Be Holy, Because I Am Holy

Leviticus 11:44 – For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground.

Isaiah 43:3 – For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you.

Joshua 24:19 – But Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins.

1 Samuel 2:2 – “There is none holy like the Lord: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.

Psalm 99:3 – Let them praise your great and awesome name! Holy is he!

Ephesians 1:3-6 – Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

1 Thessalonians 4:7 – For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.

1 Peter 1:14-16 – As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

Leviticus 22:9 – They shall therefore keep my charge, lest they bear sin for it and die thereby when they profane it: I am the Lord who sanctifies them.

Matthew 5:48 – You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Application:

• ·         Holiness is the key theme of Leviticus, ringing like a refrain in various forms throughout the book. The word holy appears more often in Leviticus than in any other book of the Bible. Her holiness was to be expressed in every aspect of her life, to the extent that all of life had a certain ceremonial quality.
• ·         Israel was to be totally consecrated to God. Because of who God is and what He has done, His people must dedicate themselves fully to Him.
• ·         “You are not able” were strong words to emphasize the danger of overconfidence.
• ·         Rock is a metaphor to depict the strength and stability of the God of Israel as the unfailing source of security for His people.
• ·         As the Great King, He ought to be shown the fear and honor that are His due.
• ·         Holiness is the result—not the basis—of God’s choosing. It refers both to the holiness imparted me because of Christ and to my personal sanctification.
• ·         One reason for chastity is God’s call to holiness.
• ·         To be holy is to be set apart—set apart from sin and impurity, and set apart to God.
• ·         The laws of cleanness were the same for priests and people, but the penalties were far more severe for the priests, who had greater responsibility.
• ·         Christ sets up the high ideal of perfect love—not that we can fully attain it in this life. That, however, is God’s high standard for us.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Unclean Till Evening

Leviticus 11:34-44 – Any food in it that could be eaten, on which water comes, shall be unclean. And all drink that could be drunk from every such vessel shall be unclean. And everything on which any part of their carcass falls shall be unclean. Whether oven or stove, it shall be broken in pieces. They are unclean and shall remain unclean for you. Nevertheless, a spring or a cistern holding water shall be clean, but whoever touches a carcass in them shall be unclean. And if any part of their carcass falls upon any seed grain that is to be sown, it is clean, but if water is put on the seed and any part of their carcass falls on it, it is unclean to you. “And if any animal which you may eat dies, whoever touches its carcass shall be unclean until the evening, and whoever eats of its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. And whoever carries the carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. “Every swarming thing that swarms on the ground is detestable; it shall not be eaten. Whatever goes on its belly, and whatever goes on all fours, or whatever has many feet, any swarming thing that swarms on the ground, you shall not eat, for they are detestable. You shall not make yourselves detestable with any swarming thing that swarms, and you shall not defile yourselves with them, and become unclean through them. For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground.

Hebrews 9:8-10 – By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing (which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation.

Application:

• ·         The new order is the new covenant, with its new priesthood, new sanctuary and new sacrifice, all introduced by Christ.
• ·         Israel’s holiness was to be expressed in every aspect of her life, to the extent that all of life had a certain ceremonial quality.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Unclean Till Evening

Leviticus 11:24-33 – “And by these you shall become unclean. Whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening, and whoever carries any part of their carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. Every animal that parts the hoof but is not cloven-footed or does not chew the cud is unclean to you. Everyone who touches them shall be unclean. And all that walk on their paws, among the animals that go on all fours, are unclean to you. Whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening, and he who carries their carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening; they are unclean to you. “And these are unclean to you among the swarming things that swarm on the ground: the mole rat, the mouse, the great lizard of any kind, the gecko, the monitor lizard, the lizard, the sand lizard, and the chameleon. These are unclean to you among all that swarm. Whoever touches them when they are dead shall be unclean until the evening. And anything on which any of them falls when they are dead shall be unclean, whether it is an article of wood or a garment or a skin or a sack, any article that is used for any purpose. It must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the evening; then it shall be clean. And if any of them falls into any earthenware vessel, all that is in it shall be unclean, and you shall break it.

Hebrews 9:8-10 – By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing (which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation.

Numbers 19:18 – Then a clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water and sprinkle it on the tent and on all the furnishings and on the persons who were there and on whoever touched the bone, or the slain or the dead or the grave.

Application:

• ·         The new order is the new covenant, with its new priesthood, new sanctuary and new sacrifice, all introduced by Christ.
• ·         The cleansing power of the blood of Christ is specifically contrasted with the cleansing effectiveness of the water of the ashes of the red heifer.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Storks and Bats

Leviticus 11:14-23 – “And these you shall detest among the birds; they shall not be eaten; they are detestable: the eagle, the bearded vulture, the black vulture, the kite, the falcon of any kind, every raven of any kind, the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, the hawk of any kind, the little owl, the cormorant, the short-eared owl, the barn owl, the tawny owl, the carrion vulture, the stork, the heron of any kind, the hoopoe, and the bat. “All winged insects that go on all fours are detestable to you. Yet among the winged insects that go on all fours you may eat those that have jointed legs above their feet, with which to hop on the ground. Of them you may eat: the locust of any kind, the bald locust of any kind, the cricket of any kind, and the grasshopper of any kind. But all other winged insects that have four feet are detestable to you.

Zechariah 5:9 – Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, two women coming forward! The wind was in their wings. They had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and heaven.

Isaiah 2:20-21 – In that day mankind will cast away their idols of silver and their idols of gold, which they made for themselves to worship, to the moles and to the bats, to enter the caverns of the rocks and the clefts of the cliffs, from before the terror of the Lord, and from the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth.

Application:

• ·         Wind in wings like a stork was an instrument of God.
• ·         The futility of worshiping idols is repeatedly noted by Isaiah.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Unclean To You

Leviticus 11:3-19 – Whatever parts the hoof and is cloven-footed and chews the cud, among the animals, you may eat. Nevertheless, among those that chew the cud or part the hoof, you shall not eat these: The camel, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. And the rock badger, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. And the hare, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. And the pig, because it parts the hoof and is cloven-footed but does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. You shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall not touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you. “These you may eat, of all that are in the waters. Everything in the waters that has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the rivers, you may eat. But anything in the seas or the rivers that does not have fins and scales, of the swarming creatures in the waters and of the living creatures that are in the waters, is detestable to you. You shall regard them as detestable; you shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall detest their carcasses. Everything in the waters that does not have fins and scales is detestable to you. “And these you shall detest among the birds; they shall not be eaten; they are detestable: the eagle, the bearded vulture, the black vulture, the kite, the falcon of any kind, every raven of any kind, the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, the hawk of any kind, the little owl, the cormorant, the short-eared owl, the barn owl, the tawny owl, the carrion vulture, the stork, the heron of any kind, the hoopoe, and the bat.

Hebrews 9:8-10 – By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing (which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation.

Application:

• ·         The new order is the new covenant, with its new priesthood, new sanctuary and new sacrifice, all introduced by Christ.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Since Its Blood Was Not Taken Into The Holy Place, You Should Have Eaten

Leviticus 10:2,15-11:2,44 – And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord…The thigh that is contributed and the breast that is waved they shall bring with the food offerings of the fat pieces to wave for a wave offering before the Lord, and it shall be yours and your sons' with you as a due forever, as the Lord has commanded.” Now Moses diligently inquired about the goat of the sin offering, and behold, it was burned up! And he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the surviving sons of Aaron, saying, “Why have you not eaten the sin offering in the place of the sanctuary, since it is a thing most holy and has been given to you that you may bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the Lord? Behold, its blood was not brought into the inner part of the sanctuary. You certainly ought to have eaten it in the sanctuary, as I commanded.” And Aaron said to Moses, “Behold, today they have offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord, and yet such things as these have happened to me! If I had eaten the sin offering today, would the Lord have approved?” And when Moses heard that, he approved. And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them, “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, These are the living things that you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth…For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground.

Leviticus 4:5-6 – And the anointed priest shall take some of the blood of the bull and bring it into the tent of meeting, and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle part of the blood seven times before the Lord in front of the veil of the sanctuary.

Application:

• ·         There were two types of sin offerings: (1) those in which the blood was sprinkled within the tabernacle, and (2) those in which it was sprinkled only on the great altar. Portions of the second type normally should have been eaten.
• ·         Such things as this have happened to me was perhaps referring to the death of his two oldest sons, for which he mourned by fasting. Or possibly something had occurred that made him ceremonially unclean.
• ·         The main reason for the laws concerning clean and unclean food is the same as for other laws concerning the clean and unclear—to preserve the sanctity of Israel as God’s holy people.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Ceremonially Clean Place

Leviticus 10:10-14 – You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean, and you are to teach the people of Israel all the statutes that the Lord has spoken to them by Moses.” Moses spoke to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his surviving sons: “Take the grain offering that is left of the Lord's food offerings, and eat it unleavened beside the altar, for it is most holy. You shall eat it in a holy place, because it is your due and your sons' due, from the Lord's food offerings, for so I am commanded. But the breast that is waved and the thigh that is contributed you shall eat in a clean place, you and your sons and your daughters with you, for they are given as your due and your sons' due from the sacrifices of the peace offerings of the people of Israel.

Numbers 18:12 – All the best of the oil and all the best of the wine and of the grain, the firstfruits of what they give to the Lord, I give to you.

Leviticus 4:11-12 – But the skin of the bull and all its flesh, with its head, its legs, its entrails, and its dung—all the rest of the bull—he shall carry outside the camp to a clean place, to the ash heap, and shall burn it up on a fire of wood. On the ash heap it shall be burned up.

Application:

• ·         The distinction between what was holy and what was common was carefully maintained.
• ·         Since the best items of produce were to be given to the Lord, these became the special foods of the priests and their families.
• ·         The distinction between clean and unclean was a matter of ritual or religious purity, not a concern for physical cleanliness.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Wine

Leviticus 10:4-9 – And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, “Come near; carry your brothers away from the front of the sanctuary and out of the camp.” So they came near and carried them in their coats out of the camp, as Moses had said. And Moses said to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar his sons, “Do not let the hair of your heads hang loose, and do not tear your clothes, lest you die, and wrath come upon all the congregation; but let your brothers, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning that the Lord has kindled. And do not go outside the entrance of the tent of meeting, lest you die, for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you.” And they did according to the word of Moses. And the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying, “Drink no wine or strong drink, you or your sons with you, when you go into the tent of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations.

Acts 5:9 – But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.”

Genesis 9:21 – He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent.

Habakkuk 2:15 – “Woe to him who makes his neighbors drink—you pour out your wrath and make them drunk, in order to gaze at their nakedness!

Proverbs 20:1 – Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.

Proverbs 31:4-5 – It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to take strong drink, lest they drink and forget what has been decreed and pervert the rights of all the afflicted.

Isaiah 28:7 – These also reel with wine and stagger with strong drink; the priest and the prophet reel with strong drink, they are swallowed by wine, they stagger with strong drink, they reel in vision, they stumble in giving judgment.

Ephesians 5:18-21 – And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Titus 1:7-8 – For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.

Application:

• ·         If no dire consequences had followed this Annanias and Sapphira’s act of sin, the results among the believers would have been serious when the deceit became known. Not only would dishonestly appear profitable, but the conclusion that the Spirit could be deceived would follow. It was important to set the course properly at the outset of the church in order to leave no doubt that God will not tolerate such hypocrisy and deceit.
• ·         Excessive use of wine leads, among other things, to immodest behavior.
• ·         Those who overindulge become mockers and brawlers.
• ·         Proverbs associates drunkenness with poverty, strife and injustice.
• ·         Woe to the land whose rulers are drunkards.
• ·         Religious leaders should be filled with the Spirit, not with wine.
• ·         One can be under an influence that affects him, whether of wine of or the Spirit.
• ·         Overseers are not given to drunkenness.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Honored

Leviticus 10:3 – Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’” And Aaron held his peace.

Isaiah 49:3 – And he said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”

Isaiah 55:5 – Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know, and a nation that did not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, and of the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.

Isaiah 60:21 – Your people shall all be righteous; they shall possess the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I might be glorified.

Application:

• ·         He will display His splendor through the redemption He will accomplish.
• ·         Israel will be restored physically and spiritually.
• ·         God made Israel as a potter forms clay.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Died Before The Lord

Leviticus 10:2 – And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.

Numbers 11:1 – And the people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes, and when the Lord heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp.

Psalm 2:12 – Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Exodus 28:1 – “Then bring near to you Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the people of Israel, to serve me as priests—Aaron and Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.

Numbers 3:4 – But Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord when they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of Aaron their father.

Acts 5:1-3,9 – But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land?... But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.”

2 Samuel 6:7 – And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God.

Application:

• ·         When Nadab and Abihu were killed, a new era was being inaugurated. The new community had to be made aware that it existed for God, not vice versa.
• ·         Numbers repeatedly emphasizes the complete obedience of Moses and the people to the dictates of the Lord. The people eventually reverted to disloyal complaints.
• ·         Kissing was a sign of submission. Submission to an Assyrian king was expressed by kissing his feet.
• ·         Priests were to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins and to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray. Another important function of the priests was to read the law of Moses to the people and remind them of their covenant obligations.
• ·         Proximity to God’s holiness requires righteousness and obedience from His priests.
• ·         Love of praise for generosity and love for money led to the first recorded sin in the life of the church, Ananias and Sapphira. It is a warning to the readers that God cannot be mocked.
• ·         Ananias and Sapphira had a right to keep back whatever they chose, but to make it appear that they had given all when they had not was sinful.
• ·         Peter notes the continuing activity of Satan through Ananias and Sapphira.
• ·         It was important to set the course properly, with Ananias and Sapphira, at the outset of the church in order to leave no doubt that God will not tolerate hypocrisy and deceit.
• ·         With Uzzah, the Lord gives a shocking and vivid reminder to David and Israel that those who claim to serve Him must acknowledge His rule with absolute seriousness.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Glory Of The Lord

Leviticus 9:23-10:2 – And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, and when they came out they blessed the people, and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar, and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces. Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.

Exodus 40:34 – Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

Exodus 28:1 – “Then bring near to you Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the people of Israel, to serve me as priests—Aaron and Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.

Numbers 3:4 – But Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord when they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of Aaron their father.

Application:

• ·         With the glory of the Lord entering the tabernacle, the great series of events that began with the birth of Moses and his rescue from the Nile, foreshadowing the deliverance of Israel from Egypt, comes to a grand climax.
• ·         Israel had to be made aware that it existed for God, not vice versa.
• ·         Priests were to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins and to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray. Another important function of the priests was to read the law of Moses to the people and remind them of their covenant obligations.
• ·         Proximity to God’s holiness requires righteousness and obedience from His priests. For all time, the deaths of Aaron’s newly consecrated sons serve to warn God’s ministers of the awesome seriousness of their tasks.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Blessed

Leviticus 9:19-22 – But the fat pieces of the ox and of the ram, the fat tail and that which covers the entrails and the kidneys and the long lobe of the liver—they put the fat pieces on the breasts, and he burned the fat pieces on the altar, but the breasts and the right thigh Aaron waved for a wave offering before the Lord, as Moses commanded. Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them, and he came down from offering the sin offering and the burnt offering and the peace offerings.

Exodus 39:43 – And Moses saw all the work, and behold, they had done it; as the Lord had commanded, so had they done it. Then Moses blessed them.

Numbers 6:24-26 – The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

2 Corinthians 13:14 – The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Application:

• ·         Moses blessed them for the faithfulness with which the Israelites had donated their gifts, time and talents in building the tabernacle and all its furnishings—faithfulness in service brings divine benediction.
• ·         The Hebrew for peace is shalom, here seen in its most expressive fullness—not the absence of war, but a positive state of rightness and well-being. Such peace comes only from the Lord.
• ·         The mystery of the Holy Trinity is known to be true not through rational or philosophical explanation but through Christian experience, whereby the believer knows firsthand the grace, the love, and the fellowship that freely flow to him from the three Persons of the one Lord God.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Camp

Leviticus 9:9-18 – And the sons of Aaron presented the blood to him, and he dipped his finger in the blood and put it on the horns of the altar and poured out the blood at the base of the altar. But the fat and the kidneys and the long lobe of the liver from the sin offering he burned on the altar, as the Lord commanded Moses. The flesh and the skin he burned up with fire outside the camp. Then he killed the burnt offering, and Aaron's sons handed him the blood, and he threw it against the sides of the altar. And they handed the burnt offering to him, piece by piece, and the head, and he burned them on the altar. And he washed the entrails and the legs and burned them with the burnt offering on the altar. Then he presented the people's offering and took the goat of the sin offering that was for the people and killed it and offered it as a sin offering, like the first one. And he presented the burnt offering and offered it according to the rule. And he presented the grain offering, took a handful of it, and burned it on the altar, besides the burnt offering of the morning. Then he killed the ox and the ram, the sacrifice of peace offerings for the people. And Aaron's sons handed him the blood, and he threw it against the sides of the altar.

Leviticus 4:11-12 – But the skin of the bull and all its flesh, with its head, its legs, its entrails, and its dung—all the rest of the bull—he shall carry outside the camp to a clean place, to the ash heap, and shall burn it up on a fire of wood. On the ash heap it shall be burned up.

Leviticus 3:1 – “If his offering is a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offers an animal from the herd, male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the Lord.

Application:

• ·         As the bull was taken outside the camp, so also Jesus was crucified outside Jerusalem.
• ·         The fellowship offering—along with others—was offered by the thousands during the three annual festivals in Israel because multitudes of people came to the temple to worship and share in a communal meal. During the monarchy, the animals offered by the people were usually supplemented by large numbers given by the king.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Offering

Leviticus 9:5-8 – And they brought what Moses commanded in front of the tent of meeting, and all the congregation drew near and stood before the Lord. And Moses said, “This is the thing that the Lord commanded you to do, that the glory of the Lord may appear to you.” Then Moses said to Aaron, “Draw near to the altar and offer your sin offering and your burnt offering and make atonement for yourself and for the people, and bring the offering of the people and make atonement for them, as the Lord has commanded.” So Aaron drew near to the altar and killed the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself.

Leviticus 4:2-3,5-6,11-12 – “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If anyone sins unintentionally in any of the Lord's commandments about things not to be done, and does any one of them, if it is the anointed priest who sins, thus bringing guilt on the people, then he shall offer for the sin that he has committed a bull from the herd without blemish to the Lord for a sin offering…And the anointed priest shall take some of the blood of the bull and bring it into the tent of meeting, and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle part of the blood seven times before the Lord in front of the veil of the sanctuary…But the skin of the bull and all its flesh, with its head, its legs, its entrails, and its dung—all the rest of the bull—he shall carry outside the camp to a clean place, to the ash heap, and shall burn it up on a fire of wood. On the ash heap it shall be burned up.

Application:

• ·         Although the burnt, grain and fellowship offerings were voluntary, the sin offering was compulsory. As soon as an anointed priest became aware of unintentional sin, he was to bring his sin offering to the Lord.
• ·         Our parallel to the sin offering was Jesus, who suffered outside the city gate. The first type of sin offering was offered by and for a priest or by the elders for the whole community. The second type of sin offering was for a leader of the nation or a private individual. The offering included confession and the symbolic transfer of guilt by laying hands on the sacrifice. Then the priest who offered the sacrifice made atonement for the sin, and the Lord promised forgiveness. By bringing such a sin offering, a faithful Israelite under conviction of sin sought restoration of fellowship with God.
• ·         Since the sins of the offerer were symbolically transferred to the sacrificial bull, the bull had to be entirely destroyed and not thrown on the burnt offering ash heap.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV