Commentary - Leviticus 6:24-30

Bird's-eye view

In this section of Leviticus, the Lord provides Moses with specific instructions for Aaron and his sons regarding the handling of the sin offering. This is not just a collection of arbitrary ritualistic details; it is a profound theological lesson communicated through tangible actions. The central theme is the contagious nature of holiness and the gravity of sin. The sin offering, having borne the guilt of the worshiper, becomes "most holy." This intense holiness is not to be trifled with. It is so potent that it sanctifies whatever it touches, and it must be handled with extreme care, eaten only by the priests in a designated holy place. The passage carefully delineates how to deal with the flesh, the blood, and the vessels used in its preparation, all to instill a deep reverence for the means of atonement. The passage concludes with a crucial distinction: sin offerings whose blood is brought into the Holy Place for atonement are not to be eaten but must be completely burned. This points forward to the ultimate sin offering, Jesus Christ, whose sacrifice was of such a magnitude that it cleansed the heavenly things themselves and could not be contained or consumed by the earthly priesthood.

This is God teaching His people through object lessons. Sin is a deadly serious business, and atonement is a holy, powerful, and dangerous reality. The priests, by eating the sin offering, were graphically demonstrating the removal of sin; they were identifying with the guilt and carrying it away. But this was a picture, a shadow. The regulations surrounding it were designed to make the people long for a final, perfect sacrifice that would not just cover sin, but remove it entirely.

Outline

Context In Leviticus

Leviticus 1-7 lays out the foundational laws of the five main sacrifices: the burnt offering, the grain offering, the peace offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering. The first section (Lev 1:1–6:7) describes these sacrifices from the perspective of the layperson bringing the offering. This second section (Lev 6:8–7:38) revisits them, but this time from the perspective of the priests who administer them. It's the "priest's manual" for handling these holy things. Our passage falls within this priestly instruction, specifically detailing the protocols for the sin offering (chatat). This offering was for unintentional sins, sins of ignorance, or sins of weakness that violated God's commands. It dealt with the pollution and guilt that sin brings into the camp where a holy God dwells. The detailed regulations here underscore the central message of Leviticus: a holy God has come to dwell among His people, and therefore, His people must be holy. These sacrifices were the gracious provision for dealing with the inevitable failures in that pursuit of holiness.

Key Issues

The Holiness Contagion

We moderns tend to think of holiness as a purely moral or ethical quality, something internal. But in the Old Testament, holiness had a tangible, physical, and almost electric quality. It was a status of being set apart for God, and it could be transmitted by contact. Uncleanness was also contagious, and much of the Levitical law is about managing the traffic between the clean and the unclean. But here we see that holiness is also contagious. The sin offering, because it is the instrument of atonement, becomes intensely holy, "most holy."

Anything that touches the flesh of this offering becomes holy itself. This is not a magical transformation, but a change in status. A garment sprinkled with the blood must be washed in a holy place. A clay pot used to cook the meat must be shattered, because its porous material has absorbed the holiness and cannot be cleansed. A bronze pot can be scoured and reused. This wasn't about hygiene; it was about reverence. God was teaching Israel that the things associated with atonement are not common. You cannot treat the instruments of forgiveness casually. This principle finds its fulfillment in the New Covenant. We are made holy by our contact, through faith, with the ultimate sin offering, Jesus Christ. His holiness is transferred to us, setting us apart for God. But this also comes with a warning: do not treat the holy things of God, His Word, His sacraments, His people, as common or profane (Heb 10:29).

Verse by Verse Commentary

24 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 25 “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘This is the law of the sin offering: in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered, the sin offering shall be slaughtered before Yahweh; it is most holy.

The instruction begins with the standard formula, establishing its divine authority. This is not Moses's idea. The law for the sin offering is specific. It must be killed in the same place as the burnt offering, on the north side of the altar. This location was public, "before Yahweh," in the courtyard of the tabernacle. Sin and its atonement are not private matters; they occur in the presence of a holy God. The declaration that it is "most holy" is crucial. This might seem counterintuitive. How can an animal laden with sin be most holy? It is holy because it is God's designated means of dealing with sin. It is set apart for the highest possible purpose: restoring fellowship between God and His people. Its holiness is derived from its function in the atonement.

26 The priest who offers it for sin shall eat it. It shall be eaten in a holy place, in the court of the tent of meeting.

Here is a remarkable provision. The officiating priest is commanded to eat a portion of the meat from the sacrifice. This was not just a perquisite of the job, a way for the priests to get dinner. It was a deeply symbolic act. By eating the flesh of the animal that bore the sin, the priest was, in a representative way, taking the sin upon himself and removing it. He was identifying with the sinner and his guilt. This act demonstrated the reality of the forgiveness that the sacrifice secured. The sin was dealt with, consumed, and gone. This meal had to be eaten in a "holy place," the tabernacle courtyard, reinforcing that this was a sacred duty, not a casual meal.

27 Anyone who touches its flesh will be set apart as holy; and when any of its blood sprinkles on a garment, in a holy place you shall wash what was sprinkled on.

The holiness of the offering is so potent that it is transferable. Whatever touches the flesh of the sin offering becomes holy, meaning it is consecrated, set apart for God's use. This is not a permanent state for an object, but it means it must be treated as holy. If the blood, the agent of atonement, spatters on a priest's robe, that garment is now in a special state. It cannot be washed at home. It must be laundered "in a holy place." This is to prevent the holy blood from being carried out into the common world. God is meticulously walling off the sacred from the profane, teaching His people that atonement is a holy and set-apart business.

28 Also the earthenware vessel in which it was boiled shall be broken; and if it was boiled in a bronze vessel, then it shall be scoured and rinsed in water.

The principle of contagious holiness extends to the cookware. A clay pot is porous. If the "most holy" meat is boiled in it, the holiness soaks into the very fabric of the pot. Since it cannot be "un-holified," it must be broken. It has served its sacred purpose and cannot be returned to common use. A bronze pot, being non-porous, is different. It can be thoroughly scoured and rinsed, cleansing it ceremonially, and then it can be used again. This is a practical distinction, but the theological lesson is the same: the holiness of the atonement is real, powerful, and must be handled with the utmost reverence and precision. There is no room for sloppiness when dealing with the forgiveness of sins.

29 And every male among the priests may eat of it; it is most holy.

The privilege of eating the sin offering is restricted. Only the priests, and specifically only the males among the priests, could partake. This was their sacred duty and their portion from the Lord. The restriction to males likely has to do with their role as the covenant heads and official representatives of the people before God. The repetition of the phrase "it is most holy" serves as a concluding stamp on this section, reminding them of the gravity of what they are handling.

30 But no 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 burned with fire.

This is a critical exception that points directly to Christ. For the most serious sins, those committed by the high priest or the entire congregation, the blood of the sin offering was not just put on the outer altar. It was carried inside the Holy Place to be sprinkled before the veil (Lev 4:5-7, 16-18). When this happened, the rules changed. The flesh of that animal could not be eaten by any priest. It had to be taken outside the camp and burned completely. Why? Because the sin it atoned for was of a higher order, and the blood had entered the immediate presence of God. This sacrifice was too holy for the priests to consume. The author of Hebrews picks up on this very point, explaining that Jesus is the fulfillment of this greater sin offering. His blood was presented in the true Holy Place, in heaven itself, and He "suffered outside the gate," just as the carcass of this offering was burned outside the camp (Heb 13:11-12). The earthly priests could not partake of this sacrifice because it belonged to a higher, heavenly order of atonement.

Application

We are not required to offer animal sacrifices today, and for that we should be profoundly grateful. But we are required to understand what they taught, because they teach us about the cross of Christ. This passage is a powerful antidote to a cheap and casual view of grace. We often treat forgiveness as a simple thing, a quick "I'm sorry" and a wave of God's hand. Leviticus shows us that dealing with sin is a bloody, costly, and holy business.

First, we must see the gravity of our sin. It requires a "most holy" solution. Our sin is not a minor infraction; it is a capital offense against a holy God that requires the shedding of blood. Second, we see the reality of imputation. Just as the sin was transferred to the animal, our sin was transferred to Christ. He became our sin offering. Third, we see the power of His holiness. When we come to Christ by faith, we "touch" Him, and His holiness is transferred to us. We are set apart, made holy, consecrated to God. We are no longer common. This means we must live differently, treating our own lives, and the lives of our brothers and sisters, with the reverence due to something that belongs to God.

Finally, we learn that the sacrifice of Jesus was of an infinitely higher order. He is the sin offering whose blood was brought into the heavenly sanctuary. His atonement is final, perfect, and complete. The priests of old had to keep eating the sin offerings, day after day, because those sacrifices could never truly take away sin. But Christ, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God (Heb 10:12). We do not eat His flesh in a literal sense, but we do feed on Him by faith, trusting in His finished work, the only meal that can satisfy the justice of God and cleanse the conscience of a sinner.