“Then I restored that which I took not away” (Psalm 69:4).
The trespass offering (Leviticus 5-6) is sometimes looked upon as a sort of secondary sin offering, but there are features about it that give it a character entirely its own. In the sin offering we learn the guilt of sin, but the trespass offering teaches us the injury that sin has done; the sinner not only suffers himself, but his sin causes others to suffer. Three directions are indicated in which sin operates; in the holy things of the Lord (Lev. 5:15); against the commandments of the Lord (Lev. 5:17); against the Lord in an offence against one’s neighbors (Lev. 6:2).
Against God’s Holiness
To get a right view of these different aspects of sin we must go back to the start of man’s history. When Adam sinned God was the first to suffer, for Adam committed a trespass and sin in the holy things of the Lord. God had formed man in His own image and likeness, but Satan planned to spoil it all and to injure God. He succeeded, and God lost the best of His creation — the crown of all His work. Adam’s sin was a stab at the very heart of God, for God was the first to suffer.
Against the Commandments
Adam’s sin was also against the commandments of the Lord. His act of disobedience was rebellion, and a challenge to God’s supremacy. Sin would dethrone Almighty God if it could, for sin is not only a stab at God’s heart but an attempt on His throne. God’s nature is love, but His character is light; both His nature and His character were challenged by Adam’s sin, and are still challenged by all the sin of his race.
Trespass Against Neighbor
How quickly sin advanced to trespass against man’s neighbor, which is counted as a trespass against the Lord! As soon as there was a man to sin against, the trespass was done, and by brother against brother. In the murder of Abel, Cain trespassed in that “which was delivered him to keep,” and he had “taken away by violence” his brother’s life.
The next thing to notice is that the trespasser was not left to estimate the extent of the injury his trespass had done. Moses, who represented God, had to measure it after the shekel of the sanctuary (Lev. 5:13). How readily we set up our own standard, or compare ourselves with others and excuse ourselves! It is only in God’s presence that we learn the exceeding sinfulness of sin in its challenge to God and the injury it does to others, and not till then do we realize the need of a great atoning sacrifice.
A Ram Without Blemish
While the offerings for sin were graded, ranging from a young bullock to a tenth part of an ephah of fine flour, there was only one offering that could adequately meet the trespass — a ram without blemish. The first time a ram comes into the divine picture is in Genesis 22, where one caught by its horns in a thicket died instead of Isaac. That gives the thought of substitution, but who could be an adequate substitute for sinful men? There is only one answer to that — the Son of Man. In the greatness of His love He has taken this place.
The ram also signifies strength and determination. It typifies the Lord as coming forth from heaven saying, “Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God” (Heb. 10:9). Nothing could divert Him from that will. But further the ram would indicate full growth and maturity. There was no immaturity or lack of knowledge in the Lord. He came in the full knowledge of God’s estimate of sin, and the demands that eternal justice must make upon the One who stood as substitute for the transgressor.
Restitution of the Fifth Part
We come now to that part of the type which must fill every one of God’s children with joy, as it will fill heaven with everlasting praise. Restitution had to be made for every trespass and a fifth part added thereto. The injured party had to be recompensed by far more than he had lost. Certainly no sinner could do this, but the One who brings it to pass is the One who made atonement for the sin. It is the voice of Jesus that says in the Psalm 69:4, “Then I restored that which I took not away.” Consider the injury done to God, when the Lord had to say, “They have both seen and hated both Me and My Father” (John 15:24). Could such deep-rooted enmity be removed, and the enemies reconciled? The answer is, “When we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son,” and we read now of “them that love God” (Romans 5:10; 8:28). Thus, has God Himself been enriched and will be glorified for ever, for the very trespass gave the Son of God the opportunity of bearing the judgment, and of adding infinite glory to God, against whom the trespass was committed.
When all this had been done, the trespass against the commandments of the Lord has been met, and the fifth part added thereto. The result is that we who once were “not subject to the law of God” (Rom. 8:7) now find that we “delight in the law of God after the inward man” (Rom. 7:22). We are spoken of as “obedient children,” and it is wonderful how often willing obedience to God is spoken of in the epistles. It is well for us to be in continual exercise of heart that we may not fail in this, lest we be found holding back from God that which Jesus died to secure in us for Him.
Trespass Against Our Neighbor
Finally, as to the trespass against our neighbor. “When we were in the flesh” we influenced others by our words and actions, and lived in the spirit of Cain, saying, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” We lived to please ourselves, often to the hurt of others. In the type, a man might trespass against his neighbor by lying to him, but what must be the answer to that in us now? “Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another” (Eph 4:25). A man might trespass against his neighbor in denying that a thing was delivered him to keep, as Cain denied his responsibility for Abel. The answer to that in us is, “the members should have the same care one for another” (1 Cor. 12:25).
In this way has God triumphed and does triumph as we, to whom the very life of Christ has been imparted, manifest that life in practical living. “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him” (Col. 3:12-17). What glory to God there is in such a life!
J. T. Mawson (adapted)