Leviticus 5:1-19
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.
2 Or if a soul touch any unclean thing, whether it be a carcase of an unclean beast, or a carcase of unclean cattle, or the carcase of unclean creeping things, and if it be hidden from him; he also shall be unclean, and guilty.
3 Or if he touch the uncleanness of man, whatsoever uncleanness it be that a man shall be defiled withal, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty.
4 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.
5 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:
6 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.
7 And if he be not able to bring a lamb, then he shall bring for his trespass, which he hath committed, two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, unto the LORD; one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering.
8 And he shall bring them unto the priest, who shall offer that which is for the sin offering first, and wring off his head from his neck, but shall not divide it asunder:
9 And he shall sprinkle of the blood of the sin offering upon the side of the altar; and the rest of the blood shall be wrung out at the bottom of the altar: it is a sin offering.
10 And he shall offer the second for a burnt offering, according to the manner:a and the priest shall make an atonement for him for his sin which he hath sinned, and it shall be forgiven him.
11 But if he be not able to bring two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, then he that sinned shall bring for his offering the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for a sin offering; he shall put no oil upon it, neither shall he put any frankincense thereon: for it is a sin offering.
12 Then shall he bring it to the priest, and the priest shall take his handful of it, even a memorial thereof, and burn it on the altar, according to the offerings made by fire unto the LORD: it is a sin offering.
13 And the priest shall make an atonement for him as touching his sin that he hath sinned in one of these, and it shall be forgiven him: and the remnant shall be the priest's, as a meat offering.
14 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
15 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:
16 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.
17 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.
18 And he shall bring a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass offering, unto the priest: and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his ignorance wherein he erred and wist it not, and it shall be forgiven him.
19 It is a trespass offering: he hath certainly trespassed against the LORD.
Leviticus 5:1. He shall bear his iniquity. Proverbs 29:24, seems to refer to this passage. “He that hears cursing, and betrays it not, hates his own soul.” The sons of Belial said, that they heard Naboth blaspheme God and the king. Both Satan and his servants will cite the scriptures to impose and deceive.
Leviticus 5:2. If a soul touch any unclean thing. The carcase of a reptile, of an unclean beast, or a dead body. The daily impurities of the Hebrews were cleansed by washing, and by the evening sacrifice. But the law here respected a man's approach to the sanctuary, or the eating of holy things.
Leviticus 5:4. If a soul swear, that is lightly and foolishly, or pronounce a rash word. Rash vows of hurting ourselves, or our neighbours, are here declared to be very sinful. Men had better repent of the rashness, than have bitter cause to repent of the vow and the sin.
Leviticus 5:5. Confess that he hath sinned. So in Numbers 5:7. The papists turn this to their own purpose. Agat pœnitentiam pro peccato. He shall do penance for his sin; whereas Leviticus 5:6 prescribes no penance, except a lamb from the flock. Repentance must be “towards God.”
Leviticus 5:15. If a soul commit a trespass in holy things. The LXX read πλημμελεια, which refers to some fraud, by withholding the tenths for the support of the sanctuary and its ministers, whether of corn or of the firstlings of his flock, he was here not only enjoined to restore it, but to add a fifth part as a fine for his fault. The whole tribe of Levi gave up their land; they had no lot but forty eight cities. Hence in fact, the people only cultivated the lands of the levites, while the levites, in return, devoted their lives to the instruction of the people: to rob the levites therefore was to rob the Lord. Malachi 3:8.
REFLECTIONS.
The first object which presents itself in this chapter, is a caveat against perjury. If any Israelite heard it, and did not bear his testimony against it, he participated of the crime; and in fact, it is so with almost every other sin. For we have all one Father, even God; and if we see or hear iniquity committed against him, and do not testify against it, how can he regard us as his friends? This is a striking argument against being partakers of other mens' sins.
If a man had defiled himself with touching a dead body, and had neglected to cleanse himself and had eaten of holy things, or approached the sanctuary of God, so defiled, he is declared to have sinned; and atonement must be made for him. Let us beware of approaching the Lord with any defilement, either of body or mind, unrenounced and unabhorred. And as to the sins of which we may not be properly aware, let us pray the Lord to search and cleanse us from every secret fault.
Rash words, oaths and vows, being sinful in their nature, and the effect rather of passion than of judgment, all need atonement in the sight of God. Man, who is lord neither of life nor limb, but a mere creature dependant every moment on his Maker's pleasure, should make no vows but in submission to his will: but if he have uttered an indiscreet word, or made a rash vow, he had better desist from keeping it, and repent before the Lord: for it is a gross mistake to suppose, that a holy God will accept the payment of any vow, where the motive is not pure and holy. A bad vow has been regarded as a sword with two edges, which cuts both ways: either payment or repentance will wound the mind.
Observe the gracious condescension of the Lord; if the offender was poor, and could not bring the prescribed victim, two doves or a little flour would be accepted. The Father of mercies will never spurn the poor and the needy from his presence, nor from the atonement of Christ Jesus. What a pity that the wicked should remain in sin and alienated from God, seeing the way is applained, and access made easy. Surely if men knew the riches of his mercy, they would revere his justice and adore his grace.