5:1-4
The chapter starts off with four groups of sins. The first is failing to bear witness to events. Such a person will be held responsible for their failure. Today people can fail to give testimony out of laziness or out of fear. The next two involve someone becoming unclean by inadvertently touching something that would make them unclean. This would include touching the carcass of a dead animal or human waste. The last one involves someone taking a careless oath. I.e. just making some vow without really thinking about it.
5:5-13
Having listed the sins we now get the solution. First the person has to confess to their sin. We so often say “I didn’t mean it ..” or some such phrase thinking that means we are not guilty. We find a different approach here. It is not the same as deliberately sinning, but it is still sin and we are still guilty. The good news is that there is forgiveness, but first we need to admit the sin. We then get the various sacrifices that need to be made, There are various types, depending upon the financial state of the sinner. These range from lambs and goats, through doves, to a grain offering.
5:14-19
The final part of the chapter deals with more unintentional sins, but these matters seem to be more serious, “sinning unintentionally in regard to any of the Lord’s holy things”. In this case there is an additional “fine” to be paid. There is a stress that the person is guilty. Today we love to deny guilt, but it is only when we admit our guilt that progress can be made.
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