OK, today we move on to
Leviticus chapter 5. This section deals with the Trespass Offering, or the אָשָׁם
(asham). These, it seems, would be sins that you committed when you
thought you were doing something harmless. For example, if I went out to my sheepfold
and grabbed a sheep, cooked it and fed it to my family and later on I somehow
discovered that it actually belonged to my neighbor—or perhaps I knew from the
outset that it belonged to my neighbor and cooked it anyway—I would bring a
Trespass Offering (אָשָׁם (asham)) to the priest, and I would also restore that
sheep to my neighbor and add somewhat to that restitution. Or, if during one of
their captivities the people broke one of the commandments in the civil portion
of the Law, but not necessarily one of the Ten Commandments. It could also be
what we call a “sin of omission.”
So we will begin with the
first offence that would require a Trespass Offering (אָשָׁם
(asham)). Leviticus 5:1—“‘If a person
sins in hearing the utterance of an oath, and is a witness, whether he has seen
or known of the matter—if he does not tell it, he bears guilt.’” The
words here are pretty self-explanatory. Suppose you hear someone swear to “tell
the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth”—especially if that
person is under oath by the name of YHVH—and you hear that person say something
that you know is not true. If you do not speak up and say something, guess
what? You have just sinned. There are several reasons for this ordinance.
First, and most obvious, you are encouraging one to bear false witness against
their neighbor. Second, to hear someone lie about a matter and not act is to
throw one’s lot in with that person. By sitting idly by you allow that person
to escape the punishment for that sin, and perhaps allow that one to commit
more crimes, when you had it in your power to stop them. You are, by your
inaction, giving approval to those who do such things. As Paul said in Romans
1:32—Knowing the righteous judgment of God,
that those who practice such things are deserving of death, [they] not only do the same but also approve of those who
practice them. Third, and the scariest of all, consider when the person
swears an oath in the name of YHVH, and you know they're lying you are, in
effect, just as guilty of taking the name of YHVH in vain as the liar is. You
are saying, in effect, “Yes, I agree, in the name of YHVH, that this person
is telling the truth.” By not speaking up when you hear someone lying in
the name of YHVH, by not doing anything you are sinning by default. Much like
what James wrote about when he said in James 4:17—To him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it
is sin.
Leviticus 5:2-3—“‘2 Or
if a person touches any unclean thing, whether it is the carcass of an unclean
beast, or the carcass of unclean livestock, or the carcass of unclean creeping
things, and he is unaware of it, he also shall be unclean and guilty. 3 Or if
he touches human uncleanness—whatever uncleanness with which a man may be
defiled, and he is unaware of it—when he realizes it, then he shall be
guilty.’” The commands here—don’t touch dead unclean things; don’t touch
human waste, or the discharge from a leprous person. As far as the “don’t touch
dead stuff”—in Leviticus 11 (which we will cover in just a little while in this
lesson), we will encounter a laundry list of what animals are clean and which
ones are unclean. The common man, who does not read these lists day in and day
out, may be out in the wild, and kill an animal thinking it to be clean. But
when he picks it up, he realizes that’s not the animal he thought it was. “Hey,
that’s a rock hyrax! Yitzhak, is that clean or unclean?” Of course Yitzhak
doesn't know one way or another so when you get back to camp you go to the
priest and you say, “Is a rock hyrax clean or unclean?” And he tells you
it is unclean—you have just defiled yourself with the carcass of an unclean
animal. And you must bring a Trespass Offering (אָשָׁם (asham)) for that. Just like if you pull up your fishing
net and have a bunch of dead shrimp fall on you, or—well, if you somehow come
in contact with the carcass of any of the animals listed in Leviticus 11, you
have become defiled.
Now, this in mind, let’s
examine the case of Samson. Judges 14:5-9—5
So Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother, and came to the
vineyards of Timnah. Now to his surprise, a young lion came roaring against
him. 6 And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he tore the lion
apart as one would have torn apart a young goat, though he had nothing in his
hand. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done. 7 Then he
went down and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well. 8 After some
time, when he returned to get her, he turned aside to see the carcass of the
lion. And behold, a swarm of bees and honey were in the carcass of the lion. 9
He took some of it in his hands and went along, eating. When he came to his
father and mother, he gave some to them, and they also ate. But he did not tell
them that he had taken the honey out of the carcass of the lion. Did
Samson thus become unclean? Yes, he did. Many scholars have speculated over the
years, I suppose trying to excuse Samson for his actions, trying to come up
with some reason why he could have been excused for his actions. Some say that
this was perhaps a year later, and the carcass had been torn by scavengers and
bleached by the sun and was now nothing but a skeleton. The problem is we can't
draw that out of the text because it does not give any indication about the
length of time between Samson killing the animal and seeing the honeycomb.
Besides, the word translated “carcass” the first time in Judges 14:8—After some time, when he returned to get her, he turned
aside to see the carcass of the lion. This is the Hebrew מַפֶּלֶת
(mappeleth). It literally means “carcass”—not “bones”; not
“skeleton”—but “carcass.” So Samson did, indeed, touch the dead, rotting corpse
of the lion he killed just to get at some honey.
Besides, when he brought the
honey home to mom and dad, did he tell them where he got it from? No. Why not?
Because he knew that if he told them it came from the dead, rotting corpse of a
lion he had killed, they would not eat it. And why would they not have eaten
it? Because they would have defiled themselves. This passage would apply to
Samson’s parents, because they did not know where the honey came from. Keep in
mind, Samson was not always the most scrupulous of men. Now, were mom and dad
defiled because they ate honey that came from the rotting corpse of a lion?
Technically, yes. They had eaten something that came from the carcass of a dead
unclean animal. So if Samson had he told
mom and dad where he got that honey from, they would have been defiled by that
knowledge and they would have had to bring a Trespass Offering (אָשָׁם
(asham)).
We have a command in the
New Testament that is very similar to the commands in Leviticus 5:2-3.
We find these commands in 2nd Corinthians 6:14-17—14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers.
For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has
light with darkness? 15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part
has a believer with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement has the temple of God
with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I
will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be
My people." 17 Therefore "Come out from among them and be separate,
says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive
you." And yet what do we see happening in so many churches these days?
Using movies and music to try and “excite” their “crowds” and bring in the
masses. And many times, these movies and music are not godly whatsoever. But
what do these churches do? They promote a sermon series with a title that
starts with the words “The Gospel According to—” You name it “The Gospel
According to the Beatles.” Or “The Gospel According to Lost”—yes, that’s right.
Thomas Nelson Publishers have put out a book showing where to find the gospel
in a TV show that was all about how there are many ways to Heaven and we must
each find our own way to God, and we’ll all meet up in that big happy place in
the sky. No, I'm not kidding, why do you ask? The same guy that wrote that
dreck has also written a book entitled “The Gospel According to Tony Soprano.”
No, I'm not kidding, why do you ask? I guess when Tony was killing his rivals
and cutting of his associate’s head, he was simply trying to usher them into
the Kingdom a little faster. These things ought not to be so. The church should
not be joining the things of God with the sludge of the world. To do so is to
belittle God, blaspheme His name, and make a mockery of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Another application
concerns what we would call “interfaith ministries.” When Christians get
together with Muslims and Buddhists and people of other faiths to “do some
good.” And they make a show of the fact that they are “joining with other
faiths to…” do such and such. They are yoking themselves with the unrighteous.
Now, is this to say that we should not be associated, at all, with people of
other faiths? No. In fact, Paul says that we should avoid those who call
themselves Christians—yet live an ungodly lifestyle—rather than avoid those who
do not know Christ. 1st Corinthians 5:9-11—9 I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with
sexually immoral people. 10 Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually
immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or
idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I have
written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually
immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an
extortioner—not even to eat with such a person. He says, in a nutshell, “Don’t
bother trying to completely avoid the sinful people of the world. Because you
can't do it. You can, however, avoid those who claim the name of Christ with
their lips yet deny Him by their lifestyle.” And why is that? Why this
command to avoid such people? Simple, really: because of the conscience of the
weak. If they see you hanging around with “Christians” who live ungodly lives,
then you are giving tacit approval to one who thinks that one can walk with Christ
and still continue in sin.
Even the apostle John
rebuked that kind of thinking when he wrote in 1st John 3:8-10—8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil,
for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God
appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one born of God makes a
practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on
sinning because he has been born of God. 10 By this it is evident who are the
children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not
practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his
brother. It’s all about conscience. When one’s conscience is seared to
the point that they feel like they can continue in sin, that it does not bother
them one whit, they don’t feel they need they need to change because “Hey,
Jesus died for my sins; I can live any way I want to”—they are then to the
point where they sin willfully, and if we sin
willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer
remains a sacrifice for sins (Hebrews 10:26). But that’s
Deuteronomy, and we’ll talk about that when we get there.
Moving on, Leviticus
5:4—“‘4 Or if a person swears, speaking
thoughtlessly with his lips to do evil or to do good, whatever it is that a man
may pronounce by an oath, and he is unaware of it—when he realizes it, then he
shall be guilty in any of these matters.’” How many times have you had
this happen: you put something somewhere, or you do something. Later on, you
realize that you only thought you put it there, or you
only thought you did such-and-such. And what do we always
say? “I could have sworn I put it there” or “I
could have sworn I did such-and-such.” Let’s bump that
up a notch. You are on the witness stand. Under oath, either during direct
questioning or under cross-examination, you swear, under oath, that “Yes, I
saw the defendant threaten the victim with a gun.” But then the defense
plays the video from a store’s security camera, and you see that the defendant
was not pointing a gun at the victim, but was simply gesturing with his cell
phone. You have testified, under oath, to something that was not true. You are
guilty of perjury. You then go back on the stand, still under oath, and you
recant your statement.
Now let’s put this under
the old covenant. You see Yitzhak butchering one of Shimon’s goats. You grab a
neighbor, and together you both watch Yitzhak butcher and roast one of Shimon’s
goats. You go to the priest, you both swear (because there must be one or two
witnesses) to this matter. And long story short, come to find out that goat was
a payment Shimon made to Yitzhak for some favor. Guess what? You and your
partner are guilty of swearing falsely under oath. “I'm sorry, Yitzhak”
ain't gonna cut it. But doesn't that seem to be enough for some people today?
Some ruthless thug kills a family in one of the most violent and inhuman ways
possible—but they get a lighter sentence because “the defendant showed
remorse.” Anybody can “show remorse.” Under the terms of the old covenant,
“showing remorse” would not mitigate punishment one yod. You need to bring an
animal (אָשָׁם (asham)) to die in your place.
And now, we see the
payment for sinning through ignorance; for touching uncleanness; for swearing
falsely or rashly. Leviticus 5:5-6—“‘5 And
it shall be, when he is guilty in any of these matters, that he shall confess
that he has sinned in that thing; 6 and he shall bring his trespass offering to
the LORD for his sin which he has committed, a female from the flock, a lamb or
a kid of the goats as a sin offering. So the priest shall make atonement for
him concerning his sin.’” This is the “Trespass Offering” or אָשָׁם
(asham). Not only do you bring your animal to be killed, cut up and
burned, but you also have to confess your sin(s). This meant that there was to
be not only an outward expression of guilt (the killing of the innocent
animal), but also an inward sense of shame and guilt. The confession of the sin
was meant to effect in the person a sense of shame for his offense toward not
only God but also his fellow man. Leviticus 5:5—“‘5
And it shall be, when he is guilty in any of these matters, that he shall
confess that he has sinned in that thing.’”
Jesus picks up on this
theme in the Sermon on the Mount. By that time, many people had developed an
attitude that was nearly entirely external and judgmental toward others—all the
while ignoring their own moral shortfalls. Said attitude developed, no doubt,
in part if not in whole due to the coldness and deadness of the “leaven of the
Pharisees and Sadducees,” who saw the sin in others but not in themselves. Matthew
5:21-26—“21 You have heard that it was said to
those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of
the judgment.' 22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother
without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his
brother, 'Raca!' shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, 'You
fool!' shall be in danger of hell fire. 23 Therefore if you bring your gift to
the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24
leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to
your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Agree with your adversary
quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to
the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into
prison. 26 Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till
you have paid the last penny.” A rather peculiar juxtaposition, don’t
you think? He teaches the fact that even expressing hatred for another is
tantamount to murder, and He says, “Therefore—”
Now, remember, when you see the word “therefore” you must ask yourself, “What
is the word ‘therefore’ there…for?”
He teaches on murder in
verses 21-22, and then He says in verse 23, “Therefore
if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has
something against you…” What could bringing a gift possibly have to do
with hatred/murder? Well, let’s talk about it. The word ‘gift’ is translated
from the Greek δῶρον (doron), which is the equivalent
of the Hebrew קָרְבָּן (qorban). Where have we talked about קָרְבָּן
(qorban) before? Ah yes, when we studied the Peace Offerings (שָׁלַם
(shalam)). What Jesus is doing here is stomping on the hypocrisy of
their outward religion. Their self-righteousness. They were bringing Peace
Offerings and offering thanks to God. However, they were offering the kinds of
thanks that the Pharisee was offering in Luke 18:11-12—“11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I
thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or
even as this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I
possess.'” They had the outward stuff down pat. They were good in that
regard. In fact, Jesus even commended their tithing in Matthew 23:23.
However, within the very same breath He says, “But…” Yes, they were very
meticulous in their tithing and in their giving to the temple—but they had
forgotten the more important things, “justice and mercy
and faith.” And while they were very particular in bringing their Peace
Offerings, they were forgetting one thing—there were people to whom they owed
debt. Not monetary debt, but spiritual debt, so to speak.
So He tells them, when
you bring your δῶρον (doron), your קָרְבָּן
(qorban), your Peace Offering (שָׁלַם (shalam)), thanking God that you are “not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even
as this tax collector,” don’t forget one thing—that you are,
“like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or
even as this tax collector.” And all the times you have spoken against
others, and unjustly condemned them with your words—they “have something against you.” And He says, “Before
you kill an animal as a way of thanking Me that you aren’t a sinner—remember
that you are a sinner, and go make peace with that person before you even think
of killing an animal for My sake. Because if you kill that animal before you
make peace with your neighbor—don't even think you have peace with Me. Because
you don’t.” And by the simple act of going to your brother and confessing
your hatred toward him, your Peace Offering (שָׁלַם (shalam)) has now become a Trespass Offering (אָשָׁם
(asham)). Furthermore, He would say, maybe not even a minute later, in Matthew
6:14-15—“14 If you forgive men their trespasses,
your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men
their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” So
Jesus’ point to the people was this—when they brought gifts to God, they were
to consider themselves, their attitude towards others, and if they harbored any
hatred in their heart towards another, they were guilty of murder. And until
they went to that one they were killing with their hatred, God didn’t even want
that dead animal.
