 “If anyone sins in that he hears a public adjuration to testify, and though he is a witness, whether he has seen or come to know the matter, yet does not speak, he shall bear his iniquity; 2 or if anyone touches an unclean thing, whether a carcass of an unclean wild animal or a carcass of unclean livestock or a carcass of unclean swarming things, and it is hidden from him and he has become unclean, and he realizes his guilt; 3 or if he touches human uncleanness, of whatever sort the uncleanness may be with which one becomes unclean, and it is hidden from him, when he comes to know it, and realizes his guilt; 4 or if anyone utters with his lips a rash oath to do evil or to do good, any sort of rash oath that people swear, and it is hidden from him, when he comes to know it, and he realizes his guilt in any of these; 5 when he realizes his guilt in any of these and confesses the sin he has committed, 6 he shall bring to the Lord as his compensation for the sin that he has committed, a female from the flock, a lamb or a goat, for a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin.
7 “But if he cannot afford a lamb, then he shall bring to the Lord as his compensation for the sin that he has committed two turtledoves or two pigeons, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. 8 He shall bring them to the priest, who shall offer first the one for the sin offering. He shall wring its head from its neck but shall not sever it completely, 9 and he shall sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering on the side of the altar, while the rest of the blood shall be drained out at the base of the altar; it is a sin offering. 10 Then he shall offer the second for a burnt offering according to the rule. And the priest shall make atonement for him for the sin that he has committed, and he shall be forgiven. 11 “But if he cannot afford two turtledoves or two pigeons, then he shall bring as his offering for the sin that he has committed a tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a sin offering. He shall put no oil on it and shall put no frankincense on it, for it is a sin offering. 12 And he shall bring it to the priest, and the priest shall take a handful of it as its memorial portion and burn this on the altar, on the Lord's food offerings; it is a sin offering. 13 Thus the priest shall make atonement for him for the sin which he has committed in any one of these things, and he shall be forgiven. And the remainder[d] shall be for the priest, as in the grain offering.” Laws for Guilt Offerings 14 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 15 “If anyone commits a breach of faith and sins unintentionally in any of the holy things of the Lord, he shall bring to the Lord as his compensation, a ram without blemish out of the flock, valued in silver shekels,[f]according to the shekel of the sanctuary, for a guilt offering. 16 He shall also make restitution for what he has done amiss in the holy thing and shall add a fifth to it and give it to the priest. And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering, and he shall be forgiven. 17 “If anyone sins, doing any of the things that by the Lord's commandments ought not to be done, though he did not know it, then realizes his guilt, he shall bear his iniquity. 18 He shall bring to the priest a ram without blemish out of the flock, or its equivalent, for a guilt offering, and the priest shall make atonement for him for the mistake that he made unintentionally, and he shall be forgiven. 19 It is a guilt offering; he has indeed incurred guilt before the Lord.” Leviticus 6:1-7 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “If anyone sins and commits a breach of faith against the Lord by deceiving his neighbor in a matter of deposit or security, or through robbery, or if he has oppressed his neighbor3 or has found something lost and lied about it, swearing falsely—in any of all the things that people do and sin thereby— 4 if he has sinned and has realized his guilt and will restore what he took by robbery or what he got by oppression or the deposit that was committed to him or the lost thing that he found 5 or anything about which he has sworn falsely, he shall restore it in full and shall add a fifth to it, and give it to him to whom it belongs on the day he realizes his guilt. 6 And he shall bring to the priest as his compensation to the Lord a ram without blemish out of the flock, or its equivalent, for a guilt offering. 7 And the priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord, and he shall be forgiven for any of the things that one may do and thereby become guilty.” Meditation The conviction of God’s Spirit leads to repentance, compelling God’s children to return to the Father’s love and seek restoration through Jesus’ work. Consider Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10). Jesus went to the tax collector’s home where Zacchaeus “received Him joyfully.” Zacchaeus said, “If I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” Jesus said to the son of Abraham, “Today salvation has come to this house!” Repentance reconciles sinners with God. Restoration with neighbor goes further than saying, “I am sorry.” The offerings detailed in today’s reading are provision for God’s covenant people who are convicted of sin, feeling guilty (4, 5) and seeking atonement (6, 10, 13, 16, 18, 6:7). The “purification offering” (1-13) offered cleansing for the worshipper from the stain of sin and covered sins against God (14-19) while the “reparation offering” (5:14-6:7) atoned for sins against a neighbor (6:1-7). Both deal with two kinds of sin, unintentional sins and sins of omission, and the reparation offering required three things: restitution of what was taken away, reparation increase of 20%, and sacrifice (14-16). God’s people are redeemed to love the Lord with all our heart and to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 27:37-39). God’s Spirit convicts us when we miss the mark. Jesus Himself provides the purification offering whereby we can confess our sin to be purified of all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Jesus gave 100% of His life so those of us who “receive Jesus joyfully” in faith can work for restoration of relationships, going beyond just saying, "I'm sorry," with neighbors we have not loved as He has loved us. Richly Dwelling -What stands out to you from today’s reading, especially how the purification and restoration sacrifices go together? -Where do you need to confess sin to experience the cleansing Christ’s sacrifice offers? Where do you need to make amends, seeking restoration with neighbors you have harmed? -How does the reality of Jesus giving 100% for you fuel your desire to generously restore what has been wronged with your neighbor you have harmed? Be specific in a relationship where you need to live this reality. Key Verses 5 when he realizes his guilt in any of these and confesses the sin he has committed, 6 he shall bring to the Lord as his compensation for the sin that he has committed…
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