Verses 1-2 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:
This chapter deals with sins and with the offerings for the sins done through ignorance. The Hebrew word translated as “ignorance” is “shagagah” and it means unawares, error, or unwittingly.
Verses 3-4 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. 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.
The ritual performed for the sin of ignorance is first explained by Moses when the sin is committed by a priest that has been anointed or set apart for the work of the LORD. Note that the owner of the sin and of the animal being offered for the sin must kill the critter. This is one time that the priest does the killing.
Application: 1 Peter 4:17 states, “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” Like the priests of old that were to set an example to the people of how to live godly lives and of how to obey the commandments of God, the leaders of the Church today are to also set the example to the believers of how to live for the LORD Jesus Christ. This does not mean that pastors and teachers, evangelists and prophets never sin. They do. But repenting of the sin, confessing it, not repeating it and then moving forward in their walk with God is what needs to happen for the Church to remain spiritually healthy.
Verses 5-7 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.
In this ritual the blood is sprinkled inside the sanctuary and also put on the horns of the altar of incense. The rest of the blood is put outside the tabernacle at the altar of burnt offering. Why? Not really sure. Perhaps the placing of the blood on the incense altar is representative of the prayer of repentance of the sinner ascending up to the LORD. Perhaps it is because the incense altar was sweet smelling or fragrant and perhaps, when the sinner discovers the error of his ways and repents, this is a sweet fragrance to the LORD. What do you think?
Verses 8-10 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.
At the end of chapter three it was discussed that, just exactly what was burnt on the altar for the peace offering could be confusing. It seemed that it could have been the fat, the kidneys and the caul or liver. Or it seemed like it could have been the entire remaining carcass of the sacrificial animal after those parts were removed. So here is a perfect example of how Bible proves Bible. Remember that this writer is going through the Scripture along with you the reader, and obviously does not nor claims to have all the answers to questions that arise. But good practice in interpreting the Scripture is to allow other verses to prove what the questionable verses are really saying. No reader of the Bible needs a commentary or other reference materials that are the works of men. Just jot the questions down and, sooner or later, as the Bible books are read, answers to the questions will be revealed which are directly from the LORD and not the ideas of men/women. So based on the verses above, the fat, the kidneys, and the caul are what is burnt on the altar.
Verses 11-12 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.
The rest of the animal was burnt outside the camp. This burning seems to represent the cleansing by fire of the sins of ignorance, and by being outside the camp, the sin was removed from the offending person.
Application: It cost the priest something to kill and just burn up a bullock. People in days past were judged as to their financial standing in the community by their crops and livestock. The more critters you owned and the more crops you produced and stored or sold, the richer you were. So using an asset like a bullock in this sacrificial manner was to be a deterrent to sin. Sin costs. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23
Verse 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;
Application: This verse is teaching that if a person or group of people sin ignorantly, they are still guilty in the eyes of God of the sin. How often have you, the reader, been told or heard others say that, “You are only held accountable for what you know?” Think about the ramifications. Does the believer regularly take the time to examine his/her beliefs, actions, words, habits, attitudes and emotions to be sure they are aligned with the Word of God and His commandments? How does a person discover they are ignorantly engaged in sin against God without studying the Bible and taking time regularly to self examine their life?
Verses 14-21 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. 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.
This ritual is essentially the same as the one for the priest engaged in ignorant sin except that the elders, who represented the various tribes and who were older or aged men who had positions of authority because of their age and their wisdom, collectively killed the animal on behalf of the members of the congregation. The Hebrew word translated as “congregation” is “edah” and it also means company, multitude and people.
Verses 22-26 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; 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.
Ask yourself why a ruler brings a goat instead of a bullock, and why the blood of the sacrifice is not sprinkled before the vail or placed on the horns of the altar of sweet incense.
Verses 27-35 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.
The common people were the inhabitants of the land as opposed to the entire congregation of Hebrew people, to a ruler, or to a priest. Again the blood was not taken inside the tabernacle and placed on the horns or the altar of incense or sprinkled before the vail. And in this case, the goat was not a male as required of a ruler, but a female. Or the animal could also be a female lamb. Ask yourself why the difference?