Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 5:5-6

5 And it shall be, when he shall be guilty in one of these things, that he shall confess that he hath sinned in that thing:

6 And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the Lord for his sin which he hath sinned, a female from the flock, a lamb or a kid of the goats, for a sin offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his sin.

Having been given examples of the sort of simple trespasses that people might commit, we now hear the offering to be made in such cases. As with other offerings, there will be alternative options for those that are poorer, but today we look at the richest option.

For this offering, a female lamb or kid was to be offered. The method of its slaughter, cleaning, and burning are not here described, but we assume that it was very similar to other animal offerings that we have already read.

This highlights the fact that in the grammar of sacrifice, the same process with the same animal can have the same general meaning (atonement for something amiss), but different specifics according to the context. This makes sense when we think of acts that we might do today, and how they can have different meanings under different contexts. If I give something to my neighbor, I might be restoring something of his that I broke, or giving him a gift to commemorate a moment of celebration, or being thoughtful during a moment of personal tragedy, or performing an act of charity when he’s having a hard time making ends meet. It’s all the same act, giving him something, but it could be for restitution, celebration, compassion, or charity.

So, too, when the ancient Israelite brought something to the altar, he was giving a part of himself to the Lord for some reason, and what that reason was could be different on different according to the context.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 5:4

4 Or if a soul swear, pronouncing with his lips to do evil, or to do good, whatsoever it be that a man shall pronounce with an oath, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty in one of these.

Today’s verse talks about when a man makes a pledge or an oath, but something about it is “hid from him,” such that he wasn’t able to fulfill his promise, even though he meant it when he said it. The “hiding” factor could be that he forgot his promise, or he failed to account for conflicting factors that made it impossible, or that he over-committed himself beyond what he could actually do. This is not a terrible sin, but it is an infraction where the integrity of his deeds did not fully match his words.

Clearly this is a common thing even today. I promise to help a friend move, but I forgot I won’t be in town that day. I promise my boss to have my report ready by end of day, but it was more work than I realized. I say that I’ll bring the ice, then sleep through my alarm and miss the whole thing. So long as I genuinely meant to do what I said, then I’m not a liar, and I have no malice, but people are still left wanting and disappointed.

The rituals that we will start to hear about in the following verses would serve as both a way to set things right, and a reminder to be more careful with our promises. We should all endeavor to minimize our failures in promise-keeping and take accountability for any instances that still occur.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 5:2-3

2 Or if a soul touch any unclean thing, whether it be a carcase of an unclean beast, or a carcase of unclean cattle, or the carcase of unclean creeping things, and if it be hidden from him; he also shall be unclean, and guilty.

3 Or if he touch the uncleanness of man, whatsoever uncleanness it be that a man shall be defiled withal, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty.

Yesterday’s verse talked about an omission of doing good, where the perpetrator knew he wasn’t behaving as he ought. Today’s verses are different in that the person does something and “it be hidden from him.” Also, they describe situations that are not always a choice: such as stumbling over a carcass or having a nighttime emission.

Later chapters (11-15) will explain that these and other situations make a person temporarily unable to enter the tabernacle. It is not that the person has sinned, just that they are in a common state where they need to wait a day before entering the holy place of the Lord, and in certain cases bring a small offering.

Therefore, the situations described in this verse are not an indictment of the individual so much as an acknowledgement of the crudity of this world. Take, for example, how it obviously isn’t a wrong thing to defecate, but also, we would be mortified to do so in front of others. Just by living this mortal life, we will all have moments awkwardness. We do not need to feel ashamed for them, but neither should we deny that they are, in fact, awkward. And when we come to the house of the Lord, we should make the effort to come as the best that we can be.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 5:1

1 And if a soul sin, and hear the voice of swearing, and is a witness, whether he hath seen or known of it; if he do not utter it, then he shall bear his iniquity.

In our last chapter we learned about the sin offering, which was to be made when an individual or the congregation had ignorantly broken one of God’s commandments, and committed an act of sin. In this next chapter we move to the category of trespass offerings, which cover lesser offenses. As we will see, one key difference between a trespass and a sin is that a sin is a willful committing of something wrong, whereas a trespass if often an act of omission.

There are many times where instead of doing something actively good or moral, we shrink from it. It is a sin of omission, not commission. We might not lie, but we refrain from telling the truth. That is still wrong, but not as wrong.

And that is exactly the situation described in the first verse. “Hear the voice of swearing” is apparently a reference to their legal system, where a witness would be called to testify of an event. And if a person is called as a witness, and he does not give a full and honest account of what he saw or heard, then today’s verse says that he is a trespasser.

Like all of our social orders, the legal system can only work with the good-faith cooperation of the people. A society needs people to be more committed to its underlying principles, than to themselves or their friends. If the people will not support an orderly society, then worse patterns of anarchy and tyranny will prevail. And so, such a man is guilty of a trespass, and needs to make atonement and receive grace.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 4:32-35

32 And if he bring a lamb for a sin offering, he shall bring it a female without blemish.

33 And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering, and slay it for a sin offering in the place where they kill the burnt offering.

34 And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar:

35 And he shall take away all the fat thereof, as the fat of the lamb is taken away from the sacrifice of the peace offerings; and the priest shall burn them upon the altar, according to the offerings made by fire unto the Lord: and the priest shall make an atonement for his sin that he hath committed, and it shall be forgiven him.

In addition to the option for a common Israelite to offer a young goat as a sin offering, he could also offer a lamb. The next chapter might suggest that two turtledoves or pigeons would also be an option for the very poor, though on the other hand it might be referring to a trespass offering instead.

In any case, we have now come to the end of this chapter on sin offerings. We have seen how the same pattern was to be applied to an individual, a community, a priest, and a leader. In all cases, the offeror placed his/their hand(s) upon the sacrifice, the animal was slaughtered, blood was placed on the horns, fat and kidneys were burned on the altar, and the body and dirty parts of the animal were burned outside of the camp. The only difference was whether the animal was a bullock, a goat, or a lamb.

It is interesting to note that the offering was one single animal, no matter how many people it applied to. Whether the entire congregation or a single, solitary soul, the offering was just one animal. This frustrates our common tendency to quantify sin and forgiveness in measurable terms. We have an innate desire to reduce offense to a number and be able to apply good works of equal number to “pay” for the offense. But that’s not how the patterns of the Spirit work. If it were, we would quickly become too “indebted in sin” to ever pay it off.

If there are any measurements and debts and payments, all of that is resolved in the atonement of Jesus Christ. All that remains for us, and for the ancient Israelites, is a ritualistic return to the right path. When we view these offerings as a symbol of commitment, not as a payment for sin, it makes sense why a single offering could stand in for any number of offerors.

SacrificeEligible oblationStepsExplanation
Sin offeringBullock, young goat, lambSacrifice for sin
The same pattern for an individual, community, priest, or leaderAn equal path to God for all
Hands placed on head, slaughteredAnimal takes the place of us
Blood placed on horns of the altarA heartfelt plea to the Lord for mercy
Fat and kidneys burned on altarCleansing our behavior and desire
Skin, dung, and flesh burned beyond the campThe sinful behavior purged out of us

Full table.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 4:27-31

27 And if any one of the common people sin through ignorance, while he doeth somewhat against any of the commandments of the Lord concerning things which ought not to be done, and be guilty;

28 Or if his sin, which he hath sinned, come to his knowledge: then he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a female without blemish, for his sin which he hath sinned.

29 And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering, and slay the sin offering in the place of the burnt offering.

30 And the priest shall take of the blood thereof with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar.

31 And he shall take away all the fat thereof, as the fat is taken away from off the sacrifice of peace offerings; and the priest shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet savour unto the Lord; and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him.

Now we come to how the sin offering was performed for the common Israelite, following the same basic pattern as for the leader, the congregation, and the priest. Today let us focus on an element that has been in all of these repeated descriptions, but that we have not yet had time to touch on.

Notice in verse 27 how it says these offerings are for those that “sin through ignorance,” and it has said the same thing for each other instance. So that would mean ways that people trespassed against God’s law without knowing or meaning to. Perhaps they overlooked a ritual, or forgot a commandment, or were unsure of the moral rightness of an action and later regretted their decision.

This, of course, would be different from deliberate and serious sin. Later, in the book of Numbers, we will hear about “high-handed sin,” which means an act of willful defiance against the Lord. For these people, they were what Paul called “under the law,” meaning subject to the penalties of crime. Whether that meant exile, curses, or even death.

Thus, we are meant to understand that the tabernacle ordinances were meant for those who were actively trying to follow God. Yes, those that brought a sin offering had sinned, but they were still oriented towards doing what was right, and they just needed to correct the minor indiscretions common to life. However, if a person were living a deliberately sinful lifestyle, then they would not be taking part in rituals and sacrifices. They would first need to repent, return to the path of goodness, and then would take part in the rituals, now that they were sincerely trying to follow the Father.

SacrificeEligible oblationStepsExplanation
Sin offeringBullock, young goatSacrifice for sin
The same performance for an individual, community, priest, or leaderAn equal path to God for all
Hands placed on head, slaughteredAnimal takes the place of us
Blood placed on horns of the altarA heartfelt plea to the Lord for mercy
Fat and kidneys burned on altarCleansing our behavior and desire
Skin, dung, and flesh burned beyond the campThe sinful behavior purged out of us

Full table.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 4:22-26

22 When a ruler hath sinned, and done somewhat through ignorance against any of the commandments of the Lord his God concerning things which should not be done, and is guilty;

23 Or if his sin, wherein he hath sinned, come to his knowledge; he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a male without blemish:

24 And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the goat, and kill it in the place where they kill the burnt offering before the Lord: it is a sin offering.

25 And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out his blood at the bottom of the altar of burnt offering.

26 And he shall burn all his fat upon the altar, as the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings: and the priest shall make an atonement for him as concerning his sin, and it shall be forgiven him.

We’ve already seen how the sin offering applied to a priest and to the congregation, now we read how it applies to a leader also. In this instance we see the same pattern play out exactly as before, except with one particular changed. While atonement was made for the priest and the congregation via a bullock, the leader would make his offering from a young goat.

A bullock was a more substantial offering than a goat. Thus, atonement for a congregation or for a priest was weightier than that for a leader. All Israelites engaged in the same sin offering, coming to the Lord equally and following the same pattern, but slight variances like these show that there was still a hierarchy in play. A leader, such as a king, was not weightier than the nation or a priest, something that has been forgotten at times in history.

SacrificeEligible oblationStepsExplanation
Sin offeringBullock, young goatSacrifice for sin
The same performance for an individual, community, priest, or leaderAn equal path to God for all
Hands placed on head, slaughteredAnimal takes the place of us
Blood placed on horns of the altarA heartfelt plea to the Lord for mercy
Fat and kidneys burned on altarCleansing our behavior and desire
Skin, dung, and flesh burned beyond the campThe sinful behavior purged out of us

Full table.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 4:13-21

13 And if the whole congregation of Israel sin through ignorance, and the thing be hid from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done somewhat against any of the commandments of the Lord concerning things which should not be done, and are guilty;

14 When the sin, which they have sinned against it, is known, then the congregation shall offer a young bullock for the sin, and bring him before the tabernacle of the congregation.

15 And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands upon the head of the bullock before the Lord: and the bullock shall be killed before the Lord.

16 And the priest that is anointed shall bring of the bullock’s blood to the tabernacle of the congregation:

17 And the priest shall dip his finger in some of the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before the Lord, even before the veil.

18 And he shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar which is before the Lord, that is in the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall pour out all the blood at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

19 And he shall take all his fat from him, and burn it upon the altar.

20 And he shall do with the bullock as he did with the bullock for a sin offering, so shall he do with this: and the priest shall make an atonement for them, and it shall be forgiven them.

21 And he shall carry forth the bullock without the camp, and burn him as he burned the first bullock: it is a sin offering for the congregation.

The last verses described how the sin offering would apply to a priest who sinned. Now it describes how the same process applied when all the congregation would sin. The chapter will continue with this pattern, describing how the pattern applied to a ruler that sinned and to a common Israelite that sinned.

The message here is clear. All are under the law of the Lord. It is not a different set of rules for leaders or priests, groups or individuals. God’s commandments were the great equalizer, just as pertinent to the king as to the beggar in the streets. All would fall short at some point, and all would be expected to make an offering then. As we will see, the exact animal sacrificed could vary, but it was still the same sacrifice and the same ritual for all.

It may seem a remarkable thing for all of the congregation to go astray at once. But as we will see later in the Bible, there were times when the people would go off worshipping false gods and then return to the proper worship of the Lord. There was also the time when book of the law had been lost and forgotten, then rediscovered during temple renovations. When it was read to King Josiah, he realized how the entire people had unwittingly gone astray and restored the rituals and commandments of old. While the record does not explicitly mention the performance of a sin offering, one would expect that it occurred, as it was specifically prescribed for just such an occasion.

SacrificeEligible oblationStepsExplanation
Sin offeringBullockSacrifice for sin
The same performance for an individual, community, priest, or leaderAn equal path to God for all
Hands placed on head, slaughteredAnimal takes the place of us
Blood placed on horns of the altarA heartfelt plea to the Lord for mercy
Fat and kidneys burned on altarCleansing our behavior and desire
Skin, dung, and flesh burned beyond the campThe sinful behavior purged out of us

Full table.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 4:5-12

5 And the priest that is anointed shall take of the bullock’s blood, and bring it to the tabernacle of the congregation:

6 And the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the Lord, before the veil of the sanctuary.

7 And the priest shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the Lord, which is in the tabernacle of the congregation; and shall pour all the blood of the bullock at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

8 And he shall take off from it all the fat of the bullock for the sin offering; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards,

9 And the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away,

10 As it was taken off from the bullock of the sacrifice of peace offerings: and the priest shall burn them upon the altar of the burnt offering.

11 And the skin of the bullock, and all his flesh, with his head, and with his legs, and his inwards, and his dung,

12 Even the whole bullock shall he carry forth without the camp unto a clean place, where the ashes are poured out, and burn him on the wood with fire: where the ashes are poured out shall he be burnt.

As mentioned yesterday, the description for this ritual matches what we heard of it back in Exodus. I won’t retread all the steps and symbolism here, only refer you back to the previous commentary. There is one point that is elaborated more fully on these verses, though, that I’d like to discuss for today.

In the account in Exodus we knew that the priest was to place the blood upon the horns of the altar with his finger, today’s verses further emphasize the element of touch by describing that the priest dips his finger into the blood, and directly with his hands do the sprinkling and smearing. This requirement to get blood on the finger definitely captures attention.

If I were in the position of the priest, I would far prefer to have some ladle or brush as an instrument between me and the gore of the animal, but there were no instruments created for this. It would seem that God was very intentional about having his priests getting very personally involved in this work.

Compare this to how we deal with other people’s problems. Some of us might be open to lending a listening ear but still want to keep a safe distance from the sins and tragedy of others. We might rather not let them touch us with their mess. But that is not the approach that the Savior took, and that is not what his representatives are supposed to do either. Jesus showed us an example of getting right down into the darkness and heartbreak of the world, of touching the unclean, of getting hands messy. We are meant to be fully engaged with the worst, bringing the light of Christ to clean and heal that which hurts most.

This detail of the priest dipping his fingers into the blood is a very good bit of symbolism. It reminds us that we are called to touch the worst that others are dealing with, and by so doing help purify the world.

SacrificeEligible oblationStepsExplanation
Sin offeringBullockSacrifice for sin
Hands placed on head, slaughteredAnimal takes the place of us
Blood placed on horns of the altarA heartfelt plea to the Lord for mercy
Fat and kidneys burned on altarCleansing our behavior and desire
Skin, dung, and flesh burned beyond the campThe sinful behavior purged out of us

Full table.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 4:1-4

1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a soul shall sin through ignorance against any of the commandments of the Lord concerning things which ought not to be done, and shall do against any of them:

3 If the priest that is anointed do sin according to the sin of the people; then let him bring for his sin, which he hath sinned, a young bullock without blemish unto the Lord for a sin offering.

4 And he shall bring the bullock unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord; and shall lay his hand upon the bullock’s head, and kill the bullock before the Lord.

This chapter is dedicated to the ritual of the sin offering, something that we already heard of in Exodus, from which we have populated the table down below. The account here in Leviticus 4 confirms what we already heard in Exodus, though here it is given in longer detail.

The sin offering is arguably the most foundational of all the offerings. Sin is the greatest and most universal obstacle of all humanity. It is sin that divides us from peace, more than any affliction, misfortune, or disaster. In fact, the universality of sin is pointed out in verse 3, which reminds us that even the priest who had been set apart to be the holy servant of the Lord, would be besmirched by it and would require restitution, the same as any other Israelite.

Even our priests and vessels of purification require purification themselves. Our cleaning agents need cleaning. This shows a pattern of regress and suggests to us that there must be an endpoint somewhere. Sooner or later, for any of this purification to have any effect, it must be founded upon a purifier who is himself never soiled. The offering of Jesus, who was the perfect High Priest, would sanctify the entire temple enterprise, which would sanctify the priests and vessels, which would sanctify the common Israelite.

SacrificeEligible oblationStepsExplanation
Sin offeringBullockSacrifice for sin
Hands placed on head, slaughteredAnimal takes the place of us
Blood placed on horns of the altarA heartfelt plea to the Lord for mercy
Fat and kidneys burned on altarCleansing our behavior and desire
Skin, dung, and flesh burned beyond the campThe sinful behavior purged out of us

Full table.