Leviticus 4:2-35 Speak to the children of Israel, saying… The sin-offering, although first in order of application, came last in order of institution. It is distinctly a creation of the law. Sin having become, by the commandment, "exceeding sinful," the remedy provided by the law was the sin-offering, with all its elaborate ritual. The most prominent feature is the sprinkling of the blood. The blood being that which atones (Leviticus 17:11), it naturally comes most prominently forward in that which was especially the atoning sacrifice. The sin-offerings fall into two classes — viz., those whose blood was taken into the Tabernacle, placed upon the horns of the golden altar, and sprinkled seven times before the veil; and those whose blood was not taken into the Tabernacle, but only placed upon the horns of the brazen altar which stood in the outer court. To the first class belong the sin-offerings of the high priest (vers. 3-12), and of the whole congregation (vers. 13-21); to the second, those offered by rulers (vers. 22-26), or by any of the common people (vers. 27-35). Certain portions of the sacrifice were laid upon the altar of burnt-offering (vers. 8-10); the main part was dealt with in one of two ways — in sin-offerings of the first class mentioned above, it was consumed by fire outside the camp (vers. 12, 21); in other cases, viz., where the blood was not carried into the Tabernacle, it became the food of the officiating priests (Leviticus 6:26, 29; Leviticus 10:17, 18); the greater part of the blood was poured away at the bottom of the altar of burnt-offering (vers. 7, 18, 25, 30, 34). Tradition adds that it descended thence into the valley of the Kedron. It is to be observed that a sin-offering was ordained to consist of one animal only, and that in each case the precise offering to be made was specified. "Men were not allowed to choose or multiply their sin-offerings, as if there could really be any proportion between their gift and the privileges to which it readmitted them, lest they should dream of compensating for so much sin by so much sacrifice." According to the unanimous tradition of the Jews, a verbal confession of the sin or sins for which the offering was brought accompanied the imposition of hands in the case of sin and trespass-offerings. The next point to be noticed is that remarkable provision of the law by which it was ordained that the majority of the sin-offerings should be eaten by the priests. The explanation of this is given in Leviticus 10:17. The people's sin passed into the very substance of the priests who thus "in a deep mystery neutralised, through the holiness vested in them by their consecration, the sin which the offerer had laid upon the victim and upon them." By this solemn act, which served but to increase the guilt of an unholy priesthood, the priests became in a remarkable manner types of Him who was "made sin for us." It remains to inquire, For what sins did the sin-offering atone? Clearly not for wilful breaches of any of God's commandments (2 Corinthians 3:7; Hebrews 2:2; Hebrews 10:28; also Numbers 15:27-31; Deuteronomy 17:12). The law proclaimed aloud that "the wages of sin is death." For what, then, were the Mosaic sacrificial atonements available? The cases which admitted the application of a sin or trespass-offering may be brought under four beads — viz., (1) bodily defilements (Leviticus 5:2, 3; Leviticus 12:6, 7; Leviticus 15:13-15, 25-30; (2) ceremonial offence (Leviticus 5:15-19; (3) certain specified cases of moral transgression knowingly committed, in favour of which an exception from the general severity of the law was admitted, and an atonement ordained (Leviticus 6:1-7); (4) sins of ignorance and inadvertency, or offences unwittingly done (Leviticus 4:2, 13, 22, 27; Leviticus 5:15, 18; Numbers 15:24-29). These last formed the largest class of offences to be atoned for by the Mosaic sacrifices. All this vast and complicated machinery of confession, bloodshed, sacrifice, and priestly atonement existed in the main for what, in modern language, we should call venial sins, for sins committed in ignorance or inadvertence — it might almost be said, for involuntary sins. One great lesson, then, which the system of atonement under the law must have taught, was the extreme heinousness of sin, since even "little" sins, as men might call them, had to be atoned by blood. (E. F. Willis, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: 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: |
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