(26) The priest that offereth it for sin.—Rather, the priest that offereth it for expiation, or, the priest that expiateth sin by it. That is, who makes atonement by the blood thereof. (See Leviticus 9:15.)

Shall eat it.—God gave the sin offering as food for the priests to bear the iniquity of the congregation, and to make atonement for them (Leviticus 10:17). It constituted a part of their livelihood (Ezekiel 44:28-29). The officiating priest to whom fell this perquisite could invite not only his family but other priests and their sons to partake of it. Covetous priests abused this gift (Hosea 4:8).

In the holy place shall it be eaten.—That is, within the forecourt of the sanctuary. Eight of the offerings had to be eaten in the precincts of the sanctuary: (1) the flesh of the sin offering (Leviticus 4:26); (2); the flesh of the trespass offering (Leviticus 7:6); (3) the peace offering of the congregation (Leviticus 23:19-20); (4), the remainder of the omer (Leviticus 23:10-11); (5), of the meat offering of the Israelites (Leviticus 2, 3-10); (6), the two loaves (Leviticus 23, 20); (7), the shew-bread (Leviticus 24:9); and (8), the leper’s log of oil (Leviticus 14:10-13).

Leviticus 6:26. The priest that offereth it for sin — For the sins of the rulers, or of the people, or any of them, but not for the sins of the priests; for then its blood was brought into the tabernacle, and therefore it might not be eaten.

6:24-30 The blood of the sin-offering was to be washed out of the clothes on which it should happen to be sprinkled, which signified the regard we ought to have to the blood of Christ, not counting it a common thing. The vessel in which the flesh of the sin-offering was boiled must be broken, if it were an earthen one; but if a brazen one, well washed. This showed that the defilement was not wholly taken away by the offering; but the blood of Christ thoroughly cleanses from all sin. All these rules set forth the polluting nature of sin, and the removal of guilt from the sinner to the sacrifice. Behold and wonder at Christ's love, in that he was content to be made a sin-offering for us, and so to procure our pardon for continual sins and failings. He that knew no sin was made sin (that is, a sin-offering) for us, 2Co 5:21. Hence we have pardon, and not only pardon, but power also, against sin, Ro 8:3.The place where ... - See Leviticus 1:11.

It is most holy - See Leviticus 2:3. The key to the special sanctity of the flesh of the sin-offering, as set forth in Leviticus 6:26-30, must, it would seem, be found in the words of Moses to the priests Leviticus 10:17. The flesh of the victim, which represented the sinner for whom atonement was now made, was to be solemnly, and most exclusively, appropriated by those who were appointed to mediate between the sinner and the Lord. The far-reaching symbolism of the act met its perfect fulfillment in the One Mediator who took our nature upon Himself. Philippians 2:7.

25-28. This is the law of the sin offering—It was slain, and the fat and inwards, after being washed and salted, were burnt upon the altar. But the rest of the carcass belonged to the officiating priest. He and his family might feast upon it—only, however, within the precincts of the tabernacle; and none else were allowed to partake of it but the members of a priestly family—and not even they, if under any ceremonial defilement. The flesh on all occasions was boiled or sodden, with the exception of the paschal lamb, which was roasted [Ex 12:8, 9]; and if an earthen vessel had been used, it being porous and likely to imbibe some of the liquid particles, it was to be broken; if a metallic pan had been used it was to be scoured and washed with the greatest care, not because the vessels had been defiled, but the reverse—because the flesh of the sin offering having been boiled in them, those vessels were now too sacred for ordinary use. The design of all these minute ceremonies was to impress the minds, both of priests and people, with a sense of the evil nature of sin and the care they should take to prevent the least taint of its impurities clinging to them. For sin; for the sins of the rulers, or of the people, or any of them, but not for the sins of the priests; for then its blood was brought into the tabernacle, and therefore it might not be eaten.

The priest that offereth it for sin shall eat it,.... Thereby signifying that he bore the sin of the person that brought the offering, and made atonement for it; as a type of Christ, who bore the sins of his people in his own body on the tree, and made satisfaction for them; see Leviticus 10:17. This is to be understood not of that single individual priest only that was the offerer, but of him and his family; for, as Ben Gersom observes, it was impossible for one man to eat all the flesh of a beast at one meal or two; but it means, as he says, the family of the priest that then officiated, the male part:

in the holy place shall it be eaten, in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation; within the hangings, as Ben Gersom's note is, with which the court of the tabernacle was hung and made; in some room in that part of the sanctuary did the priest, with his sons, eat of the holy offerings that were appropriated to them; an emblem of spiritual priests, believers in Christ, feeding in the church upon the provisions of his house, the goodness and fatness of it.

The priest that offereth it for sin shall eat it: in the holy place shall it be eaten, in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation.