Leviticus 5:1 says, And if a soul sin, and hear the voice of swearing, and is a witness, whether he hath seen or known of it; if he do not utter it, then he shall bear his iniquity. God, through Moses, now begins to deal with specific sins that people could be guilty of. The first is knowing that someone else has sinned, whether by actually seeing it or hearing of it, and saying nothing about it when called on to testify, then according to Matthew Henry, that person is just as guilty as the one who committed the sin. I believe that it may go a step farther and mean that if a person knows of someone sinning and says nothing, whether testifying or not, then they are guilty of abetting the person in the sin. We today seem to look down on people who do report sins, or crimes at least. I believe that as followers of Christ we have a responsibility to take action when we see something happening that is wrong. Verse two adds, Or if a soul touch any unclean thing, whether it be a carcase of an unclean beast, or a carcase of unclean cattle, or the carcase of unclean creeping things, and if it be hidden from him; he also shall be unclean, and guilty. Moses said that if a person touched an unclean thing, even unknowingly and then became aware of it and did not take action to purify himself that he was unclean and guilty. Though we don't have unclean things, we do have sin, and if we are guilty of sin, even if we did not realize at first that we were, then we have a responsibility to confess that sin and ask God's forgiveness. As Matthew Henry says, even if we are not aware of the sin at the time, as Christians the Holy Spirit will convict us of the sin, then we must repent or bear the burden of the sin. Verse three continues, Or if he touch the uncleanness of man, whatsoever uncleanness it be that a man shall be defiled withal, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty. This would also apply to touching not just the unclean thing itself, but also to touching someone else who had touched the unclean thing, thereby becoming unclean themselves. Today, we might say that we were guilty by association. Verse four states, Or if a soul swear, pronouncing with his lips to do evil, or to do good, whatsoever it be that a man shall pronounce with an oath, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty in one of these. Once a person swore to tell the truth, they were responsible to do so. Matthew Henry says this applied whether what was sworn to was good or evil. Of course, if it were evil, then the person would be guilty whether they kept their oath or failed to keep it. I believe this is a warning that we are to be careful about what we swear to. Verse five adds, And it shall be, when he shall be guilty in one of these things, that he shall confess that he hath sinned in that thing: When a person became aware that he was guilty of any of any of these sins, then he had to confess to be restored to a right relationship with God. Though we know that this was stated as applying to men, we also know that it applies to women as well. Verse six continues, And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD for his sin which he hath sinned, a female from the flock, a lamb or a kid of the goats, for a sin offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his sin. Not only did the person have to confess, but he had to bring a trespass offering to God, and the priest would make atonement for the sin. All we can do today is to come to Christ again in repentance if we sin as His followers, and he is the One Who can make atonement for us. Verse seven says, And if he be not able to bring a lamb, then he shall bring for his trespass, which he hath committed, two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, unto the LORD; one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering. Once more, an allowance was made for those who may not have been financially well off enough to bring a lamb. God makes the same sacrifice available for our sins today, no matter how rich or poor we may be, and that is that we accept the sacrifice of Christ on the cross for our sins. Verse eight adds, And he shall bring them unto the priest, who shall offer that which is for the sin offering first, and wring off his head from his neck, but shall not divide it asunder: Again, the sacrifice was to be brought to the priest, and the priest made the sacrifice.
Jesus Christ is our Priest today, and we must come to Him to find forgiveness for our sins. Verse nine adds, And he shall sprinkle of the blood of the sin offering upon the side of the altar; and the rest of the blood shall be wrung out at the bottom of the altar: it is a sin offering. The offering was to be carried out much the same as th other offerings, just as the offering of the blood of Christ for our sins is the same no matter the sin. Verse ten concludes, And he shall offer the second for a burnt offering, according to the manner: and the priest shall make an atonement for him for his sin which he hath sinned, and it shall be forgiven him. After the priest made the offering for atonement, the sin was forgiven. Today, we have the glorious news that once we come to Jesus by faith that our sins are atoned for and we are forgiven. Still, even after we accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord, when we find ourselves to have committed a sin, and I believe that the Holy Spirit will convict us when we do, we must come to Christ and ask forgiveness for that sin. We can never simply overlook sin.
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