The Law of the Purification for Sin Offering (Leviticus 6:24-30).
‘And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,'
If the previous section was inserted here this may have been put in to take up the first section again, reminding us that it is a revelation from Yahweh to Moses. Otherwise it may have been a fresh revelation, but continuing the previous one.
‘Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, This is the law of the purification for sin offering. In the place where the whole burnt offering is killed shall the purification for sin offering be killed before Yahweh. It is most holy.'
The purification for sin offering is to be slain in the same place as the whole burnt offering, that is to the north of the altar (Leviticus 1:11) in the court of the tabernacle. But the thought is as much that it should be slaughtered there because it is most holy, for these are two most holy offerings. The holiness of the offering from the start is being stressed, so that the regulations that follow will be seen in all their seriousness.
‘The priest who offers it for sin shall eat it: in a holy place shall it be eaten, in the court of the tent of meeting.'
Once its blood and fat with its innards have been offered, the priest who offered it for sin may eat of it. He has been caught up in the holiness of the sacrifice and is therefore in a fit state to do so. And he must eat it in a holy place, in the court of the tent of meeting. Thus is the holiness of the purification for sin offering doubly stressed. All of it is holy, For God has worked through it to neutralise and blot out sin and make holy what once bore sin. All that connects with it is brought within its holiness.
‘Whatever shall touch its flesh shall be holy; and when there is sprinkled of the blood from it on any garment, you shall wash that on which it was sprinkled in a holy place.'
It is so holy that whatever touches its flesh is made holy, and if any of the blood falls on a piece of clothing it must be washed in a holy place. This all brings out the divine power that is at work in the act of purification of a sinner. It is the Holy One at work.
‘But the earthen vessel in which it is boiled shall be broken; and if it be boiled in a bronze (or ‘copper') vessel, it shall be scoured, and rinsed in water.'
Thus the earthen vessel in which the meat is boiled must be broken after use, and if it is boiled in a bronze or copper vessel it must be scoured out and rinsed with water. The absorbent earthen vessel may have absorbed something of the offering. It is therefore too holy to be used again. In the case of the metal vessel there is no absorption. It may therefore be cleansed. (Besides which the earthenware was easy to break, not so the bronze vessel, and if not broken properly it might have been used improperly).
‘Every male among the priests shall eat of it. It is most holy.'
But any true male priest may eat of it (even if he is not fitted for service because of some blemish, as long as he is ritually clean - Leviticus 21:18-23). But only they. For it is most holy.
It is difficult to see how the holiness of the offering could be more emphasised. When God is at work in purification He makes all holy. Thus can we know that when we are purified by the One Who made Himself an offering for sin, He makes us completely holy.
‘And no purification for sin offering, of which any of the blood is brought into the tent of meeting to make atonement in the holy place, shall be eaten. It shall be burnt with fire.'
But there is something even more holy than a purification for sin offering, and that is an offering which is brought within the tent of meeting to make atonement in the Holy Place, the purification for sin offerings for the priest and for the community. They are so holy that they are taken to a clean place outside the camp and burned for Yahweh. (And the same will be true of the offerings on the Day of Atonement - chapter 16). How holy then are those who are cleansed in the blood of Jesus!