The Sin Offering – Atonement for the Altar and the People

The consecration ceremony continued with a sin offering. A young bull was brought before the altar, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head, symbolically transferring their guilt onto the animal. Then the bull was sacrificed—its blood applied to the altar—and the rest of the body burned outside the camp.

This was a vivid picture of substitution. The bull died in their place, taking on the sin that separated them from God. Only then could they begin their priestly duties.