Leviticus 6 continues Israel’s sacrificial instructions. The first part (vv. 1-7) completes the teaching on the guilt offering (‘āshām) by dealing with sins against a neighbor. From verse 8 onward, the focus shifts. Chapters 1-5 mostly addressed the person bringing an offering. Now God instructs the priests on how to handle the offerings and care for the sanctuary.
The chapter bridges moral ethics and ritual holiness. It opens with offenses against a neighbor, which require full restitution plus a fifth before the offender brings a sacrifice to God (vv. 1-7). It then describes the perpetual fire on the altar (vv. 8-13), the rules for the grain offering (vv. 14-23), and the strict guidelines for the sin offering and the vessels used to cook it (vv. 24-30).
Key Points by Verses
- The Guilt Offering and Restitution (6:1-7): Theft, deception, extortion, or lying about lost property or a deposit are offenses against both the victim and God. The offender must:
- restore the full value of what was taken;
- add one-fifth (20 percent);
- give it to the wronged party on the day he presents his guilt offering;
- bring an unblemished ram to the priest, who makes atonement before the Lord, and the offender is forgiven.
- Insight: The dual nature of sin and the principle of restitution: Verse 2 says that dishonesty toward a neighbor is “unfaithfulness against the LORD” (the same word used in 5:15). The Bible rejects confessing to God while ignoring the harm done to others. Confession must come with tangible restitution and a change of course. Notice the order: the offender makes things right with the neighbor (vv. 4-5) and then brings his offering to God (v. 6). God’s forgiveness and the restoration of justice go together.
- The Perpetual Fire on the Altar (6:8-13): The fire on the bronze altar must never go out. It burns continually, and the priest adds wood every morning. The priest puts on linen garments, removes the ashes of the burnt offering and places them beside the altar. He then changes his clothes and carries the ashes outside the camp to a clean place.
- Insight: “The fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must not go out” (6:12-13) was a solemn charge to the priests. God Himself first kindled this fire (Lev 9:24), but keeping it burning was the priests’ daily responsibility. The fire represents God’s presence and His people’s continual devotion and service, which must never be interrupted by human negligence.
- The Grain Offering (6:14-23)
- Burned portion: A handful of the fine flour and oil, together with all the frankincense, is burned on the altar as a memorial portion, a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
- Priests’ portion: The rest is eaten by Aaron and his sons as unleavened bread in a holy place, the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting. It is “most holy.”
- Exception: The priests’ own grain offerings (including the one offered on the day of Aaron’s anointing, vv. 19-23) must be burned entirely and never eaten.
- The Sin Offering (6:24-30)
- The priest who offers the sin offering eats it in a holy place, the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting. It is “most holy,” and whatever touches it becomes holy.
- If any blood splatters on a garment, the garment must be washed in a holy place.
- A clay pot used to boil the meat must be broken. A bronze pot must be scoured and rinsed with water.
- If the blood of the sin offering is brought into the Tent of Meeting for atonement, none of its meat may be eaten. It must be burned in the fire.
- Insight: The boundaries of “most holy” and the priests’ duties: The text carefully distinguishes the portions that priests may eat from those that must be burned entirely. Offerings designated “most holy,” such as the sin offering and the grain offering, carry strict restrictions on place and persons: they must be handled in a holy place by qualified priests. Clay pots were broken because the porous material absorbs what it holds, while bronze could be scoured. Such details reflect that God is utterly holy and cannot be approached casually.
Spiritual Implication
- Ethics and worship are inseparable: God rejects empty ritualism. Defrauding or harming another person damages our fellowship with God, and making things right with people (restitution) must go hand in hand with worship. This anticipates Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 5:23-24: leave your gift at the altar and first be reconciled with your brother.
- Interpersonal restoration and genuine repentance: We often assume confession is a private matter between us and God. Leviticus 6 reminds us that when we have wronged a brother, sister, or neighbor, the breach must be addressed by facing the harm, making restitution, and restoring trust. Genuine repentance is always accompanied by concrete action.
- The perpetual fire and the priesthood of all believers: For New Testament believers, the fire that must never go out points to a prayer life, a “first love” (Rev 2:4), and a fervent service to the Lord that must not grow cold. Paul urges us to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess 5:17) and to be “fervent in spirit” (Rom 12:11). In the Old Testament, only priests who were clothed in holy garments and ritually cleansed could approach sacred things. Now, through our Great High Priest Jesus Christ (Heb 4:14), we are a “royal priesthood” (1 Pet 2:9), called to offer our whole lives as living sacrifices (Rom 12:1).
- Separation and holiness: Breaking clay pots, washing garments, and observing strict boundaries on what could and could not be eaten teach us that coming near what is holy, and dealing with sin, require reverence and cleansing.
- Atonement pointing forward: The reliance on priests, blood sacrifice, and mediation foreshadows its fulfillment in Jesus Christ, our ultimate high priest and final sacrifice, who deals with sin once for all (Hebrews 7-10). He has accomplished the salvation that restores our relationship with God and with one another.
利未記第 6 章延續以色列祭祀制度的教導。前段（1–7 節）以對鄰人所犯的罪，補充說明「贖愆祭」（'āshām）。從第 8 節起，重點轉移：第 1–5 章主要是對獻祭者說話，此處則是神對祭司的吩咐，說明如何處理祭物、看顧聖所。
本章連結了道德倫理與禮儀聖潔。開頭論到對鄰人的過犯：在向神獻祭之前，犯罪者必須全額賠償，並外加五分之一（1–7 節）。接著說明如何使壇上的火不熄滅（8–13 節）、素祭的處理與食用規則（14–23 節），以及贖罪祭的條例與烹煮器皿的處理（24–30 節）。
本章經文要點
- 贖愆祭與賠償 (6:1-7) ：偷竊、欺騙、勒索，或對遺失之物、寄存之物說謊，既是虧負受害者，也是得罪神。犯罪者必須：
- 全額歸還所取之物；
- 外加五分之一（20%）；
- 在獻贖愆祭當天，把賠償交給受害者；
- 將一隻無殘疾的公羊帶給祭司，由祭司在耶和華面前為他贖罪，他便蒙赦免。
- 解經：罪的雙重性與補償原則：第 2 節說，對鄰人不誠實，就是「干犯耶和華」（與 5:15 所用的是同一個詞）。聖經不接受「只向神認罪，卻不處理對人造成的傷害」。認罪必須伴隨具體的賠償與回轉。請留意其順序：先向鄰人補償（4–5 節），再向神獻祭（6 節）。神的赦免與公義的修復是不可分割的。
- 永不熄滅的壇火 (6:8-13)：銅壇上的火絕不可熄滅，必須持續燃燒，祭司每天早晨要添柴。祭司穿上細麻布衣服，將燔祭的灰收起，放在壇的旁邊；然後換上別的衣服，把灰搬到營外潔淨之處。
- 解經：「壇上的火要常常燒著，不可熄滅」（6:12–13）是神對祭司鄭重的託付。這火最初是神自己降火點燃的（利未記 9:24），但此後要使它持續燃燒，則是祭司每日的責任。這火代表神的同在，也代表人對神持續不斷的奉獻與事奉，絕不可因人的怠惰而中斷。
- 素祭的條例 (6:14-23)：
- 焚燒的部分：從細麵和油中取出一把，連同所有的乳香，在壇上焚燒作為紀念，是獻給耶和華蒙悅納的馨香之祭。
- 祭司的份：其餘的由亞倫和他的子孫在聖處（會幕院子內）作無酵餅吃。這是「至聖」之物。
- 例外：祭司自己所獻的素祭（包括亞倫受膏之日所獻的，19–23 節）必須全部焚燒，不可食用。
- 贖罪祭的條例 (6:24-30) ：
- 獻贖罪祭的祭司要在聖處，即會幕的院子內吃這祭肉。這是「至聖」之物，凡接觸它的都要成為聖。
- 若血濺在衣服上，必須在聖處把衣服洗淨。
- 煮祭肉的陶器必須打碎；若是銅器，則要擦磨並用水沖洗。
- 凡血被帶入會幕作贖罪之用的贖罪祭，其肉不可吃，必須用火焚燒。
- 解經：「至聖」的界線與祭司的職責：經文嚴格區分哪些祭肉可由祭司食用、哪些必須完全焚燒。凡被界定為「至聖」的祭物（如贖罪祭和素祭），在地點與人員上都有嚴格的限制：必須在聖處，由合資格的祭司處理。陶器要打碎，是因為多孔的陶土會吸收所盛之物，而銅器則可以擦磨潔淨。這些細節反映出神極其聖潔，不容人隨意親近。
屬靈意義
- 倫理與敬拜不可分割：神厭棄空洞的儀式主義。欺騙或傷害他人，會破壞我們與神之間的交通；向人補救（賠償）與向神敬拜必須並行。這預示了耶穌在馬太福音 5:23–24 的教導：先把禮物留在壇前，去與弟兄和好。
- 人際修復與真實的悔改：我們常以為認罪只是私下向神禱告。但利未記第 6 章提醒我們：當我們虧負了弟兄姊妹或鄰舍，這個裂痕必須透過正視傷害、作出賠償、重建信任來處理。真實的悔改總是伴隨著具體的行動。
- 長存的火與信徒皆祭司：對新約信徒而言，不可熄滅的火象徵禱告的祭壇、起初的愛心（啟示錄 2:4），以及對主火熱的事奉，都不可冷卻。保羅勸我們要「不住地禱告」（帖撒羅尼迦前書 5:17），「趁著火熱的心靈」服事主（羅馬書 12:11）。在舊約中，只有穿上聖衣、經過潔淨的祭司才能接近聖物；如今，藉著我們的大祭司耶穌基督（希伯來書 4:14），我們成為「君尊的祭司」（彼得前書 2:9），蒙召將自己的生命當作活祭獻上（羅馬書 12:1）。
- 分別與成聖：打碎陶器、洗濯衣服，以及對可吃與不可吃之物所定的嚴格界限，都教導我們：親近聖物、處理罪的問題，都必須存敬畏的心，並經過潔淨。
- 指向未來的贖罪：對祭司、血祭與中保的倚重，預示了在耶穌基督身上的應驗：祂是終極的大祭司，也是最終的祭物，一次而永遠地解決了罪的問題（希伯來書 7–10 章）。祂已成就救恩，使我們與神、人與人之間的關係得以恢復。
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