Restitution: September 2024
Table of Contents
Restitution
In the trespass offering, we learn that “trespass” is connected with a case wherein God is dishonored, even though it may be a mere man who was defrauded. Nor is it sufficient that a sacrifice be offered to God, but the wrong done to man was to be repaid, and that not only in full; one-fifth more was to be added to the amount of recompense.
Now if we turn to Psalm 69, we have the Lord Himself prophetically speaking, “Then I restored that which I took not away” (vs. 4). Man has sinned against God; Christ has made restitution for him. This is another aspect of the sin offering. The trespass offering takes account of damage that accrues to one through another’s sin. And if we consider how sin dishonored God, the reproach cast upon Him by man’s sin, we see how the Lord not only suffered in the sinner’s stead on the cross for his sins, but He glorified God in all the reproach and dishonor brought to Him by sin. The Lord Jesus Christ not only answered to God for man’s sins, but He brought glory and honor to God, so that (speaking reverently) God’s nature has been glorified. The fifth part has been added thereto, so that God is richer than if sin had never intruded on His fair creation. At the cross of Christ we see how God’s holiness — intrinsic holiness — His righteousness, His grace, His love, and all His attributes meet. Truly He has been glorified!
P. Wilson (adapted)
Copper Nails
“When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long” (Psa. 32:3).
There is nothing that so takes the joy out of life like unconfessed sin on the conscience. On one occasion, a preacher was speaking on this question and urging upon his hearers the importance of confession of sin and, wherever possible, of restitution for wrong done to others. At the close, a young man came up to him with a troubled countenance. “Sir,” he explained, “you have put me in a sad fix. I have wronged another and I am ashamed to confess it or to try to put it right. You see, I am a boatbuilder and the man I work for is an infidel. I have talked to him often about his need of Christ and have urged him to come and hear you preach, but he scoffs and ridicules it all. Now, I have been guilty of something that, if I should acknowledge it to him, will ruin my testimony forever.”
He then went on to say that some time ago he started to build a boat for himself in his own yard. In this work copper nails are used because they do not rust in the water. These nails are quite expensive, and the young man had been carrying home quantities of them to use on the job. He knew it was stealing, but he tried to salve his conscience by telling himself that the master had so many he would never miss them; besides, he felt that he was not being paid all that he thought he deserved. But this sermon had brought him to face the fact that he was just a common thief, for whose dishonest actions there was no excuse.
“But,” said he, “I cannot go to my boss and tell him what I have done or offer to pay for those I have used and return the rest. If I do, he will think I am just a hypocrite. And yet those copper nails are digging into my conscience, and I know I shall never have peace until I put this matter right.”
For some weeks the struggle went on. Then one night he came to the preacher and exclaimed, “Sir, I’ve settled for the copper nails and my conscience is relieved at last.” “What happened when you confessed to your employer what you had done?” asked the preacher. “Oh,” he answered, “he looked queerly at me and then exclaimed, ‘George, I always did think you were just a hypocrite, but now I begin to feel there is something in this Christianity after all. Any religion that would make a dishonest workman come back and confess that he had been stealing copper nails and offer to settle for them must be worth having.’” The preacher asked if he might use the story and was granted permission.
The Results of Restitution
Sometime afterward, he told it in another city. The next day a lady came up to him and said, “Sir, I have had ‘copper nails’ on my conscience too.” “Why, surely you are not a boatbuilder!” “No, but I am a book-lover and I have stolen a number of books from a friend of mine who has far more than I could ever afford. I decided last night I must get rid of the ‘copper nails,’ so I took them all back to her today and confessed my sin. I can’t tell you how relieved I am. She forgave me, and God has forgiven me. ... I am so thankful the ‘copper nails’ are not digging into my conscience anymore.”
I have told this story many times and almost invariably people have come to me afterward telling of “copper nails” in one form or another that they had to get rid of. On one occasion, I told it at a high school chapel service. The next day the principal saw me and said, “As a result of that ‘copper nails’ story, ever so many stolen fountain pens and other things have been returned to their rightful owners.”
Reformation and restitution do not save. But where one is truly repentant and has come to God in sincere confession, he will want to the best of his ability to put things right with others.
H. A. Ironside
The Importance of Restitution
We all understand the importance of restitution in a natural sense, although, if we are honest with ourselves, we understand the subject much better when it is we who are entitled to restitution, than when it is we who should make restitution. Our natural hearts do not like to take responsibility for damage we have done.
There is a true story about a woman who came out of a shopping mall, only to find that someone had misjudged and run his/her car into hers, causing obvious damage. But when she read the note that was tucked under her windshield wiper, all it said was, “Sorry!” She fully expected to find a name and telephone number, so that she could collect the money to pay for repairs.
A man sitting on a bench nearby had seen the whole incident take place, but his only comment, when the woman showed him the note, was, “He said he was sorry; isn’t that enough?” But it certainly was not enough for the woman whose car was damaged.
At separate times, in different places, I had occasion to stay in a hotel where the hot water was not available that night. I discovered the problem only when I tried to use it late in the evening. In both cases I reported the matter to the front desk in the morning, but the reactions from the two hotels were very different. One hotel manager simply dismissed the matter by saying, “Sorry about that; I didn’t know anything about it.” She took no responsibility and offered no reimbursement or restitution. The other hotel manager (it was a different hotel chain) immediately said, “Then your room is free; no charge”! You can readily guess which hotel chain I continue to use today!
Restitution Manward and Godward
Restitution is prominent in the Word of God too, and in two different ways — manward and Godward. In this article we will discuss restitution manward, as given to us from God’s Word, and consider restitution Godward in a different article. There may be some overlap when we consider the two types of restitution.
One of the earliest recorded examples of restitution in Scripture occurs in Genesis 20:14, when Abimelech not only restored Abraham’s wife Sarah to him, but also gave him “sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and women servants.” Even though Abraham was also at fault for advising Sarah to tell others that she was his sister, yet Abimelech recognized the seriousness of taking another man’s wife. Later, after Jacob had deceived Isaac and obtained his blessing by dishonesty, after many years he gave Esau a present of cattle, goats, sheep, camels and donkeys, as a means of appeasing the anger that he thought would surely be in Esau’s heart.
Much later, in the Mosaic law, restitution was definitely taught, and the value of the restitution was in keeping with the degree of iniquity connected with the original sin. For example, we read that “if a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep” (Ex. 22:1). However, “if the theft be certainly found in his hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep; he shall restore double” (Ex. 22:4). It is also recorded, “If he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft” (vs. 3). Stealing was a serious sin, but taking the next step of disposing of the animal that had been stolen was even more serious and required greater restitution. Other laws governed such things as the destruction of another’s crops by lighting a fire, allowing an animal to feed in another’s field, or even the committing of fornication with an unmarried woman: Restitution had to be made. Evidently these principles were before Zaccheus (Luke 19:8) when he told the Lord Jesus, “If I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.” He recognized his duty of restoration according to the law.
Fivefold Restitution
We might ask, however, why the restitution was so large in some cases: fivefold for an ox and fourfold for a sheep. We do not normally require this in most parts of the world today, and in many cases in which money is stolen, it is never recovered. The individuals from whom the money was stolen are simply left to bear the loss. However, God did not deal with Israel that way, nor does He deal with us in that way as to our sins.
When a man stole, not only was there the wrong done to his neighbor, but there was also the moral wrong involved in the theft. God required fourfold and fivefold restitutions for several reasons. First of all, the amount of the restoration was a strong deterrent to a repeat of the offense. A fourfold or fivefold restoration would, no doubt, greatly deplete the offender’s own cattle or sheep and remind him that “crime does not pay.” Second, it would serve as a reminder to others that the land belonged to Jehovah and that theft in Jehovah’s land was a serious matter. Third, it repaid the owner of the original animal for the time and trouble that the whole incident had caused him. Furthermore, the fact that the man might not have had the wherewithal to restore fourfold or fivefold did not release him from his obligation. We have the saying in English, “You cannot get blood out of a stone,” but his inability to pay did not free the offender. In this case, he was to be sold for his theft, a most frightening punishment, for his servitude would last for six years. Only then would he become a free man again.
In all of these laws and ordinances we see God instructing His chosen people Israel in a right way, both for His glory and ultimately for their blessing. We read elsewhere that “because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil” (Eccl. 8:11). We cannot help but feel that if the principles of restitution according to the Mosaic law were to be incorporated into law today, the crime rate would be considerably reduced. The strong, sinful tendencies of the natural man can be curbed only by the fear of appropriate punishment.
Yet we must all realize that without the grace of God, all our hearts are the same. Some of us that grew up in Christian homes had these wicked tendencies constrained by a godly upbringing, but the sinful nature was no better than that of anyone else. Because of our sins, we have all incurred a debt that we cannot repay, and our penalty would be eternal hell. But our Lord Jesus Christ has made restitution when we could not.
W. J. Prost
Restitution to God
In another article in this issue of “The Christian,” we have seen the importance that the Word of God attaches to restitution manward, in our responsibilities towards one another. We also know that man, as the head of God’s creation, has a spirit that enables him to recognize who God is, and it also enables him to communicate with God. Man is thus responsible to God for his conduct, as well as to his fellow man. When a sin is committed against one’s fellow man, it is also a sin against God, who created man in His own image and likeness. However, there are sins against God that have nothing to do with our fellow man.
Sin Against God
A sin against God was more serious than a sin against man, and in the Old Testament, restitution had to be made by sacrifice, which prefigured the work of Christ. In the sin offering, detailed for us in Leviticus 4, sins of ignorance are taken up. Four different sin offerings are mentioned, and we notice that a greater sacrifice was required for a priest or for the whole congregation than for an individual. Also, a ruler had to offer a greater sacrifice than one of the common people, showing that God recognized greater responsibility in some than in others. God takes into account our degree of knowledge and understanding.
It should touch our hearts to realize that in the sight of God, only a sacrifice could make restitution for sin. Before our Lord Jesus Christ went to Calvary’s cross and finished the work of redemption, God accepted an animal sacrifice that looked on to the death of Christ. However, even the death of an animal was a solemn indication of the seriousness of sin in God’s sight.
In the sin offering, it is more the actual iniquity before God that is in question, while in the trespass offering, the emphasis is more on the actual injury done. Once again, even if the individual was ignorant of his sin, he was still considered guilty. He had disobeyed a definite command of the Lord. It is very significant that if a man sinned in the holy things of the Lord (Lev. 5:14-16) or sinned against his neighbor (which was also a trespass against the Lord; Lev. 6:1-7), he must not only bring as a sacrifice a ram without blemish, but also add the “fifth part” to whatever he was required to restore. The ram would speak of consecration — that consecration of our blessed Savior to complete the work that the Father had given Him to do, whatever the cost. He was totally separated to God, and He could say, “Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of Me,) to do Thy will, O God” (Heb. 10:7).
The Fifth Part Added
Adding the “fifth part” to what the individual was required to restore is also a most precious type of what the work of Christ has done for us and for God’s glory. Had sin never entered this world, we would still be able to enjoy the Garden of Eden. But the work of Christ has done far more than restore that which was taken away by sin. Our Lord Jesus Christ could say prophetically, “Then I restored that which I took not away” (Psa. 69:4). God has been far more glorified and we have been far more blessed than if sin had never entered this world. The work of Christ has brought us into a nearer relationship with God than ever could have been known before sin entered this world. A hymn expresses it well:
Though our nature’s fall in Adam
Seemed to shut us out from God,
Thus it was His counsel brought us
Nearer still, through Jesus’ blood.
We see then that restitution towards God could not be made by man’s own efforts. He might satisfy his fellow man by natural means, but God Himself does not need anything man can offer Him. Cain thought he could bring the fruit of a cursed earth to God, but God had to reject that sacrifice. Down through the ages, many have thought that they could bring their own good works to God, but none of these can put away sin. The Apostle Paul could remind the Athenians that God is not “worshipped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, seeing He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things” (Acts 17:25). Even in the matter of sacrifice, David recognized that God’s requirements for restitution went far beyond the offering of an animal. He could say, “Thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: Thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise” (Psa. 51:16-17). David recognized that while sacrifices were good in the sight of God, because they spoke of the sacrifice of Christ, yet repentance and confession must accompany them. The mere offering of a sacrifice was not enough; there had to be the full acknowledgement of the seriousness of sin before God and that man’s own efforts could not remove the guilt.
Full Restitution
How thankful we should be that full restitution to God has been made for sin and that the mighty work done by our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross has not only put away our sins, but provided the basis by which God can bring us into even greater blessing than was possible before sin entered this world. God looks for repentance and humility on our part, but when that takes place, we recognize that only the work of Christ can satisfy the requirements of a holy God and provide restitution for the injury and insult to God that has been done by sin.
However, there are sacrifices that we can make today, not in the way of restitution towards God, but rather as an indication of our appreciation for what Christ has done for us. First of all, we have the privilege of offering “the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name” (Heb. 13:15). In addition, our gratitude should overflow to others, for we are also told “to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased” (Heb. 13:16). Finally, our whole life should be one of sacrifice, not a dead sacrifice, as Israel offered, but rather a living sacrifice. After having given a full and glowing description of the work of Christ and all that it means for believers, Paul appeals to those in Rome: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the compassion of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your intelligent service” (Rom. 12:1 JnD). We can never make restitution to God for what Christ has done for us, but He values those sacrifices that flow from a heart full of gratitude for all that His love and grace has done for us.
W. J. Prost
Guilt Offering
Leviticus 5:14-19; 6:1-7
In Leviticus 6:1-7, there is another form of the guilt or trespass offering, which meets treachery against a neighbor, or lying as to something lost. This Jehovah counted against Himself indirectly, as the former case (in Leviticus 5:14-19, concerning trespass in the holy things of the Lord) affected Him directly. In dealing with one’s neighbor, ignorance of the sin is not supposed. It is obvious that these seven verses (Lev. 6:1-7), though a fresh precept which Jehovah spoke to Moses, are the proper conclusion of chapter 5. (In the Hebrew Bible, they are put together in chapter 5.)
“Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, If anyone sin, and commit a perfidy against Jehovah, and lie to his neighbor as to a matter of trust, or a loan, or a robbery, or a cheat to his neighbor; or have found what was lost and lieth therein, and sweareth falsely; in any of all these that a man doeth, sinning therein, then it shall be, if he hath sinned and hath trespassed that he shall restore what he robbed, or what he defrauded, or the trust entrusted to him, or the lost thing which he found, or all about which he swore falsely; and he shall restore it in the principal and shall add the fifth part more thereto; to whom it belongeth shall he give it on the day of his trespass offering. And his trespass offering he shall bring to Jehovah, a ram without blemish out of the flock according to thy valuation as a trespass offering unto the priest. And the priest shall make atonement for him before Jehovah, and it shall be forgiven him concerning anything of all he did to trespass therein” (Lev. 6:1-7 WK).
Wrongs Against a Neighbor
What grace on Jehovah’s part thus to regard wrongs against a neighbor as wrongs against Himself also, and to require a reparation and a trespass offering! Yet it was due to His glory and needed by man that a distinct ordinance should draw the line between them. The trespass against a neighbor brought out a new speech from Jehovah to Moses.
There is, as might be expected, no small variety in these wrongs which demanded a trespass offering. The first form of the guilt here denounced appears to be a failure in private trust. It might be any valuable or even a document, committed to the custody of a friend; it might be only an animal, or a book lent, an ax borrowed, or money confided, however little. But Jehovah took notice and bound up the trustful Israelite’s rights with His own name. The next would seem to be a matter of public interest, of barter, or of virtual partnership, perhaps in business, where the evil done was not viewed as a wrong but as a failure in responsibility, however fair in appearance. Here our KJV (like the Septuagint) renders it “in fellowship” (vs. 2), as distinct from the preceding case of private trust. The better Jewish authorities distinguish the second case as a loan, and the former as a deposit. Then we have a violent exercise of power, followed by one of deceit as in withholding wages, for example, both apt to be common and covering many a failure which Jehovah resented. Next, we have the finding of what one’s neighbor lost, and lying about it, even to perjury.
Wrongs Against the Holy Things
In every such case Jehovah demanded a trespass offering as rigorously as in His holy things. Not only must there be restitution of the principal, but a double tithe, or fifth part, rendered as a penalty. And as His own honor was concerned, in the failure to maintain the holy relationship of Israel, an unblemished ram was prescribed as the one unvarying trespass offering permissible. By this, and this only, could the priest make atonement for the guilty offerer, “and it shall be forgiven him,” with the striking addition here only “for any one of all which he did to trespass therein.”
But it is well to take note of the difference in the order prescribed between the guilt in Jehovah’s holy things (Lev. 5:14-19) and that incurred in the cases of one’s neighbor (Lev. 6:1-7), with which we are immediately concerned. In the former, the offering took the first place; in the latter, the reparation. Both were required. Jehovah regarded either as His dishonor, and the ram was equally necessary as was the reparation with the added fifth part. But the difference of order was made to impress the Israelite’s heart with what touched Jehovah directly as compared with what was indirect in defrauding the neighbor. Who but God could have provided thus holily for His people in distinctions so appropriate and profitable? Neither Moses nor Aaron nor Samuel nor David, still less men later in a dark, fallen, and comparatively careless state. It was Jehovah from the beginning.
It was not yet, nor could it be under the law, to proclaim remission of sins absolutely and forever to every believer. This awaited the Lord Jesus and His accomplished work of redemption in the gospel, for “the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.” But Jehovah even then gave the penitent Israelite great comfort, when he became conscious of having sinned shamefully and of having desecrated the holy standing of His people.
W. Kelly (adapted)
Philemon
Philemon, a much-loved friend and fellow-servant of the Apostle, evidently lived at Colosse. Philemon’s house was a meeting place for God’s people, so that Paul could write of “the church in thy house.”
Onesimus had formerly been a bond-slave of Philemon, as verse 16 shows. He had wronged his Christian master and then had run away (vss. 15,18). In God’s great mercy, however, he had been thrown into contact with Paul at Rome during his imprisonment and through his instrumentality converted (vs. 10)—converted so soundly that Paul could speak of him not long after as “a faithful and beloved brother” (Col. 4:9).
Tychicus was at that time leaving Rome for Colosse, bearing Paul’s letter to that assembly, and the Apostle seized this favorable occasion to send Onesimus in his company back to his own people, so that again he might meet the master whom once he had so wronged. It was no light matter for Onesimus to stand again in the presence of Philemon, and Paul thoughtfully wrote an intercessory letter to Philemon, making Onesimus the bearer of it.
He Wronged His Master
When Onesimus wronged his master, he was an unconverted man. Now he has become a brother beloved, but this does not relieve him of obligations incurred by his former sin. As regards God, that sin was forgiven, for he stood “justified from all things” (Acts 13:39), but as regards Philemon, confession and some kind of restitution were needful. Here at once is brought before us an important lesson. If we have done some palpable wrong to another, no more effectual proof of our repentance can be given than that of confession and restitution, as far as that may be within our power. It is always a trying process, but it is practical righteousness, most effective as a testimony and most glorifying to God.
The epistle emphasizes courtesy as being a grace that befits Christianity. The Christian is also to be marked by honesty and candor, yet he is not to allow candor to degenerate into an unfeeling rudeness. He is to acknowledge the rights of others and express himself with refinement of feeling and courtesy.
Notice too the tactful and delicate way in which Paul introduces the subject of Onesimus, beseeching where he might have used apostolic authority, and presenting Onesimus as his spiritual son, given to him during the time of his trial in his captivity — a consideration well calculated to move the heart of Philemon. Paul would have liked to retain Onesimus as a helper in his time of trial, but to have done so without consulting Philemon would have been, he felt, an unwarranted liberty. His old master had certain rights which Paul scrupulously observed, acknowledging that for him to have the advantage of Onesimus’ help, he would like it to be a “benefit” conferred by Philemon.
“I Will Repay It”
Knowing or suspecting that his old master had suffered loss through his unfaithful service, Paul assumes full responsibility for making proper restitution. He writes with his own hand a promissory note: “I will repay it.” But what a masterstroke are the succeeding words, “Albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides”! Philemon had been converted through Paul, and he had brought to him, through terrific opposition and suffering, life and salvation for eternal days. Such was Paul’s confidence in Philemon that he expected him even to go beyond what he was enjoining as to his treatment of Onesimus. No wonder Paul addressed him as “our dearly beloved”!
Knowing what fearful damage to the name of Christ has been done among God’s people in connection with similar episodes, we feel as if we could not sufficiently stress this important epistle. It teaches us: As to the offending party, a return in all humility to the one offended, with confession and an acknowledgement of his rights as to restitution. As to the offended party, the reception of the repentant offender in grace with the fullest possible acknowledgement of all that God has wrought in him, whether it be through conversion as in the case of Onesimus, or through restoration as might be the case with many of ourselves. As to the mediating party, an absence of anything approaching a dictatorial spirit, coupled with ardent love for both the offended and the offender, expressing itself in entreaties marked by courtesy and tact.
A Mediator
We must not leave this epistle without noticing the striking way in which the whole story illustrates what mediatorship means and involves, illustrating the statement, “There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5). God is the One offended by sin; man, the offender; the Man Christ Jesus, the Mediator.
Paul’s mediation between Philemon and Onesimus illustrates, though only faintly, what Christ has done. Whereas Paul had to write, “I will repay it,” our risen Saviour does not use the future tense. His word to us in the gospel as the fruit of His death and resurrection is, “I have repaid it.” He has been delivered for our offences and has been raised again for our justification. Hence it is that, justified by faith, we have peace with God. In this point therefore the illustration falls far short of the reality illustrated.
Finally, Paul says to Philemon, “If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself.” That which Philemon might have found hard to do, as we venture to think, God has done. Every believer, from Paul himself down to ourselves, has no other standing before God than “accepted in the Beloved” (Eph. 1:6). We have been received in all the acceptance and favor of Christ Himself — a thing amazing beyond words.
The link between Paul, the mediator, and Onesimus, the offender, was love. Between Paul and Philemon, the offended party, it was partnership. Yet here again we need to note how the illustration falls short, for God the Father loves equally with Christ the Son. The Father’s love and the love of Christ are sweetly intertwined. In a past eternity, “the counsel of peace” was “between them both” (Zech. 6:13).
F. B. Hole (adapted)
What Would You Look for in a Man Who Says That He Has Repented?
I should expect him to “bring forth ... fruits worthy of repentance.” It is useless for anyone to say that he repents of his sins while he continues in them. A man that is genuinely repentant not only confesses his sins, but forsakes them (Prov. 28:13).
Among other signs of true repentance, we shall observe a willingness to make restitution to anyone who has been wronged.
We see this in the case of Onesimus. He had wronged his master, Philemon, by running away. After his conversion, he seeks to make compensation, as far as he can, by going back to his master. In Zaccheus we have another instance of this. When the Lord Jesus responded so graciously to his desire to see Him and brought salvation to his house, Zaccheus said, “If I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold” (Luke 19:8). That is a case of bringing forth fruits worthy of repentance.
Is there anyone that you have wronged? Anyone whom you defrauded many years ago by dishonesty that has never been discovered from that day to this? Anyone you have wronged with your tongue, whose character you have damaged by slander and gossip? Is there such a person? Don’t tell me that you are repentant, then, unless you are willing to do what you can to make amends.
A lady who was converted at one of our meetings had been employed, in her younger days, in a fabric store. She had bought a new hat and needed some ribbon to trim it. Not having the necessary money, she was tempted to take a yard from her employer’s shop. No one was the wiser; the ribbon was never missed.
When that lady was converted, the circumstance recurred to her mind. Taking her pen, she wrote to the forewoman of the shop somewhat like this:
“Dear ______: While an assistant at the fabric store, I am sorry to say that I stole a yard of pink ribbon. I am now a Christian, by the grace of God, so I enclose payment in stamps and ask that you will accept this expression of my sincere regret.”
That is the sort of thing we expect to see when anyone professes repentance.
H. P Barker
The Trespass Offering
The trespass offering (we find the details of it in Leviticus 5; 6:1-7; 7:1-10) is a compulsory, not voluntary, offering and can be rightly considered as a subdivision of the sin offering. Nevertheless, there are some distinguishable features belonging to the trespass offering that make it distinct and differentiate it from the sin offering. Knowing that the Word of God is never redundant, I shall try to explain some of the distinctive features of this offering, hopefully with some spiritual benefit to all of us. The sin offering has already been well explained in detail, so in connection with it I will only point out here that nothing can maintain in our hearts the right feeling of what sin is and what the holiness of God is than a real understanding of the meaning of the sin offering. We need to understand what took place at Calvary, when our Lord and Savior was made sin for us, bore our sins in His body on the tree and made full expiation for each and all of them.
The Government of God — The Holiness of God
When considering the sin offering, we see that specific acts are not mentioned, inasmuch as the main thought in that offering is the condemnation of that which is totally abhorrent to the holiness of God, and man is shown to be a sinner, as to his nature. But with the trespass offering specific offenses are enumerated, and man is regarded as a transgressor, as to his acts. This brings out a double effect of the sin and throws additional light on the difference between the sin offering and the trespass offering. First, because of our sin, we have not been able to reach the standard set by God: “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23), and this aspect is set forth in the sin offering. Second, because of the same sin, we not only failed to reach the standard of God, but we continued to alienate ourselves from Him more and more: “You, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works” (Col. 1:21); this aspect we find in the trespass offering. On the one hand, sin is a grave affront to God’s holiness, and, on the other hand, it is also a trespass, when committed against a known command. We can say that every trespass is a sin, but not every sin is a trespass. The trespass offering is thus connected with the government of God, rather than with God’s holiness.
Three Categories of Transgressions
As we can clearly see, reading through Leviticus 5-6, there are three major categories of transgressions presented: transgressions against the Lord (Lev. 5:1-13), transgressions against the Lord’s holy things (Lev. 5:14-19), and transgressions against one’s neighbor (Lev. 6:1-7). In all three cases, even when human claims were fully met, forgiveness and atonement could be obtained only through the death of a victim, “for without the shedding of blood is no remission” (Heb. 9:22). God Himself, by His Word, sets the standard for the judgment of sin, and this is a very important truth that we should never forget. We also notice the fact that ignorance in committing a trespass could not be pleaded as an excuse. We are all aware that the precursors of ignorance are, in most cases, negligence, spiritual laziness or indifference to God’s requirements.
Restitution
In some of the cases, there was also restitution involved in the trespass offering. Thus, restitution had to be made and the fifth part added. Not only was atonement made, but grace came in to enable one to make full reparation; what was due to God or one’s neighbor was fully rendered, and with a fifth part added. Moreover, not only was the one forgiven who trespassed against God’s things or against his neighbor, but the one whose rights had been infringed was now richer than before. For example, even if, sadly, I have injured a brother in any way, I will both be restored and make restoration in full by bringing, so to say, the trespass offering according to the Lord’s valuation. Humbling myself and acknowledging my fault, whatever that might have been, may not only restore my relationship with the wronged one, but the display of grace that worked in my heart will also bring joy and spiritual benefit to the wronged one. Wonderful work of divine grace, which always rises above our sin!
But, most important, we have here a beautiful feature of Christ’s work on the cross: He restored more to God than the wrong of man’s sin took away, as we read in Psalm 69:4: “Then I restored that which I took not away.” We had robbed God of what was due to Him. The Lord Jesus, by becoming our trespass offering, made restitution to God for all the wrong we had done, and He added the fifth part. When His heart was broken by reproach, He committed His cause to Him that judges righteously and paid our debt in full. He also added the fifth part, and that is because His work on the cross has an infinite value, which not only made provision for the sins of all who would ever believe in Him, but fully glorified God for all eternity. The Lord Jesus Christ was able to carry out the will of God perfectly, so that God was glorified and man brought into blessing. As H. A. Ironside wrote: “The grace of God has been magnified in the great trespass offering of the cross in a way it never could have been known if sin had never come in at all.”
We see, therefore, that the trespass offering presents several important and distinctive lessons to us, unfolding a precious dimension of the work of Christ on the cross. Surely, appreciation of the fragrant perfections of His Person and work presented by it, as well as by the other offerings in Leviticus, arises as a sweet savor unto our God and Father.
Practical Teaching
Allow me here one further remark. Sometimes we hear Christians speaking of “practical truth.” The fact is that ALL truth involves that which is practical. There is not a single truth in the divine revelation that God did not intend to produce, here and now, a practical effect in the lives of His own. I mention this because the many types given in the Old Testament, in general, and the offerings from the book of Leviticus, in particular, seem to be rather obscure and difficult to understand and, consequently, of little, if any, interest to the vast majority of Christians. But God gave us all these various offerings in order that we may have a deeper and better grasp of the unique work of our Lord Jesus on the cross. That work is so vast, so blessed and so comprehensive that it took several types in the book of Leviticus for it to be properly presented to us. May God give us the grace to consider prayerfully all of them and in this way to have a growing apprehension of the glory and blessedness of both the Person and the work of our Lord on the cross, so that we may value Him more and have an increased desire to please Him in our walk and conduct here.
E. Datcu
The Restitution of All Things
The phrase “the restitution of all things” refers to that “golden era” of which prophets have written glowingly and psalmists have sung rapturously from the beginning of their testimony. It is that wonderful time when divine rights will everywhere be respected here below, when the long-rejected Jesus will be enthroned in His appointed kingdom, and when man’s evil career will receive an abrupt check. Then Satan’s power will be set aside; his wretched work will be in a large measure undone and creation’s wounds healed. “The desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose”; “instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree”; “the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together”; yea, “all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God” (Isa. 35:1; Isa. 55:13; Isa. 40:5; Isa. 52:10). Blessed era! How remote if we were to judge by appearances, but how near when we hold the prophetic lamp aloft in faith!
Let us read together Acts 3:19-21 (JND): “Repent therefore and be converted, for the blotting out of your sins, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and He may send Jesus Christ, who was fore-ordained for you, whom heaven indeed must receive till the times of the restoring of all things, of which God has spoken by the mouth of His holy prophets since time began.” Peter was the speaker. He was addressing the Jewish people on the occasion of the healing of the lame man at the Beautiful Gate of the temple. He made a definite proposal to his audience — by divine authority, of course. If they would repent of their many sins, and especially of their murderous rejection of Jesus, times of refreshing should come to them from the presence of Jehovah. He would even send back the very One whom they had driven away, and the times of the restitution of all things should set in. Bible readers in Israel had long looked for such a consummation. In Matthew 17:11, the Lord confirmed the disciples in their expectation that Elijah “shall first come and restore all things.” In keeping with this hope, they asked Him after His resurrection: “Lord, wilt Thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). Now Peter, with light from heaven in his own soul such as even he never possessed before, lays before the people the conditions upon which the longed-for restoration could take place. Their thoughts might be limited to Israel; God’s thoughts take in the whole creation.
The restoration of all things is contingent upon two other events: the repentance of Israel, and the return of Jesus. He will not return until Israel is prepared to welcome Him, and until His return no universal restoration is possible. A millennium without the Lord Jesus, whatever the aims and desires of men, can never be.
The Repentance of Israel
The restoration of all things has limitations. Peter’s words show this — “Of which God has spoken by the mouth of His holy prophets since time began.” Some have pressed the apostle’s words to make them include even the unpardoned dead. The restoration does not go beyond what “God has spoken by the mouth of His holy prophets,” and certainly no prophet bids us look for the restoration to divine favor of men who have died in their sins. The prophets’ standpoint was the earth, and in heart-stirring language they describe the removal by divine power of all the scars that sin has caused in order that God may once more have pleasure in the works of His hands, and that men may enjoy His mercy. The healing of the lame man was an example, strikingly illustrating Isaiah 35:5-6.
In that era Israel will be restored. All the twelve tribes will enjoy the blessing of God throughout the whole extent of the magnificent possession promised to the fathers. (In the past they have occupied only a small part of their destined inheritance.) The temple will be restored to them, with Jehovah’s presence filling it continually (Psa. 68:29; Ezek. 43:4-5). None of them will need to exhort his neighbor to “know the Lord,” for all will know Him from the least to the greatest of them (Jer. 31:34).
The Nations
The nations will also be blessed (Psa. 22:27-28; 72:17). No longer characterized by pride and independence of God, no longer filled with envy and hatred towards each other, they will dwell peacefully under the sway of the King of kings and Lord of lords. In accordance with the divine purpose, they will acknowledge the special place of favor and supremacy given to Israel, and will render respectful homage. They will seek Jacob’s face, as Psalm 24:6 tells us, because God is in Jacob’s land. From year to year the ambassadors of all nations will attend at Jerusalem at the Feast of Tabernacles (Zech. 14:16).
Creation at large will be restored. No longer will the strong prey upon the weak. Even the wolf will dwell with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the kid, and the lion will eat straw like the ox (Isa. 11:6-7). The Son of Man’s beneficent rule will extend to “the beasts of the field, the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passes through the paths of the seas” (Psa. 8:7-8). The manifestation of the sons of God will be the signal for the complete deliverance of all from the bondage of corruption (Rom. 8:19-21).
But whatever the blessedness of that era, absolute perfection will not then be realized, and thus finality will not be reached. The Millennial Age (the last of the dispensations of God) is the vestibule to the everlasting kingdom, the eternal state, the new heavens and the new earth. Therein perfection will indeed be found. The Son of Man having subdued every antagonist, and silenced every rebellious tongue, God will be “all in all” (1 Cor. 16:28).
W. W. Fereday
Now I See
“He answered and said, Whether he
be a sinner or no, I know not: one
thing I know, that, whereas I was blind,
now I see” (John 9:24).
“Now I see!” but not the parting
Of the melting earth and sky,
Not a vision dread and startling,
Forcing one despairing cry;
But I see the solemn saying,
All have sinned, and all must die;
Holy precepts disobeying,
Guilty all the world must lie;
Bending, silenced, to the dust,
“Now I see” that God is just.
“Now I see!” but not the glory,
Not the face of Him I love,
Not the full and burning story
Of the mysteries above;
But I see what God has spoken,
How His well-beloved Son
Kept the laws which man had broken,
Died for sins which man had done;
Dying, rising, throned above!
“Now I see!” that God is love.
F. R. Havergal