Leviticus 4:1-12 describes the consequences of sin, and the sacrifices required for the restitution of sins committed by the priests in Israel. In our context today, we can apply it to the leaders and teachers of God’s Word in the church.

1.  The Seriousness of Sin (Lev 4:1-4)

The position of priests in Israel was specially ordained by God. Thus when a priest sinned, it was a serious matter. He had to offer the sin offering of a young, unblemished bullock (the most expensive offering), even if the sin was unintentional or committed out of ignorance. Today, a church leader’s unintentional or ignorant sins cannot be excused because they impact the lives of many in the church.

2.  The Purification Process (Lev 4:5-10)

The consequences of the sin of a priest were more severe and required a more expensive sacrifice. At the same time, the process of purification still required the sin offering to involve the shedding of blood. The priest who committed the sin could not administer the sin offering for himself. Another priest had to do it for him. The process of purification of the sin offering for a priest was more extensive: it required the blood of the young bullock to be brought before the vail in the sanctuary.

Although sins committed by church leaders are very serious, God always provides restoration and forgiveness through the purification process.

3.  The Freeness from Sin (Lev 4:11-12)

For the sin offering of the priest, the innards of the bullock were offered to the Lord, and the rest of the bullock had to be taken outside the camp and burnt. No one was to benefit from the sin offering. Burning outside the camp signified the removal of the sin from the people’s presence, implying that they were freed from that sin. And the priest would experience a freeness from that sin.

This is also very comforting for us today because we can also experience freeness from sins (Heb 13:11-12). The Lord Jesus Christ is the Perfect Sacrifice for our sins. He died on the cross to atone for our sins. Thus, with Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, we can experience the freeness from sin, as we receive God’s forgiveness of our sins.