Sin and atonement a bible study

 

            Here is a bible study on sin and atonement of sin, through offerings, starting with the rules of such in Leviticus, involving chapters 4-7 then gives a number of examples of its implementation, then shows us how Jesus came and did away with all of these animal sacrifices for He was the perfect and one time sacrifice and offering for sins(animal sacrifices had to be done over and over again, being imperfect)

Leviticus chapters 4 through 6 all deal with various sins that one might commit, what needs to be offered to atone for it (then, before Jesus) and how the offering was to be made, and the process that needs to be done for it to happen. I present the three chapters here without comment in between to preserve the flow.

(Leviticus 4:1)  And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

 

(Leviticus 4:2)  "Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If anyone sins unintentionally in any of the LORD's commandments about things not to be done, and does any one of them,

 

(Leviticus 4:3)  if it is the anointed priest who sins, thus bringing guilt on the people, then he shall offer for the sin that he has committed a bull from the herd without blemish to the LORD for a sin offering.

 

(Leviticus 4:4)  He shall bring the bull to the entrance of the tent of meeting before the LORD and lay his hand on the head of the bull and kill the bull before the LORD.

 

(Leviticus 4:5)  And the anointed priest shall take some of the blood of the bull and bring it into the tent of meeting,

 

(Leviticus 4:6)  and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle part of the blood seven times before the LORD in front of the veil of the sanctuary.

 

(Leviticus 4:7)  And the priest shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense before the LORD that is in the tent of meeting, and all the rest of the blood of the bull he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering that is at the entrance of the tent of meeting.

 

(Leviticus 4:8)  And all the fat of the bull of the sin offering he shall remove from it, the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails

 

(Leviticus 4:9)  and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins and the long lobe of the liver that he shall remove with the kidneys

 

(Leviticus 4:10)  (just as these are taken from the ox of the sacrifice of the peace offerings); and the priest shall burn them on the altar of burnt offering.

 

(Leviticus 4:11)  But the skin of the bull and all its flesh, with its head, its legs, its entrails, and its dung--

 

(Leviticus 4:12)  all the rest of the bull--he shall carry outside the camp to a clean place, to the ash heap, and shall burn it up on a fire of wood. On the ash heap it shall be burned up.

 

(Leviticus 4:13)  "If the whole congregation of Israel sins unintentionally and the thing is hidden from the eyes of the assembly, and they do any one of the things that by the LORD's commandments ought not to be done, and they realize their guilt,

 

(Leviticus 4:14)  when the sin which they have committed becomes known, the assembly shall offer a bull from the herd for a sin offering and bring it in front of the tent of meeting.

 

(Leviticus 4:15)  And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands on the head of the bull before the LORD, and the bull shall be killed before the LORD.

 

(Leviticus 4:16)  Then the anointed priest shall bring some of the blood of the bull into the tent of meeting,

 

(Leviticus4:17)  and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD in front of the veil.

 

(Leviticus 4:18)  And he shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar that is in the tent of meeting before the LORD, and the rest of the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering that is at the entrance of the tent of meeting.

 

(Leviticus 4:19)  And all its fat he shall take from it and burn on the altar.

 

(Leviticus 4:20)  Thus shall he do with the bull. As he did with the bull of the sin offering, so shall he do with this. And the priest shall make atonement for them, and they shall be forgiven.

 

(Leviticus 4:21)  And he shall carry the bull outside the camp and burn it up as he burned the first bull; it is the sin offering for the assembly.

 

(Leviticus 4:22)  "When a leader sins, doing unintentionally any one of all the things that by the commandments of the LORD his God ought not to be done, and realizes his guilt,

 

(Leviticus 4:23)  or the sin which he has committed is made known to him, he shall bring as his offering a goat, a male without blemish,

 

(Leviticus 4:24)  and shall lay his hand on the head of the goat and kill it in the place where they kill the burnt offering before the LORD; it is a sin offering.

 

(Leviticus 4:25)  Then the priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and 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 of burnt offering.

 

(Leviticus 4:26)  And all its fat he shall burn on the altar, like the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings. So the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin, and he shall be forgiven.

 

(Leviticus 4:27)  "If anyone of the common people sins unintentionally in doing any one of the things that by the LORD's commandments ought not to be done, and realizes his guilt,

 

(Leviticus 4:28)  or the sin which he has committed is made known to him, he shall bring for his offering a goat, a female without blemish, for his sin which he has committed.

 

(Leviticus 4:29)  And he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and kill the sin offering in the place of burnt offering.

 

(Leviticus 4:30)  And the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out all the rest of its blood at the base of the altar.

 

(Leviticus 4:31)  And all its fat he shall remove, as the fat is removed from the peace offerings, and the priest shall burn it on the altar for a pleasing aroma to the LORD. And the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be forgiven.

 

(Leviticus 4:32)  "If he brings a lamb as his offering for a sin offering, he shall bring a female without blemish

 

(Leviticus 4:33)  and lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and kill it for a sin offering in the place where they kill the burnt offering.

 

(Leviticus 4:34)  Then the priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out all the rest of its blood at the base of the altar.

 

(Leviticus 4:35)  And all its fat he shall remove as the fat of the lamb is removed from the sacrifice of peace offerings, and the priest shall burn it on the altar, on top of the LORD's food offerings. And the priest shall make atonement for him for the sin which he has committed, and he shall be forgiven.

 

(Leviticus 5:1)  "If anyone sins in that he hears a public adjuration to testify, and though he is a witness, whether he has seen or come to know the matter, yet does not speak, he shall bear his iniquity;

 

(Leviticus 5:2)  or if anyone touches an unclean thing, whether a carcass of an unclean wild animal or a carcass of unclean livestock or a carcass of unclean swarming things, and it is hidden from him and he has become unclean, and he realizes his guilt;

 

(Leviticus 5:3)  or if he touches human uncleanness, of whatever sort the uncleanness may be with which one becomes unclean, and it is hidden from him, when he comes to know it, and realizes his guilt;

 

(Leviticus 5:4)  or if anyone utters with his lips a rash oath to do evil or to do good, any sort of rash oath that people swear, and it is hidden from him, when he comes to know it, and he realizes his guilt in any of these;

 

(Leviticus 5:5)  when he realizes his guilt in any of these and confesses the sin he has committed,

 

(Leviticus 5:6)  he shall bring to the LORD as his compensation for the sin that he has committed, a female from the flock, a lamb or a goat, for a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin.

 

(Leviticus 5:7)  "But if he cannot afford a lamb, then he shall bring to the LORD as his compensation for the sin that he has committed two turtledoves or two pigeons, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering.

 

(Leviticus 5:8)  He shall bring them to the priest, who shall offer first the one for the sin offering. He shall wring its head from its neck but shall not sever it completely,

 

(Leviticus 5:9)  and he shall sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering on the side of the altar, while the rest of the blood shall be drained out at the base of the altar; it is a sin offering.

 

(Leviticus 5:10)  Then he shall offer the second for a burnt offering according to the rule. And the priest shall make atonement for him for the sin that he has committed, and he shall be forgiven.

 

(Leviticus 5:11)  "But if he cannot afford two turtledoves or two pigeons, then he shall bring as his offering for the sin that he has committed a tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a sin offering. He shall put no oil on it and shall put no frankincense on it, for it is a sin offering.

 

(Leviticus 5:12)  And he shall bring it to the priest, and the priest shall take a handful of it as its memorial portion and burn this on the altar, on the LORD's food offerings; it is a sin offering.

 

(Leviticus 5:13)  Thus the priest shall make atonement for him for the sin which he has committed in any one of these things, and he shall be forgiven. And the remainder shall be for the priest, as in the grain offering."

 

(Leviticus 5:14)  The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

 

(Leviticus 5:15)  "If anyone commits a breach of faith and sins unintentionally in any of the holy things of the LORD, he shall bring to the LORD as his compensation, a ram without blemish out of the flock, valued in silver shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, for a guilt offering.

 

(Leviticus 5:16)  He shall also make restitution for what he has done amiss in the holy thing and shall add a fifth to it and give it to the priest. And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering, and he shall be forgiven.

 

(Leviticus 5:17)  "If anyone sins, doing any of the things that by the LORD's commandments ought not to be done, though he did not know it, then realizes his guilt, he shall bear his iniquity.

 

(Leviticus 5:18)  He shall bring to the priest a ram without blemish out of the flock, or its equivalent for a guilt offering, and the priest shall make atonement for him for the mistake that he made unintentionally, and he shall be forgiven.

 

(Leviticus 5:19)  It is a guilt offering; he has indeed incurred guilt before the LORD."

 

(Leviticus 6:1)  The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

 

(Leviticus 6:2)  "If anyone sins and commits a breach of faith against the LORD by deceiving his neighbor in a matter of deposit or security, or through robbery, or if he has oppressed his neighbor

 

(Leviticus 6:3)  or has found something lost and lied about it, swearing falsely--in any of all the things that people do and sin thereby--

 

(Leviticus 6:4)  if he has sinned and has realized his guilt and will restore what he took by robbery or what he got by oppression or the deposit that was committed to him or the lost thing that he found

 

(Leviticus 6:5)  or anything about which he has sworn falsely, he shall restore it in full and shall add a fifth to it, and give it to him to whom it belongs on the day he realizes his guilt.

 

(Leviticus 6:6)  And he shall bring to the priest as his compensation to the LORD a ram without blemish out of the flock, or its equivalent for a guilt offering.

 

(Leviticus 6:7)  And the priest shall make atonement for him before the LORD, and he shall be forgiven for any of the things that one may do and thereby become guilty."

 

(Leviticus 6:8)  The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

 

(Leviticus 6:9)  "Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering. The burnt offering shall be on the hearth on the altar all night until the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be kept burning on it.

 

(Leviticus 6:10)  And the priest shall put on his linen garment and put his linen undergarment on his body, and he shall take up the ashes to which the fire has reduced the burnt offering on the altar and put them beside the altar.

 

(Leviticus 6:11)  Then he shall take off his garments and put on other garments and carry the ashes outside the camp to a clean place.

 

(Leviticus 6:12)  The fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not go out. The priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and he shall arrange the burnt offering on it and shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings.

 

(Leviticus 6:13)  Fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it shall not go out.

 

(Leviticus 6:14)  "And this is the law of the grain offering. The sons of Aaron shall offer it before the LORD in front of the altar.

 

(Leviticus 6:15)  And one shall take from it a handful of the fine flour of the grain offering and its oil and all the frankincense that is on the grain offering and burn this as its memorial portion on the altar, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

 

(Leviticus 6:16)  And the rest of it Aaron and his sons shall eat. It shall be eaten unleavened in a holy place. In the court of the tent of meeting they shall eat it.

 

(Leviticus 6:17)  It shall not be baked with leaven. I have given it as their portion of my food offerings. It is a thing most holy, like the sin offering and the guilt offering.

 

(Leviticus 6:18)  Every male among the children of Aaron may eat of it, as decreed forever throughout your generations, from the LORD's food offerings. Whatever touches them shall become holy."

 

(Leviticus 6:19)  The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

 

(Leviticus 6:20)  "This is the offering that Aaron and his sons shall offer to the LORD on the day when 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.

 

(Leviticus 6:21)  It shall be made with oil on a griddle. You shall bring it well mixed, in baked pieces like a grain offering, and offer it for a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

 

(Leviticus 6:22)  The priest from among Aaron's sons, who is anointed to succeed him, shall offer it to the LORD as decreed forever. The whole of it shall be burned.

 

(Leviticus 6:23)  Every grain offering of a priest shall be wholly burned. It shall not be eaten."

 

(Leviticus 6:24)  The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

 

(Leviticus 6:25)  "Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the sin offering. In the place where the burnt offering is killed shall the sin offering be killed before the LORD; it is most holy.

 

(Leviticus 6:26)  The priest who offers it for sin shall eat it. In a holy place it shall be eaten, in the court of the tent of meeting.

 

(Leviticus 6:27)  Whatever touches its flesh shall be holy, and when any of its blood is splashed on a garment, you shall wash that on which it was splashed in a holy place.

 

(Leviticus 6:28)  And the earthenware vessel in which it is boiled shall be broken. But if it is boiled in a bronze vessel, that shall be scoured and rinsed in water.

 

(Leviticus 6:29)  Every male among the priests may eat of it; it is most holy.

 

(Leviticus 6:30)  But no sin offering shall be eaten from which any blood is brought into the tent of meeting to make atonement in the Holy Place; it shall be burned up with fire.

 

Leviticus chapter 7 deals with something called a guilt offering, which is very holy. This is very similar to a sin offering but there are differing rules and such than which cover this sin offering which mainly apply to the priest.

(Leviticus 7:1)  "This is the law of the guilt offering. It is most holy.

 

(Leviticus 7:2)  In the place where they kill the burnt offering they shall kill the guilt offering, and its blood shall be thrown against the sides of the altar.

 

(Leviticus 7:3)  And all its fat shall be offered, the fat tail, the fat that covers the entrails,

 

(Leviticus 7:4)  the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the long lobe of the liver that he shall remove with the kidneys.

 

(Leviticus 7:5)  The priest shall burn them on the altar as a food offering to the LORD; it is a guilt offering.

 

(Leviticus 7:6)  Every male among the priests may eat of it. It shall be eaten in a holy place. It is most holy.

 

(Leviticus 7:7)  The guilt offering is just like the sin offering; there is one law for them. The priest who makes atonement with it shall have it.

 

(Leviticus 7:8)  And the priest who offers any man's burnt offering shall have for himself the skin of the burnt offering that he has offered.

 

(Leviticus 7:9)  And every grain offering baked in the oven and all that is prepared on a pan or a griddle shall belong to the priest who offers it.

 

(Leviticus 7:10)  And every grain offering, mixed with oil or dry, shall be shared equally among all the sons of Aaron.

 

(Leviticus 7:11)  "And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings that one may offer to the LORD.

 

(Leviticus 7:12)  If he offers it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the thanksgiving sacrifice unleavened loaves mixed with oil, unleavened wafers smeared with oil, and loaves of fine flour well mixed with oil.

 

(Leviticus 7:13)  With the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving he shall bring his offering with loaves of leavened bread.

 

(Leviticus 7:14)  And from it he shall offer one loaf from each offering, as a gift to the LORD. It shall belong to the priest who throws the blood of the peace offerings.

 

(Leviticus 7:15)  And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten on the day of his offering. He shall not leave any of it until the morning.

 

(Leviticus 7:16)  But if the sacrifice of his offering is a vow offering or a freewill offering, it shall be eaten on the day that he offers his sacrifice, and on the next day what remains of it shall be eaten.

 

(Leviticus 7:17)  But what remains of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burned up with fire.

 

(Leviticus 7:18)  If any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offering is eaten on the third day, he who offers it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be credited to him. It is tainted, and he who eats of it shall bear his iniquity.

 

(Leviticus 7:19)  "Flesh that touches any unclean thing shall not be eaten. It shall be burned up with fire. All who are clean may eat flesh,

 

(Lev 7:20)  but the person who eats of the flesh of the sacrifice of the LORD's peace offerings while an uncleanness is on him, that person shall be cut off from his people.

 

(Leviticus 7:21)  And if anyone touches an unclean thing, whether human uncleanness or an unclean beast or any unclean detestable creature, and then eats some flesh from the sacrifice of the LORD's peace offerings, that person shall be cut off from his people."

 

(Leviticus 7:22)  The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

 

(Leviticus 7:23)  "Speak to the people of Israel, saying, You shall eat no fat, of ox or sheep or goat.

 

(Leviticus 7:24)  The fat of an animal that dies of itself and the fat of one that is torn by beasts may be put to any other use, but on no account shall you eat it.

 

(Leviticus 7:25)  For every person who eats of the fat of an animal of which a food offering may be made to the LORD shall be cut off from his people.

 

(Leviticus 7:26)  Moreover, you shall eat no blood whatever, whether of fowl or of animal, in any of your dwelling places.

 

(Leviticus 7:27)  Whoever eats any blood, that person shall be cut off from his people."

 

(Leviticus 7:28)  The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

 

(Leviticus 7:29)  "Speak to the people of Israel, saying, Whoever offers the sacrifice of his peace offerings to the LORD shall bring his offering to the LORD from the sacrifice of his peace offerings.

 

(Leviticus 7:30)  His own hands shall bring the LORD's food offerings. He shall bring the fat with the breast, that the breast may be waved as a wave offering before the LORD.

 

(Leviticus 7:31)  The priest shall burn the fat on the altar, but the breast shall be for Aaron and his sons.

 

(Leviticus 7:32)  And the right thigh you shall give to the priest as a contribution from the sacrifice of your peace offerings.

 

(Leviticus 7:33)  Whoever among the sons of Aaron offers the blood of the peace offerings and the fat shall have the right thigh for a portion.

 

(Leviticus 7:34)  For the breast that is waved and the thigh that is contributed I have taken from the people of Israel, out of the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons, as a perpetual due from the people of Israel.

 

(Leviticus 7:35)  This is the portion of Aaron and of his sons from the LORD's food offerings, from the day they were presented to serve as priests of the LORD.

 

(Leviticus 7:36)  The LORD commanded this to be given them by the people of Israel, from the day that he anointed them. It is a perpetual due throughout their generations."

 

(Leviticus 7:37)  This is the law of the burnt offering, of the grain offering, of the sin offering, of the guilt offering, of the ordination offering, and of the peace offering,

 

(Leviticus 7:38)  which the LORD commanded Moses on Mount Sinai, on the day that he commanded the people of Israel to bring their offerings to the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai.

 

Now I go and give several different examples of atonement and offerings for sin and guilt, starting with Leviticus chapter 9 where even Aaron is commanded to do this offering, as an example.

(Leviticus 9:1)  On the eighth day Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel,

 

(Leviticus 9:2)  and he said to Aaron, "Take for yourself a bull calf for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering, both without blemish, and offer them before the LORD.

 

(Leviticus 9:3)  And say to the people of Israel, 'Take a male goat for a sin offering, and a calf and a lamb, both a year old without blemish, for a burnt offering,

 

(Leviticus 9:4)  and an ox and a ram for peace offerings, to sacrifice before the LORD, and a grain offering mixed with oil, for today the LORD will appear to you.'"

 

(Leviticus 9:5)  And they brought what Moses commanded in front of the tent of meeting, and all the congregation drew near and stood before the LORD.

 

(Leviticus 9:6)  And Moses said, "This is the thing that the LORD commanded you to do, that the glory of the LORD may appear to you."

 

(Leviticus 9:7)  Then Moses said to Aaron, "Draw near to the altar and offer your sin offering and your burnt offering and make atonement for yourself and for the people, and bring the offering of the people and make atonement for them, as the LORD has commanded."

 

(Leviticus 9:8)  So Aaron drew near to the altar and killed the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself.

 

(Leviticus 9:9)  And the sons of Aaron presented the blood to him, and he dipped his finger in the blood and put it on the horns of the altar and poured out the blood at the base of the altar.

 

(Leviticus 9:10)  But the fat and the kidneys and the long lobe of the liver from the sin offering he burned on the altar, as the LORD commanded Moses.

 

(Leviticus 9:11)  The flesh and the skin he burned up with fire outside the camp.

 

(Leviticus 9:12)  Then he killed the burnt offering, and Aaron's sons handed him the blood, and he threw it against the sides of the altar.

 

(Leviticus 9:13)  And they handed the burnt offering to him, piece by piece, and the head, and he burned them on the altar.

 

(Leviticus 9:14)  And he washed the entrails and the legs and burned them with the burnt offering on the altar.

 

(Leviticus 9:15)  Then he presented the people's offering and took the goat of the sin offering that was for the people and killed it and offered it as a sin offering, like the first one.

 

(Leviticus 9:16)  And he presented the burnt offering and offered it according to the rule.

 

(Leviticus 9:17)  And he presented the grain offering, took a handful of it, and burned it on the altar, besides the burnt offering of the morning.

 

(Leviticus 9:18)  Then he killed the ox and the ram, the sacrifice of peace offerings for the people. And Aaron's sons handed him the blood, and he threw it against the sides of the altar.

 

(Leviticus 9:19)  But the fat pieces of the ox and of the ram, the fat tail and that which covers the entrails and the kidneys and the long lobe of the liver--

 

(Leviticus 9:20)  they put the fat pieces on the breasts, and he burned the fat pieces on the altar,

 

(Leviticus 9:21)  but the breasts and the right thigh Aaron waved for a wave offering before the LORD, as Moses commanded.

 

(Leviticus 9:22)  Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them, and he came down from offering the sin offering and the burnt offering and the peace offerings.

 

(Leviticus 9:23)  And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, and when they came out they blessed the people, and the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people.

 

(Lev iticus9:24)  And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar, and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.

 

Here in Numbers chapter 16, Moses and Aaron took an active atonement with censers after the people complained and accused Moses and Aaron of the deaths of Korah and his rebellious people, and the Lord sent a plague among the congregation in his wrath, and the plague was seemingly only stopped by this active intervention on the part of Moses and Aaron(or maybe all of the people may have been killed in the plague due to the Lord’s wrath on the people.

(Numbers 16:41)  But on the next day all the congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and against Aaron, saying, "You have killed the people of the LORD."

 

(Numbers 16:42)  And when the congregation had assembled against Moses and against Aaron, they turned toward the tent of meeting. And behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD appeared.

 

(Numbers 16:43)  And Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting,

 

(Numbers 16:44)  and the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

 

(Numbers 16:45)  "Get away from the midst of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment." And they fell on their faces.

 

(Numbers 16:46)  And Moses said to Aaron, "Take your censer, and put fire on it from off the altar and lay incense on it and carry it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone out from the LORD; the plague has begun."

 

(Numbers 16:47)  So Aaron took it as Moses said and ran into the midst of the assembly. And behold, the plague had already begun among the people. And he put on the incense and made atonement for the people.

 

(Numbers 16:48)  And he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped.

 

(Numbers 16:49)  Now those who died in the plague were 14,700, besides those who died in the affair of Korah.

 

(Numbers 16:50)  And Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting, when the plague was stopped.

 

In 1 Samuel chapter 16 the Philistines are instructed to offer a guilt offering when they return the Ark of the covenant and not leave it empty, which they had captured earlier in an effort to stop the Lord’s punishment and judgment for taking the Ark of the Coenant( 1 Samuel chapter 4).

(1 Samuel 6:1)  The ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven months.

 

(1 Samuel 6:2)  And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners and said, "What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? Tell us with what we shall send it to its place."

 

(1 Samuel 6:3)  They said, "If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty, but by all means return him a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why his hand does not turn away from you."

 

(1 Samuel 6:4)  And they said, "What is the guilt offering that we shall return to him?" They answered, "Five golden tumors and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, for the same plague was on all of you and on your lords.

 

(1 Samuel 6:5)  So you must make images of your tumors and images of your mice that ravage the land, and give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps he will lighten his hand from off you and your gods and your land.

 

(1 Samuel 6:6)  Why should you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? After he had dealt severely with them, did they not send the people away, and they departed?

 

(1 Samuel 6:7)  Now then, take and prepare a new cart and two milk cows on which there has never come a yoke, and yoke the cows to the cart, but take their calves home, away from them.

 

(1 Samuel 6:8)  And take the ark of the LORD and place it on the cart and put in a box at its side the figures of gold, which you are returning to him as a guilt offering. Then send it off and let it go its way

 

(1 Samuel 6:9)  and watch. If it goes up on the way to its own land, to Beth-shemesh, then it is he who has done us this great harm, but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that struck us; it happened to us by coincidence."

 

(1 Samuel 6:10)  The men did so, and took two milk cows and yoked them to the cart and shut up their calves at home.

 

(1 Samuel 6:11)  And they put the ark of the LORD on the cart and the box with the golden mice and the images of their tumors.

 

(1 Samuel 6:12)  And the cows went straight in the direction of Beth-shemesh along one highway, lowing as they went. They turned neither to the right nor to the left, and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as the border of Beth-shemesh.

 

(1 Samuel 6:13)  Now the people of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley. And when they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark, they rejoiced to see it.

 

(1 Samuel 6:14)  The cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh and stopped there. A great stone was there. And they split up the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the LORD.

 

(1 Samuel 6:15)  And the Levites took down the ark of the LORD and the box that was beside it, in which were the golden figures, and set them upon the great stone. And the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices on that day to the LORD.

 

(1 Samuel 6:16)  And when the five lords of the Philistines saw it, they returned that day to Ekron.

 

(1 Samuel 6:17)  These are the golden tumors that the Philistines returned as a guilt offering to the LORD: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron,

 

(1 Samuel 6:18)  and the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both fortified cities and unwalled villages. The great stone beside which they set down the ark of the LORD is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh.

 

2 Samuel chapter 24 records David’s raising of an altar and making an offering and atonement, purchasing the building and the items needed for it to put a stop the judgment on the city of Jerusalem.

(2 Samuel 24:16)  And when the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD relented from the calamity and said to the angel who was working destruction among the people, "It is enough; now stay your hand." And the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

 

(2 Samuel 24:17)  Then David spoke to the LORD when he saw the angel who was striking the people, and said, "Behold, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand be against me and against my father's house."

 

(2 Samuel 24:18)  And Gad came that day to David and said to him, "Go up, raise an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite."

 

(2 Samuel 24:19)  So David went up at Gad's word, as the LORD commanded.

 

(2 Samuel 24:20)  And when Araunah looked down, he saw the king and his servants coming on toward him. And Araunah went out and paid homage to the king with his face to the ground.

 

(2 Samuel 24:21)  And Araunah said, "Why has my lord the king come to his servant?" David said, "To buy the threshing floor from you, in order to build an altar to the LORD, that the plague may be averted from the people."

 

(2 Samuel 24:22)  Then Araunah said to David, "Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good to him. Here are the oxen for the burnt offering and the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood.

 

(2 Samuel 24:23)  All this, O king, Araunah gives to the king." And Araunah said to the king, "May the LORD your God accept you."

 

(2 Samuel 24:24)  But the king said to Araunah, "No, but I will buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God that cost me nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

 

(2 Samuel 24:25)  And David built there an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD responded to the plea for the land, and the plague was averted from Israel.

 

In Ezra chapter 10 men had to make atonement and an offering because they had taken strange(foreign) wives and pledged to rid themselves of them

(Ezra 10:10)  And Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, "You have broken faith and married foreign women, and so increased the guilt of Israel.

 

(Ezra 10:11)  Now then make confession to the LORD, the God of your fathers and do his will. Separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives."

 

(Ezra 10:12)  Then all the assembly answered with a loud voice, "It is so; we must do as you have said.

 

(Ezra 10:13)  But the people are many, and it is a time of heavy rain; we cannot stand in the open. Nor is this a task for one day or for two, for we have greatly transgressed in this matter.

 

(Ezra 10:14)  Let our officials stand for the whole assembly. Let all in our cities who have taken foreign wives come at appointed times, and with them the elders and judges of every city, until the fierce wrath of our God over this matter is turned away from us."

 

(Ezra 10:15)  Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahzeiah the son of Tikvah opposed this, and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite supported them.

 

(Ezra 10:16)  Then the returned exiles did so. Ezra the priest selected men, heads of fathers' houses, according to their fathers' houses, each of them designated by name. On the first day of the tenth month they sat down to examine the matter;

 

(Ezra 10:17)  and by the first day of the first month they had come to the end of all the men who had married foreign women.

 

(Ezra 10:18)  Now there were found some of the sons of the priests who had married foreign women: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah, some of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his brothers.

 

(Ezra 10:19)  They pledged themselves to put away their wives, and their guilt offering was a ram of the flock for their guilt.

 

Job’s friends were commanded to make a sin offering by the Lord because the didn’t speak what was right to Job, and they did so in Job 42

(Job 42:7)  After the LORD had spoken these words to Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite: "My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.

 

(Job 42:8)  Now therefore take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has."

 

(Job 42:9)  So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did what the LORD had told them, and the LORD accepted Job's prayer.

Now I change direction and state that the Lord prefers obedience and brokenness over sacrifice and offerings for sins. He first states that In 1 Samuel 15 when Samuel speaks to Saul and pronounces the Lord’s judgment on Saul for disobeying the Lord’s command to wipe out Amalek(he brought back animals and spoil and captured and did not kill the Amalekite king

(1 Samuel 15:13)  And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, "Blessed be you to the LORD. I have performed the commandment of the LORD."

 

(1 Samuel 15:14)  And Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?"

 

(1 Samuel 15:15)  Saul said, "They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice to the LORD your God, and the rest we have devoted to destruction."

 

(1 Samuel 15:16)  Then Samuel said to Saul, "Stop! I will tell you what the LORD said to me this night." And he said to him, "Speak."

 

(1 Samuel 15:17)  And Samuel said, "Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel.

 

(1 Samuel 15:18)  And the LORD sent you on a mission and said, 'Go, devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.'

 

(1 Samuel 15:19)  Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD? Why did you pounce on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the LORD?"

 

(1 Samuel 15:20)  And Saul said to Samuel, "I have obeyed the voice of the LORD. I have gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction.

 

(1 Samuel 15:21)  But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal."

 

(1 Samuel 15:22)  And Samuel said, "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.

 

(1 Samuel 15:23)  For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king."

 

In Psalm 51 David states that the Lord much prefers a broken heart to any and all burnt sacrifices

(Psalm 51:14)  Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.

 

(Psalm 51:15)  O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.

 

(Psalm 51:16)  For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.

 

(Psalm 51:17)  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

 

Micah chapter 6 verses 6 through 8 state the mercy is what the Lord wants and not sacrifice

(Micah 6:6)  "With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?

 

(Micah 6:7)  Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?"

 

(Micah 6:8)  He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

 

Now these verses in Galatians chapter 1 say that Jesus gave Himself for our sins which was the will of God the Father

(Gaatiansl 1:3)  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,

 

(Galatians 1:4)  who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,

 

(Galatians 1:5)  to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

 

Hebrews chapter 7 speaks of Jesus being the eternal high priest who gave Himself for our sins, one time and one time only- first here in chapter 7

(Hebrews 7:22)  This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.

 

(Hebrews 7:23)  The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office,

 

(Hebrews 7:24)  but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever.

 

(Hebrews 7:25)  Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

 

(Hebrews 7:26)  For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.

 

(Hebrews 7:27)  He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.

 

(Hebrews 7:28)  For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.

 

The following passage in Hebrews chapter 9 and continuing through a good bit of chapter 10 indicate how and why the new covenant made with Christ’s one time only sacrifice of Himself and His blood is so much better than the old covenant with its animal sacrifices (also with blood but the animal sacrifices had to be done over and over again) for sins and how now we can enter boldly in to the Holies by the sacrifice of and atonement made by Jesus’ blood

(Hebrews 9:11)  But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation)

 

(Hebrews 9:12)  he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.

 

(Hebrews 9:13)  For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh,

 

(Hebrews 9:14)  how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

 

(Hebrews 9:15)  Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.

 

(Hebrews 9:16)  For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established.

 

(Hebrews 9:17)  For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive.

 

(Hebrews 9:18)  Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood.

 

(Hebrews 9:19)  For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people,

 

(Hebrews 9:20)  saying, "This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you."

 

(Hebrews 9:21)  And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship.

 

(Hebrews 9:22)  Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

 

(Hebrews 9:23)  Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

 

(Hebrews 9:24)  For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.

 

(Hebrews 9:25)  Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own,

 

(Hebrews 9:26)  for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

 

(Hebrews 9:27)  And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,

 

(Hebrews 9:28)  so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

 

(Hebrews 10:1)  For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near.

 

(Hebrews 10:2)  Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins?

 

(Hebrews 10:3)  But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year.

 

(Hebrews 10:4)  For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

 

(Hebrews 10:5)  Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, "Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me;

 

(Hebrews 10:6)  in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure.

 

(Hebrews 10:7)  Then I said, 'Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.'"

 

(Hebrews 10:8)  When he said above, "You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings" (these are offered according to the law),

 

(Hebrews 10:9)  then he added, "Behold, I have come to do your will." He does away with the first in order to establish the second.

 

(Hebrews 10:10)  And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

 

(Hebrews 10:11)  And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.

 

(Hebrews 10:12)  But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,

 

(Hebrews 10:13)  waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.

 

(Hebrews 10:14)  For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

 

(Hebrews 10:15)  And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,

 

(Hebrews 10:16)  "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,"

 

(Hebrews 10:17)  then he adds, "I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more."

 

(Hebrews 10:18)  Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

 

(Hebrews 10:19)  Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus,

 

(Hebrews 10:20)  by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh,

 

(Hebrews 10:21)  and since we have a great priest over the house of God,

 

(Hebrews 10:22)  let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

 

The message of Jesus suffering and dying for our sins is continued in 1 Peter 2, that we can be healed

(1 Peter 2:21)  For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.

 

(1 Peter 2:22)  He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.

 

(1 Peter 2:23)  When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.

 

(1 Peter 2:24)  He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

 

(1 Peter 2:25)  For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

 

That message also is here in this 1 Peter 3 verse

(1 Peter 3:18)  For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,

 

Also this verse in Revelation 1 stating how Jesus freed us from our sins by His blood because He loves us

(Revelation 1:5)  and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood

 

These two verses in 1 John 2 also state how Jesus was the propitiation for our sins and all mankind’s

(1 John 2:1)  My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

 

(1 John 2:2)  He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

 

Also a very similar message is given in these two verses in 1 John chapter 4 how God loved us and sent Jesus to be a propitiation for our sins

(1 John 4:9)  In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.

 

(1 John 4:10)  In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

 

And here is the clinching and concluding messages that although according to Romans chapter 3 all have fallen short of God’s glory but are justified through God’s grace as a gift to us from God by Jesus who made propitiation for our sins.

(Romans 3:21)  But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it--

 

(Romans 3:22)  the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:

 

(Romans 3:23)  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

 

(Romans 3:24)  and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

 

(Romans 3:25)  whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

 

(Romans 3:26)  It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

 

I am just so thankful Jesus did come and die for our(and my) sins, and was the perfect sacrifice for them unlike the animal sacrifices of the old testament which had to be done over and over again and never took away the guilt of our sins, as Jesus’ one time only sacrifice could for all those who believe in faith of what Jesus had done for them. Jesus came and willingly did this for all mankind in love, wanting to have a relationship with man restored again, having been broken by the sins and disobedience of man. There is nothing that can compare with a relationship with God, nothing at all comes close. I am now including a prayer which you can use to invite Jesus in your heart and begin this wonderful love relationship with Him. Please pray this prayer with me now

Dear God in heaven, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I acknowledge to You that I am a sinner, and I am sorry for my sins and the life that I have lived; I need your forgiveness. I believe that your only begotten Son Jesus Christ shed His precious blood on the cross at Calvary and died for my sins, and I am now willing to turn from my sin. You said in Your Holy Word, Romans 10:9 that if we confess Jesus as our Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead, we will be saved. Right now I confess Jesus as the Lord of my soul. With my heart, I believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. This very moment I accept Jesus Christ as my own personal Savior and according to His Word, right now I am saved. Thank you Jesus for your unlimited grace which has saved me from my sins. I thank you Jesus that your grace never leads to license, but rather it always leads to repentance. Therefore Lord Jesus transform my life so that I may bring glory and honor to you alone and not to myself. Thank you Jesus for dying for me and giving me eternal life.

Amen.

 

God bless you and yours