Leviticus 4-6 Offerings Continued

Thoughts

Leviticus 4 Sin Offerings

חַטָּאת (Chatat or Chattat) “missing the mark”

These are done if someone sins unintentionally

For anointed priest:

• Unblemished young bull
• Blood is brought into the Holy Place, sprinkled before the veil 7x, and put on the horns of the altar of incense and the rest is poured out at the base of the altar of burnt offering.
• Fat is burned; the rest of the bull is taken outside the camp and burned.

All of Israel:

• Same as above except elders laid hands on bull to represent nation

Leader:

• Male kid goat without blemish
• Blood is placed on the horns of the altar of burnt offering (not the incense altar).
• The rest of the blood is poured out at the base.
• Fat is burned on the altar, and the rest of the animal is eaten by the priests.

Regular person:

• Brings a female goat or lamb without blemish.
• Follows same process as the leader (blood, fat burned, etc.).

Leviticus 5 Unintentional Sins and Guilt Offerings

• Failure to testify when under oath as a witness
• Touching something unclean
• Making a rash oath, whether to do good or harm, and then realizing it was wrong

Tiered Offerings based on Status:

• A female lamb or goat
  • If they can’t afford that: two turtledoves or pigeons
  • One is for a sin offering, the other a burnt offering.
• If they can’t even afford birds: a grain offering of fine flour
  • No oil or frankincense added.

Guilt Offerings (or Trespass Offerings):

אָשָׁם (Asham) “guilt”

These are wrongs against holy things or commandments that may have caused harm:

If someone sins unintentionally in matters involving sacred things

• Must bring a ram without blemish.
• Must also repay what was lost plus 20% extra.

Leviticus 6 For Priests

If someone sins by stealing, lying, or cheating, they must

• Return what was taken
• Add a fifth (20%) more, and bring a ram without blemish.
• The priest makes atonement, and the person is forgiven.

For Priests:

Burnt Offerings

• Change clothes when removing ashes.
• Keep the fire on the altar always burning

Grain Offerings

• Only Aaron’s sons may eat it, in a holy place.
• Must not be baked with leaven.
• When a priest is ordained, he offers a daily grain offering (half in the morning, half in the evening), and it is completely burned

Sin Offerings

• The meat is eaten by priests in a holy place, unless the blood is brought into the Holy Place, then the offering must be burned entirely.
• Anything that touches the offering becomes holy

Questions

What if someone didn’t realized they had sinned?

Is the beginning of Leviticus 5 a continuation of sin offering? It seems that David Guzik says that the first half is “trespass offering” and second half is “guilt offering” but then most others say the first half is a continuation of sin offering and second half introduces the guilt offering? Most versions says sin offering but NKJV says trespass offering.

Application
Going off of yesterday as well….what a gift it is to have our sins washed away by Jesus. These chapters show just how serious sin is, even when it’s unintentional. Just because Jesus has forgiven us doesn’t mean we get to do whatever we want. We’re still called to come before Him daily in confession, letting Him mold and shape us into who we were meant to be. And it’s not just about confessing to Him, we’re also called to make things right with others. True repentance includes full restoration, not just words.