Leviticus 4:1 says, And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, We must always remember that these were God's laws and not those of Moses. Matthew Henry says that this was probably at a later time than the time of the first two chapters. God continues to speak to His people to guide them throughout their lifetime, and not just once and then that is it. Verse two adds, 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: God now began to address non deliberate sin, those things that were against God's law when the person had no knowledge of that law. Deliberate, willful sin, whether by commission or omission, is different than sinning when a person does not know the law and sins. Being born into the nation of Israel did not automatically make a person knowledgeable of the laws of God, and there were many, many people who did not know God or His laws. This did not make them not be responsible for obeying God, but they were given a way to restoration. Jesus Christ is our way to restoration to God for all sins, those committed knowingly and those committed unwittingly. Verse three continues, 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. The first provision was made for a priest who sinned but not deliberately. The priests were but people and just as capable of sinning as anyone else. We today as followers of Christ are a part of the priesthood of believers, and we are also just as capable of sinning as anyone else is, but hopefully if we do it will not be an actual act of defiance of God's law. Still, if we do, we need to confess that sin and ask God's forgiveness, even when we know that we are already forgiven through our faith in Christ. Verse four states, 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 priest who was guilty of an unintentional transgression against the law of God was to bring a bullock before the congregation and lay his hands on its head and kill it before the LORD. The people brought the sacrifice to the priest and he killed it, but in this case the sacrifice was for the priest himself, so he killed it himself. As a part of the priesthood of believers through our faith in Christ today, we do not need to go through anyone else to find forgiveness for any of our sins but must go to God on our own for forgiveness. Verse five adds, And the priest that is anointed shall take the bullock's blood, and bring it to the tabernacle of the congregation: The priest that was anointed was to then take the blood of the bullock into the tabernacle of the congregation. Jesus Christ is the Anointed Priest of all who believe in Him today, and by His blood we are forgiven. Verse six continues, And the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the LORD, before the vail of the sanctuary. The priest was to dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the veil of the LORD. The number seven was important in the Jewish community since it was said to represent completeness. We know today that Christ shed His blood for us to bring us forgiveness once and for all-time, and this forgiveness is a complete forgiveness. Verse seven says, 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. Verse eight adds, 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, The next few verses are just instructions for how to sacrifice the bullocks. Verse nine continues, 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, Verse ten states, 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. These were specific instructions for how the sacrifice was to be made. Verse eleven then adds, And the skin of the bullock, and all his flesh, with his head, and with his legs, and his inwards, and his dung, Verse twelve concludes. Even the whole bullock shall he carry forth without the camp unto a clean place, where the ashes are poured out, and burn him on the wood with fire: where the ashes are poured out shall he be burnt. The priest was to take the whole bullock to a specific place and burn it. This was all to be done for the forgiveness of the sin of a priest. There are no separate sacrifices for particular sins today, but we can only find forgiveness through the blood of Christ, which covers all sin for all time.
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