Leviticus 4 and 5

The more that I look at this book what I realize is how blessed that we are that we don’t have to bring an animal sacrifice for the various reasons. I have come to appreciate the old Hymn that said Jesus paid it all. This book has a sacrifice for just about anything and everything.

Chapter 4 deals with the offerings for unintentional wrong doings. What grasps me in this chapter is the realization that whether you intended to commit a sin or not you are still guilty. Many times people will simply say I did not mean to as if that is supposed to mean that they are not guilty and thus forgiveness from those they sinned against and from God is not needed because it was unintentional. As we see in this chapter the intent is not as important as the fact that a sin has been committed and forgiveness needs to be sought after.

Chapter 5 deals with other sin offerings. I think what is interesting in this chapter is not the sins offerings but what the sins are.

1. Verse 1: “…if you are a witness under oath and won’t tell what you saw or what you know, you are sinning…"
2. Verse 3: If someone touches a human uncleanness of any kind and then ignore it
3. Verse 4: “If you hastily take a vow about what you will or will not and then ignore it…”
4. Verse 15: “If any of you fail to do your duty by unintentionally doing something wrong with any of the Lord’s holy things…”
5. Verse 17: “If any of you do wrong – even one thing that forbidden by any of the Lord’s commands, but you didn’t know it – when you realize your guilt, you must be punished.

The Application

Though we do not bring animal sacrifices anymore that does not change the fact that these are still sins. We are still responsible for our actions. The difference is that Jesus paid the price for our sins. We still have the responsibility to seek God’s forgiveness.