Day 33, or February 2nd. Offerings from Thoughtless
Followers. Our thoughts today are rooted in Leviticus
chapter 5, verses 15 and 16. When anyone is unfaithful
to the Lord by sinning unintentionally, they
are to bring to the Lord as a penalty a ram from
the flock, one without defect. They must make
restitution for what they have failed to do and
pay an additional penalty of a fifth of its value.
First the big picture surrounding these verses,
there are two sacrifices designed specifically
for thoughtless actions and words first there
is a sin offering which was to be offered for
those unthinking and often hurtful sins we all
commit when we act or speak before our brain
is in gear The second one, the guilt offering,
was once again for sins that needed to be forgiven,
but which could be partially rectified and therefore
required positive action from the sinner. Chapter
5, verse 16, makes it very clear when a penalty
payment is required from the sinner, as well
as a sacrifice to God for their own forgiveness.
So it wasn't simply a matter of sinning and then
offering a sacrifice. That was insufficient.
There had to be personal restitution wherever
possible. Making an effort to put right a wrong
was very important. And now our action step for
today. Saying sorry is not enough. You have to
mean it. In the book of Leviticus, God goes even
further by adding the idea of restitution or
compensation, saying sorry and being genuine
plus making a contribution to the person sinned
against. Many think that this is a modern concept
today, but it's really ancient. It is not part
of our compensation culture, which is a distortion
of the original, but it's part of God's ancient
law. In the words of the song, Sorry can be the
hardest word. However, paying compensation can
be even harder. In the New Testament, Zacchaeus
in Luke chapter 19 offers to pay 400 % compensation
when 20 % would have been sufficient. It's a
sure sign of salvation when we are generous beyond
the legal requirements.