Lev Chapter 4

The Sin offering

Lev 4-5:13

Up to this point we have been looking at what are called the Free will offerings

we or they would give these because they wanted to

The Sin offering - this one

is the first of the required offerings

which means you offered them because you had to

This chapter is about unintentional sins

We know that because it occurs 3 times in

v2, 22, 27

So lets talk unintentional sins

what this refers to is a sin of error

Describe one?

Driving in a construction zone

etc

Have them discuss them

Sin of Omission

losing your temper

cussing

lust

So we have a couple of categories here

ignorance of the law

which does not make us innocent

this is an unintentional sin

which is still a sin

The other is..’

Any sin that was not premeditated

This is a distinction between what is called a

“high-handed sin”

a high handed sin is a sin that a professing believer makes / commits

with boldness, defiantly, like up premarital sex among believers

um, a believer that gets belligerently drunk

a believer that has an affair

umm things like that

those are high handed sins

This offering is not that

as we mentioned this is a unintentional sin

which are an overflow of our innate sinfulness

Lets think Romans 7:15 “For I do not understand what I am doing, because I do not practice what I want to do, but I do what I hate.”

Here is the point

we are all sinners by nature and by choice

we sin deliberately and accidentally

and while each of these offerings has taught us something about Jesus

they have also taught us about sin

Being sinless just isn’t possible

we aren’t sinners because we sin

we sin because we are sinners

So, by spelling this out

God is telling us that no matter the sin

whether we meant to or not

we are held accountable for it

which greatly shows us the great need we have to be saved

4 categories of people found here in Lev 4 of the people that need to make atonement

they are the priests - 3-12

13-21 whole Israelite community the entire nation we should say

22- 26 is the leaders as in the individual leaders in the community

27 and into chapter 5 is the common people - the everyday folks

Many details are mentioned as to how they are to find atonement for these unintentional sins

things that we have seen before

that those are laid out after each group

and each group is a little different

but there is an important distinction we find here

in categories 3 & 4 we see

which are a general community leader and a just a general community member

when sins are commited in these categories

the blood is splashed on the alter

and the animal is burned up on the alter

this is the alter that is in courtyard of the tabernacle area

outside of the main tent

or the holy or holies

The ones in that 1 and 2 categories

are essentially identical

and they are to offer an bull

which means it’s expensive

V3 says when the priest sins it brings guilt among the whole people

Does this sound familiar?

Adam represented us in the Garden when we sinned

likewise Romans 5:12

It also says the anointed priest

that points us to jesus as well

not in the fact that he sinned

but in the fact that he is the

ultimate anointed priest (the messiah) (the annointed one)

V5 (Read is) it says the blood goes into the tent of meeting

it is a higher standard

and that is what we see in the NT

that those have greater spiritual responsibility are held to a higher standard (me)

the greater the fall from grace, the closer we must get to God

it cant be totally taken care of in the courtyard

they are to splash blood on the alter

the horns of the alter

see picture

then..

it must go all the way into the tent of meeting

and the blood must be splashed on the curtain

it must be splashed or sprinkled 7 times

the number of completions

showing our sins are completely forgiven

that separated the holy place from the holy of holies

remember the “veil” that was torn in 2 when Jesus was crucified

that is where they would splash the blood

It is the same when the entire community has gone astray

This is pictured perfectly in Hebrews 9:11-14.

So, Jesus, as our great high priest

entered the great holy place

he entered heaven itself

and remember, the tabernacle is a picture of what it will look like in heaven

the temple at least

So he entered heaven itself

and he offered blood to God

because the whole community had sinned

we all have sinned

and our sins have been attributed to Him

Now, why did Jesus have to go right into the presence of God to make that offering to him?

because there has been a violation of category 1 and 2

category 2 because the whole community has sinned

that is why Jesus went to the cross

and category 1 because the priest has sinned

now, Jesus is the hight priest right

and while he didn't sin

our sins were attributed to him

So, in order to reconcile that account

the hight priest had to go into the presence of God himself!

That is exactly what happened in the most amazing way we could imagine

Jesus is both the sacrifice that is slain

and the priest that offers that sacrifice

the very one that goes right into the tent of meeting to make things right with God

the relationship that was broken through our sin

Jesus provided the sacrifice not just for what we have done

but for what we are

that is both high handed and unintentional sinners

2 Corinthians 5:21 “21 He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

V 12 of Lev

It says outside the camp

Hebrews 13:11- He was crucified outside of the camp

that relationship was broken and he went straight to God to make that right

for us!