December 16, 2023

Passage Read: Leviticus 3-6
Meditation Verse: 5:17

Thought

Someone who sins unintentionally shall still bear his punishment. How does one who sins unintentionally find out about his sin? Either someone else notices and tells him, or the Lord brings punishment and the man looks for the reason for the punishment. How else can he discover his error? Like David carrying the ark to Jerusalem on a cart, and Uzziah is killed in the process. Did no one realize that the ark was supposed to be carried by Levites? Did no one think to warn him? So the Lord struck Uzziah, and then someone thought to check for the proper way to transport it or stumbled upon the instructions while reviewing the Law of Moses. Ignorance doesn't make for innocence, nor does it protect from punishment.

Application

Deliberate sin is far more deserving of punishment, but God doesn't want us to carry on in unintentional sin either. If no one will point out our sin, He will bring consequences into our lives so as to get our attention and turn our hearts to seek His will. If He cares for us, He will warn us; likewise, if we care about the people around us, we should warn them. If we don't warn them, do we really care about them? If we don't warn them, or if they refuse to listen to our warning, then God must step in and bring punishment. If someone warns me, I should be quick to confirm with the Lord whether what I have done is sin or not, and if so, even quicker to turn away from it.