Christ in all the scriptures The law of the sin offering

 Christ in all the scriptures

The Law of the sin offering   Leviticus 6v24-30

The section begins "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying...".  Each time this appears, it is a fresh revelation from the Lord giving additional details.  This confirms that the slow, detailed release of truth is God's method of teaching.  Leviticus is a manual of worship, a way to approach the Living God.  The revelations prescribe the different sacrifices, when to bring them, and the ritual associated with them.  Leviticus is unique, in that it contains mostly the words of God (70% approx.), and contains 37 separate Divine calls.  It is in fact a gracious invitation from God to His people to worship Him in the only way which is acceptable to Him, thus granting to them highest privilege of reconciliation and communion with Himself.  We must not interpret Levitical offerings as bringing us into relationship with God; this was done in Egypt by the Passover Lamb.  Leviticus has to do with the fellowship of God's people who are already in relationship to Him.  Fellowship with God can be broken through sin; however relationship with Him is unbroken.  These twin aspects of spiritual life are expounded in 1st John.  In chapters 1/2 we have the subject of fellowship, communion with God and with each other.  Note the recurrence of "if...if...if" in these chapters.  Fellowship with God can be broken and God has provided for its restoration.  This corresponds to the sin offering in Leviticus.  In chapters 3/5 the subject is relationship-union with God which cannot be broken, as opposed to communion which is broken because of sin. 

Leviticus chapter 4 mentioned all groups who may sin...any man, the priests, the whole congregation, a ruler, and the common people.  This is a sharp reminder that the propensity to sin does not leave us at conversion.  Though saved and sanctified for highest service, we are not immune from the old nature within, and thus we need provision in Christ.  We have this, as John said "We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.  And He is the propitiation for our sins...".   God is pure light, and He demands all sin, including that from a redeemed people, be banished from His sight.  Focus is now on the priest, who was in a position of high office in the congregation.  They correspond to spiritual leaders in the present day.  We have already seen that high privilege brings great responsibility.  The sin of a priest was greater in the sight of God than that of the common people, and all had to be dealt with in the course of worship service.  Spiritual leadership is a function of highest honour, and with it comes great demands and great detail to be observed:

1) The sin offering must be killed in the same place as the burnt offering (v25-refer chapter 1v11, the north side of the altar before the Lord).  This links the sin offering to the burnt offering, a reminder that the total devotion of Christ to God involved removing all sin from before Him.  The two are linked in Isaiah 53v10, "Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him: He hath put Him to grief: when thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand".  What kind of devotion did it take for His holy sinless soul, which shrunk from sin, to become sin for us, and receive within the wrath of God upon Him?

2) The sin offering is regarded by God as most holy (v25, v29).  God cherishes this above all else, the sacrifice that removed sin, and enabled God to display His character to all. 1st John 2v2, "And He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for our sins only, but also for the sins of the whole world"; Romans 3v25, "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past...".  What happened in three hours of darkness at Calvary has opened the floodgates of blessing to all mankind.  It was there He "bore our sins in His own body on the tree..."-1st Peter 2v24

3)  The sacred character of the sin offering demands that all associated with it must be holy  Only the officiating priests could eat of it, and only in the holy place (v26-29).  The priest who offered it must be holy (v27); the garment stained with the blood of sacrifice had to be cleansed in the holy place; the earthen vessel that contained the flesh of the sin offering had to be broken, and the brazen holding pot thoroughly scoured and rinsed (v28).  Any sin offering, from which the blood was taken to cleanse the tabernacle and reconcile the people must not be eaten but taken outside the camp to be utterly consumed by fire.  God dealt with sin in the darkness. away from public view.  Sins are not to become public gossip, but removed privately away from the public gaze.  The tendency of pointing the finger, and publicising sin must be avoided, for God wants no remembrance of it any more.  Jesus confirmed this attitude in John 8 "Let him that is without sin cast the first stone...Woman where are those thine accusers, hath no man condemned thee?...Neither to I condemn thee, go and sin no more".  This is not condoning of sin, neither is it a condemnation, for all that would fall on Christ.  Sin must be dealt with as discreetly as possible.  There are times when sin must be judged on earth, but only before God, and only with humility, because we all have this propensity.