Chapter 6

The Guilt Offering (Continued)

• • The Lord told Moses, “If someone sins by deceiving an associate in a deal involving a security deposit, or they steal, or is fraudulent, or finds something someone has lost and lies about it, or lies when they have sworn to tell the truth, etc, that person must make full restitution by paying the full price plus adding 20%. The guilty person must then present an unblemished ram from their flock (or one purchased of equal value) to the priest to offer as a guilt offering. The restitution must be paid to the person that it is owed the same day the guilt offering is made. Then the guilty person will be forgiven.”

• • • “Restitution and its accompanying penalty had to be made the same day of his trespass offering. This powerfully demonstrated that one could not get right with God without also making his wrong right with men.” (Guzik)

Priestly Regulations for the Burnt Offering

• • The Lord told Moses to give Aaron and his sons the following instructions pertaining to burnt offerings:

• • • • “The regulations in 1:2-6:7 include instructions for both priest and layperson. This section adds detail regarding the rights and obligations of the officiating priest. Because the tribe of Levi had been allotted no land for farming, priests depended on the offering system for their income. The concern was that priests be adequately provided for. Like many human institutions, this system was eventually abused (I Samuel 2:12-25; Hosea 4:8).” (NLT Illustrated Study Bible)

• • • “The burnt offering must be left on top of the altar until the following morning, with the fire burning all night. In the morning, after the priest has dressed in his robe and undergarments, he must clean out the ashes and put them beside the altar. Then, he must change out of his priestly garments and take the ashes outside the camp to a ceremonially clean place. The fire in the altar must be kept burning this whole time. The priests must never let the fire go out- it should burn continually. Every morning the priest will add new wood to the fire and place the burnt offering, then the fat for the peace offerings on it.”

• • • • “The perpetual fire is also connected to the idea that these offerings must be made continually. Before the perfect sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, it was impossible to perfectly complete them.” (Guzik)

Priestly Regulations for the Grain Offering

• • The following are the instructions for the grain offering:

• • • “Aaron’s sons must present it to the Lord in front of the altar. The priest will take out a handful of the flour/oil/frankincense mixture and burn this portion as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. Aaron and his sons can eat the rest of it, but it has to be baked with no yeast and eaten in a holy place within the courtyard of the Tabernacle. I have given this share to the priests as their permanent portion throughout their generations. Any of Aaron’s male descendants can eat it. Anything that touches these offerings will become holy.”

• • • • “The priestly share did not belong exclusively to the priest conducting the sacrifice; it was to be shared with all of Aaron’s male descendants. The text does not indicate why these offerings could be eaten only by the males while other offerings were available to all members of the priests’ families. Though uncleanness could be spread by touch, Haggai implied that holiness could not (Haggai 2:12). If an unclean person encountered that which was holy, disaster could result. (Leviticus 10:1-3; I Samuel 6:19-20; II Samuel 6:6-8.) (NLT Illustrated Study Bible)

Procedures for the Ordination Offering

• • The Lord gave Moses the instructions for the grain offering that must be presented on the day that Aaron and his sons are anointed:

• • • “The standard grain offering (two quarts of fine flour) must be given- half of it in the morning and half in the evening. The flour must be well kneaded with olive oil, prepared on the griddle, then sliced into pieces and presented as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. Each generation this procedure must be followed by the priests who succeed Aaron and his sons. The whole sacrifice must belongs to the Lord and must be completely burned up. All grain offerings given on behalf of a priest must be completely burned- the priests cannot eat any.”

• • • • “Every grain offering brought by a priest on his own behalf, whether for expiation or as a voluntary offering, was to be burned entirely on the altar. Priests could benefit only for services undertaken on behalf of other Israelites.” (HCSB commentary)

Procedures for the Sin Offering

• • The Lord told Moses to give Aaron and his sons the following instructions regarding the sin offering:

• • • “The animal given as offering for sin is a most holy offering and it has to be killed in the presence of the Lord where all the burnt offerings are killed (in front of the Tabernacle.) The priest who offers the sin offering has to eat his portion in a holy place within the courtyard of the Tabernacle. Anything that touches the meat of the sacrifice will become holy. If its blood splatters on someone’s clothes, the clothes must be washed in a holy place. If the sacrifice is boiled in a clay pot, the pot must then be broken; if it is boiled in a bronze pot, the pot must be scoured and rinsed. Any male descendant of the priests can eat the meat- it is holy. However, if the blood of the sacrifice was brought into the Tabernacle to make atonement, the entire sacrifice must be burned.”

• • • • “A portion of the sin offering was left over, and was to be given to the priests. Anything touched by the sin offering or its blood had to be cleansed in a special manner because the sacrificial victim was thought to be infected with the sin of the one who brought the offering…Any portion from the sin offering made for national atonement could not be eaten. The whole animal had to be burnt before the Lord. Only portions from a sin offering made on behalf of an individual could be eaten. ” (Guzik)