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Chamonix (Credit James Steel)
Let thine eyes look right on,
and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
Ponder the path of thy feet,
and let all thy ways be established.
Proverbs 4:25-26 KJV
At the most basic level we confess:
These are 'blanket confessions'. But the Lord God requires much more than this, for he wants us to know where - precisely - we have gone astray:
When anyone is guilty in any of these ways, he must confess in what way he has sinned
(Leviticus 5:5 NIV)
[Assignment: Why is it necessary to know - precisely - in what way one has gone astray?]
Today, thanks to the new-covenant church and the authority they have arrogated to themselves, these basic confessions are used across the whole spectrum of sin. This, however, is a serious error which is leading many astray.
Within the Covenant, sin is classified as:
Of these, only unintentional sin is forgivable within the context of the Covenant (eg, as found in Leviticus chapter 4); the remaining options involve exclusion from God's presence and His Community, with those guilty of defiant sin requiring a different approach to God's forgiveness.
See also: Sin
The Guilt Offering appertains to the mishandling of the 'holy things'.
The 'guilt offering' is mentioned in the Torah:
And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:
15 When a person commits a trespass, being unwittingly remiss about any of the LORD's sacred things, he shall bring as his penalty to the LORD a ram without blemish from the flock, convertible into payment in silver by the sanctuary weight, as a guilt offering. 16 He shall make restitution for that wherein he was remiss about the sacred things, and he shall add a fifth part to it and give it to the priest. The priest shall make expiation on his behalf with the ram of the guilt offering, and he shall be forgiven. (Leviticus 5:14-16 (Tanakh))
The GNB translation:
The Lord said to Moses: 15 "When a person commits a violation and sins unintentionally in regard to any of the Lord's holy things, he is to bring to the Lord as a penalty a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value in silver, according to the sanctuary shekel. It is a guilt offering. 16 He must make restitution for what he has failed to do in regard to the holy things, add a fifth of the value to that and give it all to the priest, who will make atonement for him with the ram as a guilt offering, and he will be forgiven. (Leviticus 5:14-16 NIV)
There is a sense of unintentionally failing to do those things which the Lord requires of us,with regard to the holy things, those things dedicated or consecrated to the Lord.
As for the principles on which forgiveness is based, these are similar for both the sin and the guilt offerings. The blood of the Sin Offering follows.
Points arising:
The Sin Offering is required in those cases where either individual, priest, person in authority, or community, have unintentionally done those things which they should not have done.
Now, since the life is in the blood:
Any Israelite or any alien living among you who hunts any animal or bird that may be eaten must drain out the blood and cover it with earth, 14 because the life of every creature is its blood. That is why I have said to the Israelites, "You must not eat the blood of any creature, because the life of every creature is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off." (Leviticus 17:13-14 NIV)
Necessarily, therefore, the blood of the Sin Offering, offered up by the priest on behalf of the penitent, represents the penitent who has put their signature to the current Covenant.
[Essay: The blood of the Sacrifice vis-a-vis the blood of the Sin Offering.]
The blood of the Sin Offering is to be found in the ritual surrounding the confession of unintentional sin. The different categories of penitent include:
[Essay: Each entry in the above classification is directly linked to their level of accountability. What are the implications with regard to then and now?]
...with each category requiring a specific approach for their wrongdoing. For example, in the case of the sin offering of an individual:
If any person from among the populace unwittingly incurs guilt by doing any of the things which by the LORD's commandments ought not to be done, and he realizes his guilt—28 or the sin of which he is guilty is brought to his knowledge—he shall bring a female goat without blemish as his offering for the sin of which he is guilty. 29 He shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering, and the sin offering shall be slaughtered at the place of the burnt offering. 30 The priest shall take with his finger some of its blood and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering; and all the rest of its blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar. 31 He shall remove all its fat, just as the fat is removed from the sacrifice of well-being; and the priest shall turn it into smoke on the altar, for a pleasing odor to the LORD. Thus the priest shall make expiation for him, and he shall be forgiven. (Leviticus 4:27-31 (Tanakh))
With regard to the blood of the Sin Offering, the priest took some of the blood with a finger and put it on the horns of the altar. The remainder of the blood was poured out at the base of the altar. So what do these actions mean?
The top of the altar is a reminder of the blood of the Sacrifice dashed on the altar during the formal signing of the Covenant. It is a reminder of Jesus' representation in Covenant Law. The blood of the Covenant reminds us that it will be Jesus' shed blood - the Blood of the Covenant - which will make expiation.
As for the horns of the altar, the Scriptures speak of a Horn of Salvation or Rescue - meaning Jesus. Some examples:
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior---from violent men you save me. (2 Samuel 22:3 NIV)
3 OGod, the rock wherein I take shelter: My shield, my mighty champion, my fortress and refuge! My savior, You who rescue me from violence! (2 Samuel 22:3 (Tanakh))
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. (Psalm 18:2 NIV)
Tanakh confirms alternative translation:
Alternative translation.
John the Baptist was sent by God to prepare the way for Jesus. Zechariah gives God thanks for his son, John, who will prepare the way for Jesus (Luke 1:76-79) (recall that at this time Mary was pregnant with Jesus). Zechariah praises God for honouring his promise to raise up a Horn of Salvation in the House of David10C:
His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied: 68 "Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people. 69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David 70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
...
76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him (Luke 1:67-70,76 NIV)
The context is clearly that of the Covenant (ie, 'the house of His servant David'). And the Horn of Salvation - aka the 'Horn of Rescue' - is Jesus.
The horns of the altar - call them 'horns of Rescue' - map directly to Jesus, The 'Horn of Rescue'. There are four horns of Rescue, signifying that the Saviour is centrally placed, and may be approached from all points of the compass. (See also the Israelite Camp.)
[5] "This is what the Sovereign Lord says: This is Jerusalem, which I have set in the center of the nations, with countries all around her. (Ezekiel 5:5 NIV)
The base of the altar stands in the courtyard of the sanctuary, and falls within the scope of the Mosaic Contract.
The top of the altar is a reminder of the blood of the Covenant and Jesus' offering of Himself upon God's altar for the expiation of sin.
The significance of the horns being of one piece with the altar, should not be overlooked:
You shall make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits wide—the altar is to be square—and three cubits high. 2 Make its horns on the four corners, the horns to be of one piece with it; and overlay it with copper. (Exodus 27:1-2 (Tanakh))
The top of the altar is a reminder of Jesus, the Horn of Salvation. The horns of the altar, being one with the top of the altar, are a reminder that the horns of Rescue provide the sinner with direct access to Jesus the Redeemer, through the Rescue Contract of the Covenant.
The blood of the Sin Offering smeared on the horns of the altar symbolises the penitent's confession of unintentional sin and complete dependence on Jesus' blood shed to make expiation.
If the blood of the Sin Offering represents the sinner, then the blood poured out at the base of the altar maps to the penitent stood there, looking up to Jesus on the Cross, as illustrated by the bronze snake erected on a pole:
The Lord said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived. (Numbers 21:8-9 NIV)
In looking up at the snake (Numbers 21:8-9 NIV), one crossed over from death to life. It is an illustration Jesus uses of Himself at the Spiritual Level:
Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. (John 3:14-15 NIV)
Here, in looking to Jesus on the cross, one crosses over from Death to Life. However, that amounts to the entry of the penitent's name in the Book of Life. The entry of one's name in the Book of Life is not guaranteed, for Jesus has the veto. Presumption of salvation is therefore unsafe.
The Lord, speaking to the sinful nation at the time of Isaiah8C, perhaps offers an insight as to the symbolism of the blood smeared on the horns of the altar by a finger:
When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; (Isaiah 1:15 NIV)
So, does the blood which was smeared with the finger on the horns of the altar, represent the blood stained hands of the sinner clutching the horns of the altar in desperation? Does this, in turn, map to the penitent's acknowledgement of sin, and to a dependence on Jesus, the Horn of Salvation whom the Father would raise up on the 'third day'?
When looking at a picture of the altar, what does one see?
The altar in the Jerusalem Temple.
That this is what Paul sees when he looks at the Jerusalem altar is confirmed by his very own words:
[6] He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant---not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. [7] Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone... (2 Corinthians 3:6-7a NIV)
Paul's words confirm that he is looking at the Covenant solely at the Physical Level. As a consequence, he sees only a physical altar.
Now compare Paul with Moses or David, who looked at the Covenant at the Spiritual Level! What did either Moses or David see when they looked at the altar?
But before looking at the altar, it is first necessary to revisit the signing of the Mosaic Covenant (Jesus says that this is a sine qua non: John 5:46-47)
The blood of the Covenant
The drops of the blood of the Sacrifice dashed on the altar, speak of the sacrifice which would be made by the Redeemer when He would remove the nation's guilt in a single day (see also: Zechariah 3:9)
That the allusion is to an upcoming event is echoed by Jesus on the Mount of Olives, in torment of what lay ahead of Him:
[39] Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. [40] On reaching the place, he said to them, "Pray that you will not fall into temptation." [41] He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, [42] "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." [43] An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. [44] And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. (Luke 22:39-44 NIV)
The altar in the Jerusalem Temple
seen at the Spiritual Level.
The cross - constructed out of drops of blood - is a reminder of the part of the blood of the Sacrifice dashed against the altar when the Covenant was formally signed (Exodus chapter 24 T). The dashing of the cross, so formed, is a reminder that the Rescue Contract is looking forward to Jesus' arrival on Earth and the existential shedding of His blood at Calvary. After Calvary, the cross will be drawn in solid red, signifying the existential shedding of Jesus' blood, and the Messianic Amendment to the Covenant which changes the viewpoint from looking ahead to looking back on the event.
The Mosaic altar under discussion was but a copy of the altar which stands within God's Temple in the Heavenly Realm.
The altar in God's Temple has existential existence. But there is also a spiritual dimension, for the Book of Revelation describes those sheltering beneath it:
[9] When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. (Revelation 6:9 NIV)
So, while prior to the Mosaic Contract salvation was through the Rescue Contract, with the advent of the Mosaic Contract salvation was to be through the operation of the Rescue Contract within the framework of the Mosaic Contract itself.
In a sense, the blood of the sin offering which was smeared on the horns of the altar represented the penitents acknowledgement of the blood of the Covenant which had been dashed on the altar when the Covenant was signed; but it was more than acknowledgement, for the sense of clutching the horns also signified dependence on the One who would one day come and remove guilt in a single day:
[8] Now listen, Joshua, high priest, you and your colleagues who sit before you! For they are an omen of things to come: I am going to bring my servant the Branch. [9] For on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven facets, I will engrave its inscription, says the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the guilt of this land in a single day. (Zechariah 3:8-9 NRSV)
The blood which was put on the horns of the altar in many ways represents a plea for mercy from those in fear of being put to death. This is illustrated in the cases of Adonijah and Joab who actually grasped the horns of the altar in hopes of securing deliverance from death at the hands of Solomon10C:
Adonijah, in fear of Solomon, went at once to the Tent and grasped the horns of the altar. 51 It was reported to Solomon: “Adonijah is in fear of King Solomon and has grasped the horns of the altar, saying, 'Let King Solomon first swear to me that he will not put his servant to the sword.'" 52 Solomon said, “If he behaves worthily, not a hair of his head shall fall to the ground; but if he is caught in any offense, he shall die.” 53 So King Solomon sent and had him taken down from the altar. He came and bowed before King Solomon, and Solomon said to him, “Go home.” (1 Kings 1:50-53 (Tanakh))
Adonijah's faith and trust were justified. Whereas those of Joab were not:
When the news reached Joab, he fled to the Tent of the LORD and grasped the horns of the altar—for Joab had sided with Adonijah, though he had not sided with Absalom. 29 King Solomon was told that Joab had fled to the Tent of the LORD and that he was there by the altar; so Solomon sent Benaiah son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go and strike him down.” 30 Benaiah went to the Tent of the LORD and said to him, “Thus said the king: Come out!" “No!" he replied; “I will die here.” Benaiah reported back to the king that Joab had answered thus and thus, 31 and the king said, “Do just as he said; strike him down and bury him, and remove guilt from me and my father's house for the blood of the innocent that Joab has shed. 32 Thus the LORD will bring his blood guilt down upon his own head, because, unbeknown to my father, he struck down with the sword two men more righteous and honorable than he—Abner son of Ner, the army commander of Israel, and Amasa son of Jether, the army commander of Judah. 33 May the guilt for their blood come down upon the head of Joab and his descendants forever, and may good fortune from the LORD be granted forever to David and his descendants, his house and his throne.” 34 So Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up and struck him down. And he was buried at his home in the wilderness. (1 Kings 2:28-34 (Tanakh))
Clutching the horns of the altar is no guarantee that one's life will be spared, for only the 'worthy' will be spared. Adonijah was spared; whereas Joab was cut down where he stood clutching the horns of the altar.
Joab's fate at the hands of King Solomon10C reminds us of the fate of those metaphorically clutching the horns of the altar (ie, Jesus) and who will be 'struck down' by Jesus on the Last Day:
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23 Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'” (Matthew 7:21-23 NIV)
And so we need to be aware that the pronouncement of forgiveness in this life offers no guarantees as to one's eventual salvation on the Day of Judgement! Firstly, if repentance is less than genuine, then the pronouncement of forgiveness is voided; secondly, a subsequent lapse into sin and error may lead to one's name being removed from the Book of Life. So although a priest may pronounce forgiveness (Leviticus chapter 4), there are no guarantees that one's name will be written in the Book of Life or that it will remain there.
A reminder of the blood of the Covenant, and the representation of Jesus within the Covenant:
A summary of the symbolism of the Sin Offering, showing the relationship to the blood of the Covenant:
The Sin Offering, and the penitent's dependence on the blood of the Covenant and on Jesus, the Horn of Rescue and Salvation:
The Sin Offering looked ahead to the promised Messiah. Therefore, following Jesus' sacrifice, the ritual of the Sin Offering ceased to be relevant. And so the Messianic Amendment replaced the Sin Offering with the ritual of the 'Wine':
Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many," he said to them. (Mark 14:23-24 NIV)
Because the Sin Offering had been written into the original terms of the Covenant, the Messianic Amendment required a formal signature. The Wine is now both a reminder of Jesus' representation in Covenant Law, a commemoration of His sacrifice at Calvary, and an ongoing commitment to Jesus and the amended Covenant.
In putting their formal signature to the amended Covenant(Matthew 28:18-20), the House of Desolation are restored to Jewish citizenship. The ritual of the wine represents an ongoing formal acknowledgement of Jesus as the Redeemer of Israel, as well as their complete ongoing dependence on Him. In this way they are not only restored to Jewish citizenship and to the Priesthood of Zion, but they remain as such.
Those subsequently signing the Covenant (ie, those reaching the Age of Discretion, and new converts) would be signing the Covenant as amended by Jesus.
Previous: Representation of Jesus.
Version: 20-Feb-2024