The Pulpit Commentary — Leviticus — Section 127

the Lord" (ver. 15). The Israelites were under many injunctions ; they probably received professional instruction from the Levites, as well as religious teachin" e.t home (Deut. vi. 7). But they might be betrayed into ignorance or fall into forgetfulness and they might come short of their duty (1) in the offerings they were to bring to th~ al~r, (_2) in the contributi?ns the_y were ~ m~ke to the ministers. of _God. They might ignorantly rob God m offerings and m tithes, as they even did intentionally (MaL iii. 8). "}Ne also may fall far short of what we should bring to God; we may take a totally madeque.te view (1) of the nature of the worship we should render, (2) of the frequency of our d~v~tiona~ e!1gagements, (3) of the con~ribution we should give to the support of the Chnst1an mm1stry, (4-) of our due share m the maintenance of the cause and the extension of the kingdom of Christ. Thus we may ignorantly but guiltily (ver. 17) fall short of our sacred obligations. III. THE ATONEMENT WHICH MUST BE FIRST PRESENTED. First of all, there was the offering "not without blood" to be made: the ram must be brought by the offender, and" the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram, . . . and it shall be forgiven him." First, we must plead the atoning blood of the slain lamb, seeking and finding forgiveness through the Saviour's sacrifice. But this is not all; there is-- IV. THE RESTITUTION WHICH SHOULD BUJISEQUENTLY BE MADE. The Jew was required to "make amends for the harm he he.d done in the holy things," and not only to give an equivalent to tbat which he hall withheld, but to "add the fifth part thereto;" he wa.s not only to make up, but do more than make up for his default. We cannot and we need not attempt to act according to the letter of this injunction, but we may and should act in the spirit of it, by letting owr consciousness of past deficiency in the worship and the service of Ohrist incite us to multiplied endeavours in the future. In looking back we recall negligences to attend the sanctuary, to come to the table of the Lord, to worship God in the secret chamber of devotion ; therefore let us seek his face and his favour with constancy and earnestness in the days to come. We have not served his cause and our generation according to the measure of his bountiful dealings with us; therefore let us open our hand freely, and give far more generously than we should otherwise have done to those various agencies of beneficence which are turning the wilderness of wrong into the garden of the Lord.-C. Ver. 17.-UncMscious sin. Is there not something here contrary to our generally received ideas respecting sin? Can a man sin "though he wist it not"? 'rhe text suggests- L 'l'HAT WE COMMONLY CONNECT WITH OUR IDEA 01!' BIN THE CONSOIOUBNESB 01!' GUILT AT TIIE TIME OF TRANSGRESSION. Sin is only possible to intelligent, responsible beings ; it implies the power of discernment; it is usually followed by self-reproach ; it seems, at first sight, to involve a consciousness in the soul of error and wrong-doicg at the moment of commission. Hecce men expect to be excused if they can say they did not know it was wrong at the time, etc. II. THAT THIS THOUGHT ABOUT SIN 18 BASED ON TllUTII. It is true: 1. That sin is a wilful departure from rectitude: it is the soul consenting to commit some one of "those things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the Lord." Where the will does not consent, there is no moral character in the act at all. 2. That the less there is of knowledge, the Iese there is of guilt (Luke xii. 48). 3. That in the absence of all possible know ledge, there is entire freedom from gufU. "Where no law is, there is no transgression" (Rom. iv. 15). Scripture confirml what our reason declares, that there can be no condemnation where there are no meaus of knowing "the commandments of the Lord." But we are bound to remember for ourselves, and to impress on others, the opposite aspect, viz.- UL THAT THIS TRUTH 18 SUBJECT TO VERY GRAVE QUALIFICATIONS. 1. Attainable knowledge not gained involves sin. 'l'he Jews ought to have known that it was obligatory on them, and highly beneficial to them, to be loyal to Jehovah, to be obedient to his servant Moses, to receive the exhortations of the prophets; their ignorance was culpable, and therefore their errors were sinful. So with their non- recognition of Jesus Christ. So with our ignorance of that which is most binding on us and most beneficial to us. We ought to know that the service of Christ is the chief duty and th11 supreme blessing; in OIU' ignorance is om- guilt, 2. Needless for- oa:. YI. 1-'1.] THlt BOOK Ol1' LEVITICUS. ------ ---- - - - - getfulness is sin. It was criD1inal on the part of the Jews of the prophetic age to forget the merciful and mighty interpositions of God in earlier days; on the part of those of our Lord's day to forget the mighty works by which he proved himself to be the very Son of God. It is criminal on our part to forget those vital truths of which God's Word reminds us. 3. The blunting of our spiritual perceptions is sin. When we are blind to the truth which is before us, because our prejudice, or our pride, or our passion, or our worldly interests distort our vision, or because long continuance in folly has blunted onr spiritual powers, we are guilty: we "know not what we do," even when we are crucifying a Messiah; but the guilt in the action lies chiefly·in the exist- ence of these enfeebled or perverted faculties, and, though we " wist not," yet we " are guilty" in the sight of God. IV. T!liT UNCONSCIOUS SIN CARRIES ITS PENALTY WITH IT. "He shall bear his iniquity." The penalty is threefold: 1. The displeasure of God-his condemnation. 2. Serious harm done to our own soul. 3. Awaking, soon, to the conviction that we have done grievous wrong to others,-it may be a reparable, but it may be an irreparable, wrong.-C. Vere. 14-ch. vi. 7,-The trespass offerings. Distinguished as: 1. Being violations of rights of property, either religious or non-religious property. 2. Including a fine, apportioned by the prie3t, for restoration. 3. Without distinction of persons or cir- cumstances. 4. The victim, a ram without blemish from the flocks, and the atonement both sacred as producing Divine forgiv/J'll,ess, and secular as including pecuniary indemnity; the blood being in this case merely swung against the side of the altar, not smeared on the horns. Ver. 17.-The unwitting trespass. "Though he wist it not, yet is he guilty, and shall bear his iniquity." I. 'l'BE ABSOLUTE PERFECTION OF THE DIVINE LAW. It must be maintained: 1. .As a revelation of the character of God. 2. As a basis on which the moral law is placed. 3. As a means of convincing man of sin, separating the idea of guilt from arbitrary, capricious, local, individual, emotional respects. II. THE INFINITE FULNESS OF THE DIVINE COMPASSION. 1. .Atonement is provided not only for sins repented of and confessed, but for offences unwittingly committed. God is thus represented as the shield of his creature, amid the working out of his inscrutable will in the universe. 2. The mind obtains wonderful peace when it i~ assured that all possible liabilities are foreseen and averted. 3. Forgiveness is not a mere doing away of sin in the conscience, but a removal ol \he burden from the life. The Law ha.a nothing more against us.-R. -