Leviticus 6:1 if a soul sin. . . and lie unto his neighbor in that which was delivered to him
This sin is about taking something that it not yours, whether you stole it and lied about it, or borrowed it and never returned it, or found it and decided to keep it, or someone took it from you and you know it belonged to someone else. In all of these instances, the sin is twofold: stealing and lying.
The children of Israel had borrowed gold and silver from the Egyptians because it was the Lord’s idea to spoil the Egyptians (Ex. 12:35-36). This verse teaches them that was an exception and not the rule. They were not to treat each other the same way. In the case of an animal, “if a man borrow ought of his neighbour, and it be hurt, or die. . . he shall surely make it good.” (Ex. 22:14)
Leviticus 6:4 he shall restore that which he took
James R. Rasband
Although the Savior has power to mend what we cannot fix, He commands us to do all we can to make restitution as part of our repentance. [See Leviticus 6:4–5; Ezekiel 33:15–16; Helaman 5:17; Doctrine and Covenants 58:42–43] Our sins and mistakes displace not only our relationship with God but also our relationships with others. Sometimes our efforts to heal and restore may be as simple as an apology, but other times restitution may require years of humble effort. Yet, for many of our sins and mistakes, we simply are not able to fully heal those we have hurt. The magnificent, peace-giving promise of the Book of Mormon and the restored gospel is that the Savior will mend all that we have broken. And He will also mend us if we turn to Him in faith and repent of the harm we have caused. He offers both of these gifts because He loves all of us with perfect love and because He is committed to ensuring a righteous judgment that honors both justice and mercy. (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2020/04/13rasband?lang=eng)
Neal A. Maxwell
All sins are to be confessed to the Lord, some to a Church official, some to others, and some to all of these. . .
In real repentance, there is the actual forsaking of sinning. . . Thus, when “a man repenteth of his sins—behold, he will confess them and forsake them.” D&C 58:43
Genuine support and love from others—not isolation—are needed to sustain this painful forsaking and turning!
Restitution is required, too.
“Because he hath sinned, … he shall restore that which he took violently away, or the thing which he hath deceitfully gotten, or that which was delivered him to keep, or the lost thing which he found.” Lev. 6:4
Sometimes, however, restitution is not possible in real terms, such as when one contributed to another’s loss of faith or virtue. Instead, a subsequent example of righteousness provides a compensatory form of restitution.
(https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1991/10/repentance?lang=eng)
Leviticus 6:5 restore it in the principal and shall add the fifth part thereto
The Law of Moses is criticized as being “an eye for an eye” law, or “a tooth for a tooth” gospel, but this theme of restitution with an extra 20 percent shows there is more to the law than people think. Adding a fifth is a common theme in Leviticus (Lev. 5:16; 6:5; 27:16,19). It emphasizes that your relationship with the offended is more important than the value of the property.
Indeed, people are more important than property. The love of money is the root of all evil and the love of people is the root of all good. That extra 20% in restitution is a higher law friendship tax, well worth the extra in principal.
Leviticus 6:7 the priest shall make an atonement for him before the Lord
The word atonement only appears once in the New Testament (Romans 5:11). It appears 24 times in the Book of Mormon and 49 times in the Book of Leviticus alone. If we want to learn about the atonement, Leviticus is a good place to be.
Leviticus 6:11 he shall put off his garments, and put on other garments
When you are in the dressing room of the Temple, putting your church clothes back on, remember this verse. The priests of the Tabernacle did the same thing, they “put on other garments” than their temple clothes to take the ashes outside the camp to the appointed place.
Leviticus 6:13 the fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out
This is a fascinating requirement of the Lord. The fire under the altar of sacrifice was to stay burning all night and all day. It could never be extinguished. Consider the symbolism of this ever burning fire.
“It was customary to offer a burnt offering every morning and every evening (Num. 28:3-8). On most days other offerings would be offered during the day, but after the evening burnt offering there would be nothing till the next day, and without careful tending the fire would go out. The priest must not allow this to happen: the fire must be kept burning. . . it must not go out. . .
“What was the purpose of the perpetual fire of the burnt offering? What did it symbolize? Since it is never explicitly explained in Scripture, we can only list the suggestions that have been made. Calvin notes that the first burnt offerings in the tabernacle and in the temple were lit by fire from heaven (Lev. 9:24; 2 Chr. 7:1). The priests had to kep this fire going so ‘that the offerings should be burnt with heavenly fire.’ Keil thinks the fire had to be kept burning because the burnt offering ‘was the divinely appointed symbol and visible sign of the uninterrupted worship of Jehovah.’ Gispen thinks that it represented the continual consecration of the people to God. If the burnt offering was also seen as a propitiatory sacrifice, the perpetual fire served as a reminder of the constant need for atonement.
“Whichever interpretation is adopted, christians can draw a lesson from it. If the perpetual fire represnts God’s eternal presence with hs people, the Christian is reminded to keep the divine fire ever burning with him.” (Gordon J. Wenham, The Book of Leviticus, [Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co, 1979], 119-120)
Leviticus 6:14 this is the law of the meat offering
We think of meat as beef, pork, or chicken, but the Old English meaning of meat offering would be better translated as meal offering, cereal offering, grain offering. It consisted of unleavened bread, or flour, or corn. Usually a portion of it was offered on the altar, but the majority was given to the priests to sustain them, a recompense for their service in the temple.
Leviticus 6:15 the flour . . . the oil . . . and all the frankinscense
Except for the sin offering, the flour offerings were associated with oil and frankinscense. The oil was symbolic of the Spirit of God, and the frankinscense was symbolic of the sweet savor of the prayers of the people.
Leviticus 6:16 the remainder thereof shall Aaron and his sons eat
The priests are sustained with the money and food offered by the temple patrons. They would only offer a small portion of the flour/oil or bread offering. The rest was theirs to eat. They must have loved tortillas and flatbread because that was all they could do without yeast.
Leviticus 6:17 It shall not be baken with leaven
Leviticus 6:20-23 the offering of Aaron and his sons. . . a meat offering . . . In a pan it shall be made with oil
Verses 14-18 speak of the meat offering brought by an Israelite. The priest would offer a portion and then eat the remainder. Verses 19-23 speak of the meat offering brought by the priests themselves. In this instance, the priest was forbidden to eat a portion of the offering. The entire tortilla (you could say the “whole enchilada”) was burned as the sacrifice. Verse 23 says: “every meat offering for the priest shall be wholly burnt: it shall not be eaten.” When you bring an offering to the Lord, you can’t give part to the Lord and hold back a part for yourself. That defies the purpose of the offering. When we make a sacrifice, we are not to hold back. We are to give to the Lord willingly or not at all.
When the Law of Consecration was instituted among the Meridian Saints, one couple, Ananias and Sapphira, held back a portion of their offering (Acts 5:2). They misunderstood the principle. They thought they could hold back from the Lord, and He wouldn’t know it. Peter told them, “thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.” They were both struck dead, “And great fear came upon all the church” (Acts 5:11).