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Leviticus 4
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Here GOD is introducing them to a new offering, which is the sin offering. This offering was a required offering, unlike the burnt offering we read of in chapter 1.
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:
In other words, the one sinning in ignorance is doing it non-intentionally; "ignorance" being translated from the Hebrew word shᵉgâgâh.
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.
In other words, if the priest (religious leader) who is anointed commits the same sin as the people, then he was held to a higher standard, as him having the knowledge knew better, which is why his sacrifice alone had to be a bullock, which was worth a lot more in value than other animals used for sacrifice.
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.
Symbolizing the transferring of sins unto the animal. Again, sin leads to death, and these sacrifices took the punishment of the people, which foreshadowed what would come with JESUS CHRIST, EMMANUEL (GOD in the flesh) HIMself, who later fulfilled all of these things by taking our sins upon HIS sinless body (1 Peter 2:24), and upon repentance, we can be forgiven today when we ask with a sincere heart.
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 vail of the sanctuary.
Seven of course symbolizing spiritual completeness in Biblical numerics.
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 (i.e. remaining 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.
These horns were on each corner of the altar of sweet incense, and remember that altar was the one inside the tabernacle. Below is a visual of what this looked like, although the horn on each corner of the altar may be difficult to see. Notice the remaining blood was to be poured at the bottom of the altar (i.e. the ground), which could symbolize the sin in which the blood was paid for, going down and out. Note that horns are symbolic of power in the Bible, which as we can see, the blood was put upon them, which in the futuristic sense points to the power of GOD's amazing grace for us.
Here GOD is introducing them to a new offering, which is the sin offering. This offering was a required offering, unlike the burnt offering we read of in chapter 1.
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:
In other words, the one sinning in ignorance is doing it non-intentionally; "ignorance" being translated from the Hebrew word shᵉgâgâh.
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.
In other words, if the priest (religious leader) who is anointed commits the same sin as the people, then he was held to a higher standard, as him having the knowledge knew better, which is why his sacrifice alone had to be a bullock, which was worth a lot more in value than other animals used for sacrifice.
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.
Symbolizing the transferring of sins unto the animal. Again, sin leads to death, and these sacrifices took the punishment of the people, which foreshadowed what would come with JESUS CHRIST, EMMANUEL (GOD in the flesh) HIMself, who later fulfilled all of these things by taking our sins upon HIS sinless body (1 Peter 2:24), and upon repentance, we can be forgiven today when we ask with a sincere heart.
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 vail of the sanctuary.
Seven of course symbolizing spiritual completeness in Biblical numerics.
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 (i.e. remaining 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.
These horns were on each corner of the altar of sweet incense, and remember that altar was the one inside the tabernacle. Below is a visual of what this looked like, although the horn on each corner of the altar may be difficult to see. Notice the remaining blood was to be poured at the bottom of the altar (i.e. the ground), which could symbolize the sin in which the blood was paid for, going down and out. Note that horns are symbolic of power in the Bible, which as we can see, the blood was put upon them, which in the futuristic sense points to the power of GOD's amazing grace for us.
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 (i.e. loins), and the caul (i.e. flap) 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 (aka the thank offering): 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,
Note this is the only offering where the skin was offered up.
12 Even the whole bullock shall he carry forth without the camp (compare Hebrews 13:11-12) 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.
Why a clean place? Because if it wasn't a clean place then the whole offering would be defiled. The ashes being holy, and a clean place of course symbolizing the ridding of sin/filthiness. This word "burn" in the Hebrew is "sâraph", which is different from the other word "burn" we saw in previous verses and chapters, and it simply means to kindle and set on fire, letting us know this wasn't for incense. So this wraps up the offering of what was required for the high priest, and now we will see the sin offering which was required for the whole congregation of Israel.
13 And if the whole congregation of Israel sin through ignorance, and the thing be hid from the eyes of the assembly (i.e. they were unaware), and they have done somewhat against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which should not be done, and are guilty;
This word "sin" in the Hebrew is shâgâh, and not only does it mean to sin in ignorance but it also means to sin through the idea of intoxication, and of course people who are intoxicated do things they wouldn't normally do, which is why we should always be sober, as being intoxicated is a sin anyway. 1 Peter 5:8 says "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:".
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.
Again, once it was realized, this offering was required.
15 And the elders of the congregation (i.e. the elders of the assembly) 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 vail.
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 (i.e. all the remaining 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 (i.e. copy what was done for the sin of the high priest only), so shall he do with this: and the priest shall make an atonement for them, and it shall be forgiven them.
This atonement was done to cover the price of their sin, so they could make reparation before GOD.
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.
And so it was. This wraps up the instructions for the sin of the assembly of Israel.
22 When a ruler (i.e. king/leader) 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:
The male goat being a little less expensive than the bullock, which as we read was required for the priest's sin alone, or the sin of the whole assembly of Israel. Again, the high priests had a higher standard for their sacrifice (i.e. the bullock), as they were supposed to be the head of religious leaders, and as it's written in 1 Peter 4:17, "judgment begins in the house of GOD". Although GOD is always fair, HE doesn't necessarily require each one of us to be equal, which is why depending on a person's position in serving GOD, they had different offerings to be made. Here for the ruler, a male goat was required, whereas for one of the other people, a female goat was to be used (verse 28).
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.
This was done on the North side of the altar (Leviticus 1:11); see note on that verse to understand why.
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.
Notice the blood for the sin of the high priest or the sin of the whole assembly of Israel, was put upon the horns of the altar of incense, whereas here, the blood is put upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering. With either case though, the blood was to always be handled by the priest, as it was considered holy.
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.
Again, the fat was symbolic of the wealth portion of the animal. As for us today, all we have to do to obtain forgiveness is ask for it in JESUS' (YESHUA's) name, upon repentance (see Acts 3:19 & Luke 13:3), and our sins will be washed away due to HIS amazing grace for us, as HIS ultimate blood sacrifice on the cross paid for all of humanities sin (1 John 2:2), and fulfilled all of these things we read of here, whereby we aren't to perform these sacrifices today, as that would be an abomination before GOD.
27 And if any one of the common people sin through ignorance (i.e. unwittingly), 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.
32 And if he (i.e. the common-person) 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.
9 And the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks (i.e. loins), and the caul (i.e. flap) 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 (aka the thank offering): 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,
Note this is the only offering where the skin was offered up.
12 Even the whole bullock shall he carry forth without the camp (compare Hebrews 13:11-12) 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.
Why a clean place? Because if it wasn't a clean place then the whole offering would be defiled. The ashes being holy, and a clean place of course symbolizing the ridding of sin/filthiness. This word "burn" in the Hebrew is "sâraph", which is different from the other word "burn" we saw in previous verses and chapters, and it simply means to kindle and set on fire, letting us know this wasn't for incense. So this wraps up the offering of what was required for the high priest, and now we will see the sin offering which was required for the whole congregation of Israel.
13 And if the whole congregation of Israel sin through ignorance, and the thing be hid from the eyes of the assembly (i.e. they were unaware), and they have done somewhat against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which should not be done, and are guilty;
This word "sin" in the Hebrew is shâgâh, and not only does it mean to sin in ignorance but it also means to sin through the idea of intoxication, and of course people who are intoxicated do things they wouldn't normally do, which is why we should always be sober, as being intoxicated is a sin anyway. 1 Peter 5:8 says "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:".
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.
Again, once it was realized, this offering was required.
15 And the elders of the congregation (i.e. the elders of the assembly) 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 vail.
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 (i.e. all the remaining 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 (i.e. copy what was done for the sin of the high priest only), so shall he do with this: and the priest shall make an atonement for them, and it shall be forgiven them.
This atonement was done to cover the price of their sin, so they could make reparation before GOD.
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.
And so it was. This wraps up the instructions for the sin of the assembly of Israel.
22 When a ruler (i.e. king/leader) 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:
The male goat being a little less expensive than the bullock, which as we read was required for the priest's sin alone, or the sin of the whole assembly of Israel. Again, the high priests had a higher standard for their sacrifice (i.e. the bullock), as they were supposed to be the head of religious leaders, and as it's written in 1 Peter 4:17, "judgment begins in the house of GOD". Although GOD is always fair, HE doesn't necessarily require each one of us to be equal, which is why depending on a person's position in serving GOD, they had different offerings to be made. Here for the ruler, a male goat was required, whereas for one of the other people, a female goat was to be used (verse 28).
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.
This was done on the North side of the altar (Leviticus 1:11); see note on that verse to understand why.
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.
Notice the blood for the sin of the high priest or the sin of the whole assembly of Israel, was put upon the horns of the altar of incense, whereas here, the blood is put upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering. With either case though, the blood was to always be handled by the priest, as it was considered holy.
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.
Again, the fat was symbolic of the wealth portion of the animal. As for us today, all we have to do to obtain forgiveness is ask for it in JESUS' (YESHUA's) name, upon repentance (see Acts 3:19 & Luke 13:3), and our sins will be washed away due to HIS amazing grace for us, as HIS ultimate blood sacrifice on the cross paid for all of humanities sin (1 John 2:2), and fulfilled all of these things we read of here, whereby we aren't to perform these sacrifices today, as that would be an abomination before GOD.
27 And if any one of the common people sin through ignorance (i.e. unwittingly), 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.
32 And if he (i.e. the common-person) 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.