Leviticus 6:24 - Meaning and Application

Here we have part of the law of the sin offering that specially concerned the priests who offered it. First, it had to be killed in the same place where the burnt offering was killed, that is, on the north side of the altar (Leviticus 6:25; Leviticus 1:11). Some think this pointed forward to Christ being crucified on Mount Calvary, which was on the north side of Jerusalem.

Second, the priest who offered it for the sinner, together with his sons, or other priests (Leviticus 6:29), was to eat the flesh of the offering after the blood and fat had been presented to God, and this was to be done in the court of the tabernacle (Leviticus 6:26). By doing this, they were said to bear the guilt of the congregation, as is explained in Leviticus 10:17. In other words, they took on a priestly share in the burden of the people’s sin.

Third, if any of the blood of the sin offering splashed on the clothes, those clothes were to be washed with great care (Leviticus 6:27). This showed the serious respect we should have for the blood of Christ. We must not treat it as something ordinary. That blood is to be applied to the conscience, not merely to outward dress.

Fourth, the vessel used to boil the flesh of the sin offering had to be broken if it was made of clay, and if it was bronze, it had to be thoroughly washed (Leviticus 6:28). This showed that the offering did not fully remove defilement, but rather seemed to carry it along with it. Such was the weakness and limit of those sacrifices. But the blood of Christ cleanses completely from all sin, and after that no further cleansing is needed.

Fifth, all of this applied to the ordinary sin offerings, not to those made for the priest or for the whole congregation, whether occasional offerings or the regular ones on the Day of Atonement. In those special cases, it had already been commanded, and is here confirmed again, that if the blood of the offering was taken into the holy place, the flesh was not to be eaten but burned outside the camp (Leviticus 6:30). From this, the apostle argues for the greater privilege we have under the gospel compared with what they had under the law. Though Christ’s blood was brought into the holy place to make peace there, by faith we have the right to eat from the altar (Hebrews 13:10-12), and so to receive the comfort of the great propitiation, that is, the sacrifice that turns away God’s wrath.