Leviticus 4 starts out with revealing how a person can unintentionally sin and that even the anointed priest can as well. They are to sacrifice a bull and turn the whole body into ashes. The method still remains the same with the earlier chapters by removing all the fat and killing it outside the tabernacle of meeting. A lot of it seems to also be about sprinkling and pouring the blood of the livestock too.
In the New Testament, it talks quite a bit about how Jesus shed his blood on the cross or that's what I heard often while going to sermons. Maybe, there's a relation to the shedding of blood with a sacrificial animal and to Christ who did it to atone for all the sins of his believers.
Also I think there's a relation to Adam and Eve in that they were first to sin against God and how after that, sin became introduced into the world and flesh. What Paul states in the New Testament is that flesh is weak but the Spirit is willing. This means that even though we sin without knowing it sometimes, God can still forgive us of them if we are willing to confess Jesus to be our Lord and Savior and repent of it.
Verse 13 gets interesting in that God states that even the whole congregation of Israel can become guilty of unintentionally sinning. In verse 15, I thought that the priest took care of holding the livestock but in this case and from before, the person responsible for the sin clings on to the head of the animal being sacrificed, before the blood is shed. To atone for a whole congregation's unintentional sin, God commanded the elders of the tribes of Israel to cling on to the head before the sacrifice was made.
Verse 17 talks about the priest dipping his finger in blood and then sprinkling it seven times in front of the veil of an altar, which I think is the most holy place. In the Bible, the number seven represents God or perfection. Jesus commanded his appointed disciple Peter to forgive others 7 times seventy times, which translates to infinite!
Verse 20 states that after the priest completes the ritual of the bull being offered as a sin offering, he makes atonement for the people and the Lord forgives them. It's interesting how God uses a mediator like Jesus for example is the ultimate mediator for being atoned of all sins!
Verse 22-23 talks about how if a ruler has sinned unintentionally, then they are to offer a male kid of the goats without a blemish. The ruler then lays his hands on the goat before it is killed.
In verse 32, a commoner like most of us can unintentionally sin but just needs to bring a sin offering. Maybe God was more flexible to us back then because we probably didn't have the luxury of certain livestock from some of us being too poor. This verse is really interesting in that if the person offers a lamb, it has to be a female without any defects! Wow, I don't know what that signifies really but instead of being male, the Lord allowed for a female which is huge for way back then.
Based on this chapter, I realized that some members of a congregation who self-appointed themselves as leaders unintentionally sinned against me by kicking me out of their church. I tell this story to some people, and they just laugh about it! I was really angry and making fun of them and doing all sorts to things to get my fill of vengeance to release all of that pent-up frustration. They went far as to call the cops on me and desensitize themselves over watching me get hand-cuffed and detained in a police vehicle, only twice?! Wow, I'm such a rebel!
Referring back to the New Testament again, Jesus commanded Peter to pretty much forgive others automatically. I'm going to forgive them and move on from this ordeal. I'm just a lucky son of a gun from not really having anything truly that bad happen to me for all the ingenious antics I pulled off. Actually, I think I can cure them of their disease of being frustrated with me for like what's going to be ten years. I understand it was based on getting on their nerves after they became predisposed with me; that's how the law officers were too and I guess there's never really enough training to be perfect on the field for the majority.
