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Discussions Torah

Leviticus 1, 4–5: Be thankful God isn’t fair; lessons on mercy

If we are honest with ourselves and with others, we want God to be unfair. We want Him to give us mercy. But if we don’t want Him to give others mercy, He will not give us mercy (Matt. 7:2; Mark 4:24; Luke 6:38). Neither atonement nor forgiveness are fair, yet we want it that way. Contrary to popular belief, not all offerings of the Tabernacle are equal or identical. When we confuse them and lump them all together, it’s too easy to dismiss them and throw them out as obsolete. וַיִּקְרָא Vayiqra (“he called out,” Leviticus 1–5), the beginning reading from the Torah book by the same name, teaches us that God has a purpose in mind for each of the offerings. We’ll learn what each are and more about what God is trying to teach us.

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Discussions Torah

Leviticus 5: When you’re guilty and you know it, raise your offering

Leviticus 5 sounds very similar to Leviticus 4 in a lot of ways. Both passages discuss unintentional violations of God’s commandments and sin offerings, but the “guilt offering” we’re looking at today is different.

When you pray to God earnestly, you feel relieved that you can release those things that only God can hear, release them to Him and find relief. We don’t approach our High Priest with animals. We are God’s Temple. When we come to God with our sins, the High Priest brings His sacrifice and our repentance to God and we received God’s forgiveness. Without God’s Spirit increasing in us, we will not grow.

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Discussions Torah

Leviticus 5 — offerings for hidden sins and walking in the Spirit

When we commit “unintentional” sins and are later made aware of them, this text teaches us that we can’t simply say “oops” and ignore the revelation of that sin. This text shows us that when we become aware of some fault or sin, we must address the issue with repentance, restitution and restoration.

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Discussions Torah

Leviticus 4-5 — offerings for unintentional sins

The church has taught most of us that all sins are created equal but the Torah shows us otherwise. God not only looks at the sin but at the motive of the heart of the person committing the sin and the extent of their influence in the community at large. God provided different rules and consequences for different kinds of sins based on the severity of the sin and the intent (or lack thereof) of the sinner. This chapter tells us how God wanted the people, the priests and the rulers to make atonement for their unintended wrongdoings against Him.