“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..."
Leviticus 4:2
Chapters four through six of Leviticus are all about the priestly duties required for various situations in which a sin offering needed to be sacrificed. It is a detailed list of instructions. It was hard work. Basically, a large animal was slaughtered, butchered, and portions of it were burned on the altar in order to atone for the sin of someone. The levitical system was not an "easy fix". I imagine it would take the better part of a day to make such an offering. And every Israelite was bound by the covenant to embrace this system of atone for their sins by animal sacrifice.
As I read Leviticus I am struck by the holiness of God and the seriousness of sin. It was not an easy thing to participate in sin offerings. When you headed to the priest with your sacrificial beast in tow, everybody knew why you were doing this! You publically admitted your need for atonement. The system emphasized the holiness of God and the extensive wickedness of humanity and the pervasiveness of our sin.
I am thankful that Christ made atonement for me and for all of us once and for all. I am thankful that I can study the Old Testament so that I can appreciate all that Jesus did for me!
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