1.
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2.
Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a soul shall 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:
Leviticus 4:2. If a soul shall sin through ignorance, &c.— Sacrifices, called sin-offerings, are next appointed for such involuntary transgressions, as men might ignorantly and unknowingly be guilty of. And as such sins were attended with worse consequences in some than in others, therefore different offerings are appointed for different persons; as will appear in the course of this chapter.
3.
If the priest that is anointed do sin according to the sin of the people; then let him bring for his sin, which he hath sinned, a young bullock without blemish unto the LORD for a sin offering.
Leviticus 4:3. The priest that is anointed— That is, the high-priest. The phrase that is anointed, specifies no more than holy; if the holy priest. It is used for the common priests, Numbers 3:3. According to the sin of the people, is rendered by Houbigant and many others, if he shall lead the people to sin, i.e. drawing them into error by his example or misinformation. The Hebrew literally is, if the holy priest shall sin to the sin of the people, that is, to the causing the people to sin also; see Heb 5:2 and compare with Hebrews 7:26-28.
4.
And he shall bring the bullock unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD; and shall lay his hand upon the bullock's head, and kill the bullock before the LORD.
5.
And the priest that is anointed shall take of the bullock's blood, and bring it to the tabernacle of the congregation:
6.
And the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the LORD, before the vail of the sanctuary.
7.
And the priest shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the LORD, which is in the tabernacle of the congregation: and shall pour all the blood of the bullock at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
8.
And he shall take off from it all the fat of the bullock for the sin offering; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards,
9.
And the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away,
10.
As it was taken off from the bullock of the sacrifice of peace offerings: and the priest shall burn them upon the altar of the burnt offering.
11.
And the skin of the bullock, and all his flesh, with his head, and with his legs, and his inwards, and his dung,
12.
Even the whole bullock shall he carry forth without the camp unto a clean place, where the ashes are poured out, and burn him on the wood with fire: where the ashes are poured out shall he be burnt.
Leviticus 4:12. The whole bullock shall he carry forth without the camp— To express the heinousness of his guilt, the high-priest was not allowed to taste any part of his own sin-offering, though of other sin-offerings he was allowed to eat; ch. Leviticus 6:26.
REFLECTIONS.—The wages of sin, wherever it is found, is death: even sins of ignorance are mortal without an atonement. We have here, therefore, an express appointment of a sin-offering for the soul that sins through ignorance. The sin is supposed to be an outward act, committed either through ignorance of the law, or surprise. There may be alleviations of guilt, but no excuse for sin.
The sacrifice for the sin of the high-priest is first appointed. He was a man, and, therefore, compassed about with infirmity. Note; 1. We must not expect too much from sinful men, however holy their calling, or high their attainments. 2. Yet a priest's sin is ever most aggravated, since he who is appointed to guide others, is peculiarly bound to set them an example.
The sin-offering is a bullock, to be offered with the usual form. Confession of guilt, and dependence on that blood without which there is no remission, is the only way of obtaining pardon for sin. The blood was sprinkled before the vail, and put on the horns of the golden altar; to signify, that all his services were polluted, till his iniquity was done away. The fat, &c. as in the peace-offering, was burned on the altar; to signify, that God accepted the sacrifice, and was reconciled to the offender; and the whole of the beast that remained, was burned without the camp as a detestable thing. Thus Jesus, when he made his soul an offering for sin, suffered without the camp; and, in the sharpness of his sorrows, and the ignominy that he endured, shewed us the dreadful evil of sin, while he thus took it away by the sacrifice of himself.
13.
And if the whole congregation of Israel sin through ignorance, and the thing be hid from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done somewhat against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which should not be done, and are guilty;
14.
When the sin, which they have sinned against it, is known, then the congregation shall offer a young bullock for the sin, and bring him before the tabernacle of the congregation.
15.
And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands upon the head of the bullock before the LORD: and the bullock shall be killed before the LORD.
Leviticus 4:15. The elders of the congregation— They were to do this as representatives of the whole people, from whom they are plainly distinguished; see Leviticus 4:13. It is to be observed, that the same ceremonies are prescribed for the sins of the high-priest and of the whole congregation. The altar of sweet incense, in particular, Leviticus 4:7; Lev 4:18 was to be atoned for each; to remind them, that they were each unworthy to offer prayers to God, while in a state of sin, which polluted in a certain sense the very altar and sanctuary itself; see ch. Leviticus 16:9.
16.
And the priest that is anointed shall bring of the bullock's blood to the tabernacle of the congregation:
17.
And the priest shall dip his finger in some of the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD, even before the vail.
18.
And he shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar which is before the LORD, that is in the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall pour out all the blood at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
19.
And he shall take all his fat from him, and burn it upon the altar.
20.
And he shall do with the bullock as he did with the bullock for a sin offering, so shall he do with this: and the priest shall make an atonement for them, and it shall be forgiven them.
21.
And he shall carry forth the bullock without the camp, and burn him as he burned the first bullock: it is a sin offering for the congregation.
Leviticus 4:21. It is a sin-offering for the congregation— Whatever is human, is liable to error. Nations and churches are all fallible, and, therefore, an atonement for national sins of ignorance is provided. The offering is the same as for the priest, as, most likely, their sins would be the same. Note; If the people live in ignorance and sin, much is to be feared for their teachers.
22.
When a ruler hath sinned, and done somewhat through ignorance against any of the commandments of the LORD his God concerning things which should not be done, and is guilty;
Leviticus 4:22. When a ruler— i.e. Any person of superior rank and authority; a magistrate. The Hebrew word נשׂיא nasi, is a ruler or prince; one that lifteth up or easeth the burdens of the people by governing them, Numbers 11:17. Exo 18:22 and is a common name both for inferior rulers, as Numbers 16:2. Exo 16:22 and for the chief, as the king, Ezekiel 34:24; Ezekiel 38:2; Ezekiel 45:7.—Is guilty, at the end of this verse, is understood by some to signify conscious of his guilt; see Hos 5:15 but, rendering the or if, in the next verse, by when (as the original will well bear), the passage is sufficiently clear: is guilty, signifying, hath contracted guilt.
REFLECTIONS.—However sin comes to our knowledge, we should be thankful for the notice. Rulers, as well as other men, have need often to open their ears to admonition; they may, even when they mean well, do ill. A kid sufficed for the atonement; intimating, that though the offence were the same, the crime was not so aggravated, nor pernicious in its consequence, as that of the high-priest or congregation. Note; Though all sins are not alike evil in their effects to others, they are all mortal to the sinful soul without an atonement.
23.
Or if his sin, wherein he hath sinned, come to his knowledge; he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a male without blemish:
24.
And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the goat, and kill it in the place where they kill the burnt offering before the LORD: it is a sin offering.
25.
And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out his blood at the bottom of the altar of burnt offering.
26.
And he shall burn all his fat upon the altar, as the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings: and the priest shall make an atonement for him as concerning his sin, and it shall be forgiven him.
27.
And if any one of the common people sin through ignorance, while he doeth somewhat against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and be guilty;
28.
Or if his sin, which he hath sinned, come to his knowledge: then he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a female without blemish, for his sin which he hath sinned.
29.
And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering, and slay the sin offering in the place of the burnt offering.
30.
And the priest shall take of the blood thereof with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar.
31.
And he shall take away all the fat thereof, as the fat is taken away from off the sacrifice of peace offerings; and the priest shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet savour unto the LORD; and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him.
32.
And if he bring a lamb for a sin offering, he shall bring it a female without blemish.
33.
And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering, and slay it for a sin offering in the place where they kill the burnt offering
34.
And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar:
35.
And he shall take away all the fat thereof, as the fat of the lamb is taken away from the sacrifice of the peace offerings; and the priest shall burn them upon the altar, according to the offerings made by fire unto the LORD: and the priest shall make an atonement for his sin that he hath committed, and it shall be forgiven him.
Leviticus 4:35. It shall be forgiven him— The great design of sin-offerings, says one, was to imprint the remembrance of guilt upon the heart; and to preserve from offending for the future. The words according to, upon, or with, says Dr. Beaumont, have reference either to the fat of the peace-offering, according as that was burned; or to the daily burnt-offering, which was first offered; and other sacrifices after, and, as it were, upon, or with the same.
REFLECTIONS.—The offering of a private person resembles the ruler's, save that he may use a lamb or a kid, and it must be a female instead of a male. Note; 1. No sinner is so little as to be overlooked, or so great as to be excused. 2. All alike (we can hardly too often repeat it) need the atoning blood of Christ. 3. Every application to Christ for pardon of sin, lays an obligation upon us to forsake sin. 4. The sense of the desert of sin will affect our hearts with deep sorrow for it. The tears of penitence should always mingle with the blood of atonement.