OOH Is That Genuine Goat Hide?

Leviticus 7: 1-10

There's not a lot of new in this section. There's a rehash of the guilt offering specifics. The slaughtering happens in the same place the burnt offering slaughtering does. Blood gets sprinkled on the sides of the altar. All the fat gets cooked- great detail is given to make sure fat cooking is optimized. The priests and male sons of the priests can eat the offering as long as they eat it in a holy place and the hide of a burnt offering is the priest's to keep.

The same laws apply to the guilt offerings that apply to the burnt offerings. The priest can keep them. Whether meat or grain, the offering will belong to the priest.

It seems like this might make for an awkward relationship between the priests and the other Israelites. Would part of them hope for sin so that they could get something out of the deal? It sure was cold last night, I could go for a good sin offering today.

Or was it a way for God to help these priests fight materialism. They had to eat, they had to wear clothes- but would they long to go hungry and be cold if it meant that less sin was happening? Did they feel guilty themselves when they ate the goat of a contrite sinner?

Can we fall into similar trappings? When someone else messes up, beneath the compassion is there sometimes an inner condescension? A holy gloating?

Or do we picture ourselves as one of the goat offerers? In an equal condition. We may be in line at the tabernacle for different reasons...but we're both in line- and both in need of what the sacrifice brings.