Read Leviticus 6
6 The Lord said to Moses: 2 “If anyone sins and is unfaithful to the Lord by deceiving a neighbor about something entrusted to them or left in their careor about something stolen, or if they cheat their neighbor, 3 or if they find lost property and lie about it, or if they swear falsely about any such sin that people may commit— 4 when they sin in any of these ways and realize their guilt, they must return what they have stolen or taken by extortion, or what was entrusted to them, or the lost property they found, 5 or whatever it was they swore falsely about. They must make restitution in full, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the owner on the day they present their guilt offering. 6 And as a penalty they must bring to the priest, that is, to the Lord, their guilt offering, a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value. 7 In this way the priest will make atonement for them before the Lord, and they will be forgiven for any of the things they did that made them guilty.”
The Burnt Offering
8 The Lord said to Moses: 9 “Give Aaron and his sons this command: ‘These are the regulations for the burnt offering: The burnt offering is to remain on the altar hearth throughout the night, till morning, and the fire must be kept burning on the altar. 10 The priest shall then put on his linen clothes, with linen undergarments next to his body, and shall remove the ashes of the burnt offering that the fire has consumed on the altar and place them beside the altar. 11 Then he is to take off these clothes and put on others, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a place that is ceremonially clean. 12 The fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must not go out. Every morning the priest is to add firewood and arrange the burnt offering on the fire and burn the fat of the fellowship offerings on it. 13 The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out.
The Grain Offering
14 “‘These are the regulations for the grain offering: Aaron’s sons are to bring it before the Lord, in front of the altar. 15 The priest is to take a handful of the finest flour and some olive oil, together with all the incense on the grain offering, and burn the memorial portion on the altar as an aroma pleasing to the Lord. 16 Aaron and his sons shall eat the rest of it, but it is to be eaten without yeast in the sanctuary area; they are to eat it in the courtyard of the tent of meeting. 17 It must not be baked with yeast; I have given it as their share of the food offerings presented to me. Like the sin offering and the guilt offering, it is most holy. 18 Any male descendant of Aaron may eat it. For all generations to come it is his perpetual share of the food offerings presented to the Lord. Whatever touches them will become holy.’”
19 The Lord also said to Moses, 20 “This is the offering Aaron and his sons are to bring to the Lord on the day he is anointed: a tenth of an ephah of the finest flour as a regular grain offering, half of it in the morning and half in the evening. 21 It must be prepared with oil on a griddle; bring it well-mixed and present the grain offering broken in pieces as an aroma pleasing to the Lord. 22 The son who is to succeed him as anointed priest shall prepare it. It is the Lord’s perpetual share and is to be burned completely. 23 Every grain offering of a priest shall be burned completely; it must not be eaten.”
The Sin Offering
24 The Lord said to Moses, 25 “Say to Aaron and his sons: ‘These are the regulations for the sin offering: The sin offering is to be slaughtered before the Lord in the place the burnt offering is slaughtered; it is most holy. 26 The priest who offers it shall eat it; it is to be eaten in the sanctuary area, in the courtyard of the tent of meeting. 27 Whatever touches any of the flesh will become holy, and if any of the blood is spattered on a garment, you must wash it in the sanctuary area. 28 The clay pot the meat is cooked in must be broken; but if it is cooked in a bronze pot, the pot is to be scoured and rinsed with water. 29 Any male in a priest’s family may eat it; it is most holy.30 But any sin offering whose blood is brought into the tent of meeting to make atonement in the Holy Place must not be eaten; it must be burned up.
Go Deeper
Let’s be honest: We’ve all been confused by the different offerings found here in Leviticus 6, haven’t we? It’s totally understandable, and so too is the question, “Where is God in all of this?” Interestingly enough, God is the only voice (outside of the author briefly) found in this chapter. In verse 1, 8, 19, and 24 we read, “The Lord said to Moses” in some variation. God is talking through this whole chapter! So, what is He saying? What can we learn of Him in this chapter?
Through God’s constant instruction of Moses in this chapter, we can first see that He is involved in our lives. God didn’t create everything simply to say, “You’re on your own.” No, He was, is, and will continue to be involved in the intricacies of human life for the rest of eternity. He cares that things are done right, not because He is a stickler for rules, but because He knows what is right. He knows what should and shouldn’t be, and He looks to lead us in that way. We can see that He cares for the little details of our lives because He cares about us. In fact, one can even argue that He cares for little details because we are the little details! In the grand scheme of everything, from God’s view, we should basically be insignificant, yet He chooses to love us anyway.
How does He show this love in this chapter? Well, as many of us know, one of the major effects of sin is that it distances us from God and from those around us. But, in this chapter, we see God creating a way back into a right relationship with Him and others. God cares about the little details; He cares about us. He could simply leave us to our own devices, that would be what we deserve, but He doesn’t.
No, instead of leaving us to try and figure out a way to Him on our own, which is something we could never do, He loved the little details enough to step into time, becoming one of the little details Himself, in the person of Jesus Christ, and fulfill the way of the Law so that we might follow Him in true human life, the love of God and the love of neighbor.
Questions
- What is one way God has stepped into your life this week?
- What is one way you can love someone else in light of this love?
- Write out an intentional plan to go and love God through loving your neighbor this week. This can take many forms, so get creative with it!
Pray This
Father God,
Thank You that You are so intentional in our lives. You sent Your Son, Jesus, to step into time and bring us back into right relationship with You simply because You love us. Thank You that You love the little details, even when we can do nothing to deserve it. Help us to love others as You have loved us, because You love us. We Pray this to You, Father, in the name of the Son, Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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