He is to present the bull at the entrance to the tent of meeting before the LORD. He is to lay his hand on its head and slaughter it there before the LORD. – Leviticus 4:4

Today's Scripture Reading (December 15, 2024): Leviticus 4

One of the things we often skirt is taking responsibility for the things we have done. We all do it. If someone blames us for something, we frequently try to pass the blame off on someone else. It wasn't our fault; someone else did it, or our circumstances made the sin inevitable. Someone else did it. It wasn't us. Our inner child emerges from us as we stand there with cookie crumbs on our shirts, denying that we stole the cookie. Our inner Eve points at the serpent, saying that we ate the forbidden fruit because the serpent tricked us. It wasn't me; the devil made me do it.

It is refreshing when someone takes the blame. The sports star who admits that during his team's slump, he hasn't been playing his best. The person who acknowledges that they have been involved in some forbidden behavior. But it is also what makes us adults and not children. We have the ability to admit when we are wrong. 

The idea of a person placing his hands on the sacrifice is repeated five times in Leviticus 4 (verses 4, 15, 24, 29, and 33.) The placing of the hands on a sacrifice was a simple act. It didn't require any preparation. There was nothing that the person had to get and keep in their hand. No action other than placing the hand on the sacrifice was required. And nothing was done to the hand. It was just positioned on the sacrifice.

Yet, the action had a deep meaning. Placing the hand on the sacrifice was a confession of sin. It was an admission that the participant had done something wrong that was the cause of this animal's death. It was a recognition that the sacrifice was a substitute for the sinner. And it was an acceptance of the concept that this animal would take the place of the sinner. It was a requirement that indicated the acceptance of responsibility for the sin in order to have that sin taken away.

Concerning all of our sins, it is still the one requirement. We realize that we need to be accountable for our sins and accept the sacrifice of Jesus, who died on our behalf, by figuratively placing our hands on him. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Leviticus 5