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October 29 | Leviticus 6:8-7:38 ISG Protocols of Reparation

Leviticus 5:14 - 7:38 (ESV)
Leviticus 5:14 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 15 “If anyone commits a breach of faith and sins unintentionally in any of the holy things of the LORD, he shall bring to the LORD as his compensation, a ram without blemish out of the flock, valued in silver shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, for a guilt offering. 16 He shall also make restitution for what he has done amiss in the holy thing and shall add a fifth to it and give it to the priest. And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering, and he shall be forgiven.17 “If anyone sins, doing any of the things that by the LORD'S commandments ought not to be done, though he did not know it, then realizes his guilt, he shall bear his iniquity. 18 He shall bring to the priest a ram without blemish out of the flock, or its equivalent, for a guilt offering, and the priest shall make atonement for him for the mistake that he made unintentionally, and he shall be forgiven. 19 It is a guilt offering; he has indeed incurred guilt before the LORD.”
6:1 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “If anyone sins and commits a breach of faith against the LORD by deceiving his neighbor in a matter of deposit or security, or through robbery, or if he has oppressed his neighbor 3 or has found something lost and lied about it, swearing falsely—in any of all the things that people do and sin thereby— 4 if he has sinned and has realized his guilt and will restore what he took by robbery or what he got by oppression or the deposit that was committed to him or the lost thing that he found 5 or anything about which he has sworn falsely, he shall restore it in full and shall add a fifth to it, and give it to him to whom it belongs on the day he realizes his guilt. 6 And he shall bring to the priest as his compensation to the LORD a ram without blemish out of the flock, or its equivalent, for a guilt offering. 7 And the priest shall make atonement for him before the LORD, and he shall be forgiven for any of the things that one may do and thereby become guilty.”
7:1 “This is the law of the guilt offering. It is most holy. 2 In the place where they kill the burnt offering they shall kill the guilt offering, and its blood shall be thrown against the sides of the altar. 3 And all its fat shall be offered, the fat tail, the fat that covers the entrails, 4 the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the long lobe of the liver that he shall remove with the kidneys. 5 The priest shall burn them on the altar as a food offering to the LORD; it is a guilt offering. 6 Every male among the priests may eat of it. It shall be eaten in a holy place. It is most holy.
37 This is the law of the burnt offering, of the grain offering, of the sin offering, of the guilt offering, of the ordination offering, and of the peace offering, 38 which the LORD commanded Moses on Mount Sinai, on the day that he commanded the people of Israel to bring their offerings to the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai.

The Text in Context
Leviticus 1:1–6:7 is addressed to the laity, giving them instructions about five types of sacrifices. It is organized around those that the layperson could voluntarily choose to offer (burnt, grain, and fellowship offerings), followed by those that the layperson must offer whenever certain offenses have occurred (sin and guilt offerings). The guilt offering is meant to address offenses against holy things, whether done by directly desecrating a holy thing (Lev. 5:14–19) or by swearing a false exculpatory oath, thus desecrating God’s holy name (Lev. 6:1–7). In both cases the remedy involves restitution of an item plus 20 percent and a guilt offering.

Historical and Cultural Background
The oath (Lev. 6:3) was also employed in Mesopotamia. A man accused of deflowering a maiden, or accused of fraud in the case of stolen goods, or accused of negligence in the case of a rented ox and who denied the charges could be forced to make an oath of innocence before a god.

Guilt Offering
Guilt offering, traditionally “trespass offering” (KJV), is from a root (’asham) meaning “to be/feel guilty.” Others render it “restitution offering” (HCSB), “compensation offering” (Message), or “penalty offering” (NCV), all taking into consideration its associated restitution (Lev. 5:16; 6:5). The word ’asham can mean “guilt” (Gen. 26:10), “guilt offering,” or “penalty [for guilt]” (Lev. 5:6–7; Num. 5:7–8). This creates ambiguity: “as a penalty” in Leviticus 5:15b can be translated “as his guilt offering” (NASB). The word “sin” behaves similarly (see comments at Lev. 4:3).
The guilt offering was required for two types of sins: profaning God’s sacred property (Lev. 5:14–19) and swearing a false exculpatory oath concerning lost or disputed property (Lev. 6:1–7). The former involved the sacrilege of ill treatment of a sacred object; the latter involved the sacrilege of taking God’s name in vain by a false oath.Sometimes people have a vague sense that they have offended God (Lev. 5:17–18). What can they do to remove that guilt, real or imagined? At other times people know that they have denied God by their acts. How do they go about having their sin and guilt removed? Our passage shows that deliberate sin, even things such as robbery and defrauding people of goods, can be forgiven through repentance and atoning sacrifice (Lev. 5:16, 18; 6:7).
What does Leviticus 5:14–6:7 teach about repentance and God’s forgiveness?
1. True repentance shows remorse. The first step in repentance is remorse. A person must “feel sorry” or “feel guilty” for what he or she has done. Repentance involves the whole human personality: intellect, emotion, and will. One must not only “know” that one has done wrong; one must also “feel” the wrong that has been done and “act” to change one’s behavior. The ritual of sacrifice was not enough. David writes in Psalm 51:16–17, “You do not delight in sacrifice. . . . My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.” “A broken and contrite heart,” or remorse, is a key element that allows an atoning sacrifice to be effective in removing guilt. If you are to be forgiven, you must first feel the moral guilt of your offense.
2. True repentance renounces sin. It is also not enough simply to feel sorry for a sin. To find release from guilt, you also need to renounce the sin that produced the guilt (cf. 1 John 1:9). The very act of making restitution to an injured party and coming to a priest to present a guilt offering was an admission of and renunciation of sin.
3. True repentance seeks to make restitution. Real repentance wants to right the wrongs done. That is why the law required making restitution with interest (20 percent) to the person whom one had wronged (Lev. 6:6). The interest would assure that the injured party was more than adequately compensated for the wrong done. A person who is unwilling to try to make right the wrongs that he or she has committed has not really repented. Zacchaeus shows true repentance after coming to know Jesus by offering anyone he has defrauded fourfold restitution (Luke 19:8; cf. Exod. 22:1). In response, Jesus remarks, “Today salvation has come to this house” (Luke 19:9).The requirement of restitution reminds us that sin is not just a religious offense against God; it is also an offense against other human beings that must be addressed.
4. Removal of guilt before God requires atonement. God does not take sin lightly. Sinful acts are made still more heinous when covered up by false religiosity, in this case a false oath (Lev. 6:1–7). Remorse, renunciation, and restitution might be enough to obtain forgiveness from another human being, but forgiveness by God required and requires expiation. The ram of the guilt offering served as the guilty party’s atoning sacrifice that allowed God to grant forgiveness (Lev. 5:16, 18; 6:7). This requirement shows us something of the gravity of sin in the sight of God.

Financial Report for the month of August.

Giving: $ 6,730.45
Expenses: $ 8,962.64
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Needed: -$ 2,232.19



Financial Report for the month of September.

Giving: $ 8,392.45
Expenses: $ 9,072.37
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Needed: -$ 679.92

References:

Sprinkle, Joe. Leviticus and Numbers (Teach the Text Commentary Series). Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Academic, 2015.
Gane, Roy. Leviticus, Numbers: The NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004.

Guide Questions

1. What exactly is a guilt offering? How is it different from sin offering? (Leviticus 6:1-7) Refer to the material.
2. Reflect on Exodus 20:15-17, if any of these violations were committed, what is the prerequisite for guilt offering? (Leviticus 6:4-5)
3. Leviticus 5:14-16 talks about a breach of faith concerning the holy things of the LORD. What do you think could this mean then and now? (hint: Leviticus 22:14-15)
4. In Matthew 23:16-22, Jesus cites the holiness of the temple being the dwelling place of God. What is its connection to the guilt offering?
5. What should be our attitude to swearing? Check Matthew 5:33-37; James 5:12.
6. Should we take swearing seriously? Refer to Acts 5:1-11.

Prayer

1. Pray for specific prayer requests.
2. Pray for a new place of worship for 2024.