Leviticus 3-5: Admission of Sin

In these first few chapters of Leviticus we learn of the many different types of offerings that could be made at the tabernacle through the priests -- burnt offerings, peace offerings, and offerings for sin. There really isn't a whole lot revealed to us here, mainly just straightforward instruction on the exact procedure for sacrificing a victim. I did find it interesting, however, when it came to the how and why of atonement for sin. What we see, essentially, in the ancient Book of Leviticus is a precedent for the sacrament of penance. In Exodus we are given the Law -- the list of rules to live by. But what if we should break one of those rules? We begin to see the answer to that question in Leviticus. The Law, as handed down to Moses from God, requires a lot from the transgressor. It's not enough for the sinner to think to himself, "I'm sorry," and move on. He or she must procure a sacrificial victim, must approach the altar of the tabernacle, must tell his or her sin to the priest, and then must cooperate in the sin offering ritual, to be fully expiated and reconciled with God. Leviticus 5:5 says, "Let him do penance for his sin." It is only by implication from the text in Leviticus that we know a full confession had to be made by the sinner. For it is written, "He shall offer of the flocks a ram without blemish to the priest, according to the measure, and estimation of the sin; and the priest shall pray for him, because he did it ignorantly: and it shall be forgiven him" (Leviticus 5:18). Therefore, the sacrificial victim depended on the nature of the sin, and there was no way for the priest to know what type of victim was necessary unless a confession had been made. Further clarification, though, is made once and for all in Numbers, when it is said of the children of Israel: "When a man or woman shall have committed any of all the sins that men are wont to commit .... they shall confess their sin" (Numbers 5:6-7). And thus we see the spirit of this Levitical Law still enacted today in our God-given gift of the sacrament of penance.