UBF Daily Bread

LAWS REGARDING THE SIN OFFERING

Passage: Leviticus 6:24~7:10

Key verse: 6:25

The Sin Offering

²⁴The Lord said to Moses, ²⁵“Say to Aaron and his sons: ‘These are the regulations for the sin offering:^(A) The sin offering is to be slaughtered before the Lord^(B) in the place^(C) the burnt offering is slaughtered; it is most holy. ²⁶The priest who offers it shall eat it; it is to be eaten in the sanctuary area,^(D) in the courtyard^(E) of the tent of meeting.^(F) ²⁷Whatever touches any of the flesh will become holy,^(G) and if any of the blood is spattered on a garment, you must wash it in the sanctuary area. ²⁸The clay pot^(H) the meat is cooked in must be broken; but if it is cooked in a bronze pot, the pot is to be scoured and rinsed with water. ²⁹Any male in a priest’s family may eat it;^(I) it is most holy.^(J) ³⁰But any sin offering whose blood is brought into the tent of meeting to make atonement^(K) in the Holy Place^(L) must not be eaten; it must be burned up.^(M)

The Guilt Offering

7 “‘These are the regulations for the guilt offering,^(N) which is most holy: ²The guilt offering is to be slaughtered in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered, and its blood is to be splashed against the sides of the altar. ³All its fat^(O) shall be offered: the fat tail and the fat that covers the internal organs, ⁴both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which is to be removed with the kidneys.^(P) ⁵The priest shall burn them on the altar^(Q) as a food offering presented to the Lord. It is a guilt offering. ⁶Any male in a priest’s family may eat it,^(R) but it must be eaten in the sanctuary area; it is most holy.^(S)

⁷“‘The same law applies to both the sin offering^[a]^(T) and the guilt offering:^(U) They belong to the priest^(V) who makes atonement with them.^(W) ⁸The priest who offers a burnt offering for anyone may keep its hide^(X) for himself. ⁹Every grain offering baked in an oven^(Y) or cooked in a pan^(Z) or on a griddle^(AA) belongs to the priest who offers it, ¹⁰and every grain offering, whether mixed with olive oil or dry, belongs equally to all the sons of Aaron.

Footnotes

Leviticus 7:7 Or purification offering; also in verse 37

Verse 25 says the sin offering is to be offered before the LORD, for it is holy. The expression “before the LORD” is used more than 60 times in the book of Leviticus, and holy (or holiness) is used 152 times, more than any other book of the Bible. These laws for sacrifice reveal a God who is holy and who demands his people be holy.

A portion of the sin offering is given to the priest who offered it (26), unless it is offered for national atonement. Then it is to be burnt completely (30). Anything that touches it must be cleaned specially because the offering literally takes on sin. The laws regarding the guilt offering are similar (7:1-10). The blood (life) and fat (the best portion) of the sacrifice are offered completely to God, and the rest of the meat portions of the offering belong to the priest who officiates the sacrifice. The sacrifices are holy and must be eaten in his holy tabernacle. Similarly, a portion of the grain offerings belongs to the priest (9) and must be eaten in the holy place. These laws instilled a dread of sin and a joy in holiness.

Moreover, these laws discipline us not to approach God casually. Sin which separates us from God is serious and must be dealt with. Ultimately, the sacrifice of Jesus makes us holy. We must loathe sin and worship the Lamb Jesus! (Rev 5:12)

Prayer: Father, thank you for Jesus who sanctifies us by his blood. Help me to worship you properly.

One Word: Worship Holy God in a proper way