Tag: trespass

Leviticus 4-5

Psalm 8                

Matthew 22

We are reading today in the book of Leviticus which is where many Bible reading plans go out the window.  Tough going I admit but full of truths for us to mine if we can look past the intricacies of the law of Moses set down.  Reading from Leviticus 4 and 5 today there are some words that we could examine more deeply.  We read about sin offerings, trespass offerings and others.  What is this all about?

Leviticus 4:2-3(NKJV) If a person sin (ha’ta  Strong’s H2398)  unintentionally against any of the commandments of the LORD in anything which ought not to be done, and does any of them, ³ if the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, then let him offer to the LORD for his sin which he has sinned a young bull without blemish as a sin offering.

When God  talks about sin, He is talking about something much deeper and more complex than regulatory lists of good and bad behaviors or choices. He is concerned with the corruption of God’s intentions for us that show up in human relationships and choices. This can be something that we do or something that happens to us.

(ha’ta  Strong’s H2398)  is translated as sin but means “to miss the mark”,  like shooting an arrow at the target and missing.  We miss the direction that God wants and has asked us to go in, and then end up in a place He did not intend us to be.  All the words in bold below are this word (ha’ta)

Leviticus 5:5-6(NKJV) And it shall be, when he is guilty in any of these matters, that he shall confess that he has sinned in that thing; ⁶ and he shall bring his trespass offering to the LORD for his sin which he has committed, a female from the flock, a lamb or a kid of the goats as a sin offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin.

Leviticus 5:17(NKJV) If a person sins, and commits any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the LORD, though he does not know it, yet he is guilty and shall bear his iniquity. (ʿāôn Strong’s H5771)

We start down the path of sin by doing something or saying something that misses the mark, but then we are told that we must bear that “iniquity” (ʿāôn Strong’s H5771)  This is a different word  that starts from the missing of the mark, but then causes us to become “bent or twisted”.  When we intentionally or unintentionally miss God’s standard of life, we become bent by our sin.  In the Old Testament the answer was the sin offering for the original sin, or a trespass offering for the bent nature of our lives.  Unfortunately, we all have missed the mark of the standards of God’s Word and have become twisted in our human natures.  Examples of this type of twisted behavior include deceitfulness, violence, and other kinds of harm we might do to others.

This is the root cause of our human sin nature that no amount of self-discipline or self-chastisement can make us straight again.  We are never able by our own efforts to make ourselves perfect before God, only by His grace and mercy can we come before Him. 

Take a paper clip and unbend it to a more or less straight piece of wire which is what it was to begin with.  Can you make it straight?  Close maybe, but not really.  Now bend it back into the same shape as it was before coming out of the box.  Can you bend it back to the original?  These are the results of our sin nature that we have in our human lives.  Our sin causes us to become bent or twisted, and no amount of effort on our parts can make us straight or perfectly formed again. 

Our “Good News” though is that there is an answer to our bent nature coming from the sacrifice that God gives us in the life of His Son.   Look at this familiar passage from Isaiah 53.

Isaiah 53:4-6(NKJV) Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
⁵ But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities (ʿāôn Strong’s H5771)” 
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes 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.

Jesus brings our sin, trespass and bent nature to the cross and takes it all on him to heal us in every way.  “He has born our griefs” which is our sicknesses and “by His stripes we are healed”  which is to take away our pain. 

Luke 22:41-44(NKJV) And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, ⁴² saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” ⁴³ Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. ⁴⁴ And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

Questions for Reflection:

How great is the grace of God in Christ to us?

What can we do to live out our walks in Christ today?

Has the discussion changed your perception of what sin is?

Prayer:

Father God thank you for straightening us out in Christ and keeping us on the straight paths to You.  Give us help today to confess our sin and walk with You in the spirit that you have given us.  Bless the works of our hands and keep them that they would do the good works that You have ordained for them.  In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray this day.