Seder 78: Leviticus 5-6 and Zechariah 5---Crime and Punishment in Ancient Israel

 When a crime was committed in ancient Israel---a theft, for example---there would be a public call for witnesses to come forward, with an oath calling upon God to deal appropriately with the perpetrator and anyone who knew what had happened but refused to testify.  

This kind of public call and oath is first mentioned in the Bible in Leviticus 5:1.  Another reference to it is in Proverbs 29:24:  "The partner of a thief hates his own life; he hears the curse, but discloses nothing."  

When there was a lack of evidence in a case, it might have ended up being resolved by an oath.  For example, Exodus 22:10-11 describes a case where one person leaves some possession with another person for safekeeping, and the possession is subsequently lost.  If there is no evidence of what happened and the person who was supposed to be guarding the possession swears that he doesn't know what happened, the owner has to accept his word.  

Underlying all of this is the conviction that God sees everything and is the ultimate Judge.  In some cases where a person failed to testify, his conscience would eventually move him to step forward belatedly, as in Leviticus 5:1.  Or if a person had defrauded another and initially lied about it, he might later confess the truth and make things right (Lv 6:1-7).  God might give such a person some incentive to do the right thing by allowing the person to suffer for his wrongdoing.  That's what Leviticus 5:1 means when it speaks of the reluctant witness "bearing his iniquity."  

One striking affirmation of God's justice appears in Zechariah's vision of a flying scroll.  (Remembering the old Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons, I am tempted to refer to the scroll in the vision as Rocket J. Scroll.)  This huge scroll measures about 30 feet by 15 feet.  It has writing on both sides, like the tablets of the Decalogue.  The commandment against stealing is on one side, and the commandment against bearing false witness is on the other.  The scroll seems to symbolize the whole Decalogue, or more broadly all of God's Word.  

Zechariah 5:3-4 pictures God sending out the scroll, as he sends out his Word in Psalm 147:15; and as in Isaiah 55:11, it accomplishes God's will, carrying out justice in the world.  The scroll makes good on the oath that goes out when witnesses are solicited---see verse 3.  

Although we are not often called upon to be witnesses in a court of law, we have all been witnesses of the goodness of God.  In a sermon on Leviticus 5:1 at Church of the Messiah on August 2, 2025, Kyle Kettering urged us not to be reluctant witnesses, and to speak up about what God has done for us. 

Seder 78: Lev 5:14-6:7---Reparation Offerings

 Leviticus 5:14-6:7 describes what are traditionally called "guilt offerings" in English.  Scholars today prefer the term "reparation offerings."  Commentator Jay Sklar describes this kind of offering as "a ransom payment by means of sacrificial blood that rescues the sinner and restores relationship with God."

One situation in which a reparation offering was called for is a case where one had taken or misused some holy thing---for example, eating food reserved for the priests.  

Also covered here were situations where a person was suffering and believed the suffering was being caused by an inadvertent misuse of a holy thing (Lev 5:17-19).  

A third category included situations in which a person had made a false oath to get away with a financial crimre---e.g., finding something that was lost and claiming that one hadn't.  

People were moved to come forward and make reparation when they began to suffer the consequences of their sin.  A message here is that there is no such thing as a "secret sin".  God knows what we have done.  

Seder 78: Lev 5:1-13---More on Sins of Weakness and Purification Offerings.

 In our human weakness, we often "miss the mark" and fall short of God's standards.  This happens, in particular, when we fail to do something that we are supposed to do.  Leviticus 5 begins with some examples, like failing to come forward as a witness when one knows sopmething about a crime that has been committed, or carelessly making a promise and failing to follow through on it.  

In cases of such sins, an ancient Israelite could confess the sin and make things right as much as possible (v 5), then present a purification offering.  The offering could involve a lamb, two doves, or a tenth of an ephah (about .06 bushels) of grain.  God, in his desire to be in relationship with his people, made it possible for all, including the poor, to be able to afford an offering.  

Kyle Kettering reflected on these things in a sermon at Church of the Messiah on Nov 6, 2021.  In a sermonette, Frank Fenton pointed to the incident of the "widow's mite" (Mark 12:41-44) as an example of how much God values the offerings of the poor.  

Seder 77: Leviticus 4---The Purification Offering

Leviticus 4:1-5:13 describes what is traditionally known as a "sin offering."   Scholars today prefer the term "purification offering." since this kind of offering is also used in the cleansing of ritual impurity, where no sin has been committed.  The term "purification offering" covers both cases of sin (which is viewed in Leviticus as moral impurity) and ritual impurity. 

The kinds of sins in view are those that are unintentional, along with sins of omission.  These are sins that are not defiant or high-handed, but rather sins of ignorance, error, weakness, thoughtlessness, or negligence.  The sin is brought to the person's attention when he or she begins to suffer some consequences of it.  

Several examples are given in chapter 4 to explain how this kind of sacrifice is carried out.  The cases are covered in decreasing order of seriousness.  In the case of a high priest (4:3-12), the welfare of the whole community could be at stake, since a priest could be leading others into sin or may have done something to jeopardize God's presence among, or relationship with, the community.  

The high priest wasn't allowed to eat any of this offering, since it wouldn't make sense for the priest to somehow benefit from his own sin.  (That would be like committing a crime and then turning yourself in to collect the reward money.)

In this offering for priests, large parts of the bull's body were burned "outside the camp,"  symbolizing the removal of the sin from the community.  The writer of Hebrews saw this detail as symbolic of Jesus' work on the cross:  

"So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood" (Heb 13:12).

Another section of Leviticus 4 discusses a purification offering addressing a sin of the whole congregation (vv 13-21).  An example might be a case where bloodshed occurs and the community does not address the situation properly.  During David's reign, for instance, Israel once experienced a three-year famine because Saul, in his zeal, had broken Israel's treaty with the Gibeonites (2 Sam 21).  The whole community was paying the consequences of this sin, and it had to be addressed.

Another example could be the making of the treaty with the Gibeonites (Joshua 9).  Israel's leaders made the agreement without consulting God, and the truth about the Gibeonites then came out.   

Commentator Jay Sklar highlights several lessons from Leviticus 4:

1. God provides cleansing from sin so that we can experience forgiveness and have fellowship with him.
2. Suffering can be a sign of sin, God's loving warning that we need to repent.
3. Leaders are responsible for modeling godliness (1 Tim 3:1-13, e.g.)
4. Jesus is the perfect high priest and sacrifice.

In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on October 30, 2021, Rob Wilson gave an introduction to the book of Leviticus.