Variety: Leviticus 4v1-3
The LORD said to Moses, ‘Say to the Israelites: “When anyone sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord’s commands – If the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, he must bring to the Lord a young bull without defect as a sin offering for the sin he has committed. … If the whole Israelite community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord’s commands, even though the community is unaware of the matter, when they realise their guilt and the sin they committed becomes known, the assembly must bring a young bull as a sin offering and present it before the tent of meeting.’” LEVITICUS 4:1–3, 13–14
When they sin in any of these ways and realize their guilt, they must return what they have stolen or taken by extortion, or what was entrusted to them, or the lost property they found, or whatever it was they swore falsely about. They must make restitution in full, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the owner on the day they present their guilt offering. LEVITICUS 6:4–5
Sin matters. That is one way of summarising the early chapters of Leviticus. The whole of life matters, and sin, as something that distorts life, matters.
The definition of ‘sin’ in Leviticus is expansive. It’s not just the things we do consciously and have a choice not to do that are in view. It’s everything that distorts life, even those things we may not notice or understand. Sin is also relational: sin damages relationships, between people, between people and God, and between people and creation. And sin is a community matter: it doesn’t just affect an individual, but it has corrosive impact on communities and their environment.
Leviticus is quite different in this sense from the way we sometimes think about sin today. It’s more diffuse, more embedded between people, and less private or personal than we might often think. And because sin matters, it needs to be dealt with. This is another way in which Leviticus casts a vision for a people living with God.
The vision of a wholesome, flourishing life with God has a name: holiness. Holiness here is not a matter of petty details or exact rule-breaking. It’s about the way in which an entire community organise their life together, and how both individual and communal imagination and culture are shaped by the ways of God.
Sin matters – but forgiveness and restoration matter more! Holiness in this community isn’t achieved primarily through coercion or browbeating; it’s rooted first in relationship with God, and second in the possibility of putting things right. Forgiveness is possible, and restitution is essential.
Grace is at the heart of Leviticus, but grace is neither cheap, nor bought. Sacrifices are a way towards a restored relationship, but they do not buy this relationship. Restoration is freely given by God. Yet grace is also costly: here, it demands an offering or sacrifice (which will have cost time, work, and resources) and restitution and compensation for the persons affected.
There’s a constant vertical (towards God) and horizontal (towards others) movement: to move beyond sin, it must be named and acknowledged, and consequences need addressing. There is no restoration of life with God unless an opening is made for restitution or restoration with those who have been hurt.
Saying sorry means little unless we see change, from a child who broke a sibling’s toy, to painful adult relationships where betrayal has damaged trust, to complex political questions about reparations for historical harm still affecting communities today.
Revd Dr Isabelle Hamley, Principal of Ridley Hall, Cambridge