THE TRESPASS OFFERING

Lev. 5:6-7; 7:1-10

Morning Meditation 1/3/2014

Lev. 5:6-7 says, “And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD for his sin which he hath sinned, a female from the flock, a lamb or a kid of the goats, for a sin offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his sin. And if he be not able to bring a lamb, then he shall bring for his trespass, which he hath committed, two turtle doves, or two young pigeons, unto the LORD; one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering.”

Lev. 7:1-10 says, “Likewise this is the law of the trespass offering: it is most holy. In the place where they kill the burnt offering shall they kill the trespass offering: and the blood thereof shall he sprinkle round about upon the altar. And he shall offer of it all the fat thereof; the rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards, And the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the caul that is above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away: And the priest shall burn them upon the altar for an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a trespass offering. Every male among the priests shall eat thereof: it shall be eaten in the holy place: it is most holy. As the sin offering is, so is the trespass offering: there is one law for them: the priest that maketh atonement therewith shall have it. And the priest that offereth any man's burnt offering, even the priest shall have to himself the skin of the burnt offering which he hath offered. And all the meat offering that is baked in the oven, and all that is dressed in the fryingpan, and in the pan, shall be the priest's that offereth it. And every meat offering, mingled with oil, and dry, shall all the sons of Aaron have, one as much as another.”

One of the differences between the sin offering and the trespass offering is that in the trespass offering RESTITUTION was always required. Keep this in mind. Jesus did not only make things right for us by sacrifice but He made restitution. We have here listed the things for which the trespass offering had to be made:

1.For concealing truth. This is seen in Lev. 5:1: “And if a soul sin, and hear the voice of swearing, and is a witness, whether he hath seen or known of it; if he do not utter it, then he shall bear his iniquity.” This is a reference to taking an oath. We would call it making a firm promise. There were God’s people and He wanted them to be very careful about keeping their promises. In fact He teaches here that it is a TRESPASS against His law not to keep a promise. This also teaches that it is wrong to withhold evidence. If one withholds evidence he becomes partaker in the crime committed.

2.Defilement. Lev. 5:2 says, “Or if a soul touch any unclean thing . . .” This may seem severe but the Nation of Israel was surrounded by nations given over to idolatry and gross sexual immorality and they had the social diseases that go along with that kind of life. God wanted His people to stay separated from these people. This would protect them from becoming defiled spiritually through the sin of idolatry and physically from the diseases that were in the land. A dead body or a leprous person would defile the one who touched it. Even if the a person did it ignorantly and learned of it later, he was guilty and must offer the trespass offering.

3.Swearing rashly. Lev. 5:4 says, “Or if a soul swear, pronouncing with his lips to do evil, or to do good, whatsoever it be that a man shall pronounce with an oath, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty in one of these.”

I quote C. W. Slemming in his book THUS SHALT THOU SERVE p. 52-53: “On reading the verse, again it would appear that there is an outstanding injustice, if not a contradiction. It is understandable that if a person declared that he would perform some good thing and they failed to do it, he would be in the wrong, but if a person declared that he was going to carry out some evil project and then repented of his intent, that act would be justifiable; but the text says No! He is still a guilty man.”

“This is a matter of emphasis. The verse is not concerned with the good or evil; it is concerned with the oath. It is a demand for care in the form of our speech which can quickly cause us to fall into sin. Our promises to do good or evil must not be rash, and they must never be done in the name of the Lord.”

Jesus said let your communication be, Yea, yea and nay, nay. What is taught here is that “in the mind of God breaking a vow is more grievous that fulfilling an evil intent, so the lesser must be done because of the import of the greater.” This is not easy to understand. I would suggest that you study Jephthah’s vow in Judges 11:30-40. There are some things we will never understand until we have it explained to us by Him in eternity. It is better to do without saying than it is to say and not do.

4.Dishonesty in holy things. Lev. 5:15-16 says, “If a soul commit a trespass, and sin through ignorance, in the holy things of the LORD; then he shall bring for his trespass unto the LORD a ram without blemish out of the flocks, with thy estimation by shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for a trespass offering: And he shall make amends for the harm that he hath done in the holy thing, and shall add the fifth part thereto, and give it unto the priest: and the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering, and it shall be forgiven him.” The Pulpit Commentary says that this refers to sins of omission, i.e., like the tithe wherein the people in Malachi were said to be robbing God by withholding the tithe. For instance if one should commit the sin of withholding the tithe he would have to make amends by giving two tithes as a fine plus make up the tithe and then make the trespass offering for an atonement. It costs a lot more to be disobedient than it does to obey.

5.Ignorance. Lev. 5:17 says, “And if a soul sin, and commit any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the LORD; though he wist it not, yet is he guilty, and shall bear his iniquity.” Another way of stating the sin of ignorance is with the words, “though he wist it not.” God holds a person responsible for the sins of ignorance. You say, “that is unfair.” I’ll tell you what you do. You drive down the road at 60 mph in a 35 mph zone and let a cop stop you and tell him, “I didn’t know it was a 35 mph zone.” He will continue to write the ticket just like you hadn’t said a thing. It is our responsibility to know the law. Ignorance will not stand up as an argument. It will not stand up with God either. This offering is for the sin of ignorance so that the one who sins in this manner can be forgiven. One of the things one discovers when He studies the Bible is that he is a sinner and totally unable to meet God’s standards. We are in need of One who can save us and Jesus is that One.

6.Failure in ones trusts. Lev. 6:2 says, “If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the LORD, and lie unto his neighbour in that which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship, or in a thing taken away by violence, or hath deceived his neighbour.” This is the unlawful possession of another’s property. Maybe you take something that belongs to another and when the time comes for its return, you refuse. This is a sin God says. You have lied to your neighbor.

7.Unfairness in partnership.. Lev. 6:2 says, “If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the LORD . . . if fellowship.” The word “fellowship” is translated “bargain.” the idea is one of partnership. Our service to the Lord extends to our every day behavior.

8.Taking things by violence. Lev. 6:2 says, “If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the LORD . . . in a thing taken away by violence.” There are some people who bully their way through life taking what they want whether other people like it or not. This is forbidden, it is called a sin, and repentance and sacrifice is necessary for forgiveness.

9.Deception. Lev. 6:2 says, “If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the LORD . . . or hath deceived his neighbor.” This means to obtain something under false pretenses. Jacob deceived Esau. There are many places in the Scripture where this sin is illustrated.

10. Keeping things found. Lev. 6:2-3 says, “Then it shall be, because he hath sinned, and is guilty, that he shall restore that which he took violently away, or the thing which he hath deceitfully gotten, or that which was delivered him to keep, or the lost thing which he found.” We used to say when we found something, “Finders keepers, losers weepers.” Well, God required one to find the right owner and restore what was found. God required absolute honesty.

HOW DOES THE PERSON WHO COMMITS A TRESPASS MAKE IT RIGHT?

1.He must confess. Lev. 5:5 says, “And it shall be, when he shall be guilty in one of these things, that he shall confess that he hath sinned in that thing.” There is no freedom from guilt until a person admits he is wrong. Once he has admitted he is wrong about something and asked for forgiveness he no longer has to be defensive. If someone says you did such and such, you can say, “Yes, I did. And I asked the Lord’s forgiveness for it. I was so wrong. Thank the Lord He has forgiven and restored me.” What are you going to do with a person like that? You forgive him also and your fellowship should be restored. It is the way of freedom from ones past.

2.Restitution. After confession there must be restitution to the person wronged (so far as is possible). It may be wrong toward God, i.e., the tithe, etc. It may be toward your fellow man. Say you stole something from your neighbor. Take it back. It will be humbling but it is the right thing to do. God fixed it where it cost something to be wrong. It might stop a lot of crime if it cost more to be a criminal.

THE PRIESTS WORK

The priest was to make the offering and sprinkle the blood. Jesus our High Priest offered Himself and He applies the blood to the transgressor. Thank the Lord there is a fountain that never runs dry. We can come to it on a regular basis and always obtain forgiveness.

Isaiah 55:1 says, “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”

The gospel is good news for bad people. When you get into a lesson like this and see how strict the Lord was with Israel, it makes you hold your breath. It stirs a holy fear in ones heart because every honest Christian knows that he has done some of these very things of which this passage teaches. But don’t forget, there was the offering that was made alongside of this. God judged the innocent (whatever was offered) in the place of the guilty. In Christ, what we are guilty of He paid for on the cross.

May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.

In Christ

Bro. White