Consequences
This week is on Leviticus 4:1-4:
I guess this week will be on Leviticus properly. God here is speaking to Moses about his law for the Israelites. He's talking about sin and what the consequences are for it. In our modern world of easy grace, of moral relativity, and of selective punishment, we don't often find ourselves thinking in terms of sin and consequences. But we don't exist in a vacuum and when we sin it doesn't occur in a vacuum either.
God talks to Moses about what happens when you sin unintentionally. Wait, what? I thought if you didn't mean to break the law it didn't count? But that's not how things work. When someone sins unintentionally, it still affects the world around them. Things As They Ought To Be are now polluted by their sin. If someone runs through a stop sign and kills your kid, you're not going to be like "Well, he was driving drunk, which is technically illegal, and he did go through a stop sign, which is a moving violation according to the law, but he didn't mean to hurt anyone so it's all good." No! His sin affects you and the world is changed for the worse. There is a price to be paid.
The first example God gives is that of a priest. A priest is seen by everyone. He is held to higher standards because of his visibility, much as a celebrity or politician might be. When he sins, he brings guilt on the people. They may fall into the hole he dug. Disobedience without consequences cheapens the law, and God's law is not cheap. There are consequences for sin and if the priest were to pay them himself, he would be damned.
Instead of eternal damnation for an unintentional sin, there are other consequences. An innocent bull must die. What did the bull do to deserve death? How is he somehow involved in this? That's part of the tragedy of sin. It's not you suffering your consequences for your choices. It's bigger than that. There is a price and it must be paid. The perfect bull, instead of enjoying a long rich life as a breeding stud, is dragged up to the temple and killed. The message to the priest? You did this. This blood is on your hands. Do you get it now? Sin costs.
And it costs a lot for the priest too. Bulls are not cheap. Do you even know how much a whole steer costs, let alone a perfect one? Imagine being sentenced in court and the punishment is to buy the victim a year's supply of prime beef. And not only do you have to supply the whole thing now, up front, not on credit, but you have to kill it yourself in front of them.
Bulls are huge animals. We're talking almost a half a ton. If you don't kill it quickly, it could kill you! Sin is not only expensive, but it can backfire big time. It's one thing to kill an animal with a rifle, and quite another to do it up close, within goring and trampling range, to an animal five times your weight.
All of that meat goes to waste. It's not like they have a barbecue and everyone gets free steak from your mistake. The meat is not yours to eat. Moreover, that meat is no longer available to the community. That amount of food your village had in its reserves? It's down by about a half a ton, thanks to your bad choices. If it's a bad year for food, your sin may have affected your whole village. Families may go a bit hungrier. Do you think they'll look kindly on you for that? And that's not even getting in to the sin itself, just the administrative fees.
This is where we can take a moment to reflect on the wonderful gift Jesus gave us by being our blood sacrifice. He didn't deserve it any more than the bull did, but we still get to reap the benefit. The price is paid. We don't have to shell out money for a bull and risk life and limb to kill it. He paid the price. We are free to go. How cool is that?
The Lord said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites: ‘When anyone sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord’s commands—
“‘If the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, he must bring to the Lord a young bull without defect as a sin offering for the sin he has committed. He is to present the bull at the entrance to the tent of meeting before the Lord. He is to lay his hand on its head and slaughter it there before the Lord.
I guess this week will be on Leviticus properly. God here is speaking to Moses about his law for the Israelites. He's talking about sin and what the consequences are for it. In our modern world of easy grace, of moral relativity, and of selective punishment, we don't often find ourselves thinking in terms of sin and consequences. But we don't exist in a vacuum and when we sin it doesn't occur in a vacuum either.
God talks to Moses about what happens when you sin unintentionally. Wait, what? I thought if you didn't mean to break the law it didn't count? But that's not how things work. When someone sins unintentionally, it still affects the world around them. Things As They Ought To Be are now polluted by their sin. If someone runs through a stop sign and kills your kid, you're not going to be like "Well, he was driving drunk, which is technically illegal, and he did go through a stop sign, which is a moving violation according to the law, but he didn't mean to hurt anyone so it's all good." No! His sin affects you and the world is changed for the worse. There is a price to be paid.
The first example God gives is that of a priest. A priest is seen by everyone. He is held to higher standards because of his visibility, much as a celebrity or politician might be. When he sins, he brings guilt on the people. They may fall into the hole he dug. Disobedience without consequences cheapens the law, and God's law is not cheap. There are consequences for sin and if the priest were to pay them himself, he would be damned.
Instead of eternal damnation for an unintentional sin, there are other consequences. An innocent bull must die. What did the bull do to deserve death? How is he somehow involved in this? That's part of the tragedy of sin. It's not you suffering your consequences for your choices. It's bigger than that. There is a price and it must be paid. The perfect bull, instead of enjoying a long rich life as a breeding stud, is dragged up to the temple and killed. The message to the priest? You did this. This blood is on your hands. Do you get it now? Sin costs.
And it costs a lot for the priest too. Bulls are not cheap. Do you even know how much a whole steer costs, let alone a perfect one? Imagine being sentenced in court and the punishment is to buy the victim a year's supply of prime beef. And not only do you have to supply the whole thing now, up front, not on credit, but you have to kill it yourself in front of them.
Bulls are huge animals. We're talking almost a half a ton. If you don't kill it quickly, it could kill you! Sin is not only expensive, but it can backfire big time. It's one thing to kill an animal with a rifle, and quite another to do it up close, within goring and trampling range, to an animal five times your weight.
All of that meat goes to waste. It's not like they have a barbecue and everyone gets free steak from your mistake. The meat is not yours to eat. Moreover, that meat is no longer available to the community. That amount of food your village had in its reserves? It's down by about a half a ton, thanks to your bad choices. If it's a bad year for food, your sin may have affected your whole village. Families may go a bit hungrier. Do you think they'll look kindly on you for that? And that's not even getting in to the sin itself, just the administrative fees.
This is where we can take a moment to reflect on the wonderful gift Jesus gave us by being our blood sacrifice. He didn't deserve it any more than the bull did, but we still get to reap the benefit. The price is paid. We don't have to shell out money for a bull and risk life and limb to kill it. He paid the price. We are free to go. How cool is that?
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