Leviticus 4
McGeeCHAPTER 4THEME: Sins of ignorance; sins of the priest; sins of the congregation; sins of the ruler; sins of the common people; the law of the sin offeringThis is the first of the non-sweet savor offerings. The three sweet savor offerings set forth the person of Christ in all of His glorious character. The two non-sweet savor offerings set forth the work of Christ on the Cross for sin. The sin offering speaks of sin as a nature. The trespass offering speaks of sin as an act. You see, man is a sinner by nature, and he is a sinner because of what he does. He does what he does because he is a sinner by nature. Several striking features of the sin offering set it apart from the other offerings and distinguish its importance:
- It is the longest account of any offering since it is twice as long as any of the other four. The burnt offering was 17 verses; the meal offering, 16 verses; the peace offering, 17 verses; the trespass offering, 19 verses; the sin offering, 35 verses. Evidently the Spirit of God thought this was very important.
- The sin offering was an entirely new offering. Up to this time, there is no record anywhere of a sin offering. There is no previous record of it occurring in Scripture. No heathen nation had anything that was even similar to it.
- From the time of the giving of the Law, it became the most important and significant offering. You see, man was a sinner before the giving of the Law, but actually it was the Law which revealed to him that he was a sinner. The sin offering was offered during all of the feastsPassover, Pentecost, Trumpets, and Tabernacles. It was offered on the great Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). It brought the High Priest into the Holy of Holies.
- It is in contrast to the burnt sacrifice, although it was made in the same place. “Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, saying, This is the law of the sin offering: in the place where the burnt offering is killed shall the sin offering be killed before the LORD: it is most holy” (Lev_6:25). Where the burnt offering leaves off, the sin offering begins. The burnt offering tells who Christ is; the sin offering tells what Christ did. In the burnt offering Christ meets the demands of God’s high and holy standard; in the sin offering Christ meets the deep and desperate needs of man. In the burnt offering we see the preciousness of Christ; in the sin offering we see the hatefulness of sin. The burnt offering was a voluntary offering; the sin offering was commanded. The burnt offering ascended; the sin offering was poured out. The one went up and the other went down.
Leviticus 4:1
SINS OF IGNORANCEThe emphasis here is upon a sin committed in ignorance. If a man sinned willfully and deliberately, this offering did not avail. “He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses” (Heb_10:28). This speaks of the fact that there is no salvation for a person who wilfully rejects Jesus Christ. “For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries” (Heb_10:26-27). Sins of ignorance reveal the underlying truth that man is a sinner by nature. My friend, I must say this to you: You are a sinner whether you know it or not. You are a sinner by nature, and so am I. That is the reason we commit sins. Regardless of the estimation of any given time or custom, man is a sinner. God’s attitude toward sin does not change. We do those things which are contrary to God because it is impossible for the natural man to do anything that will please God. Natural man does not have that capacity. He is a sinner by nature. These sins must be called to man’s attention. It is sin regardless of who commits it. The sin offering gave a profound conviction of sin. This conviction stands out in the literature of the race. The deep guilt complex of man must be diagnosed before an adequate remedy can be prescribed. Listen to the psalmist, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psa_139:23-24). “Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest” (Psa_51:4). This is what I call getting on the Lord Jesus Christ’s couch instead of going to the psychiatrist’s couch. A great many people with a guilt complex go to the psychiatrists today. One would get the impression that the psychiatrist or psychologist has a skill that the Word of God does not reveal. I think that is a wrong impression. The Word of God contains the remedy for man today. If you have a problem and you are bothered with a guilt complex, a personality problem, why don’t you go to the Lord’s couch and cry out, “Search me, O God, and know my heart.
Try me. See if there be any wicked way in me.” My friend, our problem is not that our mothers didn’t give us all the love we should have had when we were little brats; our problem is that we are sinners by nature. So let’s get on God’s couch and tell Him that. The sins of ignorance were acts committed by a person who at the time did not know they were sin. “Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults” (Psa_19:12). How we need to confess to God that we are sinful human beings! If you can’t think of anything special to confess, then just confess who you are, a sinner. A group of men gathered regularly for prayer and one man would always pray, “Lord, if we have committed any sin, forgive us.” The men got tired of this little formula and one of them said to him, “Why don’t you tell Him what the sin is?” The man answered, “Well, I don’t know what it is.” The leader said, “Why don’t you take a guess at it?” And do you know, the man’s first guess was right! We need to confess our sins to God! If a man sinned through ignorance, rashness, or accident, God made provision for his deliverance. He established the cities of refuge (Num_35:11). God has a refuge for you too, my friend; He has a remedy for you. “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1Jn_2:1). Paul explains the reason he was the chief of sinners and why he obtained mercy. He was a blasphemer and a persecutor and injurious, but he obtained mercy because he did it ignorantly in unbelief. He goes on to say, “And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief” (1Ti_1:14-15). My dad died when I was fourteen, and soon I was obliged to go into the business world. There I teamed up with the wrong crowd. I was out doing things that a man twenty-five years old was doing, and I was just sixteen years old. I’m not offering an excuse, but I really didn’t know then how bad it was. Then there came that day when I received Christ, and from that day to this, I look back and hate myself for what I did. Thank God, friend, there is a sin offering. Christ died for me; so I can go and tell Him all about it. I don’t need to crawl up on anybody’s couch and tell him about it. It’s none of his business. But it sure is God’s business and I must tell Him about it. He forgives me because He took care of all my sins at the Cross. The sin offering teaches us that we must see ourselves as God sees us. It brings before us the consciousness of sin and our own unworthiness, but also God’s provision. “I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin” (Psa_32:5). It lifts the guilt complex. The sin offering taught its own inadequacy. “Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required” (Psa_40:6). It pointed the way to God’s perfect satisfaction for sin and His forgiveness. “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; and having an high priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water” (Heb_10:19-22). Now you and I, sinners, can come into His presence with boldness. Why? Because Jesus is our sin offering, even for these sins of ignorance. Sin through ignorance brings to our attention another side of God’s justice and His absolute fairness in dealing with man. God will deal with man in equity. There will be degrees of punishment as there will be degrees of rewards. The degree of responsibility is also recognized in the sin offering as we shall see in the different classes of people who are considered here.
Leviticus 4:3
SINS OF THE PRIESTThe sin of the priest is considered first, for he stood in the place of leadership. If he was wrong, the people were wrong. His sin was their sin. Like priest, like people. He was to bring a young bullock, the most valuable animal of all, as his offering. You see that the position of the one who sinned determined the type of animal for the sin sacrifice. His sin was no different, but his responsibility was greater. It is still the same today. “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (Jas_4:17). “My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation” (Jas_3:1). Do you want to be a preacher? It makes you more responsible. Do you want to sing a solo? It makes you responsible. Do you want to be a deacon or an officer in the church, or a teacher of a Sunday school class? Then you are more responsible than anyone else. Privilege carries with it a responsibility, and God Himself will hold you to that responsibility. That is what is clearly shown here. “According to the sins of the people” could be more properly translated “so as to cause the people to sin.” This points out the responsibility of the priest. He was a mere human being and he was subject to the same temptations as the remainder of the race. “For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity …” (Heb_7:28). It is in this point that there is a radical difference between Christ, our great High Priest, and the priests of the order of Aaron. “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Heb_4:15).
Leviticus 4:4
This is the ritual for the sin offering. In this part of the ritual there is a similarity to the burnt offering.
Leviticus 4:5
To sprinkle the blood seven times before the veil secured God’s relationship with the offender. To put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of incense, the place of prayer, was to restore the privilege of worship to the offender. Our acceptance by God and our worship of Him are dependent upon the blood of Jesus Christ. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1Jn_1:9). “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission” (Heb_9:22). The remainder of the blood was poured out at the bottom of the brazen altar. This satisfied the conscience of the sinner and removed the guilt complex. This was the remedy for the conviction of sin and the only remedy that could satisfy the mind and heart. My friend, the important thing for you to understand is that when Christ forgives you your sin, He also forgives you. There is nothing more to be said about it. He has put it in the bottom of the sea. He has removed it as far as the east is from the west. He has removed it so that He will not even remember it. He settles the sin question. That rids us of our guilt complexes. You need never wonder whether He has really forgiven you. He took away all your sin and guilt. All of it. When you come to Christ and see Him, you will find Him adequate.
Leviticus 4:8
Here the ritual of the sin sacrifice follows that of the peace offering. The sin has been forgiven. Fellowship is restored and service is again restored. The fat is offered to be burned on the altar. Remember that the fat represents the very best.
Leviticus 4:11
At this point there is a radical departure from the other offerings. The remainder of the bullock was taken without the camp and burned there. We believe that this is simply an emphasis upon the exceeding sinfulness of sin. This animal was the sin offeringthere is no thought of consecration or signifying the person of Christ. Rather, this is Christ, the sin-bearer, the One who was made sin for us. This deeper meaning is given to us in Hebrews. “We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.
For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp. Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come” (Heb_13:10-14). Let us ponder this Scripture well. Religion can never satisfy the heart or meet the requirements of a God who is holy.
Only the death of Christ on the Cross can give us forgiveness of sins. We are sinners by nature and we are not fit for heaven. If God would consign this entire world into a lost eternity, the angels in heaven would still sing, “Holy, holy, holy!” But thank God, He didn’t do that. He loved us so much that He sent Jesus Christ to be made sin for us. Don’t try to solve the problem of your sin in any other way than to turn and trust Christ. He is adequate.
He meets the deep need in your heart and soul. He alone can offer you forgiveness for sin. The death of Christ on the Cross as our sin-bearer is the only solution there is to sin. That is the meaning of that part of the animal which had to be burned outside the camp.
Leviticus 4:13
SINS OF THE CONGREGATIONThe victim for the entire congregation was the same as for the priest. A young bullock was the most valuable animal for offering. You see, the high priest represented the entire congregation before the Lord, so the requirement would be the same. I think there is another lesson here. There is not only an individual responsibility before God but there is also a corporate responsibility. God judges nations, and many people who didn’t participate in the sin of the nation are judged along with it. When Jerusalem was destroyed in A.D. 70, the whole nation went into captivity. When the Roman Empire disintegrated, everyone went down with it. Friends, you and I are responsible since we are a part of the nation. God also judges churches and local congregations. I hear people say that they are going to stay in a liberal church and try to witness to it. Where do they get that idea? It’s not in the Word of God. If you identify yourself with a church which does not teach the truth from the Word of God, God will judge you right along with that church. Your responsibility is an individual responsibility, but when you join yourself with something, you are placed under corporate responsibility also. When the Lord sent His messages to the seven churches of Asia in the Book of Revelation, the message was to the churches and to every member of each church.
Leviticus 4:15
The elders represented the nation. Similarly, the elders in the Book of Revelation represent the church. Now the ritual here is identical with the offering of the priest. I’ll not go over that again. It is explained in verses Lev_4:16-21.
Leviticus 4:22
SINS OF THE RULERYou will notice that all these different groups are to bring an offering because they are sinners. Their responsibility is different in each case, but they are all guilty. This has reference to a civil ruler. People who are rulers are often charged inaccurately and there is gossip about them. This must be real guilt. His sin must come to his knowledge and then he shall bring his offering. Again, the ruler is in a place of responsibility. His offering was of less worth than that of the priest or the entire congregation, but it was of more value than that of a private person. This teaches us the lesson that rulers are ordained of God and thereby are responsible to God. Unfortunately, our politicians today do not seek to please God. I have listened to many of their speeches and I have yet to hear one of them, Democrat or Republican, say that he feels that he has a responsibility to God. They are always trying to please the people. You hear them talk of their constituents. God says that they are responsible to Him! The ruler was to bring an offering of a kid of the goats, a male without blemish. The offering was not as valuable as the bullock. The ritual and the procedure for the offering for the ruler follow the same steps as that for the priest and for the people. You see, the sin of the man is the same as if he were a private citizen. The value of the animal he must sacrifice indicates the degree of his responsibility.
Leviticus 4:27
SINS OF THE COMMON PEOPLEThis is now talking about the common person, the private citizen. The offering is for a sin through ignorance but a sin against a commandment of God. It is against something specifically stated as being forbidden. His guilt cannot be just hearsay, but the guilt must be established. Again, this offering was to lift the guilt complex and satisfy the conscience. Only the death of Christ can lift the crushing guilt complex from modern man. Psychological procedures have not been able to accomplish this. A person’s conscience may be seared with a hot iron and the guilt may be transferred from one area to another, but deep in the human heart the strange guilt complex lingers. It is removed only when it is brought to Christ for His forgiveness.
Leviticus 4:28
If a sin comes to his knowledge later, then it is no longer a sin through ignorance, but it requires the same sacrifice. What does the believer do today? He has come to Christ as a lost sinner and accepted Him as his Savior. Then, when he finds that he has sinned, he confesses it to God. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1Jn_1:9). A female kid of the goats was an offering of less value than any previous offering. Yet, an offering was required. All of these offerings point to the death of Christ. Again, the ritual is the same for all classifications of humanity. A female lamb was also acceptable according to verse Lev_4:32, and again the ritual of the lamb was the same. The important clause to notice is, “it shall be forgiven him” in verse Lev_4:31 and verse Lev_4:35. The important truth is that complete forgiveness was secured for the sinner. Total absolution was accomplished. This is exactly what was accomplished for us when Christ died. “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” (Eph_1:7). THE LAW OF THE SIN OFFERING And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, saying, This is the law of the sin offering: In the place where the burnt offering is killed shall the sin offering be killed before the LORD: it is most holy [Lev_6:24-25].The place for the sin offering was the same as the place for the burnt offering. Both refer to Christ. The priest that offereth it for sin shall eat it: in the holy place shall it be eaten, in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation. Whatsoever shall touch the flesh thereof shall be holy: and when there is sprinkled of the blood thereof upon any garment, thou shalt wash that whereon it was sprinkled in the holy place [Lev_6:26-27].The sin offering was holy. You remember that Christ on the Cross cried out to God with words from Psalms 22. “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent. But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel” (Psa_22:1-3). Christ became sin for us on the Cross and yet He was holy. God withdrew from Him and yet God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. I don’t understand it; this is a great mystery. He was holy and is still holy yet our sin was put on Him. We will never know or understand what He suffered on the Cross; because He is holy and since we are not, we do not know what suffering really is. But the earthen vessel wherein it is sodden shall be broken: and if it be sodden in a brasen pot, it shall be both scoured, and rinsed in water. All the males among the priests shall eat thereof: it is most holy. And no sin offering, whereof any of the blood is brought into the tabernacle of the congregation to reconcile withal in the holy place, shall be eaten: it shall be burnt in the fire [Lev_6:28-30].The law is meticulous even concerning the vessels. You see, the offering was for sin, and sin is the opposite of holiness. God is giving the final reminder of this. “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isa_55:7-9). We need to be reminded of the fact that He saved us from sin, not to sin. That is very important for us to note. Paul writes, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” (Rom_6:1-2).