Reading Leviticus 4:15-18, you will see a close parallel with earlier: 4:4-7 (also in Forgiveness is not ‘cheap’, what is its cost?). In this later section on the unintended sins of the congregation (verse 15-18), the elder began the sacrificial ritual, which was then continued by the Priest.
The language of “atonement” is likely a little strange, it’s something we don’t say in that way. It’s a word used far less in New Testament than in the Old. In Leviticus 4:19-21, the word “atonement” acts as a hinge from the ritual of the offering through to the burning the rest of the bull far away from the camp.
In the New Testament, we read Romans 3:21-26 where Jesus is described as the atonement for salvation for all humankind. The text in Romans echoes strongly that in Leviticus 4.
Looking further between verses 3-12 and 13-21, the fact that the “atonement” part appears in the latter section, and not in the Priest section, raises questions. There could be various “explanations” for this (quite apart from issues with the text, e.g. missing bits in the manuscript!), e.g. priests being forgiven is different from that for the rest of the people of the day, that the people “were not to know” on the will of God on this topic, or a suggestion that the salvation formula was in fact incomplete until Jesus as our high priest.
No price can pay forgiveness to restore us with God. The Old Testament formula was available at the time for the chosen people of God, when really there was, then, no other way for salvation. A certain salvation in fact. That salvation formula has not changed, except the completion of atonement which is Jesus paying the price for us. Forgiveness is here and available to all. Why wait?
