VAYIKRA 6

And [He] called

26 The priest that offereth it for sin shall eat it: in the holy place shall it be eaten, in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation.

AN OFFERING AT THE DOOR OF THE TABERNACLE

It was the man, not the priest who killed it. After it was slain, the priests received both the blood and the animal, and it was accepted for the man to make atonement for him. In the case of a voluntary burnt offering, the offering had to be wholly burnt; but in the case of a sin-offering, the law was,

"The priest that offereth it for sin shall eat it, in the holy place shall it be eaten, in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation."—(chap. 6:26.)

And the reason for this is stated in chap. 10:17:

"God hath given it you to bear the iniquity of the congregation to make atonement for them before Yahweh."

Paul says

"It was not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins."

So we find that, under the law, it was used to transfer sin from the sinner to the altar, and through the flesh of them, to the priest.

In laying his hand on the head of his offering, it became sin for him, for he must, of necessity, tell the priest what he had brought it for. After this confession, he shed its life's blood and gave it to the priest along with the carcass. The priest presented the blood at God's altar; but he ate the flesh in the holy place, and thereby did eat up the sin of God's people, and bore it for them in his own body. As the Lord had said to Aaron,

"Thou and thy sons, and thy father's house with thee, shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary; and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood."—(Numb 18: 1.)

The Christadelphian, Apr 1874