Leviticus 5

Updated
2001-05-26; 14:32:09utc

The Sin Offering (Continued) 5:1-13.

As was mentioned before, the fifth chapter deals with another kind of sacrifice. The theme is still the offering brought by a common member of the community. For the first time an act of sin is mentioned. It would, of course, have been impossible to give the preceding commandments without any indication as to when they had to be brought. We may, therefore, presume that, even if the acts of sin are only mentioned in relationship with "the man in the street," they are also the basis for the sacrifice of the priest, the whole community and the leader. They are not free-will offerings. Giving the reasons at the end strengthens the impression that man's sinful nature is the issue in this sacrifice and not his act of sin.

The sinful acts mentioned are more of a passive nature than intentional sins. Even in the mentioning of the third sin, the careless swearing of an oath, we are given the impression that it is not an act of the will in the existential sense of the word. The sins mentioned are more sins that are the result of contamination than of the will of man. The lack of immunity against being polluted by sin, the lack of inner resistance, show the sinful nature of man.

When Jesus walked on earth, He rubbed shoulders with all kinds of people who could have made Him ritually and morally unclean. But even on the cross, when He carried the sins of the world, He was never polluted inwardly. The fire of Gehenna did not touch Him because there was no worm inside Him.[ 1 ] But man, who is a descendant of Adam, becomes guilty when he hears someone utter an oath, or even when he hears that a curse was pronounced in his absence. We read in vs. 1, "'If a person sins because he does not speak up when he hears a public charge to testify regarding something he has seen or learned about, he will be held responsible" (NIV). The KJV puts this quite differently: "And if a soul sin, and hear the voice of swearing, and is a witness, whether he hath seen or known of it; if he do not utter it, then he shall bear his iniquity." But Jesus could be touched by a person who was ritually impure, as by the woman who had been bleeding for twelve years, and not only did He not become impure Himself, but He made the woman pure. Evidently, it all depends on the sinful nature as to whether a person is susceptible to pollution or not.

The nature of the beast shows itself most clearly in the thoughtless taking of an oath. The heart of man is like a cesspool. If he is not careful when he opens his mouth, all kinds of things come out for which he cannot account. It is obvious from the examples given that man commits wrong acts because he is wrong inside. The fruits are bad because the tree is no good.

Interestingly enough, there is a way out for the man who takes a thoughtless oath. We do not get the impression that there was a way out when we study the lives of Jephthah and Saul. The slogan, "A man is as good as his word," seems to have been regarded as the highest virtue in the Old Testament. Men would rather commit a murder than break their oath. If Jephthah had known the law of the sin offering, he could have saved the life of his daughter.[ 2 ] It is harder for a man to confess that he is unreliable in his words than to sacrifice the life of someone else to his own honesty. Even the conscience of godless Herod would not permit him to break his oath. We read in Matthew: "The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted and had John beheaded in the prison."[ 3 ]

The declaration or pronouncing of an oath thoughtlessly demonstrates the hopelessness of our sinful nature. "Thoughtlessly" or flippantly means not to be aware of the seriousness of his oath. In the use of this term, God demonstrates that He pities the person who does this. That is why, when He was being crucified, Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."[ 4 ] Then follows: "when he learns of it," meaning when he becomes aware of the sinful aspect of his deed. Man recognizes his sins as they are only when he finds himself in the presence of God. It was when Isaiah had a vision of God that he cried out: "Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."[ 5 ] This does not mean that guilt only starts when we become aware of it. Guilt is as old as the act; awareness of guilt only confirms the fact.

Vs. 5 makes clear what steps a man must take when he has come under conviction of his sin. He has to confess his sin clearly. Confession in general and vague terms is useless. "He must confess in what way he has sinned." After that he has to bring the sacrifice prescribed in the preceding verses. Twice we read: "And he will be forgiven" (vs. 5, 16).

A wonderful thing in this section is that, the poorer the sinner, the more meaningful the sacrifice he has to bring. In case he offers two pigeons, one of the birds becomes a burnt offering with all the deep meaning the sacrifice encompasses. In case he is so poor that he "cannot afford two doves or two young pigeons, he is to bring as an offering for his sin a tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a sin offering," and, "the rest of the offering will belong to the priest, as in the case of the grain offering." So he learns to share his poverty with the priest, who is his fellowman.

The Good News Bible translates "a tenth of an ephah" with "one kilogram," which is enough bread for a few days. In the share the priest receives of this sin offering, we find the suggestion that God is able to bring about a blessing, even in the most miserable of circumstances.

e. The Guilt Offering 5:14 - 6:7.

In the law concerning the guilt offering, the stress is on the act. No distinction is made between one man and another, nor is position in life an issue. The sacrifice declares that Jesus Christ died for our sins.

Twice in this section we read: "If anyone commits a violation" (5:15; 6:2). The idea seems to be an unintentional act. Before the sin is committed there has been a deterioration of the fellowship between God and man. Every trespass concerns a sin against objects which had been dedicated to the Lord, "The Lord's holy things." The point is not further elaborated. The intent is, probably, regarding matters that had been promised to the Lord and had been forgotten, or had never been given, or never reached their destination. Man has come to the point where he no longer recognizes what belongs to the Lord. He acts as if the Lord's possessions belong to himself. This kind of "confusion" is widespread. Most people consider their lives and bodies as personal possessions. And where this misunderstanding reigns regarding vital matters like life and body, the lesser ones are more easily considered to be part of man's jurisdiction. The law, very graciously, gives us a lot of leeway in supposing that we do this unintentionally.

But this does not diminish guilt. A double fine is imposed. We could say that a triple punishment is needed to straighten things out. A ram has to be sacrificed, which has to be the equivalent in money of the object of the sinful neglect. The object has to be paid for, and twenty percent is levied on top of this.

In the second part, vs. 17 - 19, the subject is trespasses against the will of God. This means doing things God has forbidden. Here too, the person who sins is given a certain leeway because it is supposed that he sinned out of ignorance. The person who sinned didn't know the will of God. Only a man who loves God and lives in fellowship with Him will endeavor to know the will of God. Both knowledge and love are needed to keep one from sin and to help him to be obedient.

The sacrifice for this kind of sin is the same as in the first instance, with the exception of the fine. Whether we sin by trespassing a commandment we did not know or by sinning against an object that belongs to God, we sin against the person of God. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross constitutes atonement for both kinds of sin; this is confirmed in vs. 18: "he will be forgiven."

[ 1 ] See Mark 9:48

[ 2 ] Judges 11:20-40

[ 3 ] Matt. 14:9,10,

[ 4 ] Luke 23:34

[ 5 ] Isa. 6:5