N19-7: SURPRISE! The So-Called ‘Sin Offering’ Does NOT Atone For Sins At All!!!

“For the unclean person they are to take some of the ashes of the animal burned up as a purification from sin and add them to fresh water in a container.  A clean person is to take a bunch of hyssop leaves, dip it in the water and sprinkle it on the tent, on all the containers, on the people who were there, and on the person who touched the bone or the person killed or the one who died naturally or the grave.”-Numbers 19:17-18

We’ve learned a lot over the past of couple of days with one of the more important things being that the word KADOSH as a stand alone word in and of itself does NOT mean HOLY or HOLINESS.

Again, it means “set apart” and something can be set apart for HOLINESS or it can be set apart for COMMON purposes.

This idea can also be seen when comparing the fire used to burn up the Red Heifer versus the fire used in the Brazen Altar.

The fire of the Brazen Altar (which was inside the Camp of Israel) was a HOLY fire that purified and it was used to offer up a pleasing aroma of smoke to HASHEM.

By comparison, the fire used to burn up the Red Heifer (which took place outside the Camp of Israel) was a COMMON fire whose purpose was to destroy.

The objective of this fire was to completely end the existence of whatever was put on it because it was filled with poisonous impurities.

Think of burning waste dumps whose very purpose is to destroy contaminated waste materials in a far away safe place. 

Again, keep in mind that the HOLINESS of the Lord is like dealing with nuclear radiation that is so dangerously contagious it can infect anybody who comes near.

The Red Heifer sacrifice was kind of like this.

It had soaked up so much impurity from others that anyone who approached it instantly became UNCLEAN.

This is actually a great time to point out something quite unique to not only the Red Heifer sacrifice but the whole category of HATA-AT sacrifices which the Red Heifer sacrifice falls under.

Remember most English Bibles translate HATA-AT as the “sin offering” but I prefer to call it the “purification offering” (Because that’s what it does!  It purifies!).

Now pay very careful attention to what I’m about to say.

And keep in mind that what I’m about to point out applies to ANY HATA-AT sacrifice (mistakenly I think translated as the “sin offering”).

Here’s the mind-blowing revelation:

When one performs the Red Heifer sacrifice or any HATA-AT sacrifice for that matter, IT DOES NOT BENEFIT OR ATONE FOR THE PERSON PERFORMING THE RITUAL!

Did you catch that?

Let me phrase it in a different way.

The purpose of the blood of the animal used in any HATA-AT sacrifice is NOT to purify the worshiper or atone for him.

Sure, the blood of the animal performs a purifying function but if you were to go back and read the text of Leviticus carefully, you would see that the blood of the animal is splashed on the altar and on the pieces of furniture inside the Sanctuary.

In other words, its purpose was to purify the sanctuary, NOT atone for the one performing the sacrifice.

In the Red Heifer sacrifice, the one who performs the ritual doesn’t get purified.

The opposite happens!

He becomes UNCLEAN.

However, the blood from the sacrificed Red Heifer when mixed with the ashes from the burned up body and water, whatever this mixture is splashed on becomes purified.

Again, the main point I want to get across is this.

The whole purpose of the regular HATA-AT sacrifice was to use the blood of the animal to purify the Tabernacle and its furnishings.

It did NOT atone for the one who performed the offering, nor was this sacrifice offered up to HASHEM.

Isn’t that amazing?

The one Levitical sacrifice that most English Bibles call the “Sin Offering” does NOT atone for sins at all!