Chapter Four
Regulations Regarding Sin Offerings
4:1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If anyone sins unintentionally in any of the LORD’s commandments about things not to be done, and does any one of them,
The next sacrificial offering that God described to Moses was the Sin Offering, we see here in this introductory statement that it pertains to sins that were committed unintentionally. Those in violation of God’s commandments, either where the correct action was not done (acts of omission) or doing something that was prohibited (acts of commission).
This section opens with the mention that God spoke to Moses, something last seen in verse one of chapter one, alerting us to a transition, possibly to separate this sacrifice from the first three listed. Since the primary purpose of the sin offering was to purify the offender of their guilt, it is often referred to as the purification offering. Sin pollutes, it makes a person unclean, and it can also make a location unclean. Due to sin, mankind is no longer perfect, therefore, mistakes will happen. Have you ever been so dirty, or covered in something, that no matter what you do in trying to clean up a mess you just make matters worse? The only thing you can do is clean yourself up first before cleaning up the mess. This sacrifice was to purify (wash) the participant first before paying the penalty (cleaning up the mess), which is what the following sacrifice is all about (the guilt offering).
The variations of the procedures noted for this sacrifice are not regarding a range of acceptable animals, these instructions vary based on the person or group of people that have sinned (those making the offering). Verses 3-12 address the process for the anointed priest (High Priest); verses 13-21 for the people of Israel as a whole; verses 22-26 for leaders of the people; and verses 27-35 for individuals. The subject of the sin offering continues into chapter five, although the opening states, “If anyone sins,” clearly separating the clauses.
4:3 if it is the anointed priest who sins, thus bringing guilt on the people, then he shall offer for the sin that he has committed a bull from the herd without blemish to the LORD for a sin offering. 4 He shall bring the bull to the entrance of the tent of meeting before the LORD and lay his hand on the head of the bull and kill the bull before the LORD. 5 And the anointed priest shall take some of the blood of the bull and bring it into the tent of meeting, 6 and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle part of the blood seven times before the LORD in front of the veil of the sanctuary. 7 And the priest shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense before the LORD that is in the tent of meeting, and all the rest of the blood of the bull he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering that is at the entrance of the tent of meeting.
The only priest officially ‘anointed’ was the High Priest,[1] and since he represents the people of Israel,[2] any sin he would commit would effectively prevent them from receiving atonement until his sin was first atoned. The High Priest was to bring a bull from the herd, one without any blemish, to the entrance of the Tabernacle. He was to lay his hand on the head of the bull and kill it there before YHWH. The high priest was to take part of the blood and bring it inside the structure. Using his finger, he was to sprinkle the blood seven times before YHWH in front of the veil, presumably on the ground (the Tabernacle did not have a floor above the ground). Then the high priest was to put some of the blood on the horns of the golden altar of incense. The rest of the bull’s blood was then poured out at the base of the bronze altar outside the structure.
4:8 And all the fat of the bull of the sin offering he shall remove from it, the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails 9 and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins and the long lobe of the liver that he shall remove with the kidneys 10 (just as these are taken from the ox of the sacrifice of the peace offerings); and the priest shall burn them on the altar of burnt offering. 11 But the skin of the bull and all its flesh, with its head, its legs, its entrails, and its dung— 12 all the rest of the bull—he shall carry outside the camp to a clean place, to the ash heap, and shall burn it up on a fire of wood. On the ash heap it shall be burned up.
Like the peace offering, the fat and kidneys of the bull were removed and burned on the bronze altar. However, unlike the peace offering nothing gets shared. The skin, the flesh, the head, all four of the legs, the intestines, the dung, and the rest of the bull were to be taken outside the camp to a ceremonially clean ash heap to be burned.
4:13 “If the whole congregation of Israel sins unintentionally and the thing is hidden from the eyes of the assembly, and they do any one of the things that by the LORD’s commandments ought not to be done, and they realize their guilt, 14 when the sin which they have committed becomes known, the assembly shall offer a bull from the herd for a sin offering and bring it in front of the tent of meeting. 15 And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands on the head of the bull before the LORD, and the bull shall be killed before the LORD. 16 Then the anointed priest shall bring some of the blood of the bull into the tent of meeting, 17 and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD in front of the veil. 18 And he shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar that is in the tent of meeting before the LORD, and the rest of the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering that is at the entrance of the tent of meeting.
If the people of Israel collectively sinned unintentionally, even though they may not have been aware of their sin at the time, once they are made aware, they need to follow these instructions for atonement. The assembly is to select a bull (assumed also to be without blemish) and the elders on behalf of the assembly are to lay their hands on the head and kill the bull before YHWH. Then the high priest was to bring some of the bull’s blood inside the structure and dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times in front of the veil before YHWH. Then he is to put some of the blood on the horns of the golden altar of incense. The remainder of the blood taken is to be poured out at the base of the bronze altar.
4:19 And all its fat he shall take from it and burn on the altar. 20 Thus shall he do with the bull. As he did with the bull of the sin offering, so shall he do with this. And the priest shall make atonement for them, and they shall be forgiven. 21 And he shall carry the bull outside the camp and burn it up as he burned the first bull; it is the sin offering for the assembly.
The removal of the fat and the separation of the various parts are summarized, “and all its fat he shall take from it and burn on the altar,” it is assumed the same procedures from verses 8-11 are followed. The remaining portions would be burned outside the camp as described in verse 12.
We are introduced to a new Hebrew word in verse 20, ‘nis·lǎḥ’,[3] a verb meaning to forgive, it is always used in Scripture as God being the one who is doing the forgiving. The actions of the High Priest allow God to forgive the people. If the High Priest was guilty of the same sin or any other sin, the sin offering as described in verses 3-12 would have been required first, before the sin offering for the people.
4:22 “When a leader sins, doing unintentionally any one of all the things that by the commandments of the LORD his God ought not to be done, and realizes his guilt, 23 or the sin which he has committed is made known to him, he shall bring as his offering a goat, a male without blemish, 24 and shall lay his hand on 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 Then the priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out the rest of its blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering. 26 And all its fat he shall burn on the altar, like the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings. So the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin, and he shall be forgiven.
When a political leader (or ruler) of the people commits an unintentional sin, they are to bring a goat without blemish to the Tabernacle. They are to lay their hands on the head of the goat and kill it in the same place where they kill the animals for the burnt offering before YHWH. Then a priest was to take some of the blood and, using his fingers, put it on the horns of the bronze altar with the remaining blood poured at the base of the same altar. The fat of the sacrifice was to be burned in the same manner as the peace offerings. This procedure allowed the priest to make atonement for the leader. Apparently, the sin committed by a leader was less of a violation than those committed by the High Priest or the community, as the procedure did not require the High Priest to bring the blood inside the structure.
4:27 “If anyone of the common people sins unintentionally in doing any one of the things that by the LORD’s commandments ought not to be done, and realizes his guilt, 28 or the sin which he has committed is made known to him, he shall bring for his offering a goat, a female without blemish, for his sin which he has committed. 29 And he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and kill the sin offering in the place of burnt offering. 30 And the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out all the rest of its blood at the base of the altar. 31 And all its fat he shall remove, as the fat is removed from the peace offerings, and the priest shall burn it on the altar for a pleasing aroma to the LORD. And the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be forgiven. 32 “If he brings a lamb as his offering for a sin offering, he shall bring a female without blemish 33 and lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and kill it for a sin offering in the place where they kill the burnt offering. 34 Then the priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out all the rest of its blood at the base of the altar. 35 And all its fat he shall remove as the fat of the lamb is removed from the sacrifice of peace offerings, and the priest shall burn it on the altar, on top of the LORD’s food offerings. And the priest shall make atonement for him for the sin which he has committed, and he shall be forgiven.
If an ordinary person were to commit an unintentional sin, the procedure is nearly identical to that described above for a leader, except for choosing other animals for the sacrifice, options being either to select a female goat without blemish or a female lamb without blemish. The priest can then extend forgiveness to the offender.
It is interesting to note that in verse 31 is the first and only reference to a sin offering being a pleasing aroma to God. Some believe that this was a scribal error, and the reference was placed there by mistake, as sin could easily be categorized as being ‘unfavorable’. However, the turning from a sin and recognizing that it was indeed wrong, with the person whole-heartedly seeking God’s forgiveness, is always pleasing to God.
Considerations
Intentional versus Unintentional
Any sin committed by mistake would be considered an unintentional sin. That does not necessarily mean only by accident, although that would truly be unintentional, a mistake can be made through faulty thinking or a misunderstanding. However, ignorance is no defense. It was important for the people of Israel to know God’s law, just as it is critical for all Christians to know God’s Word, as they can only grow close to Jesus and know what pleases Him through its study.
What then would be intentional? In short, any action that intentionally violates God’s law, usually identified as works of the flesh. We learn from Paul that prior to his listing of the fruit of the Spirit in his epistle to the church in Galatia, offered this list of what might be described as intentional sins: “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.” (Galatians 5:19b-21a) With the possible exception of intentionally defrauding a neighbor (even then the text implies a possibility of unwittingly defrauding, see Leviticus 6:1-7), none of the sacrifices described in the Old Testament were to provide forgiveness or atonement for these or any other intentional sins. The good news is that God sent His Son to die for our sins, all of them, both unintentional and intentional.
Even though there are several variations regarding the protocol for a sin offering, we cannot help but think about Jesus who willingly died on a cross for all of our sins. Unlike all of the temporary offerings listed in this book, Jesus' offering for atonement is eternal, being done once and for all (see Hebrews 10:1-18). It is interesting to note that after burning some parts were burned on the Bronze Altar that the remains were to be burned outside the camp (see verse 12). In a like manner, Jesus was crucified just outside of Jerusalem in an extremely public location (see and compare Numbers 19 for a similar slaughter).
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[1] See commentary under Exodus 29:7.
[2] See commentary under Exodus 28:36-38.
[3] Sālaḥ’, Strong’s Hebrew 5545.