‘If a member of the community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord’s commands, he is guilty.

Leviticus 4:27

Good Morning Girls started reading Leviticus this week. This book can be a little tough to read for many people because there is a lot of minutiae regarding the law and various offerings. I think there is a tendency to skim through when we read Leviticus, so I am really glad to be reading it intentionally, one chapter at a time to glean what I can from it.

Today in Leviticus 4, the Sin Offering was discussed. While there were plenty of details regarding the selecting and preparing the sacrifice, what stood out to me was the reason for the offering. An anointed priest, the whole of the Israelite community, a leader, or any member of the community – all were expected to offer a sin offering for their offense.

Here is what I found interesting – the sin could be unintentional and the person (or community) was still guilty and expected to offer this sin offering. Ignorance of God’s law, not knowing something was forbidden was not an excuse and did not give the people a pass. Ignorance of the law does not remove one from under the law or the consequences of violating the law.

In everyday terms, this would be like driving through a stop sign and either not seeing it, or not knowing (like you were in a foreign land) that the sign meant you were supposed to stop. You broke the law regardless and are responsible for making amends. On a more spiritual level, there are many people who are Christian but have very little knowledge of the Word of God. Not knowing the word of God doesn’t release us from the commands that are in the Word of God.

When he is made aware of the sin he committed, he must bring as his offering a male goat without defect.

Leviticus 4:23

There seems to be a resistance to correction in our society today. We are quick to take offense when something we are doing wrong is pointed out to us. Even within the Church, instead of taking the correction to heart and making amends, we become offended and turn things around on the person who has pointed out the offense. Not all correction is done with a malicious spirit. We should be open to correction, if it is done with good intentions and is scripturally sound.