Pursuing Reconciliation

Leviticus is all about reconciliation. When you read through the book, it sounds like a handbook for priests. It lists the offerings and sacrifices to be made when someone or some group of people recognizes thy are guilty of sin and unfaithfulness to God.

In Leviticus, Exodus, and Deuteronomy, God teaches the people he rescued from slavery in Egypt how to live in the presence of the LORD God who is holy beyond human comprehension. It also describes how to live with neighbours as a distinct community - people who are different from the nations around them because they have been redeemed and shaped by the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have been formed into a new community. They are no longer just a rag-tag group of freed slaves, but a holy nation.

This means that disagreements, misunderstandings and wrongdoing against neighbours also need to be dealt with. But minor incidents are not supposed to escalate into feuds that last for generations. The goal is reconciliation. Resolving differences in ways that are consistent with God’s call to love your neighbour as yourself. After all, more than half the 10 commandments - the laws on the second tablet of the law - deal with relationships with neighbours:

Exodus 20:12–17 (NIV)

“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

“You shall not murder.

“You shall not commit adultery.

“You shall not steal.

“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

So what happens when you do some of these things? Is it enough to make a burnt offering to the LORD? Don’t you need to repair bridges with your neighbour too?

That’s what this chapter is about: sinning and being unfaithful to the LORD by deceiving a neighbour, or about something stolen, about cheating a neighbour, finding lost property or swearing falsely about any such sin. Notice that God takes it personally when you deceive a neighbour. The LORD describes such things as sin and unfaithfulness to the LORD.

What do you do when you sin against the LORD?

Confessing our sin to God is part of the plan of salvation. It’s a humbling experience, but ultimately each Christian hits the point where they admit to God that they don’t live up to his expectations. Although humankind was created perfectly able to love God & neighbour, we don’t measure up to the holiness and goodness he expects.

The big theological term for that is: repentance. To admit what you’ve done wrong before the LORD, ask for forgiveness, and seek his help in steering clear of that kind of temptation in the future.

Jesus tells a story of 2 men praying in the temple: Pharisee & Tax Collector.

Luke 18:13 NIV

“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

This is the humility we’re called to display before God when we become aware of our guilt. Lev. 6 deals with our guilt before the LORD. A guilt offering of a ram without defect is offered to the Lord to make atonement for the guilty party before the LORD. Atonement is still necessary. Sin leads to death.

Instead of a ram w/o defect, the gospel describes how God enters his own creation and makes atonement for sin. Atonement = to cover over. Jesus’ death on the cross covers over human guilt.

Sin, Salvation, Service

Jesus tells another story in Lk 15 about a wayword son who confesses his wrongdoing to his father. He admits that it offends both God and his father:

Luke 15:21 NIV

“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

That’s the kind of attitude we’re invited to take when we sin against our neighbour. It’s a humbling thin to go to your father or mother and say you’ve done wrong. It’s tough to go to your brother or sister and acknowledge that you’ve hurt them.

How do you do that?

We don’t have a lot of examples in our culture of good apologies. Checking YouTube for celebrity apologies provides some disappointing results. There are numerous examples of the classic, “I apologize if you are offended.”

It hardly needs to be said, but that line doesn’t work. It admits no wrong-doing. It’s kind of like the joking apologies my sisters made when we were fooling around and one of them said I was dumb. Mom would tell them to apologize. Jokingly, one sister or the other would say: “I’m sorry you’re dumb, Harold.”

That’s the kind of apology you get when someone is forced to apologize.

What does it look like to genuinely apologize?

Expression of regret

Explanation of what went wrong

Acknowledgment of responsibility

Declaration of repentance

Offer of repair

Request for forgiveness