Daily Devotion | Leviticus 6:24–7:10 | 2026 January 26

Title: Daily Devotion

Scripture: Leviticus 6:24–7:10 (ESV)

Date: 2026 January 26

Speaker: Rev. John Chen

Transcribed, translated & edited by: Joseph Wang (Yufan)

Dear brothers and sisters, peace to you. We thank God for His grace that we come to a new day to study the Daily Devotion. The passage we are studying today is Leviticus chapter 6, verse 24 through chapter 7, verse 10. Let us pray.

Our God, we thank You. Before You we confess that we are foolish, and we need Your mercy. Lord, these offerings are set before us—what do they represent? What responsibilities must the priests bear? What blessings will the priests receive? Lord, please instruct us. May You awaken our ears in the morning, so that we may listen to Your precious word and receive the nourishment of life. Be with us. In the name of Christ we pray, Amen.

Alright, now let us look at the responsibilities of the priests in the sin offering and the guilt offering. In chapter 6, verses 24 to 30, in fact we can read that there are two kinds of sin offerings. There are two kinds of sin offerings, and we must distinguish them clearly: one kind of sin offering may be eaten, and one kind of sin offering may not be eaten.

This was not especially clear earlier, for example, when we read chapter 4. Chapter 4 says very clearly that all the sin offerings are to be burned, right? They are to be burned, all of them are to be burned, and then the ashes are to be taken outside. That was the regulation for the sin offering that we read at that time.

But here, in chapter 6, verses 24 to 30, what we read is additional information. It is a supplement. It does not mean that what was written earlier was wrong—it is not wrong. Earlier only one kind was recorded. What kind of offering was that? It was the sin offering whose blood was brought into the tent of meeting, into the Holy Place, to make atonement. For this kind, the flesh may not be eaten and must be burned with fire.

But if the blood of the sin offering is not brought into the Holy Place to make atonement, but is only poured out at the base of the altar, then this flesh may be eaten. So now we have a concept: there are two kinds of sin offerings. One kind of sin offering may not be eaten. Which kind may not be eaten? The one whose blood is brought into the tent of meeting, into the Holy Place.

This, as we have said before, according to the book of Hebrews, points to the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. It points to the fact that He must go outside the camp and be burned outside, because it is a sin offering.

Then there is another kind of sin offering that we must pay attention to, in verses 24 to 29. Here the sin offering that is mentioned may be eaten. The regulation about what is burned is not stated here, but if you continue reading into chapter 7, verse 7, it says: the sin offering and the guilt offering have the same regulation.

So we can infer that when offering this other kind of sin offering, they also remove and burn the fat: for example, in chapter 7, verse 3, it speaks of the fat tail, the fat that covers the entrails, the two kidneys and the fat that is on them, the fat that is on the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, and they remove them together with the kidneys and burn them on the altar.

So there are two kinds of sin offerings. This is something we must know. One kind—whose blood is brought into the Holy Place—may not be eaten and must be burned. Another kind—whose blood is poured out at the base of the altar—may be eaten. So the key is not simply “it is a sin offering”—of course it is for atonement—but where the blood is handled: one is atonement in the Holy Place, one is atonement at the base of the altar. One may be eaten, one may not be eaten. These are the two kinds of sin offerings.

So we must first make sure we understand what the text is saying. And then the guilt offering is similar. The guilt offering also follows the same regulation: the sin offering and the guilt offering have the same regulation. So I was thinking—although I have not seen any book that explains it in exactly this way—I was thinking it may mean something like this.

That is: in the guilt offering, it is in a sense “like” the sin offering. In other words, you still need to make atonement to God. But perhaps, in the guilt offering, the blood does not need to be brought into the Holy Place; perhaps it does not need to be taken into the sanctuary. It may only need to be poured out at the base of the altar. So in that sense, the guilt offering is also an atonement offering, and the flesh may be eaten by the priest.

But then, what is added in the guilt offering? The guilt offering has an additional aspect: you must compensate the person you have wronged by adding twenty percent. Or, as he says, you may also need to offer a burnt offering. So this may be the regulation of the guilt offering—the idea of compensation. The sin offering is like the core: a sin offering must be present. If the blood must be taken into the Holy Place, then the flesh may not be eaten. And then the other kind of sin offering may be included, in a practical sense, together with the guilt offering.

So in the guilt offering, it seems to include two things: first, you offer atonement to God—there is a “sin offering” aspect, and the blood is poured out at the base of the altar, and the flesh may be eaten by the priest. Second, you must compensate the people you have offended. This is roughly my conjecture. I think this may fit the flow of the passage better.

So we first clarify why the sin offering and the guilt offering have the same regulation. What exactly is it? Is it a guilt offering or a sin offering? In one sense, it is a sin offering, because atonement is being made. But when you offer the guilt offering, you also must remember that you have to compensate others. So it is also called a guilt offering, and that is not wrong.

But what is very clear is this: there are indeed two kinds of sin offerings—one may be eaten and one may not be eaten. That is certain.

Alright, once we have clarified these two offerings, let us look at how the eating is regulated. The eating of the sin offering is very special. It is not like the peace offering. It is not that you can eat however you like. Here it says, first: who may eat? The priest may eat. Second: where may it be eaten? It may only be eaten in the courtyard of the tent of meeting. Third: whoever touches this flesh becomes holy. It is as if the sacrificial flesh itself has a kind of “power,” as if holiness can be transmitted—if you are unclean and you touch it, you become holy. We will explain what this means in a moment.

Then, if the blood of the sacrifice splashes on a garment, you must wash it immediately. A garment must not remain stained with the blood of the sin offering.

And there are also regulations about cooking. If it is cooked in an earthen vessel, after the meat is taken out, the earthen vessel must be broken. If it is cooked in a bronze vessel, the bronze vessel must be scoured and rinsed with water. And this “washing clean” is not about hygiene. It is a ritual matter. And you must scour it—what do you use to scour it? I do not know—do they have steel wool? Probably not. But in any case, you have to scour it. That is how it is.

So there are many detailed regulations. You cannot eat casually. And only males may eat—male priests may eat. So we see these characteristics: first, only male priests may eat. Second, the location is the tent of meeting—the courtyard. Third, this flesh has the characteristic that whoever touches it becomes holy. Fourth, any garment splashed with blood must be washed—no garment may remain with the blood of the sin offering on it. Fifth, the cooking vessel: earthenware must be broken; bronze must be scoured. These are the five characteristics.

So clearly, the sin offering is a very special kind of sacrificial pattern, and these instructions are especially directed to the priests. The one who brings the offering brings it, kills it, and it is finished. But you, the priest, must pay attention to these five things.

So I think it is very clear that all of this points to Christ. How do we speak of these five things?

First, regarding the sin offering that may not be eaten: it must be taken outside the camp and completely burned. The Lord Jesus has already fulfilled this.

But at the same time, the Lord Jesus Christ is both: the sin offering whose blood is brought into the Holy Place, and also the sin offering whose blood is poured out at the base of the altar—whose flesh is shared with us.

How do we say this? The Lord Jesus Christ loves His people. The Lord Jesus gives His people His flesh to eat and His blood to drink, right? And the flesh of the Lord Jesus has a kind of “function”: it can sanctify those who touch Him.

This is what we experience in the Lord’s Supper. When we receive the Lord Jesus Christ by faith, truly believing that He was crucified for us, and when we partake of the Lord’s Supper, the Lord’s Supper truly strengthens us spiritually. It is like “whoever touches the flesh becomes holy”—that is the sense here.

Then why must a garment not keep the blood of the sin offering on it? Because for us as human beings, the blood of the sin offering on a garment has no saving use. We must wait for and long for the true robe of righteousness to be placed on us—and that robe is fully stained with the blood of Jesus Christ. This points to Christ.

And why must the earthen vessel be broken? It is very clear: this sacrifice is holy to such a degree that an earthen vessel cannot “contain” it. And the bronze vessel must be scoured again—almost like saying it must be treated as discarded as well. Earthenware is discarded; bronze is also treated as discarded. This shows that this matter of atonement cannot be accomplished by human ability or by human works. That is how these five points point to Christ.

Christ shows us that Jesus Christ is the true sin offering. He is the sin offering whose blood is brought into the Holy Place, and He is also the sin offering whose blood is poured out at the base of the altar and whose flesh is shared with His people. The functions of the two kinds of sin offerings are fully accomplished in Jesus Christ.

And then there is the guilt offering. We have talked about some of these matters earlier, so I will not repeat everything. But Jesus also offered Himself for us as the guilt offering.

We say our salvation has two aspects. One: our sins must be removed. That is the function of the sin offering. All our sins—past, present, and future—must be removed by the Lord Jesus, so the Lord Jesus Christ must bear our debt of sin.

Then what does the guilt offering emphasize? It is that the Lord Jesus, besides being our sin offering, must also keep the whole law. He must obey the requirements of the law. He must fulfill all righteousness, so that He can clothe us with His robe of righteousness.

So we say the work of the Lord Jesus has two parts: first, atonement—bearing our sins. Second, fulfilling all righteousness. In systematic theology, these are called passive obedience and active obedience. The Lord Jesus bears our sins and fulfills the function of the sin offering—that is His passive obedience. And He fulfills the function related to the guilt offering, doing what is required to “make good” what we owe, keeping the whole law—that corresponds to His active obedience.

So when we come into the Lord Jesus Christ and truly follow Him, we are forgiven, and we are also counted righteous in Jesus Christ. That is the principle. Because Jesus Christ has clothed us with the robe of righteousness, in God’s eyes we are fully justified. Thanks be to God—what a beautiful pointing this is.

So the Lord Jesus is the perfect sin offering, and He is also the perfect guilt offering. He has compensated everything for us.

That is how these things point to Christ. Now let us look at chapter 7, verses 8 to 10. This part is comparatively simple. When someone offers a burnt offering, the priest receives the least, because he only gets the skin of the burnt offering. He can receive the skin, but he cannot receive anything else—everything else must be burned. So in the burnt offering, the priest receives little.

Then the grain offering: what is cooked in an oven, what is made on a griddle, what is made in a pan—these belong to the priest. And every grain offering, whether mixed with oil or dry, belongs to the sons of Aaron, and they divide it equally among themselves.

Here I want everyone to notice something. Some offerings can only be eaten by male priests—for example, the sin offering must be eaten in the tent of meeting, and only male priests may eat it. You must remember: it is eaten in the Holy Place area; you cannot eat it outside the tent of meeting, because that would not be clean.

But then you think: the priest has a family—he has a wife and children. His wife and children cannot go into the tent of meeting to eat. So what do they do? That is where these grain offerings and some other portions come in. These belong to the sons of Aaron, and he can bring them out and have his family eat them.

So what we read here is very clear: God especially cares for His people. The priests serve at the altar; God does not treat them unjustly, and He does not let them lack. He gives them food. He gives them meat to eat. On the one hand, this is about holiness—sanctifying them. On the other hand, it also takes care of their physical needs. This is what we see in these passages, and also how they point to Christ.

Now what is the meaning for us? This is the application. For us Christians, we must especially pay attention to this: the accomplishment of salvation is entirely the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Man cannot do it. We can only be clothed with the robe of Christ’s righteousness. We are justified by faith alone. There are no human works that can justify us—faith alone.

But then, after justification by faith alone, what should we do? In fact, we must also do this: we must break our earthen vessels. What does that mean for us? Our old self, our old man, what we think we have, what we rely on in ourselves—these must be broken down, so that God’s holiness may fill us again.

And if it is a bronze vessel, it must be scoured and washed clean—almost like becoming new. So, brothers and sisters, we are that vessel.

Why did Paul later say, “We have this treasure in jars of clay”? Of course, that statement expresses humility. But I believe Paul, with his deep familiarity with Scripture, must have thought of Leviticus chapter 6, verse 28—the earthen vessel used to cook the sacrificial flesh. I believe he must have had it in mind.

In 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 7, Paul says, “We have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” This “treasure in jars of clay”—what does it point to? It should point to what we read in Leviticus: the sacrificial flesh, something precious, being placed in an earthen vessel to be cooked. This is what Paul is drawing from, I believe. Paul knew Scripture too well, and he also expected his readers to know Scripture.

Paul did not explicitly write, “the jar must be broken,” but what is his meaning pointing to? It is pointing to the jar being broken. So, brothers and sisters, our old self, our old man, our worldly desires, our own thoughts, our own plans—these must all be broken, because we are jars of clay. Paul already said we are jars of clay. So what should we do? The jar must be broken. And the bronze vessel must be washed clean.

We must live a Christ-centered life, in God, for the glory of God, running only God’s race for us, not our own race, because our own race has no benefit. And we must not make our own plans for the future as if everything depends on us.

I know many brothers and sisters face difficulties and struggles. These difficulties—I can understand them. It is not that I do not understand at all, as if we are cold and cannot feel human suffering. That is not true. We also have flesh; we also know people’s hardships.

But I encourage you, just as the author of Hebrews encourages believers, to live a God-centered life. The harder it is, the more it is the time to rely on God. We must firmly believe in God’s power. We must firmly believe that God governs all things. At such a time, we must live by faith—believing that we will not miss what we should have, and we will not gain what we should not gain.

At times like this, the hardest thing for a person is to grit his teeth—especially when it feels like life is on the line. With one misstep, we may run after our own future. But do not do that. Grit your teeth. Truly rely on the Lord’s grace. The jar must be broken. The bronze vessel must be washed clean.

God cares for us, right? Look at these sacrificial regulations: the portions that belong to us, nothing is missing. Do not think that being with God means living in misery and poverty—no, that will not happen, brothers and sisters. We will not lack.

Everything we truly need, God will give us. And if He has not given it yet, then it means you do not need it yet. If you do not need it, then do not keep thinking about it.

So this really reminds us that God cares for us. Look at verse 9: what is baked in the oven, what is made on the griddle, what is made in the pan—these are for the priests’ grain offerings. Whether mixed with oil or dry, as long as it is brought, it belongs to the sons of Aaron, and they divide it equally.

And notice that “equal division” idea. In the priestly household, distribution is equal. It is not “according to labor,” remember. It is not: the one who does more gets more, the one who does less gets less. No. Everyone works together, and then they divide equally. This is a very fair way of distribution, because abilities differ—some can do more, some can do less. But when dividing the portions, everyone shares equally. This shows God’s principle of fairness, because perhaps the one who is less capable has many children—you cannot leave him without provision. So equal division is a very good principle.

So what I am saying here is: God will care for our needs. God cared for all the needs of the priests. God also knows all our weakness. So what should we do? Firmly look to God. Break the jar. Wash the bronze vessel clean. And may we, as such lowly vessels, give off the fragrance of Christ.

Paul said we have this treasure in jars of clay. Jesus Christ is in us. But the next thing is: the jar must be broken. May God lead us.

And then there is also the matter of eating the sacrificial flesh. When we eat the sacrificial flesh, we are with the Lord.

Alright, we will stop here today. We will stop here. Tomorrow we will continue. Thank you, everyone.