Chapter 5

Starts like this:

1 "If anyone sins in that he hears a public adjuration to testify, and though he is a witness, whether he has seen or come to know the matter, yet does not speak, he shall bear his iniquity; [Lev 5:1 ESV]

This is an interesting one. It is not ok to keep silent when you are a witness.  This says that live and let live is not ok. 

Possible FB post at some point, just because it is so unique.

A long list follows of sins that one might commit unknowingly, and then later find out that a sin has occurred.  Several of these had to do with touching unclean things and becoming unclean, but not finding out about it until later.  If this happened, a sacrifice was to be made.  A "compensation" offered.  The note in TCR says in Hebrew, the words are "guilt penalty" not compensation.  It says the rest of the book will be translated compensation, but the underlying word is penalty.  There is no chapter heading for 5 in TCR, but it is treated like a continuation of four, which was titled Laws for Sin Offerings.  In the MSB, however, chapter 5 is titled The Law of Guilt Offerings, as if this is a separate thing from the sin offering.  The Sin Offering was for sin committed unintentionally.  As in overlooking a rule, or not knowing the rule.  The Guilt Offering appears to be violation of a rule that you do know about, are fully aware of, but without even knowing you've done it.  I picture eating something that includes unclean animal meat, and finding out later that the unclean meat was there.  The Sin offering was for committing an act that was prohibited. 

Ahh...I am making too much of it.  Vs 6 clearly says that this requires a sin offering.  Sin offerings were described in chapter 4.  The sin offering was required both for the kind of offense found in 4 and for these found in 5.   These in 5 all seem to be for individuals, and that is corroborated by the fact that the sacrifice is a female goat or lamb.

Beginning in vs 14, details of what to do if one violates a holy thing of the Lord.  Perhaps this is about touching temple utensils or coming into the court ceremonially unclean.  This required a ram, plus 20% to the priests.  So this is different also.  Seems like all these are sin offerings, but depending upon the nature of the sin, the specific "compensation" for the sin is different.  Seems to me this shows that God does not  consider all sins to be the same level of offense.  Some sins are indeed worse than others.  Some require greater compensation because of their magnitude.  Any sin condemns us, but still some sins are worse than others.  I am also reminded of the chapter intro from MSB saying that Moses assumes we'll have some current knowledge of the sacrifices.  I most certainly do not, and that may be why I find them so confusing.

Either a good study here or a possible FB post.

Allowances made for those who cannot afford calves for offering.  Turtledoves and so on may be substituted.