Leviticus 4 – April 4
Leviticus 4 and 5 slightly differ from the first three chapters in that the first three chapters dealt with voluntary sacrifices while chapters 4 and 5 deal with mandatory sacrifices. Leviticus 4 specifically deals with sins committed unintentionally and without the possibility of restitution. For example, let’s say you and your family are trying to eat at Cracker Barrel. Cracker Barrel won’t seat you until the entire party is there (trust me, I go to the Barrel often). You look outside to see if the rest of your family is arriving and lo and behold you see your brother’s truck pull in. You go back to the host’s podium and proudly declare “the gang’s all here!” However, as it turns out, that truck that you thought was your brother’s was actually a total stranger’s truck. So, you unintentionally lied (lying is a sin) and now that you’re seated and the rest of your family is actually only 1 minute away, restitution isn’t really an option. If the sacrificial system of the Israelites was still in place then the Sin Offering of Leviticus 4 would have pardoned your unintentional, restitution-less guilt.
Lest you take my example as a sign that unintentional sins are not to taken as seriously as intentional sins please finish reading Leviticus 4. It’s been said before, but it certainly bears repeating: the reason why the offering of sacrifices for the cleansing of sin was so very particular was because sinning against a holy God is so very serious! Please don’t miss the seriousness of sin in light of the awesome, dreadful holiness of God all throughout the book of Leviticus. Understanding God’s holiness leads to understanding the seriousness of sin which leads to a deeper, fuller appreciation of Jesus Christ and God’s entire redemptive plan. As was noted in the Leviticus Introduction: a deeper, fuller understanding of Jesus Christ is gold! And it’s worth digging for!
The gold in Leviticus 4 can be seen in Christ’s propitiation (PRO-PISH-HE-A-SHUN). Propitiation means appeasing or satisfying. Jesus’ death satisfied (propitiated) God’s wrath towards the sin of the world. That means this: 1) you have sinned. 2) you deserve God’s wrath (eternity in hell). 3) Jesus took God’s wrath by being the ultimate sacrifice thereby restoring the relationship between God and man. Praise God for Jesus being the ultimate sacrifice! As we see all throughout Hebrews[1] we no longer need daily and yearly animal sacrifices because Christ was the perfect, once-for-all sacrifice that secured eternal propitiation!
Just as the rest of the sacrificed bull (verse 12) was to be carried outside of the camp, Jesus’ death on our behalf carried our sin—past, present, and future!—out of us and away from God’s holy sight. You might be asking yourself, “well, I still struggle with sin, so does that mean Jesus’ sacrifice didn’t apply to me and I’m not saved??” The answer is simple. Christians are supposed to sin less, not be sinless (until we reach the other side). We are to live a life of progress not perfection. Jesus’ death applied to you means that while you will still struggle you are no longer stuck with no hope in the struggle! Hallelujah we are free to struggle and free to say no to sin and therefore grow out of it! Jesus’ sacrifice didn’t perfect us all at once. But it is, slowly but surely, perfecting us as we grow in Him each day. What a wonderful God we serve. 4 chapters in… are you seeing the beauty of Christ in Leviticus yet? Praise God for Leviticus 4!
[1] Hebrews 7:25-27, 9:11-26; 10:4-19