Leviticus 5:11, commentary and pictures

Leviticus 5:11 belongs to the directions for individual sin offerings in the daily service of the earthly sanctuary, allowing one who is not able to bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to bring a tenth part of an ephah of fine flour with no oil and no frankincense upon it, and it is still accepted as a sin offering. The provision reaches even extreme poverty and feebleness, requiring only a small measure of about three quarts that the poorest can provide, so that the cost varies with the wealth of the giver while every sinner must still bring something. The sinner brought the offering and confessed his sin, and the priest made atonement for him and transferred the guilt to the sanctuary, where forgiven sins were left in figure until the yearly cleansing. This priestly work, rather than the slaying itself, represents the work of Christ as High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary, and the crushed grain of fine flour is a type of His broken body. Through this provision the poor sinner who could not afford even two birds receives forgiveness and stands in just the same relation to God as one able to bring a bullock, with a handful burned typifying the final destruction of sin and the remainder eaten by the priest typifying the bearing of sins by the Saviour.

The Poor Man's Offering

Leviticus 5:11 belongs to the directions for individual offerings for sin, part of the laws concerning sacrifices and offerings given during the year in the daily service of the earthly sanctuary. It stands among the instructions for individual offerings described in the first seven chapters of Leviticus. These offerings were part of the work by which a sinner's guilt was transferred through a sacrifice and its blood to the sanctuary. When offered in faith, the penitent's sins were represented as transferred to the sanctuary through the sacrifice's blood or the priest, and the forgiven sins were left there in figure until the yearly cleansing of the sanctuary. The offering was part of the process by which sin was forgiven, after confession and, where another person had been wronged, restitution. Its details have meaning, and the sacrifices find their fuller meaning in the sacrifice, life, and work of Jesus Christ.

If the sinner is not able to bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons, he may bring the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for a sin offering. He shall put no oil upon it, neither any frankincense, for it is a sin offering. It is still a sin offering, though it contains no oil or frankincense. It is thus an example of a grain offering serving as a sin offering, showing that a person who sinned could bring a grain offering as a sin offering when unable to bring the prescribed birds.

The provision reaches extreme poverty and feebleness, allowing a little meal or fine flour when one is too poor to bring a lamb or two pigeons and too feeble to capture two wild turtledoves. In cases of extreme poverty a little meal or fine flour is accepted as a sufficient offering for the soul. This brings the benefits of sacrificial service within the reach of the poorest of the poor, since every person however low can provide the small flour measure of about three quarts. Justice and mercy meet in the sin offering, with the rich required to bring what is costly and the poor allowed to bring what is of least price. The cost of the sin-offerings, peace-offerings, and thank-offerings varies with the wealth or position of the giver, so that even the poor brought something.

Yet the law still requires every person to bring something, stooping to the poorest while insisting that every person must sacrifice because every person has sinned. These offerings cost the one bringing them something, so that no one practiced worship for nothing. The verse is part of the ceremonial law, which was instituted in consequence of sin. It is part of the instruction given to Israel as God's special people regarding worship and sacrifices showing how to obtain forgiveness of sin.

Atonement and Christ Typified

The law of sin offerings shows that sin remains sin even when a person does not recognize it or acts with good intentions, and it must be confessed, repented of, and put away, while God takes account of the sinner's knowledge, opportunities, and heart. A person remains responsible for a sin committed in ignorance until it becomes known and he brings the prescribed offering, with confession and, where another person was wronged, restitution, after which he is forgiven and freed from iniquity. After presenting and slaughtering it he was forgiven and freed, the priest applying the offering's blood at the sanctuary. The instructions for the various offerings show God's hatred of sin and that sin demands its penalty.

In the sanctuary service the sinner brought the sin offering and the priest made atonement by taking and applying its blood, transferring guilt through the sacrifice's blood or the priest to the sanctuary. When offered in faith, the individual offering represented the penitent's sins as transferred to the sanctuary, where forgiven sins were left in figure until the yearly cleansing of the sanctuary. This priestly work, rather than the slaying of the offering itself, represents Christ's work as High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary. The details of the sacrifices have meaning and find their fuller meaning in the sacrifice, life, and work of Jesus Christ, as shadows of their fulfillment in him. The yearly cycle of the Levitical service typified his once-for-all ministry as priest in the heavenly sanctuary, and the instructions for sacrifices teach in type about the work of Jesus Christ.

God's ample provision allowed one too poor to bring a lamb or two pigeons and too feeble to capture two wild turtledoves to bring a small portion of fine flour for a sin offering, still a sin offering though it contained no oil or frankincense. The crushed grain or wheat of fine flour presented by the priest is a type of the broken body of the Saviour, broken for the sinner. Through this provision the poor sinner who could not afford even two birds can receive forgiveness and hope, standing in just the same relation to God as one able to bring a bullock. A handful of the flour is burned, corresponding to the burning of the fat and typifying the final destruction of sin, and the remainder eaten by the priest typifies the bearing of sins by the Saviour.