The Sin Offering (Sin of Ignorance) – Confession (Lev. 4.1-35, 6.24-30)
They say that ignorance is bliss. They say, “What we don’t know won’t hurt us!” Is this really true? Once again, we have been examining the five types of offerings in the Book of Leviticus. The first offering was the burnt offering and symbolized consecration. The second offering was the meat (or meal) offering and represented commitment. The third offering is the peace offering and signifies communion. The sin offering in chapter four illustrates confession. The trespass offering in chapter five represents cleansing.
The sin offering and the trespass offering complement each other. In fact, it is hard to distinguish between them. It is suggested that Leviticus introduces these two offerings into the sacrificial system. The previous three offerings—burnt, meal, and peace offerings—were already familiar to the people of Israel. Since the commandments and ordinances were given through the law of Moses, violations needed to be addressed in a new way. The sin and trespass offerings were added to help Israelites deal with their guilt. These two offerings were negative, while the earlier three were positive.
Many of us want to stop after the third offering. Generally, we like the idea of consecration, commitment, and communion. But as the “consecrated, committed, walking with Christ” Christian travels through this world below, he will get his feet dirty. He will sin. We do not wish to move on from our ivory tower commitment and discover our sin. However, sin is a serious offense to the character and nature of God, and we must deal with sin in order to receive God’s blessing for life and service.
Both the sin offering and the trespass offering appear to have been made for sins committed in ignorance—that is, sins done unknowingly. The opposite of a sin of ignorance is a “sin with the high hand,’ which clearly indicates a rebellious spirit (Num 15:30-31). A sin of ignorance involves violating a command or ordinance of God, breaching sacred things, or unintentionally wrongdoing against a neighbor. Even if the sin was committed out of ignorance, it remains sin, and the person is still guilty. Ignorance of the law does not justify the violation or make it righteous. Similarly, in our legal system, many plead insanity—saying, “I didn’t know what I was doing,” or “I didn’t mean to do it.’ In God’s view, the sinner is always guilty, and atonement must be made for all sins. We could learn a lot from God’s justice system.
The sin offering is also provided to deal with sins against a commandment of the Lord. These sins could be called sins of commission. We might also refer to these as sins of forsaken things or violations of a commandment from the Lord. The text states, “If a soul sin through ignorance against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and shall do against any of them:” (4:2). The issue was the commission of a sin by violating a command of the Lord. We find that all people are guilty of violating the Lord’s commandments. The chapter can be outlined based on the different people or groups that sinned. There are four categories for the law of the sin offering.
- The Sin of the Priest, 4:3-12
God starts with spiritual leadership. If the leadership isn’t right, then the “followship” will also be off. There are three key points we see in the sin offering. The first point concerns the blameless identity. The chosen bullock must be without blemish, symbolizing the perfect sacrifice, which is Jesus Christ. The worshiper was to place his hands on the bullock’s head (v.4), symbolizing the transfer of sins onto the animal. Jesus Christ bore our sins on the cross. Second, there’s a focus on blood atonement (v.5). For the priest, the blood of the bullock was sprinkled seven times before the sanctuary’s veil (6). The blood is intentionally placed on the horns of the altar of incense to make atonement (v.7). Also, the sin offering becomes a burnt offering, which is the third point. The fat and internal parts are removed and burned on the altar (vv.8-10). We need to remove all unnecessary things from our lives at the altar of sacrifice. The rest of the body was taken outside the camp to a clean place and offered as a burnt offering (vv.11-12). After removing the sin fat at the altar, we must go outside the camp to offer ourselves completely anew to serve the Lord. (LEH)