Leviticus 5:14-6:7 and 7:11-21 are devoted to the Guilt Offering. The guilt offering involved damaging the property set aside for the Lord and for crimes in business dealings or anything else that required an oath. This involved the guilty person providing his sacrifice of a ram at his own expense. This implies that other offerings could be provided by someone else or the community at large. This offering with the sin offering was to be eaten only by the priests. For example, Leviticus 10 tells how Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, were killed by the Lord for their disobedience as priests. The whole community was allowed to have a funeral service for them except for Aaron and his other sons; they were specifically told not to mourn because they were the remaining priests and were to remain on duty. When the funeral was over and Moses returned to the tabernacle, he saw the sin offering had not been entirely eaten. “Moses then asked them what had happened to the goat of the sin offering. When he discovered it had been burned up, he became very angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s remaining sons. ‘Why didn’t you eat the sin offering in the sacred areas?’ he demanded. ‘It is a holy offering! The Lord has given it to you to remove the guilt of the community and to purify the people, making them right with the Lord. Since the animal’s blood was not brought into the Holy Place, you should have eaten the meat in the sacred areas as I ordered you’.” Leviticus 10:16-18 (NLT).
How do we deal with our guilt? Paul tells us, “Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. But now God has shown us a way to be made right with Him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true of everyone who believes, no matter who we are.” Romans 3:19-22 (NLT). Paul also writes, “This is an illustration pointing to the present time. For the gifts and sacrifices that the priests offer are not able to cleanse the consciences of the people who bring them. For that old system deals only with food and drink and various cleansing ceremonies – physical regulations that were in effect only until a better system could be established. So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. With His own blood – not the blood of goats and calves – He entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever. Hebrews 9:9-12 (NLT).