Leviticus · chapter 6 of 27
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Leviticus 6 begins with the guilt offering for someone who defrauds his neighbor: he must make restitution with an added fifth and bring a ram. It then gives the priests instructions for the burnt offering, with the altar fire that must never go out, for the grain offering and for the sin offering, which is most holy.
Up to this point the offerings were explained from the worshiper's side. From chapter 6 the Lord addresses Aaron and his sons and spells out how the priests are to carry them out. Though these may seem like technical rules, they show that worship in Israel was orderly, constant and careful, and that it sustained the daily life of the people.
The chapter opens with wrongs against a neighbor: someone who lies about a deposit, steals, defrauds, or swears falsely about something lost that he has found has also sinned against the Lord. He must give back what he took, add a fifth and bring a ram without blemish as a guilt offering. The priest will make atonement and he will be forgiven.
Then the Lord instructs Aaron about the burnt offering. It is to burn all night on the altar, and the priest, dressed in linen, takes out the ashes in the morning and carries them outside the camp. The fire on the altar is to be kept burning and must not go out.
The grain offering is eaten unleavened in a holy place, in the court of the tent of meeting. Aaron and his sons present a grain offering each day that is burned whole. Finally, the sin offering is slaughtered where the burnt offering is slaughtered and is most holy: the priest who offers it eats it in the court, and the clay pot is broken.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Defrauding a neighbor through lies, theft or deceit is described as a breach of faith against the Lord. Sins against people are not merely social matters: they offend God. That is why they demand restitution and an offering.
Whoever defrauded must give back what he took, add a fifth and hand it to its owner on the day he presents the guilt offering. It is a clear example of repentance shown by concrete actions.
The fire on the altar must burn continually and never go out. That flame shows that worship of God is not interrupted: there was always a place open to approach him, night and day.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Give back what he had taken and add a fifth. — Leviticus 6:4-5
Answer: A ram without blemish. — Leviticus 6:6
Answer: All night, until the morning. — Leviticus 6:9
Answer: It was to be kept burning continually and never go out. — Leviticus 6:12-13
Answer: In a holy place, in the court of the tent of meeting, unleavened. — Leviticus 6:16
Answer: It was broken. — Leviticus 6:28
Leviticus 6 joins life with others and life with God. If we have defrauded someone, it is not enough to ask the Lord's forgiveness: we must repair what we can. In a Sunday school class you can reflect on debts, promises or loans we have left unresolved.
The fire that never goes out is also a useful image. The priests tended the flame day and night; today we are invited to cultivate steady devotion, not only intensity at special moments. And Paul urges believers to present their lives as a living sacrifice, a way of keeping that fire burning.
Leviticus 6 shows that repairing harm and serving faithfully are part of a holy life before the Lord. Leviticus 7 completes the rules of the offerings with the law of the guilt and peace offerings, and with the portion that belongs to the priests.
It shows that worship was continuous: sacrifices were offered every morning and evening and the fire was never allowed to die. Though the text gives no further explanation, it symbolizes that God is always available and that his people are to worship him steadily.
Because it was set apart in a special way for the Lord, and touching it communicated holiness. That is why only male priests ate it, in the court, and the vessels that touched it received special treatment, such as breaking the clay pot.