Scripture Daily

Context No. 1963 of 4322 · Numbers

Context · Reflection

Numbers 5:1-10: in context

1The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2“Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every leper, everyone who has a discharge, and whoever is unclean by a corpse. 3You shall put both male and female outside of the camp so that they don’t defile their camp, in the midst of which I dwell.” 4The children of Israel did so, and put them outside of the camp; as the LORD spoke to Moses, so the children of Israel did. 5The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 6“Speak to the children of Israel: ‘When a man or woman commits any sin that men commit, so as to trespass against the LORD, and that soul is guilty, 7then he shall confess his sin which he has done; and he shall make restitution for his guilt in full, add to it the fifth part of it, and give it to him in respect of whom he has been guilty. 8But if the man has no kinsman to whom restitution may be made for the guilt, the restitution for guilt which is made to the LORD shall be the priest’s, in addition to the ram of the atonement, by which atonement shall be made for him. 9Every heave offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they present to the priest, shall be his. 10Every man’s holy things shall be his; whatever any man gives the priest, it shall be his.’”

The law addresses what a person must do when they have wronged another. When someone commits a sin and is guilty, he shall confess the sin he has done, and he shall make full restitution for his wrong, adding a fifth to it, and give it to the one he has wronged. Confession alone is not enough; the harm done must be repaired, the wrong made right, the loss restored and more. Repentance here includes restitution, the concrete making-right of what was done.

This law teaches something important about true repentance: it includes making things right with those we have wronged. It was not enough, under this law, merely to confess the sin to God and feel sorry; the person had to make full restitution to the one he had wronged, restoring what was taken and adding a fifth besides. Repentance was to be concrete, repairing the harm, not just acknowledging it. And this principle carries over into the fuller life of faith. We are prone to think of repentance as a matter between us and God alone, confessing our sin to him and receiving forgiveness; and that is real and necessary. But where our sin has wronged another person, true repentance includes making it right with them, not just confessing to God but repairing the harm we have done, restoring what we took, mending what we broke, so far as we are able. Confession to God and restitution to the wronged go together. Zacchaeus, when he turned to Christ, did not merely confess; he said, if I have defrauded anyone, I restore it fourfold. And Jesus taught that if we come to worship and remember that a brother has something against us, we should first go and be reconciled, and then offer our gift. Repentance that stops at confession to God, while leaving unrepaired the harm we have done to others, is incomplete. This searches us. When we have wronged someone, do we merely confess it to God and leave it there, or do we go the further step of making it right with the person we wronged, apologizing, restoring, repairing so far as we can? True repentance is not only sorrow before God but the concrete making-right of the harm we have done to others. The law required confession and restitution together; and genuine repentance still includes both, the turning to God and the repairing of the wrong we have done to our neighbor. Where we have wronged another, part of turning from that sin is to make it right with them, not just to confess it to God.

When I have wronged someone, do I merely confess it to God and leave it there, or do I take the further step of making it right with the person I wronged, apologizing, restoring, repairing the harm so far as I am able, as the law required both confession and restitution, and as true repentance includes not only turning to God but repairing the wrong done to others?

Sources