. In extreme poverty, a tenth of an Ephah of flour was used, this was equal to the daily supply of Manna. Virtually everyone would have been able to take part in this sacrifice to God, Leviticus 5:7-13.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following, concerning the leaders, Leviticus 4:22.
‘Either the head of a tribe, Numbers 1:4-16, or the head of a division of a tribe, Numbers 34:18, compare Joshua 22:30.’
The leader is to lay his hand on the goat’s head and slaughter it at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered before the LORD, it is a sin offering, Leviticus 4:24 / Leviticus 4:4 / Leviticus 4:15 / Leviticus 4:24 / Leviticus 4:29 / Leviticus 4:33 / Leviticus 1:4.
Then the priest is to take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar, Leviticus 4:25 / Leviticus 4:30 / Leviticus 4:34. All the fat and intestines were to be burnt on the burnt offering altar, Leviticus 4:26. In this way the priest will make atonement for the leader’s sin, and he will be forgiven, Leviticus 4:26 / Leviticus 4:20 / Leviticus 4:31 / Leviticus 4:35.
Clements, in his commentary, says the following.
‘God always remained sovereign over the ritual which was offered to him. Forgiveness was his free prerogative, not man’s right, controlled by rigid conditions.’
The sin of the priests, or the religious leaders, appears to be more serious than the sin of the individual members, and even the rulers. The blood of the offering for the religious leaders was to be placed on the horns of the altar with sweet incense, Leviticus 4:7, whereas the blood of the sacrifice of the ruler or the individual member was to be placed on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, Leviticus 4:25 / Leviticus 4:30.
INDIVIDUAL MEMBER OFFERING
‘If any member of the community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD’s commands, when they realise their guilt and the sin, they have committed becomes known, they must bring as their offering for the sin they committed a female goat without defect. They are to lay their hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it at the place of the burnt offering. Then the priest is to take some of the blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. They shall remove all the fat, just as the fat is removed from the fellowship offering, and the priest shall burn it on the altar as an aroma pleasing to the LORD. In this way the priest will make atonement for them, and they will be forgiven.’ Leviticus 4:27-31
If any member of the community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden, when they realize their guilt and the sin they have committed becomes known, they must bring as their offering for the sin they committed a female goat without defect, Leviticus 4:27-28 / Leviticus 4:3 / Leviticus 4:23 / Leviticus 4:32 / 2 Corinthians 5:21.
A female goat was sacrificed by any individual who found they had unintentionally sinned. A female lamb was sacrificed, for the sin of the common people, Leviticus 4:28, for a Nazarite to be released from his vow, Numbers 6:14, and for the cleansing of a leper, Leviticus 14:10.
They are to lay their hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it at the place of the burnt offering, Leviticus 4:29 / Leviticus 4:4 / Leviticus 4:15 / Leviticus 4:24 / Leviticus 4:33 / Leviticus 1:4. Then the priest is to take some of the blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar, Leviticus 4:30 / Leviticus 4:25 / Leviticus 4:34.
The priest is to remove all the fat, just as the fat is removed from the fellowship offering, Leviticus 4:10, and the priest shall burn it on the altar as an aroma pleasing to the LORD, Leviticus 4:31. In this way the priest is making atonement for them, and they will be forgiven, Leviticus 4:31 / Leviticus 4:26 / Leviticus 4:20 / Leviticus 4:35.
‘If someone brings a lamb as their sin offering, they are to bring a female without defect. They are to lay their hand on its head and slaughter it for a sin offering at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered. Then the priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. They shall remove all the fat, just as the fat is removed from the lamb of the fellowship offering, and the priest shall burn it on the altar on top of the food offerings presented to the LORD. In this way the priest will make atonement for them for the sin they have committed, and they will be forgiven.’ Leviticus 4:32-35
If someone brings a lamb as their sin offering, they are to bring a female without defect, Leviticus 4:32 / Leviticus 4:3 / Leviticus 4:23 / Leviticus 4:28 / Leviticus 3:7 / 2 Corinthians 5:21. They are to lay their hand on its head and slaughter it for a sin offering at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered, Leviticus 4:33 / Leviticus 4:4 / Leviticus 4:15 / Leviticus 4:24 / Leviticus 4:29 / Leviticus 1:4.
Then the priest is to take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar, Leviticus 4:34 / Leviticus 4:25 / Leviticus 4:30. The offence caused to God by an individual member is presented on the horns, the strongest part of the altar.
The priest is then to remove all the fat, Leviticus 4:15, just as the fat is removed from the lamb of the fellowship offering, Leviticus 4:8-10 / Leviticus 4:19 / Leviticus 4:19 / Leviticus 4:21. Then the priest is to burn it on the altar on top of the food offerings, Leviticus 4:35.
In this way the priest is making atonement for them for the sin they have committed, and they will be forgiven, Leviticus 4:35 / Leviticus 4:26 / Leviticus 4:20 / Leviticus 4:31. The sacrifice was aimed at securing forgiveness and obtaining a renewed fellowship.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Three points are to be observed in regard to the victims for sin-offerings.
1. The common people had to offer a female, as the less valuable animal; they might present either a sheep or a goat to suit their convenience.
2. The rulers had always to offer a male-goat.:
3. The goat was preferred to the sheep, unlike the victim for a peace-offering or burnt-offering.’
A PICTURE OF CHRIST
The shedding of the blood was pointing toward a greater sacrifice in the future, that is the blood of Christ, Hebrews 9:10-13 / Hebrews 10:19-22. With these sacrifices, we can see that the blood moves from the outer circle into the centre as the guilt moves from the heart of an individual towards the heart of a nation.
Sin separates people from God and the relationship can only be restored by the death of a sacrifice an innocent victim. It stresses the quality of sin, its nature, and thus man’s state because of it. In the sin offering, the attitude of the person is stressed in the trespass, and the act of sin is stressed.
Spiritually minded people should see that all this pointed to Christ, the Messiah. Abraham saw the day of Christ and rejoiced, John 8:56, Moses suffered for Christ, Hebrews 11:26, Isaiah saw the glory of the Messiah, John 12:41. Christ was the sin and trespass offering, 2 Corinthians 5:21 / Hebrews 9:14 / Hebrews 13:12 / Hebrews 10:14 / Ephesians 5:2.