Leviticus 1 – Study

For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each passage has a three-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read. This is the final additional study in Leviticus

12. The GUILT OFFERING (2): Lev 6:1-7   

1 The Lord said to Moses: 2 ‘If anyone sins and is unfaithful to the Lord by deceiving a neighbour about something entrusted to them or left in their care or about something stolen, or if they cheat their neighbour, 3 or if they find lost property and lie about it, or if they swear falsely about any such sin that people may commit – 4 when they sin in any of these ways and realise their guilt, they must return what they have stolen or taken by extortion, or what was entrusted to them, or the lost property they found, 5 or whatever it was they swore falsely about. They must make restitution in full, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the owner on the day they present their guilt offering. 6 And as a penalty they must bring to the priest, that is, to the Lord, their guilt offering, a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value. 7 In this way the priest will make atonement for them before the Lord, and they will be forgiven for any of the things they did that made them guilty.’

A. Find Out

1. What sin is next dealt with? v.2
2. What also is covered? v.3
3. What must the individual first do about these things? v.4,5a
4. What must he add and when must he do it? v.5b
5. What offering must he bring and why? v.6
6. How will that act, with what effect? v.7

B. Comment:

  The law moves on to sins against a neighbor in respect of property and the point is that such is seen as being unfaithful to the Lord (v.2). The sin is basically about being deceitful – distorting the truth. It envisages a neighbor leaving something in the care of the individual and he appropriates it and then lies about it (v.2). Alternatively, the individual may have found something belonging to another and appropriates it and lies about it (v.3).

These things are sins and he is guilty and answerable to God (v.4) and so the first thing he must do is return whatever does not belong to him. Moreover, he must add a fifth of the value of the item (v.5) and give it to the owner and he must do this on the day he comes to the Lord with his offering. It is part of the process of putting things right before the Lord. Now the main part of coming to the Lord seeking forgiveness is done by the guilt offering, a good quality ram (v.6) and, yes, it is to be seen as a penalty, something that costs the offender! Yet when he brings it and the priest takes it and presents it, it will be seen to act as atonement and he will thus be forgiven his transgressions.   

C. Application:

This specific law faces us very simply with the law of ownership of property. There is a right to ownership of something that we have bought or made – it is ours, and we have rights over it. If someone else takes our property, by whatever illegitimate means, that is wrong and they are answerable to God.

Also within this, there is the law of truth. This particular law seen here, involves deception and deception is a simple twisting of the truth for our own benefit. In a multitude of ways God shows that He is against the distorting of truth. Life is to be lived with truth as a primary foundation. Failure to do that makes us accountable to God.