Leviticus 4:1-12: a reflection

1The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2“Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘If anyone sins unintentionally, in any of the things which the LORD has commanded not to be done, and does any one of them, 3if the anointed priest sins so as to bring guilt on the people, then let him offer for his sin which he has sinned a young bull without defect to the LORD for a sin offering. 4He shall bring the bull to the door of the Tent of Meeting before the LORD; and he shall lay his hand on the head of the bull, and kill the bull before the LORD. 5The anointed priest shall take some of the blood of the bull, and bring it to the Tent of Meeting. 6The priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle some of the blood seven times before the LORD, before the veil of the sanctuary. 7The priest shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the LORD, which is in the Tent of Meeting; and he shall pour out the rest of the blood of the bull at the base of the altar of burnt offering, which is at the door of the Tent of Meeting. 8He shall take all the fat of the bull of the sin offering from it: the fat that covers the innards, and all the fat that is on the innards, 9and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the loins, and the cover on the liver, with the kidneys, he shall remove, 10as it is removed from the bull of the sacrifice of peace offerings. The priest shall burn them on the altar of burnt offering. 11He shall carry the bull’s skin, all its meat, with its head, and with its legs, its innards, and its dung 12—all the rest of the bull—outside of the camp to a clean place where the ashes are poured out, and burn it on wood with fire. It shall be burned where the ashes are poured out.

These laws prescribe a sin offering even for sins committed unintentionally, without meaning to. If anyone sins unintentionally, God says, in any of the things the LORD has commanded not to be done, they are guilty, and must bring an offering for atonement. Even sins done without intention, perhaps without the person even knowing at the time, were real sins, bringing guilt, requiring atonement. Unintentional sin was still sin, still needing to be dealt with.

Notice what these laws reveal: that even unintentional sins are real, bringing guilt and needing atonement. We might think that only deliberate sins matter, and that sins done without intention, or without our awareness, do not count. But God's law treated even unintentional sins as real, requiring atonement. This shows how thorough our sinfulness is: we sin not only deliberately, but unintentionally, in ways we may not even notice; and even these are real sins, requiring cleansing. Our need for atonement is deeper than we know.

That is a humbling truth, for it shows that our sinfulness runs deeper than the sins we are aware of. We may think ourselves fairly clean if we avoid deliberate wrongs; but we sin also unintentionally, in ways we do not even notice, and these too are real sins, needing atonement. Our need for cleansing is deeper and more thorough than we know; we cannot fully account for all our sins, for many are unintentional, unnoticed. But here is the comfort: the atonement Christ provides is thorough enough to cover even the sins we do not know, the unintentional and unnoticed. Do not think your sinfulness limited to the sins you are aware of; it runs deeper, into the unintentional and unnoticed. But do not despair; Christ's atonement is thorough, covering even the sins you cannot account for. Rest in an atonement deep enough to cleanse even your unintentional and unnoticed sins, for the sin offering was required even for these, and Christ has provided a cleansing that reaches all the way down, even to the sins you do not know.

Lord, these laws prescribe a sin offering even for sins committed unintentionally, without meaning to: if anyone sins unintentionally in any of the things you have commanded not to be done, they are guilty, and must bring an offering for atonement. Even sins done without intention were real sins, requiring atonement. Show me what these laws reveal: that even unintentional sins are real, bringing guilt and needing atonement. I might think that only deliberate sins matter, and that sins done without intention, or without my awareness, do not count. But your law treated even unintentional sins as real. This shows how thorough my sinfulness is: I sin not only deliberately, but unintentionally, in ways I may not even notice; and even these are real sins. My need for atonement is deeper than I know. That is humbling, for it shows my sinfulness runs deeper than the sins I am aware of. I may think myself fairly clean if I avoid deliberate wrongs; but I sin also unintentionally, in ways I do not notice, and these too need atonement. But here is the comfort: the atonement Christ provides is thorough enough to cover even the sins I do not know. Keep me from thinking my sinfulness limited to the sins I am aware of; it runs deeper. But keep me from despair; Christ's atonement is thorough, covering even the sins I cannot account for. Help me rest in an atonement deep enough to cleanse even my unintentional and unnoticed sins, Lord, for Christ has provided a cleansing that reaches all the way down. Thank you for so thorough a cleansing.