Leviticus 4:22-35
22 ‘When a ruler has sinned, and done something unintentionally against any of the commandments of the LORD his God in anything which should not be done, and is guilty, 23 or if his sin which he has committed comes to his knowledge, he shall bring as his offering a kid of the goats, a male without blemish. 24 And he shall lay his hand on the head of the goat, and kill it at the place where they kill the burnt offering before the LORD. It is a sin offering. 25 The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and pour its blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering. 26 And he shall burn all its fat on the altar, like the fat of the sacrifice of the peace offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin, and it shall be forgiven him.
27 If anyone of the common people sins unintentionally by doing something against any of the commandments of the LORD in anything which ought not to be done, and is guilty, 28 or if his sin which he has committed comes to his knowledge, then he shall bring as his offering a kid of the goats, a female without blemish, for his sin which he has committed. 29 And he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering, and kill the sin offering at the place of the burnt offering. 30 Then the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and pour all the remaining blood at the base of the altar. 31 He shall remove all its fat, as fat is removed from the sacrifice of the peace offering; and the priest shall burn it on the altar for a sweet aroma to the LORD. So the priest shall make atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him.
32 ‘If he brings a lamb as his sin offering, he shall bring a female without blemish. 33 Then he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering, and kill it as a sin offering at the place where they kill the burnt offering. 34 The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and pour all the remaining blood at the base of the altar. 35 He shall remove all its fat, as the fat of the lamb is removed from the sacrifice of the peace offering. Then the priest shall burn it on the altar, according to the offerings made by fire to the LORD. So the priest shall make atonement for his sin that he has committed, and it shall be forgiven him.
This goes on to speak of atonement for unintended sins by rulers and common citizens alike, adding to the list of all Israel, individually and collectively as a people. Rulers are not given an exemption on accountability for sin, facing the same punishment of God’s wrath on them unless an atonement is made to cover and forgive their trespasses against the same LORD over all. Yet we still see how those in power especially seem to think that they are above any law of man or God, seeking their own self-seeking without regard for accountability for their idolatry or immorality. We know that all have sinned (Romans 3:20, 23) and have earned the wages of sins against God, and no power or position exempts anyone. Only the supreme sacrifice of God’s own Son as the perfect Passover Lamb can cause His judgment to pass them by and put the blame on Him as our scapegoat. Only the Christ can administer the rites of forgiveness foe any man of high or low position in life to escape an unending death of eternal suffering as is due to us all for rebelling in sin against Him. Just as the priest in the time of the tabernacle here made atonement with the blood of (Hebrews 9:12-13) animals as a temporary measure, so we know now that only a perfect sacrifice of God’s work can completely and forever cover our sin’s just consequences due to us. Hebrews 10:4 makes it clear that these old sacrifices are not able to take our sins away; only (Hebrews 10:10, 12, 14) Jesus Christ’s sacrifice can perfect us forever as He sanctifies us in this life, having sanctified us in God’s sight by this Heavenly offering by grace alone to atone for and forgive all our sins. This is the gospel of atoning grace in the person and work of Jesus Christ we preach and bear witness to. This atonement for our sin was foreshadowed in these sacrifices ordained by the LORD to point us to Christ’s sacrifice of absolute and lasting atonement to cover our sin and make us blameless (Ephesians 1:4, Colossians 1:22) in Him.
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