It is a guilt offering; they have been guilty of wrongdoing
against the Lord.” Leviticus 5:19
“Say to Aaron and his sons: ‘These are the regulations for the sin
offering: The sin offering is to be slaughtered before the Lord in the place the burnt offering is slaughtered; it is most holy. Leviticus 6:25
The differences are very slight, but keep in mind why
they are similar. Both offerings were
part of an entire section of Leviticus designed to make sure the people were
conscious of their sinfulness, keeping their relationship with God holy at all
times.
But sin is not always “just sin” with an easy to fix, one
size fits all solution.
The Guilt Offerings (Hebrew word asham) always used a ram and covered known and unknown sins against
God, his sacred place and vows made in his holy name. In other words, for sins against God.
The Sin Offerings (Hebrew word chatta’ath) had different restitutions for different people—the
priest, the congregation, a leader and a specific person. Each had a different sacrifice required
(bull/goat, male/female). The “sins” are
more general, both intentional and unintentional.
For us today, we must remember that Jesus covered every
sin and every category/sub-category of sin when He shed His blood on the
cross. It’s good for us to examine our
sins and understand their cause, but we should rest knowing that Jesus paid it
all.