Leviticus 5

To know the depth of God's love in His provision of a sin offering for Israel, God's people needed to know more about the depth of their problem of sin. This required some specifics and a greater understanding of the offense against God from even unintentional sin.

One way to communicate this lesson would have been to give examples of the most heinous sins before God. This is not what God did in these chapters that teach us more about our sin and guilt. The Lord instead used examples that His people might easily dismiss as small or debatable matters. Even when such things were done without any particular malice or forethought, they required the death of a substitute. Rather than magnify the evil capacities of mankind, the Lord chose to show His own great righteousness. Offenses that men might consider to be small, when rightly seen as against God, required an offering acceptable to Him.

Men might regularly excuse themselves from involvement in the process of pursuing civil justice, but when a witness did not come forward to testify to the truth, this was sin, even though the underlying crime that was witnessed was someone else's responsibility. This was just one small example. Here were some others: Was it such a serious matter to touch an unclean carcass? Would it require the shedding of blood to have accidental contact with human uncleanness that was realized only after the fact? What if someone said words that should not be said in the heat of a moment of pain or frustration? Was this actually sin? Yes, all of these matters that Israel might be tempted to think of as only weaknesses brought guilt upon people. They required an appropriate sacrifice. The priest needed to make atonement from the flock for all these individual offenses.

This was not God being mean-spirited or picky. Israel could not pretend to have the righteousness to stand in judgment of the Law-Giver or His Law. This was merely God being the great I-Am.

His mercy for the weaker ones among His people was evident in His provision for those who did not have the means to bring a lamb. It was a blessing for the people to be able to have a ceremony to help them know that they had forgiveness, despite their sin. It was kind of the Lord to make a way for even the poor to know the way out of guilt. If someone could not offer a lamb, then he could bring two turtledoves or two pigeons, one for a sin offering and one for a burnt offering. This was very kind of God. If someone was so poor that the offering of birds was still beyond his reach, God made a way for him to make a small grain offering and have it count as a sin offering.

The Lord specified the procedures for each of these alternatives. The priest would know what to do with the blood of the birds and with his portion of the flour. The worshiper would know his part; the killing of the bird, the bringing of the correct amount of flour without oil or frankincense. The word that would be most pleasing to the ear of the penitent was clearly proclaimed in Leviticus: “The priest shall make atonement for him for the sin which he has committed in any one of these things, and he shall be forgiven.”

Could there be forgiveness for sin for the man who was so poor that he could only bring some flour? Yes, and true atonement, at least in these ceremonies of mercy for the weak that would hold over the people of God until the day when the true Messiah was revealed, the Man who would take away our sins forever through His own blood.

But what if someone unintentially committed a breach of faith regarding the performing of any of these ceremonies? What then? He could bring a ram without blemish out of the flock as his compensation to the Lord. This would be his guilt offering, this on top of the original offering that was required, and an added fifth, an extra twenty percent given to the Lord.

But consider all our sin! The weight of our guilt before the Lord was overwhelming. We would be crushed under the burden of it, even if we were just trying to keep up with the ceremonies that God instituted. We have had great sins of commission and ommission. We have sinned through weakness and through intentional rebellion.

How many animals would we owe just for our unintentional sins? How many rams would we have to bring just for not doing the ceremonial law in the right way? How could we pay the extra fifth that we would owe back to the Lord for all our impatience and ingratitude? How have we treated the people most precious to us, let alone those who are enemies? Who could weigh out all the silver necessary for us to make things right with God? Even if we could pay all our debt, what would we do when we woke up the next day and began accumulating more guilt.

But now a true atonement has been made, and even we who are so spiritually poor have been forgiven. The Sin Offering has come. The Ram for all our guilt has died for us. He had far more than the extra fifth in His own righteousness which He paid in our name. Now He touches our weary hearts, and lifts up our weak hands. He says to us, “Fear not. Your sins are forgiven. Your guilt before the Lord was great, but My righteousness has overwhelmed your guilt.”