Sermon Manuscript

Leviticus 5:14-6:7 ~ 20160522 ~ Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

05/22 Leviticus 5:14-6:7; The Guilt / Reparation Offering ; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20160522_leviticus-5_14-6_7.mp3

We have been studying the 5 offerings in the first chapters of Leviticus. This is the sacrificial system that points us to Jesus, the once for all sacrifice for all our sin. We learn much about Jesus, much about our sin and hopeless condition, and about forgiveness by studying the sacrifices of the Old Covenant.

The whole burnt offering of chapter 1 points us to our sinful nature, our sinful self, which needs to be wholly consumed and done away with. We are not just a little bit sinful, we are sinful through and through.

The grain offering of chapter 2 shows us that God is a great King, a good King, and we gladly render to him tribute, acknowledging his rightful rule over everything we are and possess. All the work of our hands is ultimately a gift from his good hand, and we gladly own our indebtedness to him by offering to him a portion.

The peace or fellowship offering of chapter 3 is a shared meal, in which some is burned on the altar to the LORD, some is eaten by the priests, and some is enjoyed by the worshiper, in a feast celebrating our reconciled relationship with God, enjoying fellowship with him.

The sin offering of chapters 4 and 5 deal with specific instances of sin, sins of commission, doing what ought not to be done; and sins of omission, failing to do what ought to be done. When we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1Jn.4:9).

Today we come to the guilt or reparation offering of chapters 5 and 6. This is an offering that deals with a new category of sin. This is an offering for when we have taken something that does not belong to us, and it requires repayment or restitution.

Robbing God

Chapter 5:14-19 deals with sins against the Lord. Chapter 6:1-7 deals with sin against our neighbor.

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.

This section is again introduced by the statement “The LORD spoke to Moses, saying...” This phrase is repeated throughout the book of Leviticus, reminding us that this is the very word of God, spoken directly by him to instruct his people. We would do well to listen.

This section deals with a breach of faith in any of the holy things. A breach of faith is an act of treachery, and act of unfaithfulness to a covenant partner. This word is used of adultery in Numbers 5; being unfaithful to a covenant partner. It is used of idolatry in Numbers 31. It is used of taking that which has been dedicated to the LORD in Joshua 7. Here it is said to be unintentional, unwitting, an error or mistake, a sin of ignorance. There are no examples of what kind of things constitute a breach of faith in this passage. One example is given in Leviticus 22, which deals with how to handle the things which have been dedicated or set apart as holy to the Lord. No one who is unclean is to come in contact with anything which is holy.

Leviticus 22:14 And if anyone eats of a holy thing unintentionally, he shall add the fifth of its value to it and give the holy thing to the priest. 15 They shall not profane the holy things of the people of Israel, which they contribute to the LORD, 16 and so cause them to bear iniquity and guilt, by eating their holy things: for I am the LORD who sanctifies them.”

So one example of a breach of faith would be a mix up at the altar, where a worshiper ate something that was set apart for only the priest to eat. We might say it was an innocent error. But God does not see it that way. He declares it a guilty error, although inadvertent. It is an error that brings guilt and must be dealt with by sacrifice and by compensation.

Another example of a breach of faith could be like the sin of Achan in Judges 7, where he kept for himself that which had been dedicated to God. This could happen through failure to pay a vow to the Lord, or failure to give to him the time that is owed to him, in sabbaths and feast days, withholding from him what is his due.

These are sins against the Lord, robbing or defrauding God himself of what is his due, taking things which belong to him. The repayment is made to God. A ram is brought for a sacrifice to make atonement, and the debt must be repaid. Whatever was taken from God, withheld from God, must be repaid, and a double tithe, 20% must be added. This 1/5^th is a double recognition of God's rights over all. We are ordinarily to give him a tenth of everything, acknowledging his rights over all. If we have committed a breach of faith in the things that are set apart as belonging to the Lord, then when we realize our guilt, we are to doubly acknowledge his rightful ownership over all, and give to him 20% in addition to what we withheld.

Our primary sin is sin against God.

Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

What does it mean to fall short of the glory of God? To be deficient in the glory which belongs to God? We are told in chapter 1, they 'suppress the truth ...about God' (1:18-19); 'they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him' (1:21); they 'exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images' (1:23); 'they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator' (1:25); 'they did not see fit to acknowledge God' (1:28); they 'presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience (2:4); they are 'self-seeking' (2:8); 'no one seeks for God. All have turned aside' (3:11-12); 'there is no fear of God before their eyes' (3:18). All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. God is glorious. He deserves all our affection, all our devotion. He deserves all our adoration, all our praise. We defraud God when we withhold from him his due.

After paying back what is owed to God, a ram was to be offered as a sacrifice to cover guilt and bring restoration of fellowship with God. Listen to these verses from Romans 3!

Romans 3:21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. ...

Amazing grace, how can it be! The riches of undeserved grace! Grace so amazing, so divine, demands my heart, my life, my all!

Ambiguous Guilt

Leviticus 5:17 “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.”

What is interesting about this offering is the ambiguity of the offense. Someone has done something but he did not know what he did. He realizes his guilt and brings a sacrifice, but there is no reparation, no restitution, probably because the offense is unknown. This is a sacrifice for the Israelite believer with a sensitive conscience. He feels a sense of guilt, he has searched his heart, but he can't put his finger on his offense. But his conscience is troubled. He feels distant from the Lord. The guilt is real. Even for this there is an offering. The priest shall make atonement for him ...and he shall be forgiven. God is so gracious. He even makes a way for sins we can't identify to be forgiven.

Restitution

Chapter 6 deals with a new category of sin. All the offerings up to this point are entirely Godward. This offering, although still Godward, also includes an element of making amends with a neighbor one has wronged. It begins with the statement that the Lord is speaking.

Leviticus 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.”

These sins are sins against a neighbor. But they are also sins against the Lord; a breach of faith against the Lord. To sin against a person God created for his pleasure is to sin against God himself. God defends the rights of his people. If you have wronged your neighbor in one of these ways, you must make it right with your neighbor, and you must offer God a sacrifice.

These offenses are not inadvertent sins. These are intentional sins. They consist of taking what does not belong to you by various means. You may be entrusted with your neighbor's possession for safekeeping, and you lie to keep what belongs to him. You may simply take what does not belong to you through violence. You may use your power or position to oppress someone and take what belongs to them. You may owe wages to someone who worked for you, but you delay paying them. You may have found something that belongs to someone else, and you decided to keep it, and when asked about it you lied. You may have even sworn an oath before God that you do not have it, calling on God as your witness. This amounts to a violation of the 3^rd commandment.

Exodus 20:7 “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

These are serious sins. But even serious willful sins can be forgiven if there is repentance. 'If he has sinned and realized his guilt and will restore what he took... 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.' Here again we have the additional 20%, recognizing the rights of the property owner. This is interesting, because Exodus 22 requires a thief to pay back double to the one from whom he stole. In Exodus 22, the thief is caught and is required to pay back 200%. In Leviticus 6, the thief feels guilty and of his own initiative seeks to make it right, and he is required to pay back 120%.

Leviticus 6:6 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.”

Not only is restitution made, but a sacrifice to the Lord is required, because all sin is sin against God. The wages of sin is death, and the price must be paid. Atonement must be made.

This kind of behavior is rooted in covetousness. I want what I don't have. So I am willing to take what doesn't belong to me to get what I think will make me happy. I need a heart change. I need new desires. I need a new perspective.

Love Your Neighbor

It matters how we respond to God, and it matters how we treat other people. God is the one who said in

Leviticus 19:18 ... you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.

Jesus said it this way:

Matthew 7:12 “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

Paul said in:

Philippians 2:3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others

And again in:

Romans 13:9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Love counts others more significant than yourself. Love looks to the interests of others. We are called not only not to take from another what belongs to them; we are called to love them as we love our self. We begin to realize that in the body of Christ, we are members of one another.

1 Corinthians 12:25 ...that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. 27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

I begin to realize that my good is wrapped up in the good of my neighbor. We are not isolated, we are connected. I cannot steal from my neighbor and not have it injure me. As part of a covenant community, it is my duty to look out for the interests of others. We see these two great concepts come together here, the vertical and the horizontal, love for God and love for neighbor. Obligation to God and obligation to neighbor. Jesus said that the greatest commandment in the law is:

Matthew 22:37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Sin can be both vertical and horizontal, failure to love God and failure to love neighbor; and restitution must be both vertical and horizontal.

The Ram and the Guilt Offering

The ram was the only animal acceptable for a guilt offering. This calls to mind a father who took his only son up on a mountain to offer him as a sacrifice to the Lord, and the Lord provided a ram caught in the thicket by its horns as a substitute sacrifice. We are to withhold nothing from the Lord.

This points forward to another sacrifice, another Father and his only Son, another substitute.

Isaiah 53:4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; .... 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. ...10 Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. 12 ...he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

This is the one who is an “asham” a guilt offering. He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. It was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt. he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors. Jesus is my guilt offering. He is the guilt offering that covers my guilt in failing to give God his due and falling short of the glory of God. He is the guilt offering that covers my guilt before God when I have sinned against another person. He bore my sin. He was pierced for my transgressions. He was crushed for my iniquities. My iniquities were laid on him. The Lord crushed him as an offering for my guilt.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org