Vayikra 4:1-35; Ezekiel 18:1-18 Revelation 5:6-10

Unintentional Sins

Unintentional sin may be better defined as acts of unfaithfulness; sins committed without knowledge; or sins resulting from carelessness (such as manslaughter that may result in the guilty person having to flee to one of the Cities of Refuge to escape retribution from the family of the one who was killed by that sinner (Numbers 35).

However, Yah does not excuse sins committed by mistake, otherwise referred to as unwitting sins, without some form of sanctioned sacrifice offered by the guilty person. And in this case, and at the time this mitzvah (ie., instruction was passed down), the “Sin Offering” was the only acceptable sacrifice to atone for such sins. It was a required Sacrifice. Sin Offering in Hebrew is chatta’ah. It means that which will purge, purify and wash away sins according to Hertz.

Why? Because every person is held to the standards or mark of Torah, regardless if the committed sin is committed unwittingly or intentionally. Thus, we are compelled and commanded to learn Yah’s Words so that we do not stumble out of ignorance or neglect. Indeed, failure to know and practice Torah–Yah’s Words–will inevitably result or lead to some form of sin, regardless if it were committed unwittingly.

The Required Sin Offering for the Anointed Priest (ie., The High Priest)

The anointed priest who sinned was required to bring a sin offering that consisted of a Bull (vss. 1-21). It would appear in this case that the sin referred to here would likely involve ignorance of the exact requirements or procedure of Torah the priest was to follow and possibly him teaching the error to others.

Thus what we see illustrated here in the priests being required to have their sins atoned for is the realization that “no one is above this human weakness of carelessness” (Hegg).

In verse 3, the anointed priest is mentioned as a potential inadvertent sinner. There seems to be general agreement that Yah is referring specifically to the High Priest here, because upon the High Priest’s head alone anointing oil was applied at the Ceremony of Consecration” (Vayikra 8:12).

The Hebrew phrase used here is hakohen (priest) hamessiah (anointed). We find that this phrase throughout Torah always refers to the High Priest. Later, the phrase also refers to kings.

So the understanding to be had here in our reading regarding inadvertent sin committed by the High Priest is that his error had the potential of bringing guilt upon the nation. Why? Because the Kohen Gadol was responsible for teaching and instructing the congregation. Thus, if the High Priest is in error and teaches the congregation to be in error, the entire nation will be guilty of committing unwitting sin.

The process the priest was to follow involved a vicarious act of the guilty priest laying his hands atop the animal’s head. Then a portion of the blood that would be collected from the sacrifice was to be sprinkled 7-times in front of the veil of the sanctuary; a portion smeared on the horns of the Altar of Incense; and the remaining blood poured out at the base of the Altar of Burnt Offering.

In verse 6, Yah requires that the High Priest sprinkle the blood of the bull 7-times before YHVH in front of the veil of the Sanctuary. Friedman uses “in front of YHVH before the pavilion of the Holy.” The pavilion, aka Paroket, is located over the holy of holies, the outer part. Hertz describes this act as being done by the High Priest in the direction of the veil, as opposed to sprinkling the veil itself.

Then the fat of the bull would be burnt on the Altar of Burnt Offerings. The remainder of the bull would be taken out outside the camp and burnt up. 

The Required Sin Offering for the Congregation

If the Congregation of Yisrael sinned unwittingly (such that she was given improper instructions by a member of the priesthood), the very same requirements for sacrifice was to be followed as in the case of a priest who sinned unwittingly.

The Required Sin Offering for a Leader of the Congregation

If a leader of the congregation were to sin unwittingly, the offender was required to offer a male goat without blemish as a sin offering in front of the Tent of Meeting (vss. 22-26). There would be an act of vicarious laying on of hands atop the goat’s head by the offending leader. Then a portion of the goat’s blood would be smeared upon the horns of the Alter of Burnt Offering and the remainder of the blood poured out upon base of the same altar.

The fat of the goat would be burned on the Altar of Burnt Offering. It can be presumed, given that this was a sin offering, the remainder of the animal would be carried off to a location outside the camp and burned.

The Required Sin Offering for a Commoner of the Congregation

If a commoner were to sin unwittingly, he/she would bring a female goat or lamb before YHVH as a sin offering (vss. 27-35). As with the previous three examples, a vicarious laying on of hands atop the goat’s head would be performed by the offending commoner.

As with the case of leader of the congregation, a portion of the blood of the offering would be smeared upon the horns of the Altar of Burnt Offering with the remainder poured out upon the base of the same altar. And the remaining procedure was identical to the previous classes of Israeli citizens who committed sins by mistake.

The Vicarious Nature of the Sin Offering

The vicarious nature of these sacrifices obviously foreshadowed the ignominious sacrifice of our Master Yahoshua, “who died as a sacrifice, representing us vicariously as the only sacrifice for sin that is fully acceptable to God” (Dr. Tim Hegg of Torah Resource).

Sin As Defined in the Tanakh (Old Testament)

The Hebrew root word for sin is “chata'” and it means, in its simplest form, “to miss the mark” (J. H. Hertz—Torah-Haftorah). In fact, according to the Harris et al Lexicon, the verb “hata” here means “anything less than the total.” When extended to religious obligations, the form “hata min” designates a failure to observe Yah’s laws (ie., Yah’s Torah).

In verse 2 of our reading, Yah is addressing sin that is committed through error. Sins committed in error is the Hebrew term “shegagah,” which is defined as “sin of error,” or “inadvertence” (BDB Lexicon). J. H. Hertz, in his Torah-Haftorah, defined the term as sins committed “unwittingly,” while Richard Elliott Friedman in his Commentary on the Torah defines the term as sins that are made “by mistake.” Friedman sensibly asserts that humans are prone to make mistakes which may lead to sins. Since ignorance of Torah is no excuse in terms of being obedient to Yah’s Torah, it was critically important that Abba provide a mechanism by which “shegagah” would be properly addressed.

Sin as Defined in the Brit haDashah (New Testament)

Another way to express the definition of sin is offered by the Apostle Yochanan (aka the Apostle John). The apostle defines sin simply as “violations of Torah.” Yochanan wrote:

“Everyone who keeps sinning is violating Torah–indeed, sin is violation of Torah” (1 John 3:4; CJB).

The central mission of our Master Yahoshua Messiah was expressed in the Archangel’s announcement of His birth to His mother Miriam:

“She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Yeshua, for He shall save (Yeshua) His people from their sins” (Mattithyu 1:21).

The Greek term used for sins in this text is “hamartion.” The Friberg Lexicon defines harmartia as an act or departure from doing what is right. The Louw-Nida Lexicon defines the term as an act that is contrary to the will and Law (ie., Torah) of Yah.
At times, Paul viewed sin as an invading power (reference Romans 5:12; 6:12-14, 23).

The Correlation Between Sin and Disease

Interestingly, in Matthew 9:2-8 we find the following correlation our Master made between sin and sickness:

“And behold, some people brought to Him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Yeshua saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, ‘Take heart, my son, your sins are forgiven” (ESV).

There seems to be a direct correlation between sin and sickness, with sin being the more fundamental problem (cf. Mark 2:5-7; Luke 5:17-36). Granted, an individual’s sins may not always be the direct cause of an illness, it stands to reason that ultimately, all corruption and death results from the introduction of sin into the world (Bereshiyt 2:17; 3:16-19). This is explicitly spelled out in Devarim 28 where Abba delineates the blessings to be had by His people when they keep His Torah, as well as the curses that will overtake the people in the event they violate Torah.

What About Sins Committed Intentionally?

Unfortunately, in every Judaeo-Christian Faith Community, sins committed intentionally receive much of the attention from their leaders and teachers. However, deliberate offenses aren’t dealt with in our Torah reading until next reading: chapter 5 of this same Cepher.

The Use of Animal Sacrifice to Address Sins

Why did Yah choose to use the act of sacrifices as the means to atone and expiate sins? Was the sacrificial system instituted by Yah for man to follow, as far back as the time of Creation, about slaughtering animals as a technical act for appeasing the Almighty?

Well, no. First of all, at the risk of sounding flippant, the fact of the matter is that Father is sovereign. And it stands because of this basic, hard and fast fact, as long as Father were to stay true to His righteous and holy character–because He cannot sin nor can He lie–Yah can use any method He so chooses to deal with the problem of sin.

The other thing to consider is the relevance of the sacrificed creature used for sin atonement. All life is sacred to YHVH. And because we are to take on the nature of the Almighty in our perspectives on life, all life must be viewed as sacred to us as well. The sacrifice that is brought before Yah for purposes of atonement and expiation of sins should be viewed from the spiritual perspective that the innocent animal was being made to give up its life for our sins. Thus if falls to us to have remorse for what had to happen to that animal because of our selfish, sinful ways.

According to Moishe New, chabad.org, (“The Meaning of Sacrifices”) by right when we sin, whatever happens to the animal should be happening to us. This should invoke in us sincere repentance once we realize that that which is happening to the animal should be happening to us. Yet Yah in His infinite mercy grants us life even though He by His established justice could require our death. Thus Sin offerings are required in response to sins done by accident. And so it goes, in presenting our offering before YHVH, we are forced to face our imperfections and acknowledge and confront those deficient areas of our lives.

And another way to look at this thing is that, by its very meaning, in order for a sacrifice to be a true sacrifice, the sacrificed object must be something that you want to keep; especially in order to get or do something else with or to help someone else. So a true sacrifice must cost the offerer something.

The Sacrificial System is the Only Sanctioned Method For Dealing With Sin

Elliott Friedman asserts that the sacrificial system was the only means instituted by Abba at that time for forgiveness and atonement of sins. An interesting side-effect of sin-sacrifices was that it positively addressed the sinner’s “feelings of guilt and public condemnation.”

How? Sacrifices are clearly visible, tangible actions intended to publicly address the sin issue. Thus the sacrificial system held a critical and persuasive role in the Hebrew Community of that day. The Anointed Levitical Priest was the only authorized agent who could perform these required sacrifices. Therefore, the Levitical Priestly system held played a critical role in the community in conjunction with the established sacrificial system. And then there was just a single place on earth (the Mishkan) where the sanctioned sacrifices could be performed. So all in all, it was a very system that YHVH put into place for His elect.

The sacrifice, in addressing the guilt of the offender, Friedman wrote:

“…it provided a mechanism for purging the guilt and putting the act in the past” (Commentary on the Torah).

Yeshua’s Sacrifice For the Sins of the World

Indeed, we see clearly foreshadowed in this week’s Torah Reading Yahoshua as the once and for all YHVH sanctioned sacrifice for atonement of the sins of the world under a renewed covenant:

“For this is my blood, which ratifies the New Covenant, my blood shed on behalf of many, so that they may have their sins forgiven” (Matthew 26:28; CJB).

The use of bulls, goats and lambs to atone for the sins of the people are types of Mashiyach. They foreshadowed the sacrificial role that our Master would play in Father’s great Plan of Redemption: a once for all sacrifice for the sins of man.

And let me just mention here that from a technical standpoint, our Master Yahoshua WAS NOT the sin offering as highlighted in this week’s Torah Reading. He is not the embodiment of the bulls/goats/lambs that were used to atone for the sins of the people. Instead He is our Passover. His sacrifice provides the means by which the death penalty passes us over AND it opens the door for us to have a true and substantive relationship with the Almighty.

Yes, again, the sin offerings did point to the atonement work of our Master Yeshua Messiah. But Yeshua is not our sin offering so to speak.

Yeshua Messiah—The Lamb that Takes Away the Sins of the World

Let us not overlook that Yochanan the Immerser preached or proclaimed an immersion requiring his disciples turn to YHVH by confessing and renouncing their sins in order they receive forgiveness (Mark 1:4, 5; cf. Matthew 3:6). And Yochanan as recorded in these passages, clearly recognized Yeshua as the world’s Pesach Lamb that takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). For the Apostle Shaul described our Master accordingly to the Corinthian Assembly of Messianic Believers:

“Get rid of the old hametz (leaven), so that you can be a new batch of dough, because in reality you are unleavened. For our Pesach lamb, the Messiah, has been sacrificed” (I Corinthians 5:7; CJB).

The Moral Responsibility of the Individual as it Relates to Sin

This week’s Haftorah Reading is found in Ezekiel 18:1-18.

He, the prophet Yechezq’el, otherwise known as Ezekiel the Prophet, appears to depart from the community-level context of sin (ie., unwitting sins committed by the community) and focus on the moral responsibility of the individual as it relates to any sins committed.

The primary focus of this chapter is not so much on legal individual culpability as it relates to sin, but more so on divine justice that comes upon each generation in accord with what that generation deserves. For no longer were the sins of the Father the responsibility of their children and so forth.

Sin and the Individual

The central premise of this Haftorah Reading is simply: The one who sins dies.

The prophet mentions a popular saying of his day as being:

“The fathers have eaten sour grapes . . . children’s teeth are set on edge” (cf. Jeremiah 31:29).

The prophet describes this saying as an insulting proverb (cf. Ezekiel 12:22). And thus the prophet uses it as a vehicle for an oracle (ie., a divine message from YHVH). This oracle is addressed to the nation that is in exile.

The bottom line to this reading is that each person is responsible for their own sins. The sins of the Fathers are not heaped upon their children as this proverb insinuates.

The prophet plainly writes:

“Behold, all souls are mine (all people are mine to judge); the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4).

The Apostle Shaul (aka the Apostle Paul) brilliantly expounded upon this truth that:

“The wages of sin is death; yet the gift of Yah is eternal life through Yahoshua our Master” (Romans 6:23).

How God’s People are to be Judged

And then Ezekiel describes the situation whereby any man or woman of Yah is judged. Succinctly put, if any man or woman of Yah walks according to the tenets of Yah’s Torah; specifically:

“…walks in My statutes, and keeps my rules by acting faithfully–he is righteous; he shall surely live, declares Adonai Yehovah” (Ezekiel 18:9).

The prophet goes on to explain:

And the son that does opposite what Torah requires, “he shall not live. He has done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon himself” (Ezekiel 18:13).

As well as the son who sees his father transgress Torah, but he himself refuses to do likewise; he:

“…withholds his hand from iniquity, takes no interest or profit, obeys my rules, and walks in my statutes; he shall not die for his father’s iniquity; he shall surely live. As for his father, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother, and did what is not good among his people, behold, he shall die for his iniquity” (Ezekiel 18:17, 18).

Yeshua-focused Torah Living Application

This week’s Brit haDashah Reading is found in Revelation 5:6-10. It takes this week’s Torah and Haftorah Readings and reveals to us how Father is put into place His once and for all means for addressing the sins of His elect.

Revelation 5:9 provides us a beautiful portrait of YHVH’s elect coming in to their ultimate purpose through the sacrificial work of Yeshua haMashiyach. The Apostle Yochanan wrote:

“And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for Yah from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our Elohim, and they shall reign on the earth’” (ESV).

Tim Hegg describes 3 types of sins that Torah deals with: (1) unintentional sins; (2) intentional sins committed as a result of weakness of soul; and (3) intentional sins committed as a result of a rebellious soul. (aka, sins of a high hand). Sins of categories 1 and 2 can be atoned for. However, those committed as a result of a high hand have no expiation. Shaul referred to this situation as “apostasy.” (Reference Actrs 21:21; 2 Thessalonians 2:3 and possibly Matthew 12:31, 32).

Thus repentance is a gift of Yah (Acts 5:31; 2 Timothy 2:25).

Sin requires the death of the offending party because Yah’s holiness requires that we too be holy. During this period of Yisrael’s history, grace existed and abounded for every Hebrew. Yah was and continues even to this day to be merciful. Today, we have the gift of Yahoshua as our once and for all atoning sacrifice. So instead of having to return before Yah with a sacrifice each time we sinned back in the day, we now have a pathway to atonement that involves “humility and repentance.”

Yahoshua was not our sin offering. Yeshua was in fact our Pesach–our Passover. He being our Pesach Lamb, through His vicarious sacrifice, we have a means by which to escape death and have a substantive relationship with the Almighty. This is the additional benefit to be had under the renewed covenant through the blood sacrifice of Yahoshua our Mashiyach.

You see, back in the day, the only means of a relationship with the Almighty was through the Tabernacle system that was administrated by the Levitical Priesthood. The Levitical Priesthood, having passed away as a result of a better, or let’s say, an improved covenant through a priestly service that is now headed by our Master Yeshua, we not only have a once and for all solution for the problem of sin, we also now have the opportunity to have a true, substantive and personal relationship with the Almighty (Hebrews 8:6; 12:24).

It behooves us to continuously take advantage of Yah’s grace and to seek His forgiveness through the sacrifice and ever-present intercessory ministry of Yeshua for the things we’ve done to transgress His Torah that may be unbeknown to us.

We don’t ever want anything to hinder our relationship with the Almighty. How many brothers and sisters of Faith are going through difficult times for no reason that they can identify. Could it be in some of those circumstances that they’ve transgressed Yah’s Torah, yet they are completely unaware of it?

Therefore, let us make a habit of repenting and seeking forgiveness of the sins we commit by mistake. For we may have at one time or another offended Yah and not been aware of it.

Faithfully

Rod Thomas—The Messianic Torah Observer