“Say to
the Israelites: ‘When anyone sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in
any of the Lord’s
commands…’” Leviticus 4:2
“‘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 realize
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 4:13-14
In these passages, God focused more on the intent of the
sin. The person didn’t wake up thinking
about blaspheming the Lord or hitting that person in the face, but suddenly it
happened. Kind of like “involuntary
manslaughter.”
Or, the person committed a sin not really knowing what he
or she did, or the impact of that sin.
For example, if someone seduces a woman then finds out she was
married. There was a sin, but a greater
sin happened too.
All sin is sin, but some sin is not premediated or
intentional and God was covering the consequences of those sins with an
offering. This included an individual
and an entire community. It was a
guarantee that someone’s sins were all covered, the known and the unknown
trespasses.