What is the meaning of Leviticus 4:16? Then the anointed priest • Scripture puts the responsibility on “the anointed priest,” the high priest set apart by sacred oil and divine appointment (Leviticus 4:3; Exodus 28:41). • His anointing marks him as mediator for the whole nation, so his actions carry covenant-wide impact (Leviticus 16:32; Numbers 35:25). • This points forward to “Jesus the great high priest who has passed through the heavens” (Hebrews 4:14), the ultimate Anointed One. • Because God made this office and moment literal history, the passage assures us that atonement rests on God’s own provision, not human invention. is to bring • The verb signals an imperative—obedience is not optional. When God gives a command, faith responds with action (1 Samuel 15:22; James 2:17-18). • The priest doesn’t innovate; he follows God’s revealed pattern, reminding us that worship is defined by Scripture, not preference (Exodus 40:16). • In Christ we see the perfect fulfillment of flawless obedience: “I have come to do Your will, O God” (Hebrews 10:7). some of the bull’s blood • Blood is central because, “the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you…to make atonement for your souls” (Leviticus 17:11). • Only “some” is carried inside; the rest is poured out at the altar’s base (Leviticus 4:7), underscoring ordered, purposeful sacrifice. • Old-covenant blood foreshadows the once-for-all sacrifice: Christ “entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood” (Hebrews 9:12). • Literal, physical blood underscores the cost of sin and the concreteness of God’s remedy. into the Tent of Meeting • The Tent of Meeting is where God promises, “there I will meet with the Israelites” (Exodus 29:42); it represents access to His presence. • Carrying the blood inside, the priest sprinkles it “seven times before the LORD, in front of the veil” (Leviticus 4:6), visually bridging the gap sin created. • Hebrews ties the earthly tent to the heavenly: “Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with hands…but heaven itself” (Hebrews 9:24). • The movement from courtyard to sanctuary teaches that reconciliation moves us from distance to closeness with God. summary Leviticus 4:16 pictures a real priest, acting under divine command, bringing lifeblood into God’s dwelling so that sinful people might be cleansed. Each detail—the anointed mediator, the obedient act, the costly blood, the sacred space—finds its fullness in Jesus, whose perfect sacrifice secures eternal access to God for all who trust Him. |
    |