Lev. 5:14-6:7, The Guilt offering

The guilt offering was also for unintentional sins, but with the difference in most cases that the sins involved requiring this offering were those which could be dealt with by restitution as well as atonement via the sacrifice of a ram.

The restitution involves the full value of the original, whether it be duty in the temple or the care of a neighbor's property, and a 20% addition, or fine.

In this way the priest will make atonement for him before the Lord, and he will be forgiven for any of these things he did that made him guilty.

What should be recognized here as well as in the sin offering is that it is the commission of the sin itself that makes a person guilty, not the fact that he was born with a tendency to sin. On the other hand, the person who commits the sin is guilty whether he realizes he sinned or not! Obviously, though, he is not going to bring a sacrificial animal for atonement until he realizes he has sinned.

This is also important because there is a parallel in something Jesus said -- that the healthy do not need a doctor (Matthew 9:12 and parallel verses)! Unless you know something is wrong, you will not go to have it fixed. Thus, the fact that one of the works of the Holy Spirit is to convict of sin is extraordinarily important, so that the person will then have the opportunity to go the the Lord for forgiveness.

[ November 04, 2002, 06:40 PM: Message edited by: Helen ]

 

Amen! Think of the lack of need to build more and more prisons, among other things. Think of the help it would be to victims. Think of the sense of justice that would be instilled in people.

Think of how much more careful people would be with the property of others!