Seder 77: Leviticus 4---The Purification Offering

Leviticus 4:1-5:13 describes what is traditionally known as a "sin offering."   Scholars today prefer the term "purification offering." since this kind of offering is also used in the cleansing of ritual impurity, where no sin has been committed.  The term "purification offering" covers both cases of sin (which is viewed in Leviticus as moral impurity) and ritual impurity. 

The kinds of sins in view are those that are "unintentional."  These are sins that are not defiant or high-handed, but rather sins of ignorance, error, weakness, thoughtlessness, or negligence.  The sin is brought to the person's attention when he or she begins to suffer some consequences of it.  

Several examples are given in chapter 4 to explain how this kind of sacrifice is carried out.  The cases are covered in decreasing order of seriousness.  In the case of a high priest (4:3-12), the welfare of the whole community could be at stake, since a priest could be leading others into sin or may have done something to jeopardize God's presence among, or relationship with, the community.  

The high priest wasn't allowed to eat any of this offering, since it wouldn't make sense for the priest to somehow benefit from his own sin.  (That would be like committing a crime and then turning yourself in to collect the reward money.)

In this offering for priests, large parts of the bull's body were burned "outside the camp,"  symbolizing the removal of the sin from the community.  The writer of Hebrews saw this detail as symbolic of Jesus' work on the cross:  

"So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood" (Heb 13:12).

Another section of Leviticus 4 discusses a purification offering addressing a sin of the whole congregation (vv 13-21).  An example might be a case where bloodshed occurs and the community does not address the situation properly.  During David's reign, for instance, Israel once experienced a three-year famine because Saul, in his zeal, had broken Israel's treaty with the Gibeonites (2 Sam 21).  The whole community was paying the consequences of this sin, and it had to be addressed. 

Commentator Jay Sklar highlights several lessons from Leviticus 4:

1. God provides cleansing from sin so that we can experience forgiveness and have fellowship with him.
2. Suffering can be a sign of sin, God's loving warning that we need to repent.
3. Leaders are responsible for modeling godliness (1 Tim 3:1-13, e.g.)
4. Jesus is the perfect high priest and sacrifice.

In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on October 30, 2021, Rob Wilson gave an introduction to the book of Leviticus.