Leviticus 4:22 - Meaning and Application

Notice here, first, that God pays attention to the sins of rulers and is displeased by them. Those who have power to judge others are themselves answerable to the ruler above all rulers, for no matter how high they are, there is One higher still. That is hinted at in the phrase that the commandment they broke was “the commandment of the Lord his God” (Lev. 4:22). He may be a prince to others, but he must remember that the Lord is a God to him.

Second, the ruler’s sin is assumed to come to his attention later (Lev. 4:23). That may happen through the voice of his own conscience, or through the rebuke of friends. We should not only accept such correction, but be thankful for it, even the best and greatest among us. We should strongly want to know what we have done wrong. “What I do not see, teach me,” and “show me where I have gone wrong,” are prayers we should bring to God every day, so that if we fall into sin through ignorance, we will not stay in it through ignorance.

Third, the sin offering for a ruler was a male goat, not a bull, as it was for the priest and the whole congregation. Its blood was not taken into the tabernacle, as with those other two offerings, but was placed on the bronze altar (Lev. 4:25). Its flesh was also not burned outside the camp, as theirs was. This showed that a ruler’s sin, though worse than a common person’s, was not as serious or as far-reaching as the sin of the high priest or the whole congregation. A male goat was enough for a ruler, but a bull was required for a tribe, showing that the ruler, though greater than each individual, was less than the whole people. It is bad when great men set a poor example, but it is worse when everyone follows them.

Fourth, it is promised that the atonement, the making of peace between God and the sinner, will be accepted and the sin forgiven (Lev. 4:26), if he repents and changes his ways. Otherwise, as God swore about Eli, the judge in Israel, the guilt of his house would not be removed by sacrifice or offering forever (1 Sam. 3:14).