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One-sentence summary: The Lord gives Moses more detailed instructions on how to give offerings and make sacrifices.
The Lord speaks to Moses again and says that if a person sins by failing to testify under oath when he is called and has seen or known something, he will be held responsible.
If a person touches any unclean thing (beast, livestock, creeping thing, anything unclean of humans), once he is aware of it, he is considered guilty/unclean.
If a person swears thoughtlessly/impulsively to do something, either good or evil, once he becomes aware of it, he will be considered guilty and held responsible. Once he realizes his guilt, he must confess and bring a trespass offering before the Lord, a female of the flock, a lamb or kid of a goat as a sin offering, and the priest will make atonement for him. If he is unable to bring a lamb, he should bring two turtledoves or young pigeons, one as a sin offering and one as a burnt offering. The sin offering should be given first, with the blood put around the altar and at the base, and the same done with the burnt offering. If he is unable to bring these, he should bring 1/10 ephah of fine flour as a sin offering without oil or frankincense (because it is a sin offering), to bring to the priest to take some as a memorial portion and burn it on the altar, with the rest belonging to the priest as a grain offering.
If a person commits a trespass and sins unintentionally in regard to holy things of the Lord, he should bring a trespass offering, a ram without blemish of the flocks. He should make restitution and add 1/5 to it and give it to the priest.
Even unintentional sins are guilt-worthy and must be atoned for with trespass offerings (a trespass being an error made in ignorance.)
If a person sins and commits a trespass against the Lord by deceiving his neighbor in any way in regards to money or possessions, he must restore wha he has stolen or extorted and add 1/5 more to it on the day of his trespass offering. He should bring a ram without blemish, and the priest will make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven.
The Lord tells Moses to command Aaron and his sons that the burnt offering should be on the altar all night until morning with the fire burning. The priest must put on linen trousers and garment and take out the ashes and put them beside the altar, remove his garments, and carry the ashes outside the camp. The fire should be kept burning and not be put out. The peace offerings should be burnt in the mornings.
The law of the grain offerings must be that the sons of Aaron should offer the grain with a handful of fine flour and oil and frankincense and burn it on the altar as a memorial to the Lord, and eat the rest with unleavened bread in a holy place, in the court of the tabernacle of meeting, because "it is most holy." This is all to be kept for all generations.
Aaron and his sons should offer to the Lord 1/10 of an ephah of flour as a daily grain offering, half in the morning and half at night, made in a pan with oil. The baked pieces should be an offering to the Lord.
The Lord tells Moses to tell Aaron and his sons to kill a sin offering kill in the place of burnt offerings, and that then the priest should eat it in a holy place, and everyone who touches it must be holy. They must wash any garments having blood on them in a holy place and the vessel used for the offering should be broken (or scoured and rinsed in water if bronze) because it is most holy. No sin offering from which blood is brought into the tabernacle of meeting to make atonement in the holy place should be eaten, but burnt.
The law for trespass offerings is that In the place where they kill the burnt offering, they should kill the trespass offering and sprinkle the blood around the altar and offer the fat. The males among the priests can eat it in the holy place, because it is most holy. Trespass offerings will be in the order of sin offerings, and the priest may have it. Also, grain offerings offered in a pan will be the priests'.
The law of peace offerings is if it is offered for thanksgiving, it must be offered with unleavened cakes mixed with oil, or wafers anointed with oil, or cakes of blended flour mixed with oil and leavened bread. He should offer one cake of each as a heave offering to the Lord, and it will belong to the priest. The flesh of peace offering will be eaten the same day. If the sacrifice is a vow or voluntary offering, it should be eaten the same day, with the remainder allowed to be eaten the second day. However, on the third day, it will be considered an abomination if anyone tries to offer it, and anyone who eats sit will be guilty.
If any flesh touches anything unclean, it must be burnt with fire. If it is clean, it can be eaten. but if anyone eats the flesh of the peace offering while he is unclean will be cut off from Israel.
If anyone touches anything unclean and the eats the sacrifice of the peace offering, that person will be cut off from Israel.
The Lord tells Moses to tell Israel not to eat the fat of ox, sheep, or goat. The fat of an animal that dies naturally or by another animal can be used in another way, but cannot be eaten, or that person will be cut off from Israel. Also, no one is to eat blood, or they will be cut off from their people.
The Lord also says that whoever offers a peace offering should offer it himself with his own hands, with the breast (as a wave offering) and thighs (as a heave offering) being given to Aaron and his sons.
Thoughts/Discussion Questions:
It would be good to do a more in-depth study of each of the offerings, the meanings behind them, and how they apply to us under the new covenant.