Sins Requiring a Guilt Offering (Leviticus 5:14-19; Leviticus 7:1-10)
“Then the LORD said to Moses, “If someone sins and acts unfaithfully against the LORD by deceiving his neighbor in regard to a deposit or security entrusted to him or stolen, or if he extorts his neighbor or finds lost property and lies about it and swears falsely, or if he commits any such sin that a man might commit— once he has sinned and becomes guilty, he must return what he has stolen or taken by extortion, or the deposit entrusted to him, or the lost property he found, or anything else about which he has sworn falsely.
He must make restitution in full, add a fifth of the value, and pay it to the owner on the day he acknowledges his guilt. Then he must bring to the priest his guilt offering to the LORD: an unblemished ram of proper value from the flock. In this way the priest will make atonement for him before the LORD, and he will be forgiven for anything he may have done to incur guilt.”
The Burnt Offering (Leviticus 9:12-14)
Again the LORD said to Moses, “Command Aaron and his sons that this is the law of the burnt offering: The burnt offering is to remain on the hearth of the altar all night, until morning, and the fire must be kept burning on the altar. And the priest shall put on his linen robe and linen undergarments, and he shall remove from the altar the ashes of the burnt offering that the fire has consumed and place them beside it. Then he must take off his garments, put on other clothes, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a ceremonially clean place.
The fire on the altar shall be kept burning; it must not be extinguished. Every morning the priest is to add wood to the fire, arrange the burnt offering on it, and burn the fat portions of the peace offerings on it. The fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it must not be extinguished.
The Grain Offering (Leviticus 2:1-16)
Now this is the law of the grain offering: Aaron’s sons shall present it before the LORD, in front of the altar. The priest is to remove a handful of fine flour and olive oil, together with all the frankincense from the grain offering, and burn the memorial portion on the altar as a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
Aaron and his sons are to eat the remainder. It must be eaten without leaven in a holy place; they are to eat it in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting. It must not be baked with leaven; I have assigned it as their portion of My offerings made by fire. It is most holy, like the sin offering and the guilt offering. Any male among the sons of Aaron may eat it. This is a permanent portion from the offerings made by fire to the LORD for the generations to come. Anything that touches them shall become holy.”
Then the LORD said to Moses, “This is the offering that Aaron and his sons must present to the LORD on the day he is anointed: a tenth of an ephah of fine flour (2 dry quarts or 2.2 liters (probably about 2.6 pounds or 1.2 kilograms of flour) as a regular grain offering, half of it in the morning and half in the evening. It shall be prepared with oil on a griddle; you are to bring it well-kneaded and present it as a grain offering broken in pieces, a pleasing aroma to the LORD. The priest, who is one of Aaron’s sons and will be anointed to take his place, is to prepare it. As a permanent portion for the LORD, it must be burned completely. Every grain offering for a priest shall be burned completely; it is not to be eaten.”
The Sin Offering (Leviticus 9:8-11)
And the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons that this is the law of the sin offering: In the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered, the sin offering shall be slaughtered before the LORD; it is most holy. The priest who offers it shall eat it; it must be eaten in a holy place, in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting. Anything that touches its flesh will become holy, and if any of the blood is spattered on a garment, you must wash it in a holy place. The clay pot in which the sin offering is boiled must be broken; if it is boiled in a bronze pot, the pot must be scoured and rinsed with water. Any male among the priests may eat it; it is most holy. But no sin offering may be eaten if its blood has been brought into the Tent of Meeting to make atonement in the Holy Place; it must be burned.”
God is continuing to describe the sins He knows His people are already committing. God hates theft of any kind, whether by omission or commission. Moses describes theft by keeping a deposit or security that has been entrusted or stealing it, or extorting money, or finding lost property and hiding the fact that it has been found. The offender must pay back 120% of the value of the item and offer an unblemished ram “of proper value” as a guilt offering. No fair choosing the smallest ram possible and trying to use that as an offering.
Burnt offerings are to remain on the altar all night with the fire burning so that in the morning the priest can remove the ashes from the altar, change out of his robes, and then carry the ashes to a ceremonially clean place. The fire on the altar is to burn continuously so that the priests may burn the fat from the peace offerings.
Grain offerings from people other than priests are to be divided so that a small amount is burnt as an offering while the priests and their sons are allowed to consume the rest. But when a priest is being consecrated, a special grain offering is made, and this grain offering will be completely burned.
Sin offerings are handled in a special fashion. The sin offering must be slaughtered at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. The priest who offers it shall eat it; it must be eaten in a holy place, in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting. Anything that touches its flesh will become holy, and if any of the blood is spattered on a garment, you must wash it in a holy place. The clay pot in which the sin offering is boiled must be broken; if it is boiled in a bronze pot, the pot must be scoured and rinsed with water. Any male among the priests may eat it; it is most holy. But no sin offering may be eaten if its blood has been brought into the Tent of Meeting to make atonement in the Holy Place; it must be burned.”
Why all the rules about blood? Pagan sacrifice rituals frequently have included pouring blood indiscriminately. Repeatedly, God emphasizes that the life is in the blood and blood is sacred and must be respected. The sin offering and its blood are most holy and deserve respect. But if the blood of the sin offering has entered the Tent of Meeting, that offering must be completely burned.
APPLICATION: Why all these rules? Once more, God is trying to draw a sharp distinction between the way the pagans have worshiped and the way He wants His people to worship. God wants His people to take their sacrifices seriously and to handle them with respect. God wants His priests to minister correctly and not haphazardly. God is not a God of confusion but a God of peace, and He wants worship to progress in an orderly fashion.
God also is trying to draw a line between the priests and the common people so that people apart from priests will not attempt to offer sacrifices or otherwise profane God’s worship. Centuries later, King Uzziah becomes swollen with pride and forces his way into the temple to offer sacrifices. Not only do the priests rush to evict him, but God immediately strikes him with leprosy and he lives in seclusion for the rest of his life while his son reigns in his stead. The actual penalty for such a trespass is immediate death; however, God allows Uzziah to suffer a living death instead.
How many of us lie or steal by omission? We may excuse ourselves by soft descriptions “I didn’t think it would matter,” “I didn’t think anybody would notice.” But the Ruler of the Universe sees everything and knows our hearts. May God convict us, so that we will leave off such practices and may our lives demonstrate the fruits of the Holy Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self – control.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, we confess that we have lied by omission and commission and that we have not been honest in all our dealings. Please clean us up and help us 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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