What is the meaning of Leviticus 7:7? the guilt offering is like the sin offering • Both sacrifices addressed broken fellowship with the Lord—one for specific acts of desecration or defrauding (guilt offering, Leviticus 5:14-19), the other for missing the mark more generally (sin offering, Leviticus 4:1-35). • By declaring, “The guilt offering is like the sin offering,” God shows that every kind of sin—whether deliberate trespass or unwitting failure—requires shed blood for restoration (Leviticus 17:11; Hebrews 9:22). • These offerings foreshadow Christ, “who offered Himself for us, a fragrant aroma and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:2). Isaiah later speaks of Messiah as a “guilt offering” (Isaiah 53:10), underscoring that both Old Testament sacrifices converge in Him. the same law applies to both • Procedures, handling of the blood, and required holiness of participants were identical (compare Leviticus 6:24-30 with 7:1-6). God’s unchanging standard reminds us He is “the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). • The worshiper could not invent a substitute method. In matters of atonement, divine prescription, not human preference, rules (Proverbs 14:12). • Consistent law prepared Israel to recognize the once-for-all sacrifice: “We have been sanctified through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10). it belongs to the priest who makes atonement with it • After the fat was burned to the Lord, the meat became food for the officiating priest (Leviticus 7:6; Numbers 18:9-10). This provided for those who served at the altar, a principle reaffirmed in the New Testament: “Those who serve at the altar partake in the offerings of the altar” (1 Corinthians 9:13). • The transfer of the offering to the priest pictures our exchange with Christ. He bears our sin and, in turn, “we become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). • The shared meal element signified restored fellowship—God, priest, and forgiven worshiper all benefiting from the same offering (Leviticus 10:17). summary Leviticus 7:7 teaches that both sin and guilt demand the same God-given remedy: a blood sacrifice that completely satisfies divine justice. The uniform law underscores God’s consistent character, and the priest’s portion illustrates how atonement not only removes sin but sustains those who mediate it. Ultimately, the verse directs us to Jesus Christ, the true sin and guilt offering, whose once-for-all sacrifice secures eternal fellowship with God. |
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