Offerings for Sin

Sin Offering

 

 

 

Wednesday 05/30/18 

Message – Offerings for Sin

Series: Thru the Bible


***Video is HERE***

 

Sin Offerings: Leviticus 4-6

Upon more reflection I thought it would be wise to finish up last week’s offerings (which included the Burnt, Grain & Peace offerings) by seeing God’s commands to the Priests in offering them before we move on to the sin and trespass offerings.

Also, I wanted to offer two passages in support of something I taught you about them last week. As you will remember, Peace offerings were voluntary or freewill. I very much like the Holman translation in these verses because it calls the Peace offering – the “Fellowship Offering” which I believe is at the heart of the meaning of the word “peace”. Much later in our studies we will see the Peace offering given in order to GAIN God’s favor and it was rejected by God because it was to GET FROM God, rather than given out of love and thankfulness to Him….in other words – it was being used to get God to be their sugar daddy without having lived in open and honest intimacy with Him first. This also happens today. We sometimes live our lives independent of fellowship with God only to beg His pardon and seek His help when we fall on hard times. Though God is merciful and will many times help…it behoves man to remember that ultimately God is NOT mocked! Jesus said, if we love Him we will keep His words as a habit of life and in that environment of loving respect and deference to Him and His will, we may ask what v we desire and it will be given to us.

Now these two first verses we’re Hong to read, I believe offer a context for what thought was in God’s heart in creating the Burnt and Peace offerings…

“The LORD spoke to Moses: “Speak to the entire Israelite community and tell them: Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy. “Each of you is to respect his mother and father. You are to keep My Sabbaths; I am the LORD your God. Do not turn to idols or make cast images of gods for yourselves; I am the LORD your God. “When you offer a fellowship sacrifice to the LORD, sacrifice it of your own free will.” ~ Lev. 19:1-5

Respect for God and His authority is the beginning of true knowledge, understanding and wisdom…and it is INCONSISTENT to claim respect for God’s authority while disrespecting those He has placed in authority.

Also in regard to the Peace offering – it was also given as fulfillment of a vow as I said last week and here is another passage revealing this…

“The LORD spoke to Moses: “Speak to the entire Israelite community and tell them: Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy. “Each of you is to respect his mother and father. You are to keep My Sabbaths; I am the LORD your God. Do not turn to idols or make cast images of gods for yourselves; I am the LORD your God. “When you offer a fellowship sacrifice to the LORD, sacrifice it that you may be accepted.” ~ Lev. 19:1-5

and it was also given at the inauguration of Priests into their office along with a Burnt Offering Lev. 6:8-24,

“The LORD spoke to Moses: “Command Aaron and his sons: This is the law of the burnt offering; the burnt offering itself must remain on the altar’s hearth all night until morning, while the fire of the altar is kept burning on it. The priest is to put on his linen robe and linen undergarments. He is to remove the ashes of the burnt offering the fire has consumed on the altar, and place them beside the altar. Then he must take off his garments, put on other clothes, and bring the ashes outside the camp to a ceremonially clean place. The fire on the altar is to be kept burning; it must not go out. Every morning the priest will burn wood on the fire. He is to arrange the burnt offering on the fire and burn the fat portions from the fellowship offerings on it. Fire must be kept burning on the altar continually; it must not go out. “Now this is the law of the grain offering: Aaron’s sons will present it before the LORD in front of the altar. The priest is to remove a handful of fine flour and olive oil from the grain offering, with all the frankincense that is on the offering, and burn its memorial portion on the altar as a pleasing aroma to the LORD. Aaron and his sons may eat the rest of it. It is to be eaten as unleavened bread in a holy place; they are to eat it in the courtyard of the tent of meeting. It must not be baked with yeast; I have assigned it as their portion from My fire offerings. It is especially holy, like the sin offering and the restitution offering. Any male among Aaron’s descendants may eat it. It is a permanent portion throughout your generations from the fire offerings to the LORD. Anything that touches the offerings MUST BE holy.”

(Here is an example where modern thought has gotten in the way of solid translation. The Holman translation which I very much like in some passages – mistranslates this last verse to say, that whoever touches the offering shall BECOME holy….rather than ‘must be’ holy.)

Defining Sin & Trespass:

Now we are going to look at the last two offerings – the sin and trespass offerings.

The word Sin is He – tah and simply means to miss the mark or to fail.

When used with the word “offering” it is the same word only as a feminine noun and adds the meaning of punishment for indiscretions, evils committed against God and others…etc. This word even appears once figuratively as a couching monster lurking and ready to pounce upon Cain in Gen. 4:7 – this is also brought up in the short video we are about to watch.

The word Trespass is Ma- al and means an act of unfaithfulness or treachery most usually against God, though it can be used in reference to marital or relational treachery.

The offering for these were for such acts which were not premeditated or specifically known before doing it – either due to impulsive reactions, inadvertent error (like a slip of the tongue) or even accidental manslaughter. It also included those actions which were largely out of character. In other words if a person basically loves God and does not LIVE in deliberate sin, though they might sin frequently – even in the same area, they do not do so with a light and free heart, but rather with an inner confliction against a heart that would love to be loyal to Him. This is held in stark contrast to premeditated and presumptuous sins – such as is mentioned in Num. 15:30. The translation of this type of sin was to sin with a “high hand” – this “high handed sins was as if a hand were raised to strike at God or as a fist shook in His face in defiance against Him. It is a sin from malignancy of heart against God.

To help with this I will read one of the clearest defining scripture on the issues found in Numbers 15:27-31,

“If one person sins unintentionally, he is to present a year-old female goat as a sin offering. The priest must then make atonement before the LORD on behalf of the person who acts in error sinning unintentionally, and when he makes atonement for him, he will be forgiven. You are to have the same law for the person who acts in error, whether he is an Israelite or a foreigner who lives among you. “But the person who acts defiantly, whether native or foreign resident, blasphemes the LORD. That person is to be cut off from his people. He will certainly be cut off, because he has despised the LORD’s word and broken His command; his guilt remains on him.”

As you can see this is a sin of flagrant rebellion against God, His established authority and His Word (law).

 

 

The Sin Offering:

Lev. 4-5:13, 

“(1) Then the LORD spoke to Moses: (2) “Tell the Israelites: When someone sins unintentionally against any of the LORD’s commands and does anything prohibited by them– (3) “If the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, he is to present to the LORD a young, unblemished bull as a sin offering for the sin he has committed. (4) He must bring the bull to the entrance to the tent of meeting before the LORD, lay his hand on the bull’s head, and slaughter it before the LORD. (5) The anointed priest must then take some of the bull’s blood and bring it into the tent of meeting. (6) The priest is to dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of it seven times before the LORD in front of the veil of the sanctuary. (7) The priest must apply some of the blood to the horns of the altar of fragrant incense that is before the LORD in the tent of meeting. He must pour out the rest of the bull’s blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering that is at the entrance to the tent of meeting. (8) He is to remove all the fat from the bull of the sin offering: the fat surrounding the entrails; all the fat that is on the entrails; (9) and the two kidneys with the fat on them at the loins. He will also remove the fatty lobe of the liver with the kidneys, (10) just as the fat is removed from the ox of the fellowship sacrifice. The priest is to burn them on the altar of burnt offering. (11) But the hide of the bull and all its flesh, with its head and shanks, and its entrails and dung– (12) all the rest of the bull–he must bring to a ceremonially clean place outside the camp to the ash heap, and must burn it on a wood fire. It is to be burned at the ash heap. (13) “Now if the whole community of Israel errs, and the matter escapes the notice of the assembly, so that they violate any of the LORD’s commands and incur guilt by doing what is prohibited, (14) then the assembly must present a young bull as a sin offering. When the sin they have committed in regard to the command becomes known, they are to bring it before the tent of meeting. (15) The elders of the assembly are to lay their hands on the bull’s head before the LORD and it is to be slaughtered before the LORD. (16) The anointed priest will bring some of the bull’s blood into the tent of meeting. (17) The priest is to dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD in front of the veil. (18) He is to apply some of the blood to the horns of the altar that is before the LORD in the tent of meeting. He must pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering that is at the entrance to the tent of meeting. (19) He is to remove all the fat from it and burn it on the altar. (20) He is to offer this bull just as he did with the bull in the sin offering; he will offer it the same way. So the priest will make atonement on their behalf, and they will be forgiven. (21) Then he will bring the bull outside the camp and burn it just as he burned the first bull. It is the sin offering for the assembly. (22) “When a leader sins and unintentionally violates any of the commands of the LORD his God by doing what is prohibited, and incurs guilt, (23) or someone informs him about the sin he has committed, he is to bring an unblemished male goat as his offering. (24) He is to lay his hand on the head of the goat and slaughter it at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered before the LORD. It is a sin offering. (25) Then the priest must take some of the blood from the sin offering with his finger and apply it to the horns of the altar of burnt offering. The rest of its blood he must pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering. (26) He must burn all its fat on the altar, like the fat of the fellowship sacrifice. In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf for that person’s sin, and he will be forgiven. (27) “Now if any of the common people sins unintentionally by violating one of the LORD’s commands, does what is prohibited, and incurs guilt, (28) or if someone informs him about the sin he has committed, then he is to bring an unblemished female goat as his offering for the sin that he has committed. (29) He is to lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it at the place of the burnt offering. (30) Then the priest must take some of its blood with his finger and apply it to the horns of the altar of burnt offering. He must pour out the rest of its blood at the base of the altar. (31) He is to remove all its fat just as the fat is removed from the fellowship sacrifice. The priest is to burn it on the altar as a pleasing aroma to the LORD. In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf, and he will be forgiven. (32) “Or if the offering that he brings as a sin offering is a lamb, he is to bring an unblemished female. (33) He is to lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it as a sin offering at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered. (34) Then the priest must take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and apply it to the horns of the altar of burnt offering. He must pour out the rest of its blood at the base of the altar. (35) He is to remove all its fat just as the fat of the lamb is removed from the fellowship sacrifice. The priest will burn it on the altar along with the fire offerings to the LORD. In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven. 5:(1) “When someone sins in any of these ways: If he has seen, heard, or known about something he has witnessed, and did not respond to a public call to testify, he is guilty. (2) Or if someone touches anything unclean–a carcass of an unclean wild animal, or unclean livestock, or an unclean swarming creature–without being aware of it, he is unclean and guilty. (3) Or if he touches human uncleanness–any uncleanness by which one can become defiled–without being aware of it, but later recognizes it, he is guilty. (4) Or if someone swears rashly to do what is good or evil–concerning anything a person may speak rashly in an oath–without being aware of it, but later recognizes it, he incurs guilt in such an instance. (5) If someone incurs guilt in one of these cases, he is to confess he has committed that sin. (6) He must bring his restitution for the sin he has committed to the LORD: a female lamb or goat from the flock as a sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf for his sin. (7) “But if he cannot afford an animal from the flock, then he may bring to the LORD two turtledoves or two young pigeons as restitution for his sin–one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. (8) He is to bring them to the priest, who will first present the one for the sin offering. He must twist its head at the back of the neck without severing it. (9) Then he will sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering on the side of the altar, while the rest of the blood is to be drained out at the base of the altar; it is a sin offering. (10) He must prepare the second bird as a burnt offering according to the regulation. In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven. (11) “But if he cannot afford two turtledoves or two young pigeons, he may bring two quarts of fine flour as an offering for his sin. He must not put olive oil or frankincense on it, for it is a sin offering. (12) He is to bring it to the priest, who will take a handful from it as its memorial portion and burn it on the altar along with the fire offerings to the LORD; it is a sin offering. (13) In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf concerning the sin he has committed in any of these cases, and he will be forgiven. The rest will belong to the priest, like the grain offering.”

 

The Trespass Offering:

Lev. 5:14-6:7, 

“(14) Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: (15) “If a person commits a trespass, and sins unintentionally in regard to the holy things of the LORD, then he shall bring to the LORD as his trespass offering a ram without blemish from the flocks, with your valuation in shekels of silver according to the shekel of the sanctuary, as a trespass offering. (16) And he shall make restitution for the harm that he has done in regard to the holy thing, and shall add one-fifth to it and give it to the priest. So the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering, and it shall be forgiven him. (17) “If a person sins, and commits any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the LORD, though he does not know it, yet he is guilty and shall bear his iniquity. (18) And he shall bring to the priest a ram without blemish from the flock, with your valuation, as a trespass offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him regarding his ignorance in which he erred and did not know it, and it shall be forgiven him. (19) It is a trespass offering; he has certainly trespassed against the LORD.  6: (1) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: (2) “If a person sins and commits a trespass against the LORD by lying to his neighbor about what was delivered to him for safekeeping, or about a pledge, or about a robbery, or if he has extorted from his neighbor, (3) or if he has found what was lost and lies concerning it, and swears falsely–in any one of these things that a man may do in which he sins: (4) then it shall be, because he has sinned and is guilty, that he shall restore what he has stolen, or the thing which he has extorted, or what was delivered to him for safekeeping, or the lost thing which he found, (5) or all that about which he has sworn falsely. He shall restore its full value, add one-fifth more to it, and give it to whomever it belongs, on the day of his trespass offering. (6) And he shall bring his trespass offering to the LORD, a ram without blemish from the flock, with your valuation, as a trespass offering, to the priest. (7) So the priest shall make atonement for him before the LORD, and he shall be forgiven for any one of these things that he may have done in which he trespasses.”

 

Next week I will teach from the ‘By Request’ box!

There is more information in the audio/video of the actual message. I hope you listen, learn and enjoy!

Blessings! 

 

I hope this teaching will challenge you and encourage you to place your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

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Blessings!

 

Hi my name is Mark and though I am opposed to titles, I am currently the only Pastor (shepherd/elder) serving our assembly right now.

I have been Pastoring in one capacity or another for nearly 30 years now, though never quite like I am today.

Early in 2009 the Lord revealed to me that the way we had structured our assembly (church) was not scriptural in that it was out of sync with what Paul modeled for us in the New Testament. In truth, I (like many pastors I am sure) never even gave this fundamental issue of church structure the first thought. I had always assumed that church structure was largely the same everywhere and had been so from the beginning. While I knew Paul had some very stringent things to say about the local assembly of believers, the point of our gatherings together and who may or may not lead, I never even considered studying these issues but assumed we were all pretty much doing it right...safety in numbers right?! Boy, I couldn't have been more wrong!

So needless to say, my discovery that we had been doing it wrong for nearly two decades was a bit of a shock to me! Now, this "revelation" did not come about all at once but over the course of a few weeks. We were a traditional single pastor led congregation. It was a top-bottom model of ministry which is in part biblical, but not in the form of a monarchy.

The needed change did not come into focus until following 9 very intense months of study and discussions with those who were leaders in our church at the time.

We now understand and believe that the Bible teaches co-leadership with equal authority in each local assembly. Having multiple shepherds with God's heart and equal authority protects both Shepherds and sheep. Equal accountability keeps authority and doctrine in check. Multiple shepherds also provide teaching with various styles and giftings with leadership skills which are both different and complementary.

For a while we had two co-pastors (elders) (myself and one other man) who led the church with equal authority, but different giftings. We both taught in our own ways and styles, and our leadership skills were quite different, but complimentary. We were in complete submission to each other and worked side-by-side in the labor of shepherding the flock.

Our other Pastor has since moved on to other ministry which has left us with just myself. While we currently only have one Pastor/Elder, it is our desire that God, in His faithfulness and timing, may bring us more as we grow in maturity and even in numbers.

As to my home, I have been married since 1995 to my wonderful wife Terissa Woodson who is my closest friend and most trusted ally.

As far as my education goes, I grew up in a Christian home, but questioned everything I was ever taught.

I graduated from Bible college in 1990 and continued to question everything I was ever taught (I do not mention my college in order to avoid being labeled).

Perhaps my greatest preparation for ministry has been life and ministry itself. To quote an author I have come to enjoy namely Fredrick Buechner in his writing entitled, Now and Then, "If God speaks to us at all other than through such official channels as the Bible and the church, then I think that He speaks to us largely through what happens to us...if we keep our hearts open as well as our ears, if we listen with patience and hope, if we remember at all deeply and honestly, then I think we come to recognize beyond all doubt, that, however faintly we may hear Him, He is indeed speaking to us, and that, however little we may understand of it, His word to each of us is both recoverable and precious beyond telling." ~ Fredrick Buechner

Well that is about all there is of interest to tell you about me.

I hope our ministry here is a blessing to you and your family. I also hope that it is only a supplement to a local church where you are committed to other believers in a community of grace.

~God Bless!