Leviticus 4:1-12 - "The Sin Offering"

Leviticus 4:1-12

"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 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:  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. 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. And the priest that is anointed shall take of the bullock's blood, and bring it to the tabernacle of the congregation: 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. 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. 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, 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, 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. And the skin of the bullock, and all his flesh, with his head, and with his legs, and his inwards, and his dung, 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."

Here in Leviticus 4, we see that the Old Testament is a picture book of Christ. These sacrifices of the Old Testament point to the LORD Jesus Christ, that’s what it’s all about. Here in this particular chapter is the sin offering. We read of a young bullock without blemish unto the LORD for a sin offering, a pretty big sacrifice, because when you consider what sin is before the LORD, it is immense. Yet where sin did abound, Grace did much more abound.

This sin offering is an offering unto the LORD for sin, whether priest or people. Even the priests were not blameless. There’s only One Priest that has ever been blameless, and that’s the LORD Jesus Christ, but these were types. The bullock is without blemish, its blood is taken, and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the LORD. We read again and again that all the blood is poured out at the bottom of the altar of burnt offering. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission. This is how it typifies the LORD Jesus Christ. He came not merely to give an example of what it is to live a holy life before the LORD—though it was necessary that He be blameless—but that He lay down His Life and shed His blood unto death before His Father for the congregation. Which congregation? That people that the Father had given Him.

We read that it is a sin offering. The laying on of hands did not make the animal sinful. So also, when Scripture says, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin” (2 Corinthians 5:21), He was made to be a sin Offering. The sin transferred to the Sacrifice did not make Him a sinner. The animal didn’t become guilty because the animal was without sin, blameless, just like Christ. Christ knew no sin—never had an evil thought—yet His Soul was made an Offering for sin.

Again and again the chapter declares that the blood must be shed unto death. Not a pinprick blood, not merely the blood of the crown of thorns, nor the blood from His back, nor the blood of circumcision. It had to be shed unto death. And so Christ, slain without the camp, fulfills the picture. God putting aside all those Old Testament types and pictures, because even the priests were not without sin, establishes through Christ an entirely new Covenant outside the camp.

The theme continues through all the transitions: the individual, the whole congregation, the ruler, and the common people. There is none righteous, no, not one (Psalm 14:1-3, Romans 3:10,11). All need a sin offering. But in every case, the offering must be without blemish, the blood must be shed, and the priest must make an atonement. Yet this atonement is a covering. Nothing about the blood of bulls and goats could put away sin. It was God’s forbearance. But when Christ came, His death was not an atonement, it was an actual Propitiation. It was an actual Redemption, whereby He did put away the sin. That’s why there’s no more offering for sin today.

“And the blood shall be to you for a token… and when I see the blood, I will pass over you” (Exodus 12:13). What blood? It represented the blood of the LORD Jesus Christ. “Without shedding of blood is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22). God had to be satisfied through the death of His Son.

Thus our acceptance is entirely before God in the Sacrifice of the LORD Jesus Christ. Under the blood of Jesus is our Deliverance and Salvation. It’s in what He did and what He accomplished. And this blood alone enables us to come into the Presence of the holiest of holies, God Himself, and to be heard in Mercy.