27 'And if any person of the people of the land sin through ignorance, by his doing 'something against' one of the commands of Jehovah 'regarding things' which are not to be done, and hath been guilty— 28 or his sin which he hath sinned hath been made known unto him, then he hath brought in his offering, a kid of the goats, a perfect one, a female, for his sin which he hath sinned, 29 and he hath laid his hand on the head of the sin-offering, and hath slaughtered the sin-offering in the place of the burnt-offering. 30 'And the priest hath taken of its blood with his finger, and hath put on the horns of the altar of the burnt-offering, and all its blood he doth pour out at the foundation of the altar, 31 and all its fat he doth turn aside, as the fat hath been turned aside from off the sacrifice of the peace-offerings, and the priest hath made perfume on the altar, for sweet fragrance to Jehovah; and the priest hath made atonement for him, and it hath been forgiven him. 32 'And if he bring in a sheep 'for' his offering, for a sin-offering, a female, a perfect one, he doth bring in, 33 and he hath laid his hand on the head of the sin-offering, and hath slaughtered it for a sin-offering in the place where he slaughtereth the burnt-offering. 34 'And the priest hath taken of the blood of the sin-offering with his finger, and hath put on the horns of the altar of the burnt-offering, and all its blood he poureth out at the foundation of the altar, 35 and all its fat he turneth aside, as the fat of the sheep is turned aside from the sacrifice of the peace-offerings, and the priest hath made them a perfume on the altar, according to the fire-offerings of Jehovah, and the priest hath made atonement for him, for his sin which he hath sinned, and it hath been forgiven him.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Leviticus 4:27-35
Commentary on Leviticus 4:27-35
(Read Leviticus 4:27-35)
Here is the law of the sin-offering for a common person. To be able to plead, when charged with sin, that we did it ignorantly, and through the surprise of temptation, will not bring us off, if we have no interest in that great plea, Christ hath died. The sins of ignorance committed by a common person, needed a sacrifice; the greatest are not above, the meanest are not below Divine justice. None, if offenders, were overlooked. Here rich and poor meet together; they are alike sinners, and welcome to Christ. From all these laws concerning the sin-offerings, we may learn to hate sin, and to watch against it; and to value Christ, the great and true Sin-offering, whose blood cleanses from all sin, which it was not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away. For us to err, with the Bible in our hands, is the effect of pride, sloth, and carelessness. We need to use frequent self-examination, with serious study of the Scriptures, and earnest prayer for the convincing influences of God the Holy Spirit; that we may detect our sins of ignorance, repent, and obtain forgiveness through the blood of Christ.