The trespass offering and an Israelite worshipper (Leviticus 5:14–6:7)

Yesterday we thought about four lessons that can be seen in the meaning of the guilt or trespass offering. Today we can think about another three.

First, the Israelite worshipper had to engage in regular self-examination. This spiritual activity is the origin of the guilt he felt, and which is described in 5:17-19. Initially he had not realised that his action was wrong, but after some thought he became aware that he had broken one of the commandments of the Lord. Perhaps he used the words of Psalm 139:23-24 as he engaged in self-examination: ‘Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.’ Once he realised his sin he would also have had a sense of guilt, and it could not be removed until he had followed the prescribed procedure of presenting a trespass offering to the priest at the tabernacle. 

Second, the possibility of sinning inadvertently and thus incurring guilt would stimulate the Israelite worshipper to ensure that he knew as much of the Old Testament requirements as possible. He would practice the determination of the psalmist who wrote in Psalm 119:11: ‘I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.’ Therefore he would endeavour to know what God required and become a lifelong learner of God’s instructions.

It is worth stressing that ignorance did not excuse an Israelite when he was guilty of an unintended sin. There are various reasons for ignorance, but one of the most common is laziness. If God’s Word contains a prohibition or a requirement, then the information is there, and the worshipper could have located it.

Third, the assessment that inadvertent sins made the Israelite guilty before God would cause the worshipper to realise how heinous his deliberate sins were in God’s sight. After all, the most important aspect of a person’s sins is what God thinks of them. Since atonement was needed for unintended sins, the Israelite worshipper would wonder what was needed in order for wilful sins to be forgiven. The answer to this question is given by David in Psalm 51.

We can see from the requirements connected to the trespass offering that sin is serious, but that God was gracious in sending his Son to make atonement for our sins.