Leviticus 6:28, commentary and pictures

The flesh of the sin offering for ignorance was to be boiled, and the pot it was boiled in was then treated as defiled, so that an earthen vessel had to be broken while a bronze pot had to be scoured and rinsed in water. That flesh remained most holy, yet it was given to the priests to eat in the holy place to bear the iniquity of the congregation and make atonement for them, except where the priest himself was concerned in the sin. By eating the flesh or carrying its blood into the sanctuary the priest in figure carried the confessed sin inside, so that through the daily ministration the forgiven sins were lodged there until its cleansing on the tenth day of the seventh month. The whole service was offered in faith in the Redeemer to come, with the innocent victim standing in the sinner's place and wholly consumed, pointing to Christ the Lamb of God who bore human sin and put it away by His own sacrifice. Those typical offerings did not themselves take away sin, and having found their fulfillment in Christ they are no longer required.

Ritual of the Sin Offering

The rule governs the vessel in which the flesh of the sin offering was boiled: if it was an earthen vessel it had to be broken, and if it was boiled in a bronze pot that pot had to be scoured and thoroughly rinsed with water. The vessels were so treated because contact with the sin-bearing flesh defiled them, even though the offering itself was still called most holy. The scouring and rinsing of the bronze pot with water, like the related Levitical cleansings in which unclean vessels and objects were put into water, involved immersion.

The instruction belongs to the law of the sin offering for sin of ignorance by a ruler or one of the common people, which was dealt with differently from the offering for the high priest or for the whole congregation. In that case the flesh was not burned outside the camp as unholy but was holy and was eaten by the priests in the holy place, because it had been given to them to bear the iniquity of the congregation and to make atonement for them before the Lord; but where the priest himself was concerned in the sin he was not permitted to eat of it. After the sinner laid his hand on the offering's head, confessed, and killed it, the priest by eating the flesh in the holy place, or by bringing some of its blood into the sanctuary, carried the sin in figure into the sanctuary. Thus the daily ministration through the year, with the blood sprinkled upon the altar before the ark, lodged the forgiven sins of God's people in the sanctuary in figure until its cleansing on the tenth day of the seventh month.

The verse is part of the laws of sacrifices and offerings in Leviticus 1-7, which describe the main features of the service of the sanctuary that God commanded Moses to build for His dwelling. It belongs to the first general ministry connected with that sanctuary, the ministry of burdened individuals bringing offerings in faith in the Redeemer to come. Those chapters give the complete yearly round of service performed in the sanctuary built by Moses in the wilderness and later continued in the temple.

What the Type Teaches

The instruction belongs to the ceremonial law, which was instituted because of sin. It stands as part of the laws concerning sacrifices and offerings whose detail has meaning, finding its fuller meaning in the sacrifice, life, and work of Jesus Christ. Those laws belong to the first general ministry connected with the earthly sanctuary, the ministry of burdened individuals coming with offerings, and those offerings were brought in faith in the Redeemer who was to come.

The sin-offering service set an innocent animal in the sinner's place, with its flesh or blood brought into the sanctuary so the sinner was forgiven, representing sin as laid on the substitute and wholly consumed. Those sacrifices could not actually remove sin, but pointed to Christ the Lamb of God who bore human sin and put it away by His own sacrifice. The Mosaic offerings did not themselves take away sin, and having found their fulfillment in Christ's sacrifice the typical offerings were no longer required. The chapter's offerings show God's hatred of sin and the penalty sin demands, as types pointing to Jesus Christ.

The rule belongs to Leviticus 1-16, which gives the complete round of service performed every year in the sanctuary built by Moses in the wilderness and later continued in the temple. That sanctuary in its building, appointments, priesthood, and service was typical of Christ and His priesthood in the heavenly sanctuary, which Jesus began when He ascended on high. Each year's round in the type typified in each year the service of Christ, which was once for all. When a ruler or a common person sinned through ignorance the flesh of his sin offering was not burned outside as unholy but was holy and was eaten by the priest in the holy place, that the priest might bear the iniquity of the congregation and make atonement for them. That sin lay upon the priest and was carried without the camp in the flesh of his own sin offering, and for this reason a teacher who professes to teach in God's name is held in large degree responsible for sins committed in ignorance by those under his charge.