Leviticus 4:1-12 comments: sinning against God out of ignorance, part 1

 

Leviticus 4:1 ¶  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2  Speak unto 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: 3  If the priest that is anointed do sin according to the sin of the people; then let him bring for his sin, which he hath sinned, a young bullock without blemish unto the LORD for a sin offering. 4  And he shall bring the bullock unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD; and shall lay his hand upon the bullock’s head, and kill the bullock before the LORD. 5  And the priest that is anointed shall take of the bullock’s blood, and bring it to the tabernacle of the congregation: 6  And the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the LORD, before the vail of the sanctuary. 7  And the priest shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the LORD, which is in the tabernacle of the congregation; and shall pour all the blood of the bullock at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 8  And he shall take off from it all the fat of the bullock for the sin offering; the fat that covereth 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. 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 unto 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.

 

Bible characters who lived before the Law was given were not unaccustomed to sacrifices for peace with God.       

Genesis 8:20 ¶  And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21  And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.

For sin.

 

Job 1:5  And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.

 

In the Old Testament the person’s body and soul were linked in sin. The soul suffered under the weight of the transgressions of the flesh. So, the soul is often referred to as the entire person, meaning body and soul, as here.

Leviticus 7:18   And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings be eaten at all on the third day, it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be imputed unto him that offereth it: it shall be an abomination, and the soul that eateth of it shall bear his iniquity.

 

But, the redeemed believer, both Jew and non-Jew or Gentile, called sometimes Greek in Paul’s writings as the dominant culture was Greek, experiences an operation of God at their new birth that cuts the soul from the body. It is a spiritual circumcision.

Colossians 2:11  In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: 12  Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

 

A soul could sin through ignorance without understanding they had violated the Law and an important principle is that one was still held accountable for their sins, even those done in ignorance.

King David sang;

 

Psalm 19:12  Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.

 

Peter stated that the people and their rulers murdered Christ out of ignorance.

 

Acts 3:12 ¶  And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk? 13  The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. 14  But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; 15  And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses. 16  And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. 17  And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers.

 

As Jesus Himself said from the cross;

 

Luke 23:34   Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

 

In this passage in Leviticus this is not Job’s just-in-case-they’ve-sinned sacrifice but a sacrifice to be made when one realizes they have done something against God but did not do it willfully.

Judas acknowledged that he had betrayed innocent blood in Jesus. First, from Psalms;

 

Psalm 94:21   They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood.

 

Matthew 27:3  Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,

4  Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.

 

The rulers of the Jews, the Sanhedrin, the council had the opportunity to confess their sin but they would not hear when Stephen confronted them and exposed it to them.

Acts 7:52  Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: 53  Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.

54 ¶  When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.

 

One thing of note about verse 6 is that seven is often the number of something being completed in the Bible. A word study of seven would be an excellent subject for a Bible study.

For verse 12 know that Christ Himself was offered without the camp.

 

Hebrews 13:11  For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp. 12  Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.