Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Prayer Meeting Lesson Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/pm/pm20000705.htm

LEVITICUS: GOD'S CALL FOR A SEPARATED WITNESS
Part I: The Path To Gaining Fellowship With God (Leviticus 1-10)
E. The Guilt Offering's Revelation Of God's GRACE In Handling Sin's DAMAGES
(Leviticus 5:14-6:7)
  1. Introduction
    1. Sin causes losses which hurt not only the sinner's relation to God, but hurt others and even his own welfare. These losses must to be handled to satisfy a God who is not only holy, but also wholesome.
    2. The guilt offering faces the harm caused by sin and reveals the grace of God to offset sin's damages:
  2. The Guilt Offering's Revelation Of God's GRACE In Handling Sin's DAMAGES, Leviticus 5:14-6:7.
    1. Whenever a party either intentionally or unintentionally defrauded another, be it God or man from what was the other's rightful due, he was guilty of a "violation," a trespass, Bible Know. Com., O.T., p. 183.
    2. There were several circumstances in which such a violation would occur, and three of them are given in the immediate context of Leviticus 5:14-6:7 as follows:
      1. In the case of an unintentional violation of sacred property, Leviticus 5:14-16 gave these directives:
        1. If someone unintentionally misappropriated what was sacred to God (5:15a), he had to bring a ram (or a bird in the case of the poor, Lev. 14:30) to be sacrificed by the priest. This animal would die as his substitute for his unintentional misappropriation of God's property, Leviticus 5:14-15a,b.
        2. Additionally, the sinner needed to bring financial restitution for the losses suffered by his infraction plus a 20 percent fine along with the sacrifice, giving it to the priest, God's servant, Lev. 5:15c, 16.
      2. In the case of a suspected transgression of a divine command, Leviticus 5:17-19 gave these directives:
        1. At times, a party might only suspect that he had violated God's commands in some way, and so carry about him a wounded conscience unless it was handled. The guilt offering of Lev. 5:15-16 handled such a case as follows because it at least dealt with a wounded conscience, cf. 1 Cor. 8:6-7.
        2. All that was required in this case was the animal for a trespass offering without the added fine since there was no certainty that a misappropriation had occurred.
        3. Nevertheless, since the party had wounded his conscience, the animal sacrifice had to occur as a wounded conscience itself is sin, cf. 1 Cor. 8:12-13.
      3. In the case of a violation of property rights of another party, Leviticus 6:1-7 gave these directives:
        1. When someone defrauded another human being of his property rights, this was also seen as a violation against the Lord and needed a guilt offering, Leviticus 6:1-2a,b.
        2. Such sins included "embezzlement, theft, extortion and failure to return lost property", Ibid.
        3. In such a case, the guilty party had to reimburse the wronged party his restitution and 20% fine the very day he brought his guilt offering to the priest, Leviticus 6:2-5.
        4. If the offended party was deceased and had no surviving relatives the offender could reimburse, the sinner had to pay the restitution and fine to the priest, Numbers 5:8-10; Leviticus 6:6-7.
    3. Accordingly, the guilt offering foreshadowed the way Christ's substitutionary death would atone for the damages inflicted because of sin. Isaiah 53:10 beautifully pictures this aspect of Christ's death very:
      1. The word used to describe Christ's soul as "an offering for sin" (KJV) in Isaiah 53:10 is the Hebrew word ma'al used in Leviticus 6-7 of the guilt offering, Ryrie St. Bib., KJV, ftn. to Isa. 53:10-12.
      2. As such, Jesus atoned not only for sin, but for its injuries or damages that required 120% restitution.
      3. Accordingly, one need not feel awful for the damages of his sins as even these are absolved in Christ.
      4. However, if he can make practical restitution for what damages have been incurred due to his sins of the past, it is loving and acceptable before God for him to do so.
Lesson: (1) We can rejoice that even the DAMAGES our sins produce are covered by Christ's death, Isa. 53:10! (2) Yet, if possible, we should make adequate amends to the victims for our sins' damages.

Application: (1) The DAMAGES of even unintentional sins or questionable issues that wound the conscience are deeply offensive to God, and must be countered in accord with His GOODNESS. (2) In practical terms, restitution for such sins includes reimbursement for the PROPERTY DAMAGE suffered plus restitution to the victim for his PAIN of having BEEN wronged (the added 20% fine).