Leviticus 4

CHAPTER 4

The Sin Offering (4:1–35)

1–2 The sin offering—as well as the guilt offering (Leviticus 5:14–19)—was offered for specific sins the Israelites committed; this was in contrast to the burnt offering (Leviticus 1:1–17), which was offered for sin in general, that is, for people’s sinful disposition or sinful nature.

The sin offering differed from the first three offerings described in Chapters 1–3 in that it was compulsory, not voluntary. If an Israelite felt he had committed a sin, he was required to offer a sin offering in order to receive forgiveness and to reestablish his relationship with God, which had been broken by the sin. The sin offering was a sacrifice of atonement, just as the burnt offering was, and the principles underlying both offerings were the same (see Leviticus 1:1–4 and comment).

The sins for which a sin offering was necessary included not only overt sinful actions but also sins of omission and sins of attitude. All sin is equally abhorrent to God. The Israelites considered a sin mainly to be an overt action, forgetting that the last of the Ten Commandments was: You shall not covet (Exodus 20:17). Jesus taught in Matthew Chapter 5 that sins of attitude—sins of the heart—were just as sinful in God’s sight as sinful actions. But we can presume that in ancient Israel the sin offering was offered mainly for sinful actions. If one had to sacrifice an animal for every sinful thought or desire, the Israelites would have soon run out of animals!

The sin and guilt offerings were offered for sins committed unintentionally, in contrast to sins committed defiantly (Numbers 15:30)—that is, sins committed deliberately in defiance of the Lord. There was no sacrifice for such willful and defiant sins (see Numbers 15:30–31 and comment).

However, we need to understand the meaning of “unintentional sin.” Very few of the sins we commit are completely unintentional. We “fall” into temptation and then, without really thinking, we sin; but we are aware that we are sinning. We didn’t plan to sin, we didn’t want to sin, but we were enticed by our own evil desires and ended up sinning (James 1:13–15). But that is different from the hardened sinner who enjoys sin,who pursues sin, and who cares nothing for God. In the end, only God can judge whether a sin is “intentional” or “unintentional”; but if one feels sorry and guilty after committing a sin and desires to turn from that sin, then it can be assumed that that’s in was “unintentional” and thus forgivable.

What is an “unforgivable sin”? Many people think they might have committed such a sin and give up hope of ever making things right with God. An “unforgivable sin” is one that a person refuses to confess and repent of. REPENTANCE is all that is required to obtain forgiveness for any sin (1 John 1:9). But if we refuse to repent, if we resist the promptings of the Holy Spirit,then we put ourselves beyond the reach of God’s grace and our sin becomes “unforgivable” (see Mark 3:28–29).

3–21 Two types of sin offering are described in this chapter: the first is for sins committed by the anointed priest (high priest) and for the whole Israelite community (verses 3–21); and the second is for sins committed by a leader or by an ordinary member of the community (verses 22–35). Obviously, sins involving the high priest and the community as a whole were of much greater seriousness: sins of the high priest defiled the whole community and the tabernacle where he served;¹⁰ the sins of the community jeopardized Israel’s covenant relationship with God.

In the first type of sin offering (for priest and community), a bull was sacrificed, and some of its blood was sprinkled on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense (verse 7) inside the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle).¹¹ The fatty portions of the bull were then burned on the altar of burnt offering and the rest of the bull was burned outside the camp (verse 12); this anticipated the ultimate sin offering, Jesus Christ, who was crucified outside Jerusalem—“outside the camp” (Hebrews 13:11–13).

In verse 13, we are told that even though the community is unaware [of their sin], they are guilty. They are “guilty” in God’s sight; that is, a law has been broken, a sin has been committed—and sin must be punished.¹² But what happens if the community or an individual (verses 22,27) never realizes that a sin has been committed?Such a sin is atoned for by the daily burnt offerings and also on the annual Day of Atonement (Leviticus Chapter 16).

But if the community or individual does become aware that a sin has been committed, then a sin offering must be offered without delay (verse 14), and the community or individual will be forgiven by God (verses 20,26,31,35). This was the whole purpose of the sin offering: to obtain forgiveness from God and to be restored to fellowship with Him.

22–35 The second type of sin offering was offered by a leader (verse 22) or an ordinary member of the community (verse 27). Here a less expensive animal was sacrificed: a male goat for a leader and a female goat for an ordinary Israelite (verses23,28). However, for poor people, a lamb (verse 32), two doves or two young pigeons (Leviticus 5:7), or even a grain offering (Leviticus 5:11) could be offered. Thus provision was made for even the poorest people to obtain forgiveness for their sins.

Because the sins of individuals were of less consequence than the sins of the high priest or the whole community, the blood of the sacrifice did not need to be sprinkled on the altar of incense within the tabernacle.

Instead, it was sprinkled on the main altar of burnt offering located in the courtyard outside the entrance to the tabernacle. Also the priests were allowed to eat the leftover meat of the sacrificed animal. In all other respects, however, the sin offering for individuals was carried out in the same way as that for the priest and community described in verses 3–21.

Further information about the sin offering is given in Leviticus 6:24–30; Numbers15:22–29.