Page 67 - Pentateuch

10. What two distinctions were the priests to make for the people?

Let’s get Personal…

We can only speculate about the actual response of the average Israelite. Some never thought beyond the
immediate demands of the law. Many of these would have given up obeying in anything more than a
minimal way. They may have kept up appearances to fit in.

Others would have wrestled continually with their consciences. God created each human with the ability to
watch and hear all he does. Our consciences accuse or excuse us, even apart from the law (Romans 2:15). In
these sacrifices, God was educating the Israelites about that inner voice. In connection with the sin offering,
they were instructed: “when anyone becomes aware that they are guilty in any of these matters, they must
confess in what way they have sinned (5:5). This is the first instance of the word for “confess” in the
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Hebrew Bible. Earlier, people groped toward confession to God. Conscience speaks. Guilt is experienced.
Now God gave his people a way to evaluate their feelings and quiet their conscience. A thoughtful person
might work toward the idea of a better sacrifice and the permanent stilling of that conscience. God was
calling them to him for forgiveness rather than running from him in fear (1 John 1:9).

Desiring a relationship with YHWH and rejecting the practices they saw in other nations, they would be
driven to consider the promises of God. “Will God provide for me as he did for Abraham?” “Why did God
ask Abraham to sacrifice his only son, and why did God let my oldest child live when the oldest children of
the Egyptians were killed?” They understood their sinfulness and their inability to keep the law. Many,
many would have lifted their hearts in faith to believe in God’s promise of a coming Messiah. “All the
prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name
(Acts 10:43).”

We are reminded in these of the seriousness of sin. Even accidental sins are worthy of punishment. A
Christian can never even begin to think of paying for a personal sin or making up for some sin. Only the
death of Christ is sufficient. As we read and study, our hearts are filled more deeply with thanks for the
death of Jesus Christ. We desire to “continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise” (Heb. 13:15). Experiencing
his undeserved mercy leads us to offer the same to others in a variety of ways (13:16). His incredible gift
calls from deep within. “Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true
and proper worship (Rom. 12:1).”

As with so much of the Pentateuch, we cannot know what might have been in the minds of the Israelites.
Yet God’s intent was not to confuse them. Knowing the customs of the nations and the expectations of the
average person, God was carefully and purposefully leading them to himself. Surely a faithful person could
make the connections. Could not a man or woman or even a child witnessing these events and instructions
be deeply saddened by the difficulty of knowing God and turning in hope to the Promise? Someday a
Messiah will come. “I cannot be pure enough. I cannot sacrifice enough animal blood. I cannot be careful
enough to avoid all dangers. I will try my best, but I will trust in God’s better. I don’t know exactly what the
Messiah will “look like,” but I will trust in YHWH’s character to provide what I need to know him.

81 Gane, Leviticus , p. 124.

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