Page 70 - Pentateuch - Student Textbook

One other distinction should be noted. The two later categories of sacrifice, sin and guilt offering, are
made to atone for wrongdoing. Yet in both cases the wrongdoing appears to be accidental or
unintentional. Sin offerings are for the priest who sins unintentionally (4:3), the whole community
(4:13), a leader (4:22), or a member of the community (4:27). The list of illustrations includes a variety of
activities such as not speaking up with information connected to a public charge, touching anything
ceremonially unclean, or thoughtlessly taking an oath (5:1, 2, 4).

Whether the wrongdoing is unintentional or not, once the individual “discovers” his wrongdoing, he
must act. Some of the sins mentioned cannot be done unintentionally. Deceiving a neighbor about
something entrusted to them (6:2), stealing (6:4), and swearing falsely (6:5) can hardly be done
accidentally. The point in all these cases, intentional or unintentional, is that atonement is necessary.
For those who have done something intentionally, making restitution to the person wronged must be
done before any sacrifice will be accepted by God (6:5).

The sacrificial system presents different models or analogies to describe the
effects of sin and the way of remedying them. The burnt offering uses a personal
picture: of man the guilty sinner who deserves to die for his sin and of the animal dying
in his place. God accepts the animal as a ransom for man. The sin offering uses a medical
model: sin makes the world so dirty that God can no longer dwell there. The blood of
the animal disinfects the sanctuary in order that God may continue to be present with
his people. The reparation [guilt] offering presents a commercial picture of sin. Sin is a
77
debt which man incurs against God. The debt is paid through the offered animal.

The picture is fairly vivid. Many modern readers are unaccustomed to
butchering animals. The instructions make these sacrifices a highly
personal matter. Hands touch the animal’s head, hide, meat, and
blood. Sights and sounds connect in the mind of the worshiper. Unless
he is acting in a superficial manner (difficult to do with the warm
blood of an animal on his hands), he makes the connection between
himself coming to God as a sinner and the necessary death of an
animal.

Fig. 45: Voodoo, Haiti, 1997 Yet while making these mental connections,
a sincere Israelite would ponder the value of
animal sacrifices for himself. Unlike people in other nations, including Egypt, he
knows the difference between an animal and a human. Humans are made in
the image of God and are thus so very much more valuable than animals.
Animals do not come before YHWH in worship nor do they make sacrifices for
their misdeeds. The question would often arise, “If my life is forfeit due to sin,
how can the life of an animal pay for me?”

An earnest Israelite might also wonder about his resources. Would his cattle Fig. 46: Santeria sacrifice
and sheep and birds, or money to pay for them, be enough to take care of his
sins? Perhaps a wild animal has killed one of his sheep. He must dispose of the carcass. Yet in disposing
of the dead sheep, he becomes unclean before God. So he must present an offering at the tabernacle to
atone for his sin. The double loss might be repeated several times before the wild animal itself is killed.

77 Ibid., 111.

69