Sermon for Saturday
And the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the Lord, before the vail of the sanctuary. Leviticus 4:6
I am old enough to remember when it was mildly embarrassing for a woman or girl to have her slip show below the hem of her dress. Usually, the error was corrected as soon as possible after someone would notify the person that their slip was showing. We would say today that it was no big deal, and it was certainly a situation that was created without the person’s knowledge. Actually, we do many things wrong every day without being aware of it. An inattentive driver might allow his car to exceed the posted speed limit, for example. Or we might pass on a piece of information to someone without knowing that the information is wrong. It happens all the time. But it is still wrong. The fourth chapter of Leviticus deals with offerings for mistakes, because, even though they were committed in ignorance, they must be paid for.
The sin offering in Leviticus 4 was specifically to cover mistakes committed in ignorance. Note the carefulness with which the priest was to follow the prescribed steps for the offering. The blood was to be sprinkled seven times, and the ceremony was to take place before the veil of the temple. These things are significant. The sprinkling of the blood tells of the price of a life required to cover the sins of ignorance. The number seven indicates completeness. The person bringing the offering could be satisfied that the payment for the sin of ignorance was complete. Conducting the ceremony before the veil was a reminder that the sprinkling of blood was before the Lord and in His presence. The ceremony would verify that the sin of ignorance was covered. The solemnity reminded them that the sin of ignorance needed to be covered.
There is a principle in our land that ignorance of the law is no excuse for breaking the law. The idea is that any reasonable person will know that it is wrong to kill or hurt another person, that it is wrong to rob and steal and cheat, that it is wrong to take unfair advantage of people. But there are often situations in which even a reasonable person might not know what is right or wrong. And there are other situations in which there is no awareness of wrong. It is important as Christians that we are not caught in these situations, because they can lead to a bad testimony. We need to be sensitive to others around us, because sins of ignorance can often be avoided if we are aware of what is wrong or right.
We need to be very careful when dealing with the things of God, and when interacting with other people. If a sin of ignorance is committed because of our carelessness, we are fully in the wrong, and need to make it right. – Jim MacIntosh