The Berean Pursuit
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites to do as follows with one who sins unintentionally against any of the LORD's commandments and does what is forbidden by them:
If the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, he must bring to the LORD a young bull without blemish as a sin offering for the sin he has committed. He must bring the bull to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the LORD, lay his hand on the bull's head, and slaughter it before the LORD. Then the anointed priest shall take some of the bull's blood and bring it into the Tent of Meeting. The priest is to dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of it seven times before the LORD, in front of the veil of the sanctuary. The priest must then put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense that is before the LORD in the Tent of Meeting. And he is to pour out the rest of the bull's blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. Then he shall remove all the fat from the bull of the sin offering-the fat that covers the entrails, all the fat that is on them, both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he is to remove with the kidneys- just as the fat is removed from the ox of the peace offering. Then the priest shall burn them on the altar of burnt offering. But the hide of the bull and all its flesh, with its head and legs and its entrails and dung- all the rest of the bull-he must take outside the camp to a ceremonially clean place where the ashes are poured out, and there he must burn it on a wood fire on the ash heap.
Now if the whole congregation of Israel strays unintentionally and the matter escapes the notice of the assembly so that they violate any of the LORD's commandments and incur guilt by doing what is forbidden, when they become aware of the sin they have committed, then the assembly must bring a young bull as a sin offering and present it before the Tent of Meeting. The elders of the congregation are to lay their hands on the bull's head before the LORD, and it shall be slaughtered before the LORD. Then the anointed priest is to bring some of the bull's blood into the Tent of Meeting, and he is to dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD in front of the veil. He is also to put some of the blood on the horns of the altar that is before the LORD in the Tent of Meeting, and he must pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. And he is to remove all the fat from it and burn it on the altar. He shall offer this bull just as he did the bull for the sin offering; in this way the priest will make atonement on their behalf, and they will be forgiven. Then he is to take the bull outside the camp and burn it, just as he burned the first bull. It is the sin offering for the assembly.
When a leader sins unintentionally and does what is prohibited by any of the commandments of the LORD his God, he incurs guilt. When he becomes aware of the sin he has committed, he must bring an unblemished male goat as his offering. He is to lay his hand on the head of the goat and slaughter it at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered before the LORD. It is a sin offering. Then the priest is to take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. He must burn all its fat on the altar, like the fat of the peace offerings; thus the priest will make atonement for that man's sin, and he will be forgiven.
And if one of the common people sins unintentionally and does what is prohibited by any of the LORD's commandments, he incurs guilt. When he becomes aware of the sin he has committed, he must bring an unblemished female goat as his offering for that sin. He is to lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it at the place of the burnt offering. Then the priest is to take some of its blood with his finger, put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. Then he is to remove all the fat, just as it is removed from the peace offering, and the priest is to burn it on the altar as a pleasing aroma to the LORD. In this way the priest will make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven.
If, however, he brings a lamb as a sin offering, he must bring an unblemished female. And he is to lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it as a sin offering at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered. Then the priest is to take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and pour out the rest of its blood at the base of the altar. And he shall remove all the fat, just as the fat of the lamb is removed from the peace offerings, and he shall burn it on the altar along with the offerings made by fire to the LORD. In this way the priest will make atonement for him for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven.
"If someone sins by failing to testify when he hears a public charge about something he has witnessed, whether he has seen it or learned of it, he shall bear the iniquity.
Or if a person touches anything unclean-whether the carcass of any unclean wild animal or livestock or crawling creature-even if he is unaware of it, he is unclean and guilty.
Or if he touches human uncleanness-anything by which one becomes unclean-even if he is unaware of it, when he realizes it, he is guilty.
Or if someone swears thoughtlessly with his lips to do anything good or evil-in whatever matter a man may rashly pronounce an oath-even if he is unaware of it, when he realizes it, he is guilty in the matter.
If someone incurs guilt in one of these ways, he must confess the sin he has committed, and he must bring his guilt offering to the LORD for the sin he has committed: a female lamb or goat from the flock as a sin offering. And the priest will make atonement for him concerning his sin.
If, however, he cannot afford a lamb, he may bring to the LORD as restitution for his sin two turtledoves or two young pigeons-one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. He is to bring them to the priest, who shall first present the one for the sin offering. He is to twist its head at the front of its neck without severing it; then he is to sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering on the side of the altar, while the rest of the blood is drained out at the base of the altar. It is a sin offering. And the priest must prepare the second bird as a burnt offering according to the ordinance. In this way the priest will make atonement for him for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven.
But if he cannot afford two turtledoves or two young pigeons, he may bring a tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a sin offering. He must not put olive oil or frankincense on it, because it is a sin offering. He is to bring it to the priest, who shall take a handful from it as a memorial portion and burn it on the altar atop the offerings made by fire to the LORD; it is a sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for him for any of these sins he has committed, and he will be forgiven. The remainder will belong to the priest, like the grain offering."
Then the LORD said to Moses, "If someone acts unfaithfully and sins unintentionally against any of the LORD's holy things, he must bring his guilt offering to the LORD: an unblemished ram from the flock, of proper value in silver shekels according to the sanctuary shekel; it is a guilt offering. Regarding any holy thing he has harmed, he must make restitution by adding a fifth of its value to it and giving it to the priest, who will make atonement on his behalf with the ram as a guilt offering, and he will be forgiven.
If someone sins and violates any of the LORD's commandments even though he was unaware, he is guilty and shall bear his punishment. He is to bring to the priest an unblemished ram of proper value from the flock as a guilt offering. Then the priest will make atonement on his behalf for the wrong he has committed in ignorance, and he will be forgiven. It is a guilt offering; he was certainly guilty before the LORD."
And the LORD said to Moses, "If someone sins and acts unfaithfully against the LORD by deceiving his neighbor in regard to a deposit or security entrusted to him or stolen, or if he extorts his neighbor or finds lost property and lies about it and swears falsely, or if he commits any such sin that a man might commit- once he has sinned and becomes guilty, he must return what he has stolen or taken by extortion, or the deposit entrusted to him, or the lost property he found, or anything else about which he has sworn falsely.
He must make restitution in full, add a fifth of the value, and pay it to the owner on the day he acknowledges his guilt. Then he must bring to the priest his guilt offering to the LORD: an unblemished ram of proper value from the flock. In this way the priest will make atonement for him before the LORD, and he will be forgiven for anything he may have done to incur guilt."
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Command Aaron and his sons that this is the law of the burnt offering: The burnt offering is to remain on the hearth of the altar all night, until morning, and the fire must be kept burning on the altar.
And the priest shall put on his linen robe and linen undergarments, and he shall remove from the altar the ashes of the burnt offering that the fire has consumed and place them beside it. Then he must take off his garments, put on other clothes, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a ceremonially clean place.
The fire on the altar shall be kept burning; it must not be extinguished. Every morning the priest is to add wood to the fire, arrange the burnt offering on it, and burn the fat portions of the peace offerings on it. The fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it must not be extinguished.
Now this is the law of the grain offering: Aaron's sons shall present it before the LORD in front of the altar. The priest is to remove a handful of fine flour and olive oil, together with all the frankincense from the grain offering, and burn the memorial portion on the altar as a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
Aaron and his sons are to eat the remainder. It must be eaten without leaven in a holy place; they are to eat it in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting. It must not be baked with leaven; I have assigned it as their portion of My offerings made by fire. It is most holy, like the sin offering and the guilt offering. Any male among the sons of Aaron may eat it. This is a permanent portion from the offerings made by fire to the LORD for the generations to come. Anything that touches them will become holy."
Then the LORD said to Moses, "This is the offering that Aaron and his sons must present to the LORD on the day he is anointed: a tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a regular grain offering, half of it in the morning and half in the evening. It shall be prepared with oil on a griddle; you are to bring it well-kneaded and present it as a grain offering broken in pieces, a pleasing aroma to the LORD. The priest, who is one of Aaron's sons and will be anointed to take his place, is to prepare it. As a permanent portion for the LORD, it must be burned completely. Every grain offering for a priest shall be burned completely; it is not to be eaten."
And the LORD said to Moses, "Tell Aaron and his sons that this is the law of the sin offering: In the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered, the sin offering shall be slaughtered before the LORD; it is most holy. The priest who offers it shall eat it; it must be eaten in a holy place, in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting. Anything that touches its flesh will become holy, and if any of the blood is spattered on a garment, you must wash it in a holy place.
The clay pot in which the sin offering is boiled must be broken; if it is boiled in a bronze pot, the pot must be scoured and rinsed with water. Any male among the priests may eat it; it is most holy. But no sin offering may be eaten if its blood has been brought into the Tent of Meeting to make atonement in the Holy Place; it must be burned.
"Now this is the law of the guilt offering, which is most holy: The guilt offering must be slaughtered in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered, and the priest shall sprinkle its blood on all sides of the altar. And all the fat from it shall be offered: the fat tail, the fat that covers the entrails, both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which is to be removed with the kidneys. The priest shall burn them on the altar as an offering made by fire to the LORD; it is a guilt offering. Every male among the priests may eat of it. It must be eaten in a holy place; it is most holy.
The guilt offering is like the sin offering; the same law applies to both. It belongs to the priest who makes atonement with it. As for the priest who presents a burnt offering for anyone, the hide of that offering belongs to him. Likewise, every grain offering that is baked in an oven or cooked in a pan or on a griddle belongs to the priest who presents it, and every grain offering, whether dry or mixed with oil, belongs equally to all the sons of Aaron.
Now this is the law of the peace offering that one may present to the LORD: If he offers it in thanksgiving, then along with the sacrifice of thanksgiving he shall offer unleavened cakes mixed with olive oil, unleavened wafers coated with oil, and well-kneaded cakes of fine flour mixed with oil.
Along with his peace offering of thanksgiving he is to present an offering with cakes of leavened bread. From the cakes he must present one portion of each offering as a contribution to the LORD. It belongs to the priest who sprinkles the blood of the peace offering. The meat of the sacrifice of his peace offering of thanksgiving must be eaten on the day he offers it; none of it may be left until morning.
If, however, the sacrifice he offers is a vow or a freewill offering, it shall be eaten on the day he presents his sacrifice, but the remainder may be eaten on the next day. But any meat of the sacrifice remaining until the third day must be burned up. If any of the meat from his peace offering is eaten on the third day, it will not be accepted. It will not be credited to the one who presented it; it shall be an abomination, and the one who eats of it shall bear his iniquity.
Meat that touches anything unclean must not be eaten; it is to be burned up. As for any other meat, anyone who is ceremonially clean may eat it. But if anyone who is unclean eats meat from the peace offering that belongs to the LORD, that person must be cut off from his people. If one touches anything unclean, whether human uncleanness, an unclean animal, or any unclean, detestable thing, and then eats any of the meat of the peace offering that belongs to the LORD, that person must be cut off from his people."
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Speak to the Israelites and say, 'You are not to eat any of the fat of an ox, a sheep, or a goat. The fat of an animal found dead or mauled by wild beasts may be used for any other purpose, but you must not eat it.
If anyone eats the fat of an animal from which an offering made by fire may be presented to the LORD, the one who eats it must be cut off from his people. You must not eat the blood of any bird or animal in any of your dwellings. If anyone eats blood, that person must be cut off from his people.'?"
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Speak to the Israelites and say, 'Anyone who presents a peace offering to the LORD must bring it as his sacrifice to the LORD. With his own hands he is to bring the offerings made by fire to the LORD; he shall bring the fat, together with the breast, and wave the breast as a wave offering before the LORD.
The priest is to burn the fat on the altar, but the breast belongs to Aaron and his sons. And you are to give the right thigh to the priest as a contribution from your peace offering. The son of Aaron who presents the blood and fat of the peace offering shall have the right thigh as a portion.
I have taken from the sons of Israel the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the contribution of their peace offerings, and I have given them to Aaron the priest and his sons as a permanent portion from the sons of Israel.'?"
This is the portion of the offerings made by fire to the LORD for Aaron and his sons since the day they were presented to serve the LORD as priests. On the day they were anointed, the LORD commanded that this be given them by the sons of Israel. It is a permanent portion for the generations to come.
This is the law of the burnt offering, the grain offering, the sin offering, the guilt offering, the ordination offering, and the peace offering, which the LORD gave Moses on Mount Sinai on the day He commanded the Israelites to present their offerings to the LORD in the Wilderness of Sinai.
Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, set your focus on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. He was faithful to the One who appointed Him, just as Moses was faithful in all God's house.
For Jesus has been counted worthy of greater glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. And every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.
Now Moses was faithful as a servant in all God's house, testifying to what would be spoken later. But Christ is faithful as the Son over God's house. And we are His house, if we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope of which we boast.
Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says:
"Today, if you hear His voice,
do not harden your hearts,
as you did in the rebellion,
in the day of testing in the wilderness,
where your fathers tested and tried Me,
and for forty years saw My works.
Therefore I was angry with that generation,
and I said,
'Their hearts are always going astray,
and they have not known My ways.'
So I swore on oath in My anger,
'They shall never enter My rest.'?"
See to it, brothers, that none of you has a wicked heart of unbelief that turns away from the living God. But exhort one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.
We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly to the end the assurance we had at first. As it has been said:
"Today, if you hear His voice,
do not harden your hearts,
as you did in the rebellion."
For who were the ones who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was God angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would never enter His rest? Was it not to those who disobeyed? So we see that it was because of their unbelief that they were unable to enter.