Leviticus 5

Leviticus 5 continues the laws for sin and guilt offerings. It deals with sins of silence, accidental uncleanness and rash words, and it lowers the cost for the poor so that no one is shut out of forgiveness. The chapter ends with offenses against God’s holy things, where the guilty person must repay and add a fifth.

Leviticus 5:1

A person who hears a public call for witnesses and stays silent about what he saw or knew is guilty. Silence can be a sin. The one who withholds the truth carries the weight of the wrong, so justice and honesty are a duty to God.

BSA: bear (“lift, carry”): Guilt is pictured as a load the person must pick up and carry until it is dealt with.

See also: Proverbs 29:24.

Leviticus 5:2

Touching a dead unclean animal made a person ritually unclean, even without knowing it. Uncleanness was not only about intent. It reminded Israel that God is holy and that approaching him needs care. Ignorance did not remove the need for cleansing.

BSA: unclean (“impure, defiled”): The word describes a state that kept a person from the worship of God’s holy place.

Leviticus 5:3

The same holds for human uncleanness, such as bodily discharges or contact with the dead. The guilt begins to count when the person realizes it. Once he knows, he can no longer let it pass and must set it right before God.

BSA: realizes (“knows, understands, is aware of”): Guilt becomes a matter of conscience the moment the person sees what has happened.

Leviticus 5:4

Rash promises, to do good or evil, also bring guilt. Words spoken without thought still bind a person before God. When he later sees what he said, he must face it. The verse shows how seriously God takes the words we speak.

BSA: rashly (“without thought, impulsively”): The oath is made on impulse, with no pause to count the cost.

See also: Ecclesiastes 5:2; Matthew 5:37.

Leviticus 5:5

Before any offering, the person must say out loud what he has done. Forgiveness begins with honest admission. Sacrifice without confession would be an empty ritual. God asks for the heart as well as the animal.

BSA: confess (“give thanks, acknowledge, admit”): To confess is to openly agree with God about the wrong and to own it.

Hebrew: וְהִתְוַדָּה (vehitvaddah, H3034) — “and he shall confess.” The Hebrew root also carries the sense of giving praise. Honest confession is a way of acknowledging who God is.

See also: 1 John 1:9; Proverbs 28:13.

Leviticus 5:6

The normal offering is a female lamb or goat. The priest then makes atonement, meaning he covers the sin so that it no longer stands between the person and God. The sinner cannot cover his own guilt. God provides the way.

BSA: atonement (“to cover or purify, reconciling with God”): Atonement covers the guilt and restores the broken relationship.

Hebrew: כִּפֶּר (kipper, H3722) — “to cover, make atonement.” The root pictures covering over a debt or wrong. It lies behind the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur.

See also: Hebrews 9:22.

Leviticus 5:7

God makes a way for the poor. If a lamb is too costly, two birds will do. One bird is for sin and the other is a burnt offering of full devotion. The need for forgiveness is the same for all, and so is the welcome.

BSA: cannot afford (“is not able to bring, does not have the means for”): God sets the price within the reach of the poor.

See also: Luke 2:24.

Leviticus 5:8-9

The priest handles the first bird as the sin offering. He wrings its neck without tearing the head off. He sprinkles some blood on the altar’s side and drains the rest at its base. Blood stands for life given up in the sinner’s place.

BSA: blood (“the liquid that flows through the body, essential for life”): The blood represents a life poured out, which is why it is treated with such care.

See also: Leviticus 17:11.

Leviticus 5:10

The second bird is burned whole as a burnt offering, in the way the law lays down. Both offerings together bring atonement. The promise is plain: he will be forgiven. The poor man’s small gift is accepted as fully as a rich man’s lamb.

BSA: forgiven (“pardoned, or nislach, freed from guilt”): Forgiveness means the guilt is truly lifted from the person.

Leviticus 5:11

For the very poorest, a small amount of fine flour is accepted as a sin offering. Oil and frankincense are left off. They suggest joy and fragrance, which do not fit an offering for sin. Even so, God does not turn away the person with nothing else to give.

BSA: fine flour (“the best meal, refined and pure”): Even the poorest offering is to be of good quality.

Leviticus 5:12

The priest takes a handful and burns it on the altar as a memorial portion. This small part stands for the whole offering and is given to God. It is a reminder before him of the person’s need and his act of repentance.

BSA: memorial portion (“a reminder of the offering, a sign of dedication”): A small part is given to God as a sign that the whole offering belongs to him.

Leviticus 5:13

Again the promise is given: atonement is made and he will be forgiven. The rest of the flour goes to the priest, as with the grain offering. God provides for those who serve at his altar, and the humblest sinner finds the same mercy.

See also: Leviticus 2:3.

Leviticus 5:14-15

A new section begins, about the guilt offering. It covers unintended wrongs against God’s holy things, such as keeping back tithes or offerings. The offering is an unblemished ram, of a set value by the sanctuary shekel, the standard weight used for holy things.

BSA: unfaithfully (“commits a trespass, sins through ignorance”): The wrong is a breach of trust against what God has set apart.

Hebrew: מַעַל (ma’al, H4603) — “unfaithfulness, breach of trust.” The word describes acting treacherously, as though betraying a trust. Taking what belongs to God is treated as a breach of faith with him.

Leviticus 5:16

Forgiveness does not skip over the damage. The person repays what he took and adds one fifth. Then the ram is offered and he is forgiven. Real repentance puts right what it can and trusts God for the rest.

BSA: restitution (“pay compensation, restore”): The wrong must be repaid, not just regretted.

See also: Luke 19:8; Numbers 5:7.

Leviticus 5:17

Even a person who breaks one of the LORD’s commands without knowing it is guilty. Ignorance does not make the act right. Guilt is real whether or not it is felt. The person still carries the consequence until it is dealt with.

BSA: unaware (“lacking understanding, ignorant”): The wrong was done without knowing, yet it still counted as guilt.

Leviticus 5:18

The remedy is a ram without blemish, of proper value, brought to the priest. The priest makes atonement for the wrong done in ignorance, and the person is forgiven. God’s mercy reaches even sins we did not know we had committed.

BSA: unblemished (“perfect, without defect”): Only the best, a perfect animal, is fit to stand in the sinner’s place.

See also: 1 Peter 1:19.

Leviticus 5:19

The chapter closes with a plain statement: this is a guilt offering, for he was certainly guilty before the LORD. God does not excuse the guilt, and yet he supplies the cure. The teaching points to the need for a perfect sacrifice, and Christians see it fulfilled in Christ.

BSA: guilty (“responsible, at fault”): The person is held accountable before God, with no excuse.

See also: Isaiah 53:10; Hebrews 10:10.