Sins Requiring a Sin Offering (Leviticus 4:1-35)
“If someone sins by failing to testify when he hears a public charge about something he has witnessed, whether he has seen it or learned of it, he shall bear the iniquity. Or if a person touches anything unclean—whether the carcass of any unclean wild animal or livestock or crawling creature—even if he is unaware of it, he is unclean and guilty. Or if he touches human uncleanness—anything by which one becomes unclean—even if he is unaware of it, when he realizes it, he is guilty. Or if someone swears thoughtlessly with his lips to do anything good or evil—in whatever matter a man may rashly pronounce an oath—even if he is unaware of it, when he later realizes it, he is guilty.
If someone incurs guilt in one of these ways, he must confess the sin he has committed, and he must bring his guilt offering to the LORD for the sin he has committed: a female lamb or goat from the flock as a sin offering. And the priest will make atonement for him concerning his sin. If, however, he cannot afford a lamb, he may bring to the LORD as restitution for his sin two turtledoves or two young pigeons—one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. He is to bring them to the priest, who shall first present the one for the sin offering. He is to twist its head at the front of its neck without severing it; then he is to sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering on the side of the altar, while the rest of the blood is drained out at the base of the altar. It is a sin offering. And the priest must prepare the second bird as a burnt offering according to the ordinance. In this way the priest will make atonement for him for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven. But if he cannot afford two turtledoves or two young pigeons, he may bring a tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a sin offering. [A tenth of an ephah is approximately 2 dry quarts or 2.2 liters (probably about 2.6 pounds or 1.2 kilograms of flour).] He must not put olive oil or frankincense on it, because it is a sin offering. He is to bring it to the priest, who shall take a handful from it as a memorial portion and burn it on the altar atop the offerings made by fire to the LORD; it is a sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for him for any of these sins he has committed, and he will be forgiven. The remainder will belong to the priest, like the grain offering.”
Laws for Guilt Offerings (Leviticus 6:1-7; Leviticus 7:1-10)
Then the LORD said to Moses, “If someone acts unfaithfully and sins unintentionally against any of the LORD’s holy things, he must bring his guilt offering to the LORD: an unblemished ram from the flock, of proper value in silver shekels according to the sanctuary shekel; it is a guilt offering. (A shekel is approximately 0.4 ounce or 11.4 grams of silver.) Regarding any holy thing he has harmed, he must make restitution by adding a fifth of its value to it and giving it to the priest, who will make atonement on his behalf with the ram as a guilt offering, and he will be forgiven.
If someone sins and violates any of the LORD’s commandments even though he was unaware, he is still guilty and shall bear his punishment. He must bring to the priest an unblemished ram of proper value from the flock as a guilt offering. Then the priest will make atonement on his behalf for the wrong he has committed in ignorance, and he will be forgiven. It is a guilt offering; he was certainly guilty before the LORD.”
The Israelites have a problem: how do you know when you have sinned? As long as the Israelites have been in Egypt, it has been “anything goes.” But now God is trying to reform His people into a holy nation. Many Israelites are still secretly worshiping Egyptian idols. That is why God is laying out all these laws. This chapter describes the following sins:
- Failing to testify after hearing a public charge about something you have heard or witnessed. This is a sin of omission, and taking the easy way out is not an option. 2. Touching anything unclean 3. Touching any human uncleanness 4. Swearing thoughtlessly
“If someone incurs guilt in one of these ways, he must confess the sin he has committed, and he must bring his guilt offering to the LORD for the sin he has committed…” Then a series of offerings is laid out: A female lamb or goat, two turtledoves or two young pigeons—one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, a tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a sin offering. [A tenth of an ephah is approximately 2 dry quarts or 2.2 liters, probably about 2.6 pounds or 1.2 kilograms of flour.] No olive oil or frankincense is used for this offering.
There is a special description of the penalties for sinning against the holy things, namely withholding first fruits, refusing to make offering for the first born, failing to tithe, or failing to fulfill a vow. In this case, the penalty is more costly: an unblemished ram from the flock, of proper value in silver shekels according to the sanctuary shekel. Regarding any holy thing he has harmed, he must make restitution by adding a fifth of its value to it and giving it to the priest, who will make atonement on his behalf with the ram as a guilt offering, and he will be forgiven.” Bottom line: fulfill your obligations promptly and respect God’s requirements.
Finally, “If someone sins and violates any of the LORD’s commandments even though he was unaware, he is still guilty and shall bear his punishment.” Again, the repayment is an unblemished ram, indicating that such a sin is very serious.
APPLICATION: Years ago, there was a commercial on American television for a device that would summon help for older people if they suffered any kind of emergency while they were alone. The catch phrase was, “Help! I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.” All of us are in that situation; we have fallen into sins and we can’t get out by ourselves.
1 John 1:8-10 tells us, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him out to be liar, and His word is not in us.”
None of us is free from sin. No matter how hard we try, we will do wrong things and say wrong things and think wrong things. Attempting to cover up our sins is futile and a waste of time. If we pretend we haven’t sinned, we are making God out to be a liar. But praise God, we no longer have to offer animals to pay for our sins! Because Jesus has made the ultimate blood sacrifice, now we can confess our sins and be assured of God’s forgiveness.
Romans 3:22-24 tells us, “And this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” No matter who we are or where we are, we have redemption and hope through Jesus Christ. We are not trapped in our wrong-doing; God has provided a way out.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, we confess that we are sinners and that nothing we do is enough to free us from our sins. Thank You for sending Jesus to shed His blood in payment for our sins. Help us to trust in You and to follow hard after You all the days of our lives. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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