Messianic Education Trust
		Vayikra   (Lev 1:1 - 5:26(6:7))

Vayikra/Leviticus 5:23,25,26   And it shall be, when he sins and becomes guilty, but returns the stolen item that he stole ... and he brings a guilt offering to the L-rd - an unblemished ram from the flock - ... and he will be forgiven for anything that he did to become guilty.

View whole verse and interlinear translation ...


View whole verse and interlinear translation ...


View whole verse and interlinear translation ...

We have a longer text this time to address an important issue. The full text - which runs over six verses, 21-26 - addresses the issue of sin, such as stealing, fraud, mishandling a pledge and failing to return someone else's lost item. It assumes that a question about recovery from such sin has been asked and lays out the various steps that must be taken in order to rectify the situation, show repentance and receive forgiveness from HaShem. Unlike other categories of sin that are dealt with in the block of text that describes the guilt offering - which are all inadvertent or unintentional - these sins are all deliberate: the perpetrator intentionally acts to benefit himself by stealing from another and, in some cases, lying about it or denying it on oath before The Name ...

HaShem: literally, Hebrew for 'The Name' - an allusion used to avoid pronouncing the Tetragrammaton, the so-called 'ineffable' name of G–d
HaShem. Let's explore what this means and whether there are any categories of sin that cannot be addressed in this way.

These four sins and the connected issue of swearing a false oath, thus involving HaShem by name in a falsehood, are matters that incur guilt; they damage the relationship between HaShem and an individual and must be dealt with before any other ritual or religious act can be valid. Our text lays out the three steps that are required to resolve the problem, prefaced by a prerequisite understanding. Looking at the first four words in the text, we find a sandwich. Starting with the וְהָיָה - the Qal 3ms affix form of the root הָיָה, to be, with a vav-reversive, so "and it shall be" - with the filling יֶחֱטָא - the Qal 3ms prefix form of the root חָטַא, to sin, so "he will be sinning" - and ending with וְאָשֵׁם - the Qal 3ms affix form of the root אָשַׁם, to be guilty or to feel one's guilt, so "and he shall feel his guilt", we have an incomplete action framed between two complete (although future) events. At some point in the future, the situation will arise that one who is or has been involved in sin will suddenly feel or realise that he is guilty. Without the knowledge of guilt there is no incentive to stop sinning and resolve the offence(s). Who Is ...

Rashi: Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (1040-1105 CE), French rabbi who wrote commentaries on the Torah, the Prophets and the Talmud, lived in Troyes where he founded a yeshiva in 1067; focuses on the plain meaning (p'shat) of the text, although sometimes quite cryptic in his brevity
Rashi speaks of this as the time "when he will develop the self-awareness to repent, to know and confess, that he has sinned and has become guilty."

The first step on the way to resolution is to restore to the victim what has been stolen from him. Our text uses the verb וְהֵשִׁיב - the Hif'il 3ms affix form of the root שׁוּב, to turn or return. The perpetrator must deliberately, intentionally and in person return the stolen, defrauded, mishandled or lost item to its original owner. The Torah elaborates on this again later, as Moshe is told to teach the people: "When a man or woman commits any wrong toward a fellow man, thus breaking faith with the L-RD, and that person realizes his guilt, he shall confess the wrong that he has done. He shall make restitution in the principal amount and add one-fifth to it, giving it to him whom he has wronged" (B'Midbar 5:6-7, NJPS). Return the item, plus an extra one fifth of the item's value. Baruch Levine explains that 'shall' is insufficient: "Rather, 'When one has thus sinned, thereby incurring guilt, he must restore that which he got.' This corresponds to the formulation in B'Midbar, where the verb וְהֵשִׁיב, 'he must remit', expresses what the criminal is required to do, not what he may prefer to do."

Following on in sequence are the second - the perpetrator brings a normal guilt offering, אַיִל תָּמִיד, an unblemished ram, to HaShem - and the third step: the priest makes atonement for him and he is forgiven for "whatever he may have done" (Vayikra 5:25, NJPS). The Sages of the Talmud are very certain about the sequence in which the three steps must be carried out: "If one brings his guilt offering before he repays what he stole, he has not fulfilled his obligation" (b. Bava Kama 110a). The Who Is ...

Sforno: Rabbi Ovadiah Sforno (1470-1550 CE), Italian rabbi, philosopher and physician; born in Cesena, he went to Rome to study medicine; left in 1525 and after some years of travel, settled in Bologna where he founded a yeshiva which he conducted until his death
Sforno explains that "the sacrifice cannot atone unless he first recompenses the injured party before he brings the offering." Returning the stolen or misappropriated items to their original owner - who, perhaps following an oath in court, has given up any hope or expectation of its return - is a difficult and challenging move for the perpetrator who has to admit his actions to the face of the one he has damaged, a hurdle unlikely to be overcome without genuine repentance and conviction of his wrongdoing before man and G-d. At the same time, it is the act of return that clears the way for restoration with HaShem who has also been affronted - and sometimes implicated - by the theft.

Although it should have been widely known in Second Temple times that reconciliation with G-d is dependent on first reaching reconciliation with one's neighbours, Yeshua has to make it clear that being in good standing with our fellow men is the necessary precursor to approaching G-d: "So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift" (Matthew 5:23-24, ESV). It doesn't matter whether we have something against a brother - that is for us to forgive and them to resolve - the crucial block is others having something against us: behaviour, words or actions, things that we have said or done that have offended or damaged others. These must be resolved, Yeshua says, before we can engage meaningfully with G-d. Rav Sha'ul makes the same point in his instructions to the Corinthians concerning communion: "Examine your motives, test your heart, come to this meal in holy awe" (1 Corinthians 11:28, Message).

Let's remind ourselves of the difference between deliberate, even if casual, sin and unintentional sin. As we have seen in both cases, the same guilt offering resolves the breach with HaShem, once the sinner becomes aware of his offence and moves to find a remedy for the guilt that he feels. Nevertheless, it seems that there is a widespread understanding that while there is a remedy for accidental or unintentional sin, there is no remedy for deliberate sin. On the basis of our verses, Gordon Wenham surmises that "it seems likely that atonement for deliberate sins was possible where there was evidence of true repentance, demonstrated by remorse (feeling guilty), full restitution and confession of sin."¹ We can see this working out in Luke's story of Zacchaeus. Yeshua calls him down from the tree up which he had climbed to see Yeshua pass through the village and invites Himself to lunch at Zacchaeus' house. During or perhaps shortly after lunch, Zacchaeus stands up and tells Yeshua, "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold" (Luke 19:8, ESV. Here is confession, repentance and restitution. Yeshua completes the story: "Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham" (v. 9, ESV).

We should also take notice of the last phrase of our text, which tells us what categories of deliberate sins may be forgiven: "he shall be forgiven for any of the things that one may do and thereby become guilty" (Vayikra 5:25, ESV). In the case of murder, where the Torah rules that the perpetrator's life is forfeit, restitution is impossible so this procedure could not apply. Adultery is another case where restitution is impossible; there the Torah mandates that both parties be stoned. It would seem that unless the Torah specifically says otherwise, any sin where restitution is possible - including sins again G-d Himself - may be forgiven. G-d wants as many people as possible to repent of their sins and be in right relationship with Him. Peter confirms this when he tells us that G-d is "patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance" (2 Peter 3:9, ESV). This is grace indeed!

But what about Yeshua's warning? First He says positively that "every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people", then negatively that "the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven" (Matthew 12:31, ESV. ) Blasphemy - the action of speaking sacrilegiously about G-d or sacred thingsFooteNoteRef(2) - is sometimes difficult to define, so Yeshua then explains: "whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come" (v. 32, ESV). Deliberately speaking against the Spirit - attributing the actions of the Spirit to the devil, or falsely attributing ungodly actions to the Spirit - and stubbornly enduring in that position despite the conviction of the Spirit, is a sin for which the perpetrator will neither make restitution nor repent of making. It cannot therefore be forgiven. Recognising and confessing the truth and confessing the error retreats from that position of stubbornness, allowing repentance and forgiveness to follow. In this age of suspicion about the gifts and actions of the Spirit, we must make sure that we do not fall in this way!

1. - Gordon J. Wenham, The Book of Leviticus, NICOT, (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1979), page 109.

2. - Oxford Dictionary of English, pages 176-177.

Further Study: 2 Samuel 12:4-6; Luke 3:10-14; 1 Timothy 1:12-15

Application: As saints who still occasionally sin, this is good news: our sins can be forgiven provided we make appropriate restitution and truly repent. Baruch HaShem! Soften your heart and hear the words of truth that the Spirit brings so that you don't fall out of step with Him in these last days.

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© Jonathan Allen, 2024

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