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6 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “If anyone sins and commits a breach of faith against the LORD by deceiving his neighbor in a matter of deposit or security, or through robbery, or if he has oppressed his neighbor or has found something lost and lied about it, swearing falsely—in any of all the things that people do and sin thereby—if he has sinned and has realized his guilt and will restore what he took by robbery or what he got by oppression or the deposit that was committed to him or the lost thing that he found or anything about which he has sworn falsely, he shall restore it in full and shall add a fifth to it, and give it to him to whom it belongs on the day he realizes his guilt. And he shall bring to the priest as his compensation to the LORD a ram without blemish out of the flock, or its equivalent, for a guilt offering. And the priest shall make atonement for him before the LORD, and he shall be forgiven for any of the things that one may do and thereby become guilty.”
The Priests and the Offerings
The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering. The burnt offering shall be on the hearth on the altar all night until the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be kept burning on it. And the priest shall put on his linen garment and put his linen undergarment on his body, and he shall take up the ashes to which the fire has reduced the burnt offering on the altar and put them beside the altar. Then he shall take off his garments and put on other garments and carry the ashes outside the camp to a clean place. The fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not go out. The priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and he shall arrange the burnt offering on it and shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings. Fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it shall not go out.
“And this is the law of the grain offering. The sons of Aaron shall offer it before the LORD in front of the altar. And one shall take from it a handful of the fine flour of the grain offering and its oil and all the frankincense that is on the grain offering and burn this as its memorial portion on the altar, a pleasing aroma to the LORD. And the rest of it Aaron and his sons shall eat. It shall be eaten unleavened in a holy place. In the court of the tent of meeting they shall eat it. It shall not be baked with leaven. I have given it as their portion of my food offerings. It is a thing most holy, like the sin offering and the guilt offering. Every male among the children of Aaron may eat of it, as decreed forever throughout your generations, from the LORD’s food offerings. Whatever touches them shall become holy.”
The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “This is the offering that Aaron and his sons shall offer to the LORD on the day when he is anointed: a tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a regular grain offering, half of it in the morning and half in the evening. It shall be made with oil on a griddle. You shall bring it well mixed, in baked pieces like a grain offering, and offer it for a pleasing aroma to the LORD. The priest from among Aaron’s sons, who is anointed to succeed him, shall offer it to the LORD as decreed forever. The whole of it shall be burned. Every grain offering of a priest shall be wholly burned. It shall not be eaten.”
The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the sin offering. In the place where the burnt offering is killed shall the sin offering be killed before the LORD; it is most holy. The priest who offers it for sin shall eat it. In a holy place it shall be eaten, in the court of the tent of meeting. Whatever touches its flesh shall be holy, and when any of its blood is splashed on a garment, you shall wash that on which it was splashed in a holy place. And the earthenware vessel in which it is boiled shall be broken. But if it is boiled in a bronze vessel, that shall be scoured and rinsed in water. Every male among the priests may eat of it; it is most holy. But no sin offering shall be eaten from which any blood is brought into the tent of meeting to make atonement in the Holy Place; it shall be burned up with fire.
(ESV)
Leviticus 6 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
In Leviticus 6, we get a picture of the reparation offering. There were many offenses that constituted having to make such an offering and they fell under two main categories.
- Trespassing against God
- Withholding from God what rightly belonged to Him (such as tithes or firstfruits)
- Unknowingly committing an act against the Lord’s Name
- Trespassing against your neighbor
- Dealing falsely with someone by taking what wasn’t yours or making a deal in bad faith
- Finding something lost and lying about it in the Lord’s Name
- Engaging in immorality with a slave girl who was engaged
- The cleansing of a leper
- The defilement of a Nazirite
There was also a debt to pay before making your offering. Your fellow neighbor was to receive restitution plus 20% for your wrongdoing. A person bringing a trespass offering was essentially making amends for some action that had caused loss or damage to God (and/or someone else).
Under the New Covenant, Jesus’ forgiveness empowers us to make amends with those we have wronged as both a conviction from God as well as a celebration of Jesus’ sacrifice.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Matthew 6:12 NASB
“Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.”
Matthew 5:23-24 NASB
However, we also find that the reparation offering was completely satisfied in Jesus’ sacrifice for us. Though we violate this command often, the grace of Jesus covers our offense and calls us forward to live in freedom from sin. Jesus is not only the perfect reparation offering, but He is also the perfect burnt offering, peace offering, and purification offering.
When you think about all the different offenses and offerings that God required of His people, you begin to understand the gravity of sin and the immense sacrifice that Jesus undertook. His death and resurrection paid it all.
Your redemption was not bought for a cheap price! Jesus paid it all!