Most of our sins cannot be classified as accidental: we knew it was wrong before we did it, but it was what we wanted and so we went ahead. But sometimes we sin without recognizing right away what we have done. After a while we become aware of how we have gone wrong: how do we set things right? God gave Moses instructions regarding what to do about inadvertent sins (Leviticus 4:1).

There are prescribed sacrifices for inadvertent sins of the community as a whole (4:13), and for individuals (4:27, 5:7); and there is a special section for the religious leader, for the anointed priest who sins, “thus making the people guilty” (4:3). When religious leaders get it right, they can be a blessing for the whole community; but their influence extends to others just as much when they get it wrong, affecting the lives of many people, not just themselves.

With the sacrifices brought by others, there is often a portion that is burned as an offering and a portion of the meat that is given to feed the priest and his family (10:12-15). But when the priest is making an offering for his own sin, he and his family do not receive any part of that offering. The blood is sprinkled at the altar (4:5), the fat is burned on the altar (4:8-10), and then all the rest of the animal, including all the meat, is carried outside the camp and burned there (4:11-12). The priest does not get to profit by his inadvertent sin, even to the extent of getting a meal for his family.

We should note as well that the purpose of the offerings in Leviticus is always restoration: “The priest shall make atonement on your behalf before the Lord, and you shall be forgiven for any of the things that one may do and incur guilt thereby” (6:7). The context of this verse addresses all kinds of financial sin: robbery, scam, or bank fraud (6:4), or finding lost property and lying about it (6:3). Both the mugger and the hedge fund manager can be forgiven. And everyone else as well? It is a breathlessly large promise: people “shall be forgiven for any of the things” that make us guilty before our Lord.

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Help us, Lord! We work so hard to convince ourselves that we don’t have any guilt: but you are the one who asks us to recognize our guilt and find forgiveness. Change our hearts, we pray, and grant us your grace, that we may acknowledge our folly, and turn to you for restoration.

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