Today’s reading continues in chapters 5, 6, and 7 of Leviticus.
Chapter 5 –
Verses 1-13 continues the instructions fior the offering of ordinary people that began in 4:27. Here sins remedied are not inadvertent but hidden, in that they involve deliberate neglect or forgetfulness. One who becomes aware of a need for atonement is required to confess before bringing the sacrifice to the sanctuary, it is not before a priest in this case.
Anyone who cannot afford and offering can bring two birds, one for sin offering the other for a burnt offering. Even a poorer sinner can bring an offering of flour without the incense.
In verse 14 we see the introduction of the guilt offering. The guilt offering id for inadvertently misappropriating something sacred, even when the sense of guilt is not known and deliberately misusing God’s name in a false oath to defraud another person.
Chapter 6 –
The guilt offering teaches several concepts:
- Only after sinners make wrongs right to the best of their ability will God accept their sacrifices,
- It is not enough for sinners to put things right as best as they can, they still need forgiveness provided by the sacrifice,
- Divine forgiveness is available to those who are unable to identify their sins,
- The Messianic suffering is the ultimate guilt offering.
Verse 8 – 13 give instructions regarding the burnt offering are concerned with ensuring that the sacred altar fire, lit by God himself will never go out.
We then read about the grain offering procedures along with regulations concerning eating the meat of the sin offerings.
In ancient Israel sin-offering blood serves as a carrier agent to remove pollution, as in a living body. There was nothing wrong with the blood which cleanses faulty people.
Chapter 7 –
Verse 1 – 10 outlines the procedure for guilt offering, which is similar to sin offering except the blood is dashed in the sides of the altar. Its suet serves as a food gift even though the sacrifice is mandatory because it follows the payment of reparation to the wronged party.
Verses 11 -36 provides additional instructions for varieties of the fellowship offering, which people are to eat. Anyone who (intentionally) violates the sanctity of the fellowship offering by eating the meal while impure will incur divine punishment.
A summary at the end of the chapter lists the sacrifices in order of their presentation but looks ahead to our next reading by inserting the ordination offering before the fellowship offering. The ordination offering is similar to the fellowship offering in that it includes special grain accompaniments and the breast belongs to the officiant.
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