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The Everlasting Gospel
Appendix E
(from page 46)
Leviticus chapters 4, 5, 6, 7
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(Begin quote)Leviticus 4:
1
And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 Speak to 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 is what he or she must do when they realize it].[Sins of ignorance.]
[A priest’s offering]3
If the priest that is anointed [one that has been approved for duty] do sin according to the sin of the people; then let him bring for his sin, which he has sinned, a young bullock without blemish to the LORD for a sin offering. 4 And he shall bring the bullock to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD; and shall lay his hand upon the bullock's head [confessing the sin and passing it to the animal in ritual], and kill the bullock before the LORD [symbolically it dies as a result of the sin].5
And the priest that is anointed [another one] shall take of the bullock's blood, and bring it to the tabernacle of the congregation [the first room in the tabernacle]. 6 And the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood [as evidence of death] seven times before the LORD, [on the ground] before the veil of the sanctuary [recording the death caused by sin, Romans 6:23].7
And the priest shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the [golden] altar of sweet incense before the LORD, which is in the tabernacle of the congregation [the first room]; and shall pour all [the rest of] the blood of the bullock at the bottom of the [brass] altar of the burnt offering [it is no longer needed], which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation [in the courtyard]. Back to page 17.8
And he shall take off from it all the fat of the bullock for the sin offering; the fat that covers 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 [the "dangerous" parts are consumed by God].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 to 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. [Some of its blood was used to transfer the record of "death" into the building, but the offerer did not receive forgiveness, or an atonement, through it. Now the body is disposed of as superfluous.]***************
(End quote)The first offering for sin which is mentioned is for the priest – whether it is a personal sin or one which he has taken on by ritually eating the offering made by a common person, makes no difference. He needs to transfer the "death".
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(Begin quote)Leviticus 4:
[A church’s offering]
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.
16
And the priest that is anointed [the one who is on duty] 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 [second] veil. 18 And he shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the [golden] altar [of incense] 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 [brass] 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 [and its blood was used in the building].***************
(End quote)Sometimes a whole church congregation will realise that they have erred in the things of the LORD, and if so, they too could come and confess it publicly and be forgiven.
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(Begin quote)Leviticus 4:
[A leader’s offering]
22
When a ruler has 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 has 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 [confessing that sin], 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 [brass] altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out his blood at the bottom of the altar of burnt offering [none of it is used in the building].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 [yet none of its blood/death is registered in the building].***************
(End quote)The responsibility of a leader in the church to keep to the straight and narrow, is always very high. If such a one should come to the realisation that he had unwittingly fallen short of the standard required of him, he too could come and ask forgiveness and cleansing.
He need not bring a bull, a ram of the goats was sufficient.
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(Begin quote)Leviticus 4:
[An ordinary person’s offering]
27
And if any one of the common people sin through ignorance, while he does 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 has 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 has 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 [brass] altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar [none of it is used in the building].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 to 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 [it’s not needed]. Back to page 16.35
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 to the LORD: and the priest shall make an atonement for his sin that he has committed, and it shall be forgiven him.***************
(End quote)Here the Son of God asks the sinning Christians among the people to bring a female offering, either a goat or a sheep, and we should note that none of its blood is taken into the sanctuary building.
The only record of "death" in the building has come from the priest, or the congregation as a whole, and it’s bull’s blood. Back to page 14.
Leviticus 5:
[Sins of trespass against humanity.]
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(Begin quote)Leviticus 5:
1
And if a soul sin, and hear the voice of swearing, and is a witness, whether he has seen or [just] known of it; if he do not utter it, then he shall bear his iniquity [the responsibility for its damage].2
Or if a soul touch any unclean thing, whether it be a carcase of an unclean beast, or a carcase of unclean cattle, or the carcase of unclean creeping things, and if it be hidden from him [if he sees no damage from it]; he also shall be unclean, and guilty [for he should have taken precautions not to endanger his neighbours].3
Or if he touch the uncleanness of man, whatsoever uncleanness it be that a man shall be defiled withal, and it be hid from him [there is no result]; when he knows of it, then he shall be guilty [and will need to ask for protection].4
Or if a soul swear [rashly], pronouncing with his lips to do evil, or to do good, whatsoever it be that a man shall pronounce with an oath, and it [the results of it] be hid from him; when he knows of it, then he shall be guilty in one of these. 5 And it shall be, when he shall be guilty in [any] one of these things, that he shall confess that he has sinned in that thing [for confession needs to be specific and to the point. A general "I am guilty" will not suffice].6
And he shall bring his trespass offering to the LORD for his sin which he has sinned, a female from the flock, a lamb or a kid of the goats, for a sin offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his sin. [The blood is not used in the sanctuary because he is an individual in the church.]***************
(End quote)Again, in the case of an individual in the church, it is a female sacrifice that is required. In this way, the Son of God ensures that we notice that no blood from a lamb ever enters the building.
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(Begin quote)Leviticus 5:
7
And if he be not able to bring a lamb [or if he is ignorant of the seriousness of what he has done], then he shall bring for his trespass, which he has committed, two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, to the LORD; one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering.8
And he shall bring them to the priest, who shall offer that which is for the sin offering first, and wring off his head from his neck, but shall not divide it asunder [as in the agreement ceremony, Genesis 15:9-10]: 9 and he shall sprinkle of the blood of the sin offering upon the side of the altar; and the rest of the blood shall be wrung out at the bottom of the altar: it is a sin offering.10
And he shall offer the second for a burnt offering, according to the manner: and the priest shall make an atonement for him for his sin which he has sinned, and it shall be forgiven him [although the blood did not enter the building].***************
(End quote)The degree of understanding will govern what the transgressor will bring as his offering. His lack of worldly goods, which is shown by the fact that he cannot afford the requested animal, is a picture of his spiritual poverty.
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(Begin quote)Leviticus 5:
11
But if he be not able to bring two turtledoves, or two young pigeons [a very serious case of ignorance, not even knowing about Christ’s death], then he that sinned shall bring for his offering the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for a sin offering; he shall put no oil upon it, neither shall he put any frankincense thereon: for it is a sin offering [but without blood, or evidence of the knowledge of Spirit or the righteousness of Christ].["And almost all things are by the law purged with blood;
and without shedding of blood is no remission". Hebrews 9:22.]
12
Then shall he bring it to the priest, and the priest shall take his handful of it, even a memorial thereof, and burn it on the altar, according to the offerings made by fire to the LORD: it is a sin offering. 13 And the priest shall make an atonement for him as touching his sin that he has sinned in one of these, and it shall be forgiven him: and the remnant shall be the priest's, as [if it was] a meat [flour] offering [he needs to eat it].***************
(End quote)It is a sad fact that some in this world will be justified and resurrected even though they know nothing of the story of Jesus, or His gift of righteousness (which they accepted either in ignorance or by ascribing it to another god, for they must have it to be saved). Neither do they know anything of the work of the Spirit in their transformation. This is a reflection on the job of the church members who have been left in the world after conversion to witness for Christ and to develop a character fit for heaven. We have been told, "Awake to righteousness
[and its responsibilities], and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame". 1 Corinthians 15:34.But our God reads the hearts of men and women, and it is said of Him, "The LORD shall count, when He writes up the people
[in His Book of Life], that this man was born [here or] there. Selah." [This word means; Stop and think prayerfully on what you have just read]. Psalm 87:6.***************
(Begin quote)Leviticus 7:
1
Likewise this is the law [rules] of the trespass offering: it is most holy. 2 In the [same] place where they kill the burnt offering shall they kill the trespass offering [on the side of the north]: and the blood thereof shall he sprinkle round about upon the [brass] altar.3
And he shall offer of it all the fat thereof; the rump, and the fat that covers the inwards, 4 and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the caul that is above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away: 5 and the priest shall burn them upon the altar for an offering made by fire to the LORD [only God can handle fat, for it is heavily polluted with the results of sinful actions]: it is a trespass offering [not a burnt offering].6
Every male among the priests shall eat thereof: it shall be eaten in the holy place: it is most holy. 7 As the sin offering is, so is the trespass offering: there is one law for them: the priest that makes atonement therewith shall have it.8
And the priest that offers any man's burnt offering, even the priest shall have to himself the skin of the burnt offering which he has offered.9
And all the meat [flour] offering that is baked in the oven, and all that is dressed in the fryingpan, and in the pan, shall be the priest's that offers it.10
And every meat [flour] offering, mingled with oil, and dry, shall all the sons of Aaron have, one as much as another.***************
(End quote)A "trespass" is slightly different from a "sin" but the end result is the same – death. Although not defined clearly in the Bible, my understanding of the difference is that a "trespass" is an action that can be recompensed to someone, and for this reason it has a "fine" or "interest" associated with it.
In other words, it has a material element linked to it, which can and should be repaid to the victim.
[Sins against God]
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(Begin quote)Leviticus 5:
14
And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 15 If a soul commit a trespass, and sin through ignorance, in the holy things of the LORD [which he SHOULD have known about]; then he shall bring for his trespass to the LORD a ram without blemish out of the flocks, with your estimation by shekels of silver [a fine decided by the seriousness of the offence], after the shekel of the sanctuary, for a trespass offering.16
And he shall make amends for the harm that he has done in the holy thing [he must repair or change his ways], and shall add the fifth part thereto [20% interest], and give it to the priest: and the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering, and it shall be forgiven him. [Again, the blood is not used.]***************
(End quote)God makes a distinction between sins which we commit solely against Him, and those which we commit against our neighbours, although He does class the latter as being against Him too. He also makes a difference between His "holy things" and the less "common" areas in that He classifies them for us as the ones we SHOULD have known about when we made a profession of following Him, and those we COULD have known about if we had studied His words.
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(Begin quote)Leviticus 5:
17
And if a soul sin, and commit any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the LORD [which he COULD have known about]; though he wist it not [knows it not], yet is he guilty, and shall bear his iniquity.[While ignorance may lessen the guilt of the transgressor,
it will not a sufficient excuse for it in the day of judgment.]
18
And he shall bring a ram without blemish out of the flock, with your estimation [the fine], for a trespass offering, to the priest: and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his ignorance wherein he erred and wist it not, and it shall be forgiven him. 19 It is a trespass offering: he has certainly trespassed against the LORD. [This blood is not used in the building either.]***************
(End quote)Even known and deliberately committed sins are covered by the "blood" of the Son of God.
[Deliberate sins]
Leviticus 6:
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(Begin quote)Leviticus 6:
1
And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the LORD [sins against humanity are also sins against God], and lie to his neighbour in that which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship [or business], or in a thing taken away by violence, or has deceived his neighbour; 3 or have found that which was lost, and lies concerning it, and swears falsely; in any of all these that a man does, sinning therein: 4 then it shall be, because he has sinned, and is guilty, that he shall restore that which he took violently away, or the thing which he has deceitfully gotten, or that which was delivered him to keep, or the lost thing which he found, 5 or all that about which he has sworn falsely; he shall even restore it in the principal [100%], and shall add the fifth part more thereto [20% interest], and give it to him to whom it appertains, in the day of his trespass offering.6
And he shall bring his trespass offering to the LORD, a ram without blemish out of the flock, with your estimation [plus the fine], for a trespass offering, to the priest: 7 and the priest shall make an atonement for him before the LORD: and it shall be forgiven him for any thing of all that he has done in trespassing therein.***************
(End quote)
Even the most heinous sins in our eyes can and will be forgiven and cleansed if we come to the LORD and ask for it. As Jesus has told us, there is no sin which cannot be forgiven, except the one we refuse to confess, for it is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit when we reject His pleading.
There are four sin offerings:
1. Ordinary actions of ignorance.
2. Faults against fellow humans.
3. Ignorant trespasses against the holy things of God.
4. Wilful (deliberate) actions against God and man.
I repeat, there is absolutely no sin which cannot be forgiven, except that of refusing the invitation of the Spirit to confess and repent of it! Matthew 12:31-32. But, when we come to confess it we should know which of the four we have done, and what effect the forgiving and cleansing will have on our Saviour. This should be in our heart and mind as we stand before Him and we should confess THAT sin in detail to Him, for He needs to know that we know what we have done.
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(Begin quote)Leviticus 6:
24
And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 25 Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, This is the law of the sin offering.In the
[same] place where the burnt offering is killed shall the sin offering be killed before the LORD: it is most holy. 26 The priest that offers it for sin shall eat it [take it upon himself]: in the holy place shall it be eaten, in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation.27
Whatsoever shall touch the flesh thereof shall be holy [contaminated and dangerous]: and when there is sprinkled of the blood thereof upon any garment, you shall wash that whereon it was sprinkled in the holy place. 28 But the earthen vessel wherein it is sodden [boiled] shall be broken: and if it be sodden in a brazen [brass] pot, it shall be both scoured, and rinsed in water.29
All the males among the priests shall eat thereof: it is most holy.30
And no sin offering, whereof any of the blood is brought into the tabernacle of the congregation to reconcile withal in the holy place, shall be eaten: it shall be burnt in the fire. Back to page 17.***************
(End quote)Conclusion:
The record of death associated with the sin is either in the building through the sprinkling of the bull’s blood
OR
in the priest through his eating of the flesh of the animal it was confessed over.
Both rituals illustrate that Jesus our Saviour has taken the EFFECT of our sin into Himself.
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