Leviticus: Chapter 4

Chapter Four: What to do if someone breaks a commandment

What do you do when someone breaks a commandment? Sacrifice an animal, of course! But pay attention! According to Leviticus, Chapter Four, the price for breaking a commandment is different depending on who does the commandment breaking.

If a priest breaks a commandment, “thus bringing guilt on the people,” the priest must sacrifice a bull.

If the whole community breaks a commandment, the elders of the community must to sacrifice a bull with the help of the priests. Be sure your priest sprinkles the blood of the animal seven times in front of the curtain, or else your sacrifice will be in vain!

If it is the ruler of the community that breaks a commandment, he must sacrifice a male goat himself without the help of a priest, in a manner similar to a bull sacrifice, except no one needs to sprinkle any blood.

If “anyone of the ordinary people” breaks a commandment, he or she must sacrifice a female goat with the help of the priest, “thus the priest shall make atonement on your behalf for the sin that you have committed, and you shall be forgiven.”

No matter who sinned, or what animal is sacrificed, the animals’ kidneys, liver and all of its fat must be removed, its blood should be drained, and the remaining skin, flesh, legs, head, entrails and dung should be brought away from the camp and burnt on a wood fire. No one gets to eat it! It’s a sacrifice, after all! Put your forks away!

To recap:

If a priest sins, he must sacrifice a bull.

If the whole community sins, the elders must sacrifice a bull.

If the leader sins, he must sacrifice a male sheep.

If a commoner sins, the priest must sacrifice a female sheep on his or her behalf.

This was written by leviticus. Posted on Wednesday, June 23, 2010, at 2:22 am. Filed under Chapter Reviews. Bookmark the permalink. Follow comments here with the RSS feed. Post a comment or leave a trackback.

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Leviticus: Chapter 4

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