Leviticus 5:14-6:7 | Sunday March 16

Each offering has similarities and differences. Each one has pointed to Jesus’ perfect fulfillment in some way and each one has had application for us. Last week we saw the sin offering and it focused on the presentation of the blood. Our sin is deeper than we want to admit and can only be dealt with through the shedding of blood (Heb 9:22). Yet Hebrews made it clear the blood of animals could not forgive sins (Heb 10:4). Jesus had to offer the perfect sin offering of His blood. Today we are going to see the fifth offering mentioned in Leviticus, the guilt offering. This offering is focused on a unique consequence of our trespasses.

Leviticus 5:14-19 ESV

(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.”

Leviticus 6 ESV

(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.”

The specific instructions of how to give the guilt offering are found in 7:1-7. The fat was offered on the altar of burnt offering, and the blood was poured out on the sides of the altar. The uniqueness of the guilt offering is found in the type of sin, a trespass, that required it and the restitution that needed to be included.

Leviticus 5:15 NKJV

(15) “If a person commits a trespass, and sins unintentionally in regard to the holy things of the LORD, then he shall bring to the LORD as his trespass offering a ram without blemish from the flocks, with your valuation in shekels of silver according to the shekel of the sanctuary, as a trespass offering.

The guilt offering is also called the trespass, reparation, or compensation offering. In this offering there is a paying back for the offense. This offering is specifically for trespass sins. Trespassing is going somewhere that we are not allowed to be. Likewise, a trespass sin is violating or going over the rights of someone else. So in the case of trespassing against the holy things of the Lord you have violated God’s rights in some way. This could have been eating part of the offering that was not allowed or not bringing the right offering, or touching something that was not allowed. Achan’s sin after the fall of Jericho provides a great example of a trespass. God gave Israel very specific instructions of what they should do with the plunder that was found in Jericho.

Joshua 6:19 ESV

(19)  But all silver and gold, and every vessel of bronze and iron, are holy to the LORD; they shall go into the treasury of the LORD.”

Jericho was to be destroyed and the silver and gold was to be brought into the treasury of the Lord. Yet Achan struggled with this. He ended up taking 200 shekels of silver and a gold bar that weighed 50 shekels (Josh 7:21). Today this was worth around $50,000.

Joshua 7:1 NKJV

(1)  But the children of Israel committed a trespass regarding the accursed things, for Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed things; so the anger of the LORD burned against the children of Israel.

Achan trespassed against God when He took something that belonged to God. He violated God’s right and did what He wanted. Someone is violated and their rights ignored when a trespass is committed. This can be seen in the sins listed in chapter 6.

Leviticus 6:2-3 NKJV

(2)  "If a person sins and commits a trespass against the LORD by lying to his neighbor about what was delivered to him for safekeeping, or about a pledge, or about a robbery, or if he has extorted from his neighbor, (3)  or if he has found what was lost and lies concerning it, and swears falsely—in any one of these things that a man may do in which he sins:

Notice the common thread, in these trespasses a person violates their neighbor through deception, lying, and extortion. Each time the neighbor loses something that was theirs.

God had a unique solution for a trespass sin and it involved restitution.

Leviticus 5:15-16 NKJV

(15)  "If a person commits a trespass, and sins unintentionally in regard to the holy things of the LORD, then he shall bring to the LORD as his trespass offering a ram without blemish from the flocks, with your valuation in shekels of silver according to the shekel of the sanctuary, as a trespass offering.
(16)  And he shall make restitution for the harm that he has done in regard to the holy thing, and shall add one-fifth to it and give it to the priest. So the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering, and it shall be forgiven him.

Leviticus 6:5-6 NKJV

(5)  or all that about which he has sworn falsely. He shall restore its full value, add one-fifth more to it, and give it to whomever it belongs, on the day of his trespass offering.
(6)  And he shall bring his trespass offering to the LORD, a ram without blemish from the flock, with your valuation, as a trespass offering, to the priest.

In both cases whether it was God who was wronged or someone else, the full price of the wrong needs to be paid back with one fifth, or 20% added to it. Then on top of this payment a ram needed to offered. Notice how important both parts of the offering are. In a trespass sin someone has been wronged and they need to be paid back in full. The double tithe or 20% is added to account for the time they were without whatever was taken. This payment was a setting the wrong right. It also was a steep enough penalty that people would not be tempted to cheat the system.

Psalms 37:21 ESV

(21)  The wicked borrows but does not pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives;

Proverbs 14:8-9 ESV

(8)  The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools is deceiving.
(9)  Fools mock at the guilt offering, but the upright enjoy acceptance.

Our society runs on debt and yet we do not like to pay them back. It is in God’s will for debts and wrongs to be paid back. Fools mock the guilt offering, they do not want to be held accountable for the consequences of their actions. The upright walk in acceptance. They seek reconciliation and are willing to own their actions with the heart to set things right when possible. This concept is counter to our society. The world tells us if it is possible to lie, cheat or steal for our own gain we are encouraged to do it.

Romans 13:6-8 ESV

(6)  For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. (7)  Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.
(8)  Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.

Nothing is more practical than to talk about taxes during March. As a believer we have been called to walk in an integrity in every aspect of our life. We are to value the rights of others and not defraud people. We are to honor the government and pay our taxes in full. God is the one who gave us rights and He values them and we have been called to value them as well.

The guilt offering does not stop when the restitution payment was given. Then a ram needed to be given, because a sin was committed and needs to be dealt with. A ram was fitting because for the Hebrews, Arabs, and even the Romans rams would often be used as a payment for debt. There is not sliding scale of animals to offer, with the guilt/ trespass offering. Whether you were rich or poor, the trespass needed to be atoned for. We can understand how this offering worked when a neighbor was robbed. It is harder for us to see how God is trespassed against in our sin.

Malachi 3:8-10; 14 ESV

(8)  Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In your tithes and contributions.
(9)  You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you.
(10)  Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house. And thereby put Me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.
(14)  You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping His charge or of walking as in mourning before the LORD of hosts?

The Israelites had reached a point that they were asking what was in it for them to serve God? God is clear that they are violating His rights, they are robbing from Him. Each time an animal was offered to an idol it robbed God of that worship. We are woefully unaware that our life belongs to God.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV

(19)  Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,
(20)  for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

We are not our own. We are so selfish and prideful that we want to know what is in it for us. Jesus bought us on the cross. He is the creator and redeemed us. When we walk in our own path and in sin, we are robbing God of the worship and glory He deserves. Not only does humanity have rights but God (who gave us our rights) has rights. He deserves our honor and glory. The guilt offering emphasizes the sins that violate the rights of God. This is a side of sin we often do not realize.

Ephesians 2:1-2 ESV

(1)  And you were dead in the trespasses and sins
(2)  in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—

We are dead in our trespasses and sins. I had never stopped to process the emphasis of trespasses. The word for sins means to miss the mark of God’s holy standard. Trespasses is the idea to fall beside a person or thing, to deviate from the right path. It carries with it the idea of failing in our purpose (deviating from the path) and violating God as we do. Just as with the guilt offering trespasses emphasizes the debt/ consequence that our action caused that needs to be fully paid for. If we are honest with ourselves, the amount of debt that our trespasses have accumulated is a terrifying thought. The incredible news is that Jesus paid this debt in full. Restitution was made through Him.

Isaiah 53:10-12 NAS95

(10)  But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.
(11)  As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities.
(12)  Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors.

Jesus is the perfect guilt offering. All of the debt that our trespasses warranted was paid in full. We have not be asked to pay back for our debt to God. It would have been impossible for us to do so. Other religions demand a penance. Meaning you as a sinner are asked to make reparation, or payment for what your sin has cost. Often we think this way. When we sin, we often feel like we need to pay God back in some way to make it right. In reality we need to trust in the perfect guilt payment.

Ephesians 1:7-8 ESV

(7)  In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace,
(8)  which He lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight

His blood is given as the perfect payment for all our trespass debt. We are forgiven according to the riches of His grace. He did not leave any of the debt for you and I to take care of. We hear this but often we do not fully let ourselves accept this truth. This grace has been lavished on us. If you do not feel worthy of this the good news is none of us are, that is why it is grace.

Romans 4:22-25 ESV

(22)  That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.”
(23)  But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone,
(24)  but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in Him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord,
(25)  who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

Paul is describing how Abraham was counted a righteous. Abraham had faith in God. This is the same way you and are counted, as righteous it is by believing in Him. He was not delivered up as a mere example of self-sacrifice or humility. He was delivered up to pay for all our trespasses. Our astronomical debt was fully paid for.

Romans 5:15-16 ESV

(15)  But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.
(16)  And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification.

I love that the free gift is repeated 4 different times in comparison to the debt and consequences of Adam’s trespass. This truth confronts humanities effort to contribute and add something to the payment. We feel like it should cost us then it will mean more. God’s Word presents the opposite. The guilt offering showed the high cost that our trespasses demanded and our inability to fully pay for them. Even when the twenty percent extra was paid, the blood of the ram still needed to be given. We could never repay enough. What Jesus has done for us is an incredible life-giving message.

2 Corinthians 5:18-19 ESV

(18)  All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;
(19)  that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

Through Jesus Christ we can be reconciled. Through Him our sin debt, is not held against us. He gave us this message of reconciliation. It is not a message of how we need to do more. It Is not a message of what we need to pay. It is a message of what Jesus Christ the perfect sin and guilt offering has accomplished. This is a message the dying world desperately needs to hear.