This chapter contains further guidelines for sin offerings, and guidelines for guilt offerings.
The remaining sin offering guidelines can be summarized in this way:
– they include failing to be a truthful witness, being a false witness, becoming ceremonially unclean, and swearing a false oath (ie. speaking thoughtlessly) as sin
– they include provisions for people who cannot afford livestock (ie. two turtledoves, then two pigeons, then finally 1/10 ephah [approx 2 liters] of fine flour for the poorest)
Though the bulk of the chapter are those additional sin offering guidelines, I’d like to focus on the last few verses: “The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘If anyone commits a breach of faith and sins unintentionally in any of the holy things of the Lord, he shall bring to the Lord as his compensation, a ram without blemish out of the flock, valued in silver shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, for a guilt offering. He shall also make restitution for what he has done amiss in the holy thing and shall add a fifth to it and give it to the priest. And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering, and he shall be forgiven. It is a guilt offering; he has indeed incurred guilt before the Lord.’ ” (v14-16,19)
I wasn’t sure what the passage meant by the “sins unintentionally in any of the holy things of the Lord”, so I had to read some commentary. According to what I read, this could be rephrased as “sins unintentionally by misusing, desecrating, or making unclean the tabernacle, its courtyard, or any of the holy objects within”. If someone was to cause any of the holy objects or places any sort of harm, not only did they need to make a sin offering, they had to make an additional guilt offering and restitution as well.
The scenario that comes to mind is a damage deposit on rental property. If I kept it in good shape, I don’t owe that additional percentage when I no longer utilize that property. If I caused harm to the property, I’m penalized because the owner has an additional cost to restore the property. It doesn’t matter if I damaged the property intentionally or accidentally, I failed to be a good steward of the property so I have to pay the price.
Similar could be said of harming God’s property – we have to seek forgiveness for our sin, deal with the guilt, and make restitution for the damages plus 20% (that small damage deposit doesn’t seem so bad now, does it?). God takes His property very seriously, and our roles as stewards of His property are one of our highest callings. Stewardship of God’s property goes all the way back to the beginning: “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” (Gen 2:15)
How does this apply to us today? We are to continue being good stewards of that with which we are entrusted (eg. talents, property, resources, etc.) It doesn’t matter how many “talents” we are given, it’s what we do with them that counts (see Mt 25:14-30). How we respond to God’s calling, how we utilize God’s property (ie. we are His property, because He bought us with a price [1 Cor 6:19-20]) is critical to modeling Christ to this world. Just as Jesus submitted all that He was and had to the Father, so should we.
What’s the penalty for being poor stewards? Well, we won’t likely be struck down by lightning, though we may not hear a “well done, good and faithful servant” when we reach Him in heaven. If you’re like me and not driven by personal reward, then ask yourself this question: if I am a poor steward of God’s gifts, which person (or people) will never see the glory of God, because I wasn’t willing to fulfill God’s calling?
Father God, thank you for Your abundant grace and mercy, both of which we desperately need. Thank you for the many gifts you entrust to us, both tangible and intangible. Thank you for guiding us to utilize those gifts for Your glory and the building of Your kingdom. Father God I know it’s often difficult to discern where our gifts should be utilized, and I pray for extra discernment and guidance for those of us who are unclear. We trust in You and Your process, as we trust You know our hearts and our desire to serve. May all glory, honor and praise be Yours for the light and salt we spread in this world. Amen.
~ Conqueror in Training