Day 2

Atonement on Others’ Behalf

from the Leviticus reading plan


Leviticus 4:1-35, Leviticus 5:1-19, Leviticus 6:1-7, Romans 8:1-4

BY Seana Scott

I drove in black darkness through small country towns in central Texas on my way to a retreat. A sign read 40 mph. I glanced down and adjusted my speed. A few moments later, red and blue headlights swirled in my rearview mirror. I pulled over.

“Hello, ma’am,” the police officer said as I rolled down my window. “Did you know the speed limit here is twenty-five, and you were going forty?” I told him I just saw the sign for forty, and he said, “When you drive through these small towns, the speed limit changes. A few blocks back, the sign for twenty-five is posted.” 

A few blocks back in the pitch, black night. I didn’t know I broke the law, but the police officer still issued me a $200 ticket. Ouch. 

When we break the law, even in ignorance, we are still accountable to the law. The same was true for the Israelites during the time of the sacrificial system. Breaking God’s law, even unintentionally, still required payment for atonement—they still were held guilty until the completion of the sacrifice (Leviticus 5:17–19). 

God could have created the law only to perform sin offerings once a year on the Day of Atonement when the special sacrifices symbolized a “clean slate” for the nation of Israel (Leviticus 16). But God included the regulation of offering sacrifices for unintentional sin throughout the year to continually provide a way for reconciliation. 

I think this is a picture of His extravagant grace. Carrying guilt for months on end once convicted of sin would feel excruciating. If God only provided the atonement of sin on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16), hearts would weigh down with guilt. By making a way to provide sin offerings throughout the year, God showed the Israelites grace. 

Similarly, the opportunity to confess and repent of unintentional sin in the moment of our conviction today is also a gift. We don’t even need to prepare a spotless goat, for Jesus is our perpetual sin offering (Romans 8:1-4).    

Recently the Holy Spirit convicted me after-the-fact that I spoke poorly in public about one of my children. My child did something wrong, and I “vented” about them to others—I judged them publicly (Luke 6:37). Once I felt the sting of conviction, I confessed and asked the Lord for forgiveness. Done. No walking out to the fields to select a spotless goat. No preparing to take the time to go to the temple to offer the sacrifice. Conviction. Confession. Repentance. Forgiveness. All thanks to the blood of Jesus Christ (1John 1:9). 

Post Comments (71)

71 thoughts on "Atonement on Others’ Behalf"

  1. Timeka Gilliam says:

    Wow! This is beautiful! Conviction, repentance, forgiveness, done! Thank you all for beautifully weaving/ connecting the Old and New Testaments together, so could see what was required and what we gained through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. I’m thankful that we do not have to hold on to and remember our sins in order to make atonement for them. I’m thankful for the example of the speeding ticket. I’m thankful for all of this

  2. Timeka Gilliam says:

    Wow! This is beautiful! Conviction, repentance, forgiveness, done! Thank you all for beautifully weaving/ connecting the Old and New Testaments together, so could see what was required and what we gained through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. I’m thankful that we do not have to hold on to and remember our sins in order to make atonement for them.

  3. Portia Strange says:

    ‘When they broke the law, even in ignorance, they were still accountable to the law. Breaking God’s law, even unintentionally, still required payment for atonement—they still were held guilty until the completion of the sacrifice.’ Today’s reading in Leviticus reminds me of how serious sin is. I never realized that even unintentional sin required atonement.

    I also love Leviticus 4:3 ‘…if it is the anointed priest who sins, thus bringing guilt on the people…’ because it makes me so thankful for Jesus being without sin. If Jesus (our High Priest) had sinned, he would’ve brought guilt on us, on top of the guilt we have from our own sin. Praise God that Jesus was & is without sin, the perfect Son of God, & that we get to experience a guilt-free life because of Him living a sin-free life!

    Lastly, I have a few questions about today’s reading in Leviticus.
    1. Would their be a long line of every morning or throughout the day as everyone was bringing sacrifices probably continually?
    2. Would the whole family take the sacrifice to the Tabernacle Tent or just the man?
    3. Could you take a sacrifice to the Tent several times a day or was once a day the maximum?
    4. Would one animal be killed at a time OR would the priests kill a few or several animals at a time?
    5. Who had the responsibility of cleaning the Tabernacle Tent & how often would they clean it?

  4. Krystal Schett says:

    This was a good read and we are so
    Blessed to have Jesus that all we have to do is confess, repent and we are forgiven just like that.

  5. Krystal Schett says:

    This was a good read and we are so

  6. Ella Thomas says:

    I love that ! Conviction, confession, repentance and forgiveness ❤️

  7. Danelle Singhanart says:

    How much sun cost the Israelites of the Old Testament! Financially, cost them time, cost them income or providing for their family, and probably heartache at watching the animal killed and blood splattered everywhere. Praise be to God for His wonderful plan and shame on me for what I do often take for granted.

  8. Kristina Stump says:

    Wow I just did this today. I unintentionally said something about my husband that wasn’t mean to another person I told the truth but after the explanation why would I leave him out there to be judged by others. Yucks. I have to be more careful.

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