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When We Sin Unintentionally
Before Yeshua (Jesus) came to earth to atone for the sins of all mankind, God had made
provision for the sins of His people Isra’el through the tabernacle and temple sacrifices. He
has always been painfully aware of the reliability of man’s weakness to sin. One such sacrifice
was the sin offering. This offering (as described in Leviticus chapter 4) was made for priests,
the whole community, the leaders and individual members of the community. It was a sacrifice
for unintentional sin. Many of us believe that we are not sinning unless we consciously set out
to disobey God. In this mindset, one believes that unless the person knows he/she is sinning,
he/she is not sinning. Yet sin is sin whether we are aware of it or not. How gracious is our
God that He would make provision for even the sins we are not aware that we commit? He did
this for all of us through the ultimate sacrifice of Yeshua (Jesus). Yet, we see in the Scripture
in Leviticus chapter 4 that once God’s people realize that we have sinned, it is our
responsibility to do something about it.
Before Yeshua (Jesus) came to earth to atone for the sins of all mankind, God had made
provision for the sins of His people Isra’el through the tabernacle and temple sacrifices. He
has always been painfully aware of the reliability of man’s weakness to sin. One such sacrifice
was the sin offering. This offering (as described in Leviticus chapter 4) was made for priests,
the whole community, the leaders and individual members of the community. It was a sacrifice
for unintentional sin. Many of us believe that we are not sinning unless we consciously set out
to disobey God. In this mindset, one believes that unless the person knows he/she is sinning,
he/she is not sinning. Yet sin is sin whether we are aware of it or not. How gracious is our
God that He would make provision for even the sins we are not aware that we commit? He did
this for all of us through the ultimate sacrifice of Yeshua (Jesus). Yet, we see in the Scripture
in Leviticus chapter 4 that once God’s people realize that we have sinned, it is our
responsibility to do something about it.
Make Atonement and Reparations
When the children of Isra’el sinned unintentionally, they were required to offer a sacrifice to
God to atone for the sins once they were made aware of them. Leviticus 4:13 reads, “If the
whole Israelite community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD’s
commands, even though the community is unaware of the matter, they are guilty.” At this point
in time, God is making His will known like never before to His Body of Believers. As He reveals
more of Himself and His will to us, we learn, as individuals and as a community, more ways in
which we sin. Leviticus chapters 4 and 5 make it clear to us how we must address the sins
once we are aware. We must acknowledge openly that it is sin, apply the Blood of Yeshua
(Jesus) to atone for our sins, recommit ourselves to fellowship with the Holy God and make
reparations for the sins.
In each case, the sinner was to bring a sacrifice, place his hands on the animal, put some of
the blood on his finger and sprinkle it on the altar seven times before ADONAI (the LORD). All
of the fat was to be removed from the animal and the sacrifice burned. Bringing the sacrifice
acknowledges sin. Placing one’s hands on the animal identifies with the substitute sacrifice.
Even unintentional sins carry the penalty of death, but thanks be to God, we do not have to die
for our sins; the price has already been paid by Yeshua (Jesus). Putting blood on the altar
with our finger shows that this sin is physical, an act of sin rather than sin of the heart.
Unintentional sin comes from lack of knowledge, not always from impure motives, yet it still
separates us from God. The fat of the sacrifice represents things that separate us from God,
thus pulling us out of fellowship with Him. Hence, the removal of the fat demonstrates that after
the blood atones for the sin, the obstruction to true fellowship with God is removed. The
sacrifice is then burned, showing our need to repent of the sin by fully turning away from it.
There is a theme in chapter 5 of Leviticus that then becomes important to us after being
cleansed of sins, even unintentional ones: it is reparation. ADONAI requires that we
demonstrate our repentance by helping to repair some of the damage caused by ours sins,
even if we did not mean to cause damage. We cannot atone for the sins with our acts, but we
can demonstrate repentance and maturity by allowing God to use us to minister to those we
have hurt. Believers have caused harm to quite a few people groups. As we come to
understand the heart of God and repent of these sins, we must also allow Him to use us in
their healing.
When the children of Isra’el sinned unintentionally, they were required to offer a sacrifice to
God to atone for the sins once they were made aware of them. Leviticus 4:13 reads, “If the
whole Israelite community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD’s
commands, even though the community is unaware of the matter, they are guilty.” At this point
in time, God is making His will known like never before to His Body of Believers. As He reveals
more of Himself and His will to us, we learn, as individuals and as a community, more ways in
which we sin. Leviticus chapters 4 and 5 make it clear to us how we must address the sins
once we are aware. We must acknowledge openly that it is sin, apply the Blood of Yeshua
(Jesus) to atone for our sins, recommit ourselves to fellowship with the Holy God and make
reparations for the sins.
In each case, the sinner was to bring a sacrifice, place his hands on the animal, put some of
the blood on his finger and sprinkle it on the altar seven times before ADONAI (the LORD). All
of the fat was to be removed from the animal and the sacrifice burned. Bringing the sacrifice
acknowledges sin. Placing one’s hands on the animal identifies with the substitute sacrifice.
Even unintentional sins carry the penalty of death, but thanks be to God, we do not have to die
for our sins; the price has already been paid by Yeshua (Jesus). Putting blood on the altar
with our finger shows that this sin is physical, an act of sin rather than sin of the heart.
Unintentional sin comes from lack of knowledge, not always from impure motives, yet it still
separates us from God. The fat of the sacrifice represents things that separate us from God,
thus pulling us out of fellowship with Him. Hence, the removal of the fat demonstrates that after
the blood atones for the sin, the obstruction to true fellowship with God is removed. The
sacrifice is then burned, showing our need to repent of the sin by fully turning away from it.
There is a theme in chapter 5 of Leviticus that then becomes important to us after being
cleansed of sins, even unintentional ones: it is reparation. ADONAI requires that we
demonstrate our repentance by helping to repair some of the damage caused by ours sins,
even if we did not mean to cause damage. We cannot atone for the sins with our acts, but we
can demonstrate repentance and maturity by allowing God to use us to minister to those we
have hurt. Believers have caused harm to quite a few people groups. As we come to
understand the heart of God and repent of these sins, we must also allow Him to use us in
their healing.
