Leviticus 5:11

11 " 'But suppose he can't afford two doves or two young pigeons. Then he must bring eight cups of fine flour as an offering for his sin. It is a sin offering. He must not put olive oil or incense on it. That is because it is a sin offering.

Leviticus 5:11 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 5:11

But if he be not able to bring two turtledoves, or two
young pigeons
Which is supposing a man to be in the poorest circumstances he can well be; and such is the grace and goodness of God, that he has provided for the atonement and forgiveness of the poorest, as well as of the rich:

then he that hath sinned shall bring for his offering the tenth
part of an ephah of fine flour for a sin offering;
which is an omer, ( Exodus 16:36 ) and is as much as a man can eat in one day, as Aben Ezra remarks:

he shall put no oil upon it, neither shall he put [any]
frankincense thereon;
to distinguish it from the common meat offering, which had both, ( Leviticus 3:1 ) and to make it as easy, and as little chargeable to the poor as possible, both oil and frankincense being things of value; and some think that these were prohibited, to show that atonement and forgiveness, and even the salvation of men, are not owing to grace in them, comparable to oil, or to their prayers, signified by frankincense, and so to any or all of their duties, but to Christ alone, and his atoning sacrifice: or these were forbidden, because emblems of joy and gladness, and therefore not so proper at a confession of sin, and humiliation for it: or rather to show how disagreeable and offensive sin was to the Lord, being contrary to grace, of which oil was an emblem, and far from being acceptable to him, which frankincense might signify; and therefore being prohibited, might denote how unacceptable, yea nauseous, sin is to him; which agrees with the reason given;

for it [is] a sin [offering],
and therefore must not be honoured, as Jarchi, or must have everything removed from it that is beautiful and amiable, as Ben Gersom, such as oil and frankincense.

Leviticus 5:11 In-Context

9 " 'Then he must sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering against the side of the altar. He must empty out the rest of the blood at the bottom of the altar. It is a sin offering.

10 " 'Then the priest will offer the other bird as a burnt offering. He must do it in the way the law requires. That will pay for the sin the person has committed. And he will be forgiven.

11 " 'But suppose he can't afford two doves or two young pigeons. Then he must bring eight cups of fine flour as an offering for his sin. It is a sin offering. He must not put olive oil or incense on it. That is because it is a sin offering.

12 " 'He must bring it to the priest. The priest must take a handful of it. He must burn that part on the altar. It will be a reminder that all good things come from the Lord. The priest must burn it on top of the offerings that are made to the LORD with fire. It is a sin offering.

13 " 'In that way the priest will pay for any of the sins the person has committed. And he will be forgiven. The rest of the offering will belong to the priest. It is the same as in the case of the grain offering.' "