LEVITICUS 8


    In this lesson we will begin the study of the sin offering.
Leviticus 4:1 "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,"

     It is important to remember that the people had been so
frightened by the voice of God, that they had asked Moses to talk to
God for them. We see, here, that Moses is receiving the message from
God for the people, as well as for himself.

     Leviticus 4:2 "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:"

     This statement tells us a great deal about sin. What you and I
classify as sin, is not the only sin. God has a much higher standard
about sin. Sins of ignorance happen many times with a brand new
Christian. One of the things that quickly comes to mind in the
discussion of sin is the Ten Commandments. When Jesus was speaking to
the young man who wanted to know what he must do to be saved, the
young man said he had kept the Ten Commandments from his youth. Jesus
was pleased with the response, but He said, One thing you lack. You
can easily see that just keeping the Ten Commandments is not enough.
God looks upon the heart. Man must operate with a clear conscience and
a pure heart. Jesus also said, If you look upon a woman to lust, you
have committed adultery in your heart. With God {not man} just the
desire in your heart to sin is sin. We will see over 600 ordinances in
these next lessons. It is not humanly possible to keep up with all of
them on a daily basis; and yet, if one is not properly done, it is
sin.
Somehow, there had to be a way out of all this, and that is what this
lesson is all about.

    Leviticus 4:3 "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."

     We see in this that, the priest was a flesh and blood human being
and he made mistakes, too. This is not just any priest, this is
speaking of the high priest, because it says the priest that was
anointed. This appears that he might have even been bringing a message
to the people that would cause them to sin. At any rate, his sin was
associated with their sin: {sin according to the sin of the people}. A
minister who sins, not only hurts himself, but the whole congregation.
If you notice the offerings as we go along, you will note that the
offering the anointed priest made was of greater value than the
others. Jesus explains this very well when He said the following from
Luke 12:48 "But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of
stripes, shall be beaten with few [stripes].  For unto whomsoever much
is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have
committed much, of him they will ask the more."  You see, the priest
should know better than the people, so his offering should be more. We
look at the statement {young bullock without blemish} so casually.
This was serious business. This bullock must be the very best of the
herd. This must be a male animal, it must not have any broken bones,
it must be young enough not to have been with a cow. We could go on
and on, because everything about this animal had to be perfect. This
bullock was a shadow type of Jesus Christ's body.

     Leviticus 4:4 "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."

     The only place of forgiveness for sin, is before the LORD, So he
killed the animal before the LORD.  Here, again, we see the sin
transferred to the bullock when he laid his hand upon the head of the
animal.  This, of course, is a type and shadow of Jesus, the head of
the body of Christ, taking the sin of all who would believe upon His
body on the cross. We could say that our sin was on His head.  Sin
must die. The bullock was killed, the body of Jesus, also, died.  The
wages of sin is death. Death of the substitute in both cases paid the
price for the sinner.  The difference, we have mentioned so many
times, is that the animal's blood could not do away with sin, it could
only cover it. Jesus' blood abolished sin, for all who will believe.
I John 1:7 "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we
have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his
Son cleanseth us from all sin."

     Leviticus 4:5 "And the priest that is anointed shall take of the
bullock's blood, and bring it to the tabernacle of the congregation:"

     As we said, the priest that is anointed is the high priest. Only
the high priest must dare go into the Holiest place.

     Leviticus 4:6 "And the priest shall dip his finger in the blood,
and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the LORD, before the veil
of the sanctuary."

     The number 7, as we have mentioned before, means spiritually
complete. This sprinkling of the blood seven times then, shows that
the blood is the reconciling factor, and the work is complete in it.
This veil, of course, is the veil which separates the holy place and
the Holy of Holies.  Inside the veil is a type and shadow of heaven
and the throne of God.

     Leviticus 4:7 "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."

     To put the blood on the horns of the altar, symbolized that the
power is in the blood. We know that all through these studies we have
recognized that the symbolic meaning of the horns is strength and
power. The smoke that rises from the altar of incense is symbolic of
the prayers of the saints. The power of the prayers that we send
heavenward is in the shed blood of the LORD JESUS CHRIST. When we
pray, we are to pray in His name and by the power of His blood. The
remainder of the blood was poured out at the foot of the bronze altar
where the burnt offering was made. This blood would be absorbed by the
earth. Jesus shed His blood for the whole earth.

     Leviticus 4:8 "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," Leviticus 4:9 "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," Leviticus 4:10 "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."

     I dare not separate these 3 verses. They are so tied together in
the type and shadow they show us of Jesus. I have said so many times,
that the body of Jesus was just a house for Jesus while He was on this
earth dealing with mankind. The Spirit within that body was God. The
Word of God took on the form of flesh and dwelt among us. He was
Emmanuel {God with us}. The body was as all men who walked the earth.
That is why He was born of woman; so that He might relate to all of us
who are in flesh. Jesus took on the form of flesh that He might
purchase His creation with His blood. To truly understand what I am
saying here we must read John chapter one over and over. I will quote
a few Scriptures that prove beyond a shadow of doubt that we are His
creation. John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God." John 1:2 "The same was in the
beginning with God." John 1:3 "All things were made by him; and
without him was not any thing made that was made."  John 1:14 "And the
Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the
glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and
truth." It was important for Him to take on the flesh, that He might
be tempted in all areas we are tempted in, and yet He was without sin.

     Notice in the verses from Leviticus above, that it was not the
inner being that God was displeased with. You see, that which was
inside the flesh of Jesus never stopped pleasing God. When Jesus took
on the sin of the world, He took the sin upon His body, not into His
body.  The body of Jesus Christ died upon the cross, not the Spirit
within that body. Jesus commanded His Spirit to leave the body and go
to the throne of God. Luke 23:46  "And when Jesus had cried with a
loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and
having said thus, he gave up the ghost."  You see, just as the
offering of the bullock was divided here, so was the body and Spirit
of Jesus at death. The bullock's insides are burned as a sweet
smelling savour to God in the tabernacle, and the body is carried
outside the city wall to be burned. There is a separation of the
Spirit and body of Jesus here at the crucifixion. God turned away from
the sin on Jesus' body; He did not turn His head from His Son within
that body.  On Him was laid the iniquities of us all.


                             Questions 8

1.  How were these instructions passed to the people?
2.  Why had they asked Moses to intercede for them with God?
3.  What kind of sin is verse 2 speaking of?
4.  When a person thinks of the sins they should not commit, what
    immediately comes to mind?
5.  What does God look on to see if you are sinning?
6.  Jesus said a man who looks upon a woman to lust has committed what
    sin?
7.  How many ordinances will we get into in Leviticus?
8.  How do we know the priest in verse 3 is the high priest?
9.  What should this priest bring for sacrifice for his sin?
10. What were some of the qualifications of this animal supposed to
    be?
11. What was the name of this offering?
12. What happens many times when the minister sins?
13. What do we learn from Luke chapter 12 verse 48?
14. Who was the bullock a type and shadow of?
15. Where should the bullock be killed?
16. Our sin was upon the head of _____.
17. What does 1 John chapter 1 verse 7 teach us about Jesus?
18. Who is the only one who would dare to go into the holy of holies?
19. How many times was the blood sprinkled before the Lord?
20. What does that number symbolize?
21. What is, inside the veil, a type and shadow of?
22. Why was some of the blood put upon the horns of the altar?
23. What does the smoke that rises from the altar of incense
    symbolize?
24. What did the remainder of the blood being poured at the foot of
    the bronze altar indicate?
25. The ____ __ ___ took on the form of flesh and dwelt among us.
26. Why is it so important to read the first chapter of John over and
    over?
27. What actually died upon the cross?
28. Where do we find the Scripture that explains that Jesus commanded
    His Spirit to leave His body and go to the Father?
29. What of the bullock offered was a sweet smelling savour to God?
30. What does that have to do with Jesus?
31. What happens to the flesh of the bullock?
32. When God turned away from Jesus on the cross, what was He really
    turning away from?