레위기 Chapter 4

Translation: ESV

1

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

Key Message

God faces the reality of sin squarely and provides a specific path by which forgiveness can be received when sin is committed.

▸Leviticus 4 introduces a new category of sacrifice—the sin offering (chata't).

Leviticus 4 introduces a new category of sacrifice—the sin offering (chata't). Beginning this chapter as a new section emphasizes that the sin offering has a different character from the three preceding sacrifices: the burnt offering, grain offering, and peace offering. While those three were voluntary, the sin offering was obligatory when sin was committed.

Related Verses

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
2

"Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If anyone sins unintentionally in any of the LORD's commandments about things not to be done, and does any one of them,

Key Message

God knows our mistakes and unintentional sins caused by weakness, and provides a path of atonement for them.

▸'Unintentionally' (bishgagah) refers to inadvertent mistakes or sins committed without awareness.

3

if it is the anointed priest who sins, thus bringing guilt on the people, then he shall offer for the sin that he has committed a bull from the herd without blemish to the LORD for a sin offering.

Key Message

The sin of a spiritual leader affects the entire community, so leaders are required to meet a higher moral standard and bear greater responsibility.

▸The sin offering regulations distinguish four cases according to the status of the sinner.

4

He shall bring the bull to the entrance of the tent of meeting before the LORD and lay his hand on the head of the bull and kill the bull before the LORD.

Key Message

The higher the position, the greater the responsibility, and accordingly the demands of atonement become more exacting.

▸The priest's sin offering requires a young bull—the largest and most costly male animal.

5

And the anointed priest shall take some of the blood of the bull and bring it into the tent of meeting,

Key Message

Atonement is a holy act performed before God's presence; Christ entered the heavenly sanctuary with his own blood and accomplished eternal atonement.

▸Taking the blood of the sin offering into the tent of meeting is a feature unique to the sin offering, unlike the burnt or peace offering.

6

and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle part of the blood seven times before the LORD in front of the veil of the sanctuary.

Key Message

The blood of atonement is sprinkled before God's presence; through the blood of Christ the veil between us and God has been permanently removed.

▸The ritual of sprinkling blood before the sanctuary veil seven times is a unique element of the sin offering.

7

And the priest shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense before the LORD that is in the tent of meeting, and all the rest of the blood of the bull he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering that is at the entrance of the tent of meeting.

Key Message

Atonement is the foundation of prayer and worship; only on the basis of Christ's blood can genuine prayer and worship take place.

▸The blood of the sin offering is handled in two steps: applied to the horns of the incense altar, and poured at the base of the burnt offering altar.

8

And all the fat of the bull of the sin offering he shall remove from it, the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails

Key Message

Even in atonement for sin the principle of giving the best applies equally; genuine repentance is the act of giving one's best to God.

▸In the sin offering too, as in the peace offering, the fat portions are given to God.

9

and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the long lobe of the liver that he shall remove with the kidneys

Key Message

Genuine atonement and repentance is not an outward ceremony but returning to God from the deepest inner being.

▸In the sin offering too, as in the peace offering, the specific organ portions—kidneys and liver lobe—are given to God.

10

(just as these are taken from the ox of the sacrifice of the peace offerings); and the priest shall burn them on the altar of burnt offering.

Key Message

Atonement is the foundation of peace; the cross of Christ makes genuine reconciliation with God possible.

▸The comparison that the fat portions of the sin offering are burned in the same way as those of the peace offering shows continuity between the sin offering and peace offering.

11

But the skin of the bull and all its flesh, with its head, its legs, its entrails, and its dung—

Key Message

Jesus dying outside the city is the fulfillment of the foreshadowing of the sin offering carcass being burned outside the camp.

▸After offering the fat portions to God in the priest's sin offering, all the rest—skin, meat, head, legs, entrails, dung—had to be carried outside the camp and burned.

12

all the rest of the bull—he shall carry outside the camp to a clean place, to the ash heap, and shall burn it up on a fire of wood. On the ash heap it shall be burned up.

Key Message

Sin must be completely removed from God's holy community; Jesus bore that sin outside the camp on our behalf.

▸Burning the remainder of the sin offering outside the camp means the impurity of sin cannot remain within the holy space of the Israelite community.

13

"If the whole congregation of Israel sins unintentionally and the thing is hidden from the eyes of the assembly, and they do any one of the things that by the LORD's commandments ought not to be done, and they realize their guilt,

Key Message

A community can sin collectively, and communal sin requires repentance and atonement by the whole community.

▸The second case of the sin offering is when the entire Israelite congregation sins collectively.

14

when the sin which they have committed becomes known, the assembly shall offer a bull from the herd for a sin offering and bring it in front of the tent of meeting.

Key Message

Becoming aware of sin is itself a grace from God; the discovery of sin is the beginning of repentance and atonement.

▸The expression 'when the sin becomes known' shows that recognition of sin is the starting point of repentance and atonement.

15

And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands on the head of the bull before the LORD, and the bull shall be killed before the LORD.

Key Message

Leaders stand before God representing the community and bear the intercessory role; they also share responsibility for the community's sins.

▸The elders laying on hands as representatives of the whole congregation shows the principle of representation.

16

Then the anointed priest shall bring some of the blood of the bull into the tent of meeting,

Key Message

The community's sin must approach God through a mediator; Jesus Christ is the eternal mediator for us all.

▸The sin offering procedure for the whole congregation also proceeds in the same way as for the priest.

17

and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD in front of the veil.

Key Message

God completely atones for both communal and individual sin in the same way; the blood of Christ covers all sin completely.

▸The same ritual of sprinkling blood seven times before the veil performed in the priest's sin offering is also done in the congregation's sin offering.

18

And he shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar that is in the tent of meeting before the LORD, and the rest of the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering that is at the entrance of the tent of meeting.

Key Message

Atonement takes place in every domain of worship; every dimension of our lives is purified by the blood of Christ.

▸The procedure of applying blood to the incense altar horns and pouring blood at the base of the burnt offering altar is repeated identically as in the priest's sin offering.

19

And all its fat he shall take from it and burn it on the altar.

Key Message

Even in worship of repentance and atonement, the reverent heart that gives the best to God must remain unchanged.

▸The fat of the sin offering is also burned on the altar in the same way as the peace offering.

20

And he shall do with the bull as he did with the bull of the sin offering, so shall he do with this. And the priest shall make atonement for them, and they shall be forgiven.

Key Message

God's forgiveness is certain and complete; the forgiveness given after proper atonement is God's faithful covenant promise.

▸The declaration 'they shall be forgiven' clearly shows the purpose and result of the sin offering.

21

And he shall carry the bull outside the camp and burn it up as he burned the first bull; it is the sin offering for the assembly.

Key Message

Communal sin must be removed through thorough repentance and atonement by the whole community; sin must not remain within God's holy community.

▸The congregation's sin offering carcass is also burned outside the camp, just as in the priest's case.

22

"When a leader sins, doing unintentionally any one of all the things that by the commandments of the LORD his God ought not to be done, and realizes his guilt,

Key Message

Leaders bear higher moral responsibility commensurate with their position, and must repent and seek atonement even for unintentional sins.

▸The third case of the sin offering is the sin of a leader (nasi, prince).

23

or the sin which he has committed is made known to him, he shall bring as his offering a goat, a male without blemish,

Key Message

The proper response of a believer is to repent and seek atonement immediately upon recognizing sin.

▸The leader's sin offering is a male goat, a smaller offering than the young bull for the priest or the congregation.

24

and he shall lay his hand on 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.

Key Message

The order of worship is established by God; following the way God has prescribed is genuine worship.

▸The leader's sin offering also follows the same rituals of laying on of hands and slaughter.

25

Then the priest shall 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 pour out the rest of its blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering.

Key Message

Atonement takes place at the most sacred place of God's presence; no level of sin can be forgiven without blood-shedding.

▸In the leader's sin offering, blood is applied not to the incense altar inside the tent but only to the horns of the burnt offering altar.

26

And all its fat he shall burn on the altar, like the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings. So the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin, and he shall be forgiven.

Key Message

God's forgiveness is certain and immediate; the forgiveness given after genuine repentance and atonement is God's faithful covenant promise.

▸The declaration 'he shall be forgiven' is repeated again.

27

"If anyone of the common people sins unintentionally in doing any one of the things that by the LORD's commandments ought not to be done, and realizes his guilt,

Key Message

Regardless of status or position, all people are sinners before God; the grace of atonement is equally needed by and equally given to all.

▸The fourth and final case of the sin offering is the sin of an individual ordinary person.

28

or the sin which he has committed is made known to him, he shall bring for his offering a goat, a female without blemish, for his sin which he has committed.

Key Message

God's forgiveness is not limited by social status or economic capacity; everyone can approach God according to their own means.

▸The ordinary person's sin offering is a female goat, less expensive than the leader's male goat.

29

And he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and kill the sin offering in the place of burnt offering.

Key Message

The principle of substitution is the unchanging core of all atonement; Christ's substitutionary sacrifice is for all humanity.

▸The ordinary person's sin offering also goes through the same rituals of laying on of hands and slaughter.

30

And the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out all the rest of its blood at the base of the altar.

Key Message

The resolution of sin is a holy process that takes place before God's presence, publicly within the community.

▸The ordinary person's sin offering blood is handled the same as the leader's: applied to the horns of the burnt offering altar and poured at the base of the altar.

31

And all its fat he shall remove, as the fat is removed from the peace offerings, and the priest shall burn it on the altar for a pleasing aroma to the LORD. And the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be forgiven.

Key Message

Genuine repentance and atonement are actions God delights in; the complete forgiveness of God is promised to all people.

▸The declaration 'he shall be forgiven' is repeated again.

32

"If he brings a lamb as his sin offering, he shall bring a female without blemish

Key Message

God's forgiveness is open to all regardless of economic circumstance; the atonement of the Lamb Jesus Christ is for all people.

▸The ordinary person could also bring a female lamb instead of a female goat as a sin offering.

33

and he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and kill it for a sin offering in the place where they kill the burnt offering.

Key Message

The principle of substitution is the unchanging core of atonement; this principle is fully accomplished in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

▸The lamb sin offering also follows the same procedures—laying on of hands, slaughter in the designated place.

34

And the priest shall 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 pour out all the rest of its blood at the base of the altar.

Key Message

The blood of Jesus Christ is our safest refuge; his blood covers all our sins and turns away God's judgment.

▸The lamb sin offering blood is handled the same as the female goat's case.

35

And all its fat he shall remove as the fat of the lamb is removed from the sacrifice of peace offerings, and the priest shall burn it on the altar, on top of the LORD's food offerings. And the priest shall make atonement for him for the sin which he has committed, and he shall be forgiven.

Key Message

God's forgiveness is universally given without exception to any class of society; this is the grace that Leviticus 4 as a whole declares.

▸The final verse of Leviticus 4 also ends with the declaration 'he shall be forgiven.