Leviticus 4:22-3522When 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; 23Or 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: 24And 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. 25And 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. 26And 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. 27And 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; 28Or 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. 29And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering, and slay the sin offering in the place of the burnt offering. 30And 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. 31And 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 savor unto the Lord; and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him. 32And if he bring a lamb for a sin offering, he shall bring it a female without blemish. 33And 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. 34And 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: 35And 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. (Leviticus 4:22‑35)
WE NOW come to the provision made for a ruler if he sinned. The Lord would have the sin judged in every case, but in every case He provides for its removal from before Him. The only One who had no sins to be forgiven, has made atonement for all, who own Him as Lord and Saviour.
It is a serious thing to be a leader among the people of God, for he acquires a certain influence, and if he sins it is more serious than in one who is not so prominent. We notice that in his case it says, “the LORD his God.” Care is taken to impress a ruler or chief man with his responsibility. He is called on to rule as well as to walk in the fear of “his God.”
We notice in his case the guilt is his own; others are not involved. Therefore he is not called on to bring a bullock, but a goat, though it must be a male without blemish. The blood is not brought into the sanctuary—not sprinkled before the Lord nor put on the horns of the golden altar — nor is the victim burned without the camp. It is the question of restoring an individual to his place as a worshiper: The communion and worship of all are not broken when an individual sins, yet they may be hindered. Personal communion and worship, however, are broken, so he must lay his hand on the head of the victim, and the animal must be slain, for only by death can sin be atoned for. Some of the blood was put on the horns of the brazen altar, and the rest poured out at the bottom of the altar.
Instead of the body of the animal being burned without the camp, we read in chapter 6:24-30 the priest was to eat the flesh of the sin offering in the holy place. This reminds us of how the Lord Jesus, our Great High Priest, made our guilt His own and met our individual need when He bore our sins on the cross. Now every believer is a priest and He would have us to feel the failures of others before God. May we know more of what it is to be in His presence on behalf of other poor failing saints of His, like Daniel, making their sin our own, and interceding for them that they might be restored to communion again.
The Sin Offering for One of the People
It is full of interest to note the tender care the Lord shows in the sin offering for the ordinary Israelite. The Lord would have the lowliest one among His people to feel that He felt for him in his concern about his sin, done in ignorance, but now troubling him when known. Of the ruler He demanded “a male goat without blemish” but for the common man “a female without blemish” was sufficient. It is a sin offering, for sin is SIN before God, but only in his case it is said that the fat burned by the priest on the altar should be “for a sweet savor unto the Lord.” The Lord deigns to consider the lowly man by this mark of communion in the burning of the fat for him.
Nor was this all. If the poor man could not provide a goat, God would accept a sheep or a lamb in his case. How gracious a God we have!
ML-08/01/1971