What is the significance of the sin offering?

The term sin comes from the Hebrew word Chattah and means to miss the mark, or to err from God’s way. In Leviticus, Chattah points to the act of disobedience toward God and to the sin offering by which the guilt and penalty of sin are removed.

Differences between burnt offering and sin offering.

1.The burnt offering is an offering given on personal choice, while the sin offering is an atonement for sin.

2.The sacrificial animal’s blood was poured around the altar’s corner in the sin offering. But in the burnt offering, the blood of the sacrificial offering is sprayed on the altar “all-around.”

3.The priests ate the sin offering, and people burned just a portion of an animal’s body on the altar. On the other hand, in the burnt offering, people burned the animal’s entire body on the altar.

4.The sin offering was typically a female sheep or goat (though this varied depending on who was bringing it), whereas the burnt offering was customarily a male bull, sheep, or goat.

5.In the sin offering, the sinner placed his hand on the head of the animal, and then it laid down for burning, but the person making a sacrifice doesn’t get the meat. In the burnt offering the animal was wholly burnt. The primary purpose was to purify oneself from the committed sin and re-enter God’s presence.

The purpose of the sin offering is to cover sins of ignorance (4:2) or those done unintentionally which come to the Israelite’s mind (4:28). The words “through ignorance” (Heb. bishgagah) [4:2] mean to wander, do wrong, err, sin through ignorance. The sin offering did not cover presumptuous sins, where the individual rebelled against God’s law deliberately breaking His commandments (Num. 15:30-31).

This offering is sometimes seen as an offering of atonement for unintentional sin (4:2-3, 4:20). The primary purpose of this offering is not to atone for sins but rather to purify oneself for re-entering the presence of God.

Paul succinctly shows how Christ is an antitype of the sin offering. He writes, “For he hath made him, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Cor. 5:21). Christ fulfills the concept of a perfect sacrifice in a number of ways.

1.He “knew no sin.” He was the Lamb “without blemish and without spot” (1 Pet. 1:19). Jesus did not think, speak, or commit any act of sin (1 Pet. 2:22; Jn. 8:46).

2. The sinless Christ was “made sin for us.” Not that Christ became a sinner, but He had all of mankind’s sin laid upon Him (Isa. 53:6), bearing them in His own body (1 Pet. 2:24), becoming a curse when He died upon the cross. It is almost beyond comprehension that God the Father would lay upon the sinless Son the world’s guilt and penalty of sin.

3. Christ became a sin offering so man could “be made the righteousness of God in him.” Here is set forth the great principle of justification. The sins of the individual are imputed to Christ, and His righteousness is imputed to the believer. Thus, the believer walks away justified – declared righteous before a Holy God.

Have you ever felt that some sin is keeping you away from God? Confess and find cleansing. Don’t let sin prevent you from drawing close to Him in prayer and worship today.

Application Question:

Is there any specific sin that is blocking your fellowship with God. Restore the fellowship today by offering the solution of confession and receive forgiveness today.

Quote:

Four marks of true repentance are: acknowledgement of wrong, willingness to confess it, willingness to abandon it, and willingness to make restitution. - Corrie Ten Boom

Prayer:

Lord, I thank you for taking away my guilt of sin. Thank you for helping me to understand that restitution is a sign that I have understood what forgiveness is. If there are any broken relationships, help me to work on restoration of these to make right the damage caused. Amen.