Lesson 4

"קרבן חטאת"
Or the Sin Offering: Lev. 4:1-35; 5:1-13;6: 24-30;

Numbers 15:22-31

Deut.12:5-14.

The Word for sin__________

to miss, go wrong, sin

Original Word: חָטָא
Transliteration: chata
Phonetic Spelling: (khaw-taw')
Short Definition: sinned
Word Origin
a prim. root
Definition
to miss, go wrong, sin
NASB Word Usage
bear the blame (2), bewildered (1), bore the loss (1), bring sin (1), cleanse (5), cleansed (1), cleansing (1), commit (2), commits sin (1), committed (21), done wrong (1), errs (1), fault (1), fear...loss (1), forfeits (1), indicted (1), miss (1), offended (1), offered it for sin (1), offers it for sin (1), purged (1), purified (2), purified themselves from sin (1), purify (6), purify him from uncleanness (1), purify himself from uncleanness (2), reach (1), sin (55), sin have i committed (1), sinful (1), sinned (87), sinner (7), sinning (4), sins (23).bear the blame, cleanse, commit sin, by fault, harm he hath done, loss, miss

A primitive root; properly, to miss; hence (figuratively and generally) to sin; by inference, to forfeit, lack, expiate, repent, (causatively) lead astray, condemn -- bear the blame, cleanse, commit (sin), by fault, harm he hath done, loss, miss, (make) offend(-er), offer for sin, purge, purify (self), make reconciliation, (cause, make) sin(-ful, -ness), trespass.

There are four sections in the text below that must be examined.

1. the sin offering for the high priest (4:3-12);

2. the sin offering for the congregation (4:13-21);

3. the sin offering for the leader (4:22-26);

4. the sin offering for the individual (4:27-35)´

We must also add a 5:1-13 where special section of 5:1-13 where special instructions are given for other circumstances involving the sin offering.

Leviticus 4 (New American Standard Bible)

Leviticus 4

The Law of Sin Offerings

1Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,2"Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'If a person sins unintentionally in any of the things which the LORD has commanded not to be done, and commits any of them,3if the anointed priest sins so as to bring guilt on the people, then let him offer to the LORD a bull without defect as a sin offering for the sin he has committed.4'He shall bring the bull to the doorway of the tent of meeting before the LORD, and he shall lay his hand on the head of the bull and slay the bull before the LORD.5'Then the anointed priest is to take some of the blood of the bull and bring it to the tent of meeting,6and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of the blood seven times before the LORD, in front of the veil of the sanctuary.7'The priest shall also put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense which is before the LORD in the tent of meeting; and all the blood of the bull he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering which is at the doorway of the tent of meeting.8'He shall remove from it all the fat of the bull of the sin offering: the fat that covers the entrails, and all the fat which is on the entrails,9and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, which is on the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys10(just as it is removed from the ox of the sacrifice of peace offerings), and the priest is to offer them up in smoke on the altar of burnt offering.11'But the hide of the bull and all its flesh with its head and its legs and its entrails and its refuse,12that is, all the rest of the bull, he is to bring out to a clean place outside the camp where the ashes are poured out, and burn it on wood with fire; where the ashes are poured out it shall be burned.13'Now if the whole congregation of Israel commits error and the matter escapes the notice of the assembly, and they commit any of the things which the LORD has commanded not to be done, and they become guilty;14when the sin which they have committed becomes known, then the assembly shall offer a bull of the herd for a sin offering and bring it before the tent of meeting.15'Then the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands on the head of the bull before the LORD, and the bull shall be slain before the LORD.16'Then the anointed priest is to bring some of the blood of the bull to the tent of meeting;17and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD, in front of the veil.18'He shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar which is before the LORD in the tent of meeting; and all the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering which is at the doorway of the tent of meeting.19'He shall remove all its fat from it and offer it up in smoke on the altar.20'He shall also do with the bull just as he did with the bull of the sin offering; thus he shall do with it So the priest shall make atonement for them, and they will be forgiven.21'Then he is to bring out the bull to a place outside the camp and burn it as he burned the first bull; it is the sin offering for the assembly.22'When a leader sins and unintentionally does any one of all the things which the LORD his God has commanded not to be done, and he becomes guilty,23if his sin which he has committed is made known to him, he shall bring for his offering a goat, a male without defect.24'He shall lay his hand on the head of the male goat and slay it in the place where they slay the burnt offering before the LORD; it is a sin offering.25'Then the priest is to take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering; and the rest of its blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering.26'All its fat he shall offer up in smoke on the altar as in the case of the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings Thus the priest shall make atonement for him in regard to his sin, and he will be forgiven.27'Now if anyone of the common people sins unintentionally in doing any of the things which the LORD has commanded not to be done, and becomes guilty,28if his sin which he has committed is made known to him, then he shall bring for his offering a goat, a female without defect, for his sin which he has committed.29'He shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slay the sin offering at the place of the burnt offering.30'The priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering; and all the rest of its blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar.31'Then he shall remove all its fat, just as the fat was removed from the sacrifice of peace offerings; and the priest shall offer it up in smoke on the altar for a soothing aroma to the LORD. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven. 32'But if he brings a lamb as his offering for a sin offering, he shall bring it, a female without defect.33'He shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slay it for a sin offering in the place where they slay the burnt offering.34'The priest is to take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and all the rest of its blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar.35'Then he shall remove all its fat, just as the fat of the lamb is removed from the sacrifice of the peace offerings, and the priest shall offer them up in smoke on the altar, on the offerings by fire to the LORD Thus the priest shall make atonement for him in regard to his sin which he has committed, and he will be forgiven.

1. The sin offering is not a sweet savor sacrifice. It is one of the Most Holy - - or sin offering.

A. It was not a freewill offering, but one prescribed by law.

B. It was not a delight to God for it spoke of man's rebellion.

C. It was not an expression of Man's love - but was required because of the lack of love.

D. It grows out of the necessity imposed by God's holiness and government by law.

2. The Difference Between the Sin Offering and the Trespass Offering

A. Generally speaking, the sin offering deals with any violation of the 1^st five commandments. The trespass-offering is for violations of the last five.

B. The sin offering views sin as an insult against Divine nature – trespass offering against Divine government.

C. The sin offering involves sins as they wrong God – trespass offering involves sins as they wrong or injure man.

D. Atonement is central in the sin offering. Restitution is central in the trespass offering.

E. Both are required to regain lost fellowship with God.

3. This is the first time the sin-offering is offered to Israel.

A. Burnt, peace, meal, and drink offerings were ancient in their usage.

B. But--the Sin Offering did not exist before the book of Leviticus.

4. The place of atonement in the sin and trespass offering is different than that of the burnt and peace offering.

A. Atonement is Central for the sin offering and trespass offering. It is only Marginal for the burnt offering and the peace offering.

B. IMPORTANT, IMPORTANT,IMPORTANT---Burnt and Peace Offerings provided atonement FOR THOSE IN FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD. The sin offering and trespass offering are for those OUT OF FELLOWSHIP with God.

5. The Attitude of the Sinner affected the forgiveness of sins and might deprive one of atonement!

A. The willful, stubborn, high-minded sinner was deprived of atonement.

a. He would be cut off from the people: the minimum penalty.

b. Or - he was to be stoned to death - the maximum penalty.

c. In either case, he lost fellowship with God and Israel.

d. See Hebrews 10:28; Deut. 13:6-11; 17:6-7; Lev. 24:14.

B. Sins for which there was no provision made for sacrifice - murder, blasphemy, adultery, idolatry, homosexuality. ¹

1. To emphasize the wickedness of such crimes against God and man.

2. To ratify the commission of such crimes.

3. To show the need for a perfect sacrifice that would atone for all sins and not just some.

C. If one committed such sins and was ever restored to God's fellowship, it was because of:

1. His deep penitence- which involved a turning away from sin.

2. His abhorrence of the wrongs he had done - involved his own agreement with God's judgment against sin.

3. Because of his expression of love and devotion to God. (See Psalms 51 as an example of all three).

6. Yet sins of ignorance, rashness, stupidity, weakness, and waywardness that did not defy God's government were covered by the sin offering.

7. The Christian today does not have that problem. We have an

ABIDING SACRIFICE (Heb.10:26).

8. Review Hebrews 10:4 for the fault of the law.

A. Sin was forgiven under the law - “and he shall be forgiven” - Lev. 4:26 etc.

B. Do not be confused. God does not live in time, He is eternal where there is no time. Adam and Eve, Jesus Christ, and the end of the world are all at once. God forgave those sins on the basis of the cross (Romans 3:24-27; Hebrews 9:15).

It is often stated that sin was not forgiven in the OT. To the contrary, sin was forgiven in the OT. The ancient doctrine of "sins rolled forward" is simply false. (See Leviticus 4:20; 26, 35 and many more) The below section of text never claims that sin was not forgiven under the Law. People read that into the text. Let's look at it!

1For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near.

2Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins?3But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year.

4For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

We understand that the law was only a shadow of things to come.
Now we have the failure of the law mentioned. Could not make those perfect who offered sacrifices.

What is it that the Law could not do? The answer is here!

(The Law could not cleanse the human conscience. The sacrifices them selves were reminders of sin.)

The blood of bulls and goats could not take away sin from where?

See vs. 2-3.

Graded Responsibility.

1. The influence of the individual stood in relation to his position before God and the nation.

2. Whether the sin was individual or collective made a difference in the ritual and the victim.

A. For the high priest - the victim was a flawless bullock - Lev. 4:3

B. For the whole congregation - a bullock was required - Lev. 4:13.

a. In both the above, the bull was the most valuable.

b. And the sins that were the most aggravating - Ezek.9:6.

C. For the civil ruler - a he-goat, less valuable than the high priest but more valuable than the commoner's - Lev. 4:22.

D. For the common people - normally a female goat or ewe lamb - if he is poor, two turtle doves or pigeons or one tenth ephah of flour.

E. This graded responsibility is based on definite reasons in each case considered.

(1) The High Priest can so sin as to bring guilt on the people - Lev. 4:3.

(2) The whole congregation - not only the individual - but corporately and collectively.

(3) The ruler who sins is more responsible because of his civil authority. Because he is king, he is not exempt from the law.

(4) The common man is also responsible for his actions - none are so high as to be above God's government and none are so insignificant as to be ignored or their sins overlooked by God. (see Acts 10:34; Romans 2:11).

THE RITUAL OF THE SIN OFFERING

1. The Presentation - the sinner brings his victim to the door of the tent of meetings - Lev.4:4.

A. The purpose is now different for he seeks forgiveness for his wrongs and he knows what he has done.

B. He is seeking restoration of fellowship with God.

2. The laying on of hands on the head of the victim - Lev. 4:4

3. He must confess the specific sin has has committed - Lev. 5:5

4. The offerer then must kill his own victim.

5. The blood is sprinkled in the proper place (taken directly to God and on top of the altar).

A. For the appointed priest the blood was sprinkled on the horns of the altar on incense in the Holy Place (Lev. 4:17).

B. For the whole congregation - Same place and process 4:17.

C. For the ruler - blood is sprinkled on the horns of the altar of the burnt offering in the outer court - .

D. For the commoner, same as ruler.

6. The fat is removed and fumed to God on the altar of burnt offerings.

A. Even in the sin offering, the fat is still God's.

B. God is not pleased with man's sin but is pleased that man seeks forgiveness.

C. Atonement is more necessary for what God is than for what man does.

7. The disposition of the body of the victim - graded responsibility is still being viewed.

A. For the High Priest's bullock.

1) Blood was taken into the Holy Place.

2) All the rest of the body was burned outside the camp.

3) It must be burned in a clean place where the ashes or the

burnt offering are placed.

4) The priest could not eat of the sacrifice because he was involved in sin.

5) Not burned on the altar of burnt offering - only the fat.

6) But - outside the camp. Showing that the entire animal was consumed for expiation.

7) This as done by SARAPH fire that comes down. God's judgment against sin.

8. For the whole congregation, same as the high priest.

9. For the ruler's he goat.

1) The priest and the Levities received the body for eating.

2) This is the priest's portion from God. Do not confuse with the peace offering.

3) It is to be eaten by the priests in the courtyard of the tabernacle.

4) God thus recompensed His priests for the fruits of His ministry that affected reconciliation.

5) For the commoner's she goat - same as the ruler's he goat.

The Ritual in Review

1. Presentation.

2. Laying on of hands.

3. Confession of sins.

4. Killing of the victim.

5. Sprinkling of the blood.

6. Fat fumed to God.

7. Disposition of the body of the sacrifice.

Jesus and the Sin Offering

I. The Entire Book of Hebrews is the the Sin Offering

II. In 2nd Corinthians 5:21, Paul said, "God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God."

III. Matthew 20:28 is a discussion on who is the greatest:

"just as the son of man did not come to be served but to serve and give His life for many."

IV. Matthew 26:28: This is the blood the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."

V. 1st Peter 1:18-19 - "You were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect....."

VI. 1st Peter 2:24:"bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds we have been healed."

Reflections on the Matter

1. The guilt of sin in God's sight is proportional to the rank, office, and responsibilities of the offender. At the head of this sliding scale must come those who are in religious authority. Ezekiel chapter nine makes this same point. (Ezekiel 9:6)

6"Utterly slay old men, young men, maidens, little children, and women, but do not touch any man on whom is the mark; and you shall start from My sanctuary." So they started with the elders who were before the temple.

The New Testament restates the same principle in several ways. (Luke 12:48)

48but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.

This is exactly why our Lord's half brother James taught the same principle. (James 3:1).

1Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.

2. The Law of the Sin offering also teaches us that religion is not just a personal or individual matter. Responsibility is attached to nations, cities, communities, corporations, societies and religious affiliations. True there is individual sin but there is also such a thing as the sin of the whole group and that group is just as responsible as the individual. This conflicts with the current idea found in modern Western democratic societies where individualism is king and "group," "nation" is less important.

3. The sin of non involvement in the pursuit of justice and truth is set forth here as a crime against God. This text demands involvement. One cannot just stand by and observe.

by Lane Rogers