Am – The Guilt Offering: Evidence of Repentance 5:14 to 6:7

The Guilt Offering: Evidence of Repentance
5:14 to 6:7

The guilt offering DIG: How was the guilt offering different from the sin offering? For what kind of sin is restitution possible (5:16 and 6:1-5)? Which requires a twenty percent fine? What does this teach you about God’s view of sin? What does this teach you about ADONAI’s view of the process of reconciliation? What is His desire for His followers?

REFLECT: If you were to assign a money value to your sins, what would they be worth? How far in debt would you be: (a) One week’s allowance? (b) One month’s wages? (c) Half this country’s foreign debt? (d) More than the national deficit? How can such debt be canceled: By you? Your creditors? By God? When in your experience has YHVH canceled your debt of guilt? What will it cost (see Matthew 18:21-25)?

Both of the purification offering and the guilt offering form a single picture,
to show us how we can make peace with YHVH.

Sin often takes the form of defrauding God in holy things that belong to Him or in defrauding others of their possessions. In such matters Scripture is clear that it is not sufficient just to make confession. – the wrong must be made right if at all possible. To do so was evidence of remorse and contrition. And that was the kind of response that John the Baptist meant when he called for people to produce fruit in keeping with repentance (Matthew 3:8).⁵³

The fifth and final offering is translated as a guilt offering. It is not completely distinct from the purification offering. The Torah says: The guilt offering is like the purification offering; the same mitzvah governs them (7:7). This implies they are essentially the same type of sacrifice, involving the same ritual procedures. From view of this, it is perhaps helpful to think of the guilt offering as a subset of the purification offering. The guilt offering was a specific form of the purification offering that was prescribed only for offenses which required a payment of restitution. In Hebrew, the word for guilt (asham) can be understood to mean indemnity or a reparation. The asham was brought in those cases when some sort of repayment was required by the worshipper.⁵⁴

The guilt offering was mandatory for intentional, conscious, or purposeful sin requiring restitution, the confession of a sin, and forgiveness of a sin or cleansing from defilement. It required not only a ram, but also a twenty percent fine to the wrong party. The implication was that an offense toward another person was also an offense toward God. When the Israelite cheated or damaged or misused someone else or their property it is as if we had cheated, damaged or misused God. Therefore, when they settled accounts, they had to repay the victim and God. The reparation made to God was the guilt offering.

It was not easy to distinguish between the purification offering and the guilt offering for both represented Messiah, the Substitute for the guilty sinner. Because it was not totally consumed, the bodies of both offerings were burned outside the camp of Isra’el. They were to atone for sins committed knowingly. Yet, the purification offering dealt with the root of sin, even as the guilt offering dealt with the fruit of sin. While believers have been saved, for all time, by faith in the shed blood of Messiah, we still inherit our old sin nature. That is what Paul meant when, in the sixth and seventh chapters of Romans, he wrote of the struggle between the old nature and the new nature in Messiah, the flesh and the spirit, the nature inherited from Adam and the new life received by faith in Yeshua Messiah. When Paul wrote those chapters, he put words to the struggle that all believers know far too well – what he wants to do because he loved Yeshua, he does not do; and what he does not want to do, he finds himself doing because of the weakness and frailty of his flesh (Romans 7:24). But then the great chapter eight of Romans follows, which gives the secret to victory over the flesh – the indwelling Ruach Ha’Kodesh. Thus, every need of the sinner is fully met in Yeshua Messiah. He is our Guilt Offering, giving us power and victory in our lives, even as He promised. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (First John 1:8-10).⁵⁵

First, there were violations against God’s holy things. When a person committed a violation and sinned unintentionally in regard to any of ADONAI’s holy things, or sacred property, such as gifts (Deuteronomy 15:19), sacrifices, tithes, first fruits (Exodus 34:26), or anything assigned to God. It had to do with a violation of that which belonged to God, and therefore indirectly the priesthood, since they were His representatives. It could include, for example, failure to redeem the first-born. In that case, the guilty would bring a ram from his flock as a penalty to ADONAI, one without defect. So the value of the property had to be estimated. But if he could not bring the ram itself, he could bring the equivalent value in silver, according to the sanctuary shekel (30:11-16). The rabbis teach that because the word is plural, the value had to be a minimum of two shekels. A ram was more valuable than either a lamb or a female goat, therefore, it showed that the guilt offering was a more serious offense than the sin offering. The sin offering emphasized our sin nature, but the guilt offering emphasized active sin or choices that were made. Because he needed to make restitution for what he had failed to do in regard to the holy things, He then added a fifth of the value (or twenty percent) to the original cost. Since the sin in this case was against God, the restitution was made to His representative, the priest, who made atonement for him with the ram as a guilt offering, and then he was forgiven (5:14-16).

When the priest received the ram he slaughtered it on the north side of the bronze altar, and its blood was sprinkled on all sides. All its fat was offered; the fat tail and the fat that covered the inner parts, both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the covering of the liver, which was to be removed with the kidneys. The priest then burned them on the bronze altar as an offering made to ADONAI by fire. It was a guilt offering. Any male in a priest’s family was allowed to eat it, but it had to be eaten in the courtyard of the Tabernacle because it was most holy (Leviticus 7:1-6).

There is no contradiction between twenty percent restitution here and the hundred percent restitution in Exodus 22:4-14. There, the offender did not confess his sin, but was convicted because of the evidence and therefore had to pay one hundred percent restitution. But here, the offender confessed voluntarily, which limited his restitution to twenty percent. There was, and is, a big difference between conviction and confession.

If a person sinned and did what was forbidden in any of ADONAI’s commands, even though he did not know it, he was still guilty and would be held responsible. There was no excuse, even if he didn’t realize it. He was to bring a ram from the flock to the priest as a guilt offering, one without defect and of the proper value. In that way, the priest would make atonement for him for the wrong he had committed unintentionally, and he would then be forgiven. In this case there is no restitution mentioned, because this was a sin against God alone, whereas, the previous one was against God and the priesthood who depended on the holy things. So sin against God required forgiveness but not restitution, but sin against man required forgiveness and restitution (5:17-19).

Secondly, there were violations against men in relation to money or property rights. If anyone sinned and was unfaithful to ADONAI by deceiving his neighbor about something entrusted to him or left in his care, something stolen, if he cheated him, if he found lost property and lied about it, if he swore falsely, or if he committed any such sin that people may do – he thus was guilty. He returned what he had stolen or taken by extortion, what was entrusted to him, the lost property he found, or whatever it was he swore falsely about. He made restitution in full, and added a fifth of the value (or a twenty percent fine) to it. Since the violation was against human property rights, the restitution payment and fine were given to the owner on the day he presented his guilt offering (Leviticus 6:1-6). But if the offended party was no longer living and had no surviving relative, the restitution and fine were paid to the priest (Numbers 5:8-10).⁵⁶ In that way, the priest made atonement for him before ADONAI, and he was forgiven for any of the things he did that made him guilty (Leviticus 6:7). Therefore, once restitution had been paid, God was satisfied and fellowship could be restored not only between the victim and the guilty party, but also between God and the guilty party.

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise Your gracious love that forgives the repentant sinner. How Awesome You are to not only forgive, but also to offer Yourself as the Lamb of God (Jn 1:29). What magnificent grace to die in our place as our guilt offering, rise in Victory and then prepare a home in heaven for those who love You! We exalt your exceedingly great power toward us who keep trusting Him – in keeping with the working of His mighty strength. This power He exercised in Messiah when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in heaven (Eph 1:19-20).

We say thank You with our lives and desire to serve You with a heart full of love even in the most trying of times. We follow Yeshua’s example, for He willingly left heaven’s glory (John 17:5) to come to live as a man (Philippians 2:1-10) to take our sin punishment. Yeshua was then rightly lifted up in glory and honor. God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Yeshua every knee should bow, in heaven and on the earth and under the earth, and every tongue profess that Yeshua the Messiah is Lord – to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:9-11).

Anyone can say thank you when life is easy, but when loving You is costly, we will still rejoice in being called Your children. We will continue focusing , as Yeshua did, on the joy that we will have in heaven. Yeshua, the initiator and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, disregarding its shame; and He has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of God (Heb 12:2). We push to the back of our minds the momentary trials and problems of this life. For I consider the sufferings of this present time not worthy to be compared with the coming glory to be revealed to us (Rom 8:18). Thank you for being our restitution so our fellowship with God could be restored and we can draw near God thru Messiah Yeshua. In Yeshua’s holy Name and power of resurrection. Amen

Summary and conclusion: The burnt offering (to see link click Ai – The Burnt Offering) spoke of the general need of a sinner for a sacrifice. The grain offerings (see Aj – The Grain Offerings) were not for atonement, but given in gratitude, as a tribute to the Eternal One for accepting the worshiper’s burnt offering. The peace offering was a fellowship meal enjoyed by those who knew the joy of forgiveness (see Ak – The Peace Offering). Each of these offerings provided an aroma pleasing to the LORD. Philippians 4:18 explains that the fragrant aroma meant the sacrifice was acceptable . . . well pleasing to God.

But the other two offerings – the purification offering (see Leviticus Al – The Purification Offering: Purified by the Blood) and the guilt offering (see Leviticus Am – The Guild Offering: Evidence of Repentance) – were different because they were fulfilled by Messiah’s bearing the sin of mankind. They depicted the Father’s turning His back on the Son, when He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf (Second Corinthians 5:21), at which time Yeshua cried out from the cross: My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me (Matthew 27:46)? While Messiah was the sin-bearer, Ha’Shem could not look upon Him or rejoice in Him or be pleased with Him. Therefore, the purification and guilt offerings had to be offered first. Atonement must always come before forgiveness. But when the Father raised Messiah from the dead, the sacrifice that caused Him to become sin became the sacrifice that conquered sin. The sin that put Him to death was itself put to death, and that great act of love was to God as fragrant aroma. Today, that fragrant aroma spreads its fragrance to everyone on earth who will place themselves under the grace of that sacrifice, and it will spread its fragrance throughout heaven for all eternity. In all aspects, our lives should please God (see the commentary on Second Corinthians At – A Sweet-Smelling Aroma).

Haftarah vaYikra: Yesha’Yahu (Isaiah) 6:1–7:17 (A), 6:1–19 (S)
(see the commentary on Deuteronomy Af – Parashah)

In this week’s haftorah reading, Jerusalem has been destroyed. It is no longer possible to bring offerings to the altar of ADONAI’s dwelling. Addressing the exiles, Isaiah explains that God has been weighted down by the sins of the people and by offerings which are not heartfelt: But you have burdened Me with your sins and bothered Me with your offenses (43:24c). God had not burdened and bothered His people with tiring, worn out ritual; they had burdened and bothered ADONAI with their sins and transgressions. It was as if the Ruach Ha’odesh was saying to the Israelites, “Your carefully planned rituals are useless because they do not reflect a broken heart. You are not crushed by your sin. You have no change of heart and are merely going through the motions.” Their efforts to manipulate God had failed. They had refused to release the steering wheel of their lives to the King. They were sitting on the throne of their own hearts and they stubbornly refused to get off. But even though they were sinful and stubborn, they were still the apple of His eye (Deuteronomy 32:10). God’s remedy was, and always is, grace.

So now, YHVH announces a new way – He will blot out their sins for His own glory (Isaiah 43:25). He will judge offerings given with wholeness of heart as acceptable to Him: Like a thick cloud, I wipe away your offenses; like a cloud, your sins (Isaiah 44:22a). The nation will yet fulfill its calling to glorify the LORD. Echoing the words of Isaiah 43:10, ADONAI raises up Isra’el to be his witness. Worshippers from idolatrous nations (Isaiah 44:9) become as blind and unthinking as the wood from their carved idols. But Isra’el will break out in song – its forests and trees alive, its people redeemed and glorified!

B’rit Hadashah reading (Hebrews 7:18-19):

In this reading, the writer to the Hebrews compares the insufficiencies of the animal sacrifices compared to the sufficiency of Messiah’s sacrifice. Then he adds: Therefore, when Messiah came into the world, He says, “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You prepared for Me; with burnt offerings and purification offerings You were did not delight. Then I said, ‘Here I am – it is written about Me in the scroll – I have come to do Your will, My God’ (Hebrews 10:5-7 TLV quoting Psalm 40:6-8).” God planned the incarnation before the world came into being: You have prepared a body for Me. When Messiah was ready to be born of human flesh, standing on the edge of heaven, if you will, talking to God the Father, He acknowledged that His own body was to be the sacrifice that would be pleasing Ha’Shem.

By sacrificing His life, shedding His blood as an asham offering (see Ar – The Asham Offering: The Ministry of Reconciliation), Messiah cleanses the hearts and purges the consciences of those who believe (Hebrews 10:2). Scripture announces a new way to approach God in holiness (Hebrews 10:9-10), the perfecting (or making whole) of those who are now being sanctified (Hebrews 10:14). He has removed our sins from us as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12). This forgiveness means the complete removal of sins, making future purification offerings for sin unnecessary (Hebrews 10:17-18).⁵⁷