“For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year” (Hebrews 10:2-3).
The epistle to the Hebrews was originally written to an audience of individuals who were familiar with the policies and procedures of the Mosaic Law. For contemporary readers with a different cultural background, the Biblical book of Leviticus details the procedure by which the people of Old Testament Israel obtained forgiveness for their sins…
“Now the Lord called to Moses, and spoke to him from the tabernacle of meeting, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When any one of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of the livestock—of the herd and of the flock. ‘If his offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish; he shall offer it of his own free will at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the Lord. Then he shall put his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him” (Leviticus 1:1-4).
One commentator makes an important observation related to this passage in the context of Hebrews 10:2-3…
“The offerer’s laying or pressing his hand on the head of the sacrifice symbolized his complete identification with the animal as his substitute. [The word] atonement …may mean ‘to wipe off’; i.e., to wipe clean, or ‘to cover’; i.e., to blot out sin from God’s sight. Nothing is said about the need for faith, for this atonement did not result in eternal life (Rom. 3:20; Heb. 10:1–4) but in righting one’s relationship to the theocracy (the government ruled by God under which Israel lived” (1)
The book of Hebrews thus offers a powerful argument regarding the inadequacies of these sacrificial offerings. We can distill that argument into one essential point: “If an Old Covenant sacrifice offered complete cleansing from sin, it would have cleansed the internal conscience of the person who offered it without the need for additional sacrifices.”
This inadequacy is critically important, for the conscious knowledge of sin disrupts our fellowship with God and explains why we must appropriate the promise of 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
(1) Ryrie, Charles Caldwell, Ryrie Study Notes [Leviticus 1:4] © 1986, 1995 by The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago. Database © 2004 WORDsearch Corp