This passage emphasizes that impurity disrupts fellowship with God, but He graciously provides a way for spiritual restoration.
Then we read in Leviticus 15:15, “and the priest shall offer them, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. So the priest shall make atonement on his behalf before the LORD because of his discharge.” (v.15). God conveys clear instructions here for a man experiencing a bodily discharge, requiring him to bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest (v.14). The priest is then to sacrifice one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, ceremonially covering the impurity and restoring the man’s fellowship with the holy community and with God.
This verse highlights the compassion and righteousness of the LORD, who instituted a path to cleanse physical and ceremonial impurity through sacrificial system provisions. In ancient Israel, a priest descended from Aaron (the brother of Moses, who lived around the 15th century BC) served as the intermediary, carrying out these offerings at the tabernacle (later at the temple in Jerusalem), located in the wilderness of Sinai when Leviticus was given to the Israelites. These sacrifices served not merely to address hygiene, but to ensure the people’s spiritual wholeness before a holy God.
The phrase “make atonement on his behalf” underscores that sin or ritual uncleanness demanded symbolic cleansing. It foreshadows the substitutionary sacrifice that points to Jesus the Messiah (Hebrews 10:10), demonstrating God’s ultimate plan for atonement. Under the Mosaic Law, each individual’s responsibility was to voluntarily bring the required offerings; the priest would then offer them on the altar, emphasizing both repentant hearts and obedient actions that fostered restoration with God’s covenant community.
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Leviticus 15:15 meaning
Then we read in Leviticus 15:15, “and the priest shall offer them, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. So the priest shall make atonement on his behalf before the LORD because of his discharge.” (v.15). God conveys clear instructions here for a man experiencing a bodily discharge, requiring him to bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest (v.14). The priest is then to sacrifice one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, ceremonially covering the impurity and restoring the man’s fellowship with the holy community and with God.
This verse highlights the compassion and righteousness of the LORD, who instituted a path to cleanse physical and ceremonial impurity through sacrificial system provisions. In ancient Israel, a priest descended from Aaron (the brother of Moses, who lived around the 15th century BC) served as the intermediary, carrying out these offerings at the tabernacle (later at the temple in Jerusalem), located in the wilderness of Sinai when Leviticus was given to the Israelites. These sacrifices served not merely to address hygiene, but to ensure the people’s spiritual wholeness before a holy God.
The phrase “make atonement on his behalf” underscores that sin or ritual uncleanness demanded symbolic cleansing. It foreshadows the substitutionary sacrifice that points to Jesus the Messiah (Hebrews 10:10), demonstrating God’s ultimate plan for atonement. Under the Mosaic Law, each individual’s responsibility was to voluntarily bring the required offerings; the priest would then offer them on the altar, emphasizing both repentant hearts and obedient actions that fostered restoration with God’s covenant community.