Leviticus 4:22-26: a reflection

22“‘When a ruler sins, and unwittingly does any one of all the things which the LORD his God has commanded not to be done, and is guilty, 23if his sin in which he has sinned is made known to him, he shall bring as his offering a goat, a male without defect. 24He shall lay his hand on the head of the goat, and kill it in the place where they kill the burnt offering before the LORD. It is a sin offering. 25The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering. He shall pour out the rest of its blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering. 26All its fat he shall burn on the altar, like the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings; and the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin, and he will be forgiven.

This law addresses a specific case: when a leader sins, and does it unwittingly, without even realizing at the time that he had done wrong. Two things are worth noticing in it. First, even the ruler, the important man, sins and needs atonement like everyone else; his position does not exempt him. And second, even unintentional sin, wrong done without knowing it, is real and must be dealt with.

That second point can unsettle us, because we tend to think only deliberate sin counts. But the law takes seriously the wrong we do without realizing it, the harm we cause unknowingly, the ways we fall short that we do not even notice. When it is later made known to him, the ruler does not shrug; he brings his offering and owns it. Sin is not measured only by our awareness of it.

But notice where the law lands, because this is the heart of it: atonement is made for him, and he shall be forgiven. Even for the sin he did not know he was committing, God provided a way to be cleansed and restored. That is grace reaching further than our awareness. There is likely wrong in your life you have not even noticed, and God, in Christ, has made atonement that covers even that. When some unknown fault is made known to you, do not despair; own it, bring it to God, and receive the forgiveness he has provided.

Lord, I sin in ways I do not even notice, and my position gives me no exemption. Thank you that you provided atonement reaching further than my awareness. When you make an unknown fault known to me, help me own it and receive the forgiveness Christ has won.