Word of Salvation – September 2025
Pay-back (Asam) Offerings (A Perfect Payment)
Sermon by Rev. Andrew De Vries on Leviticus 5
Scripture reading: Leviticus 5
One of the great principles of justice, is that when someone has damaged something of yours, they ought to pay you back. They owe you for the damage that they have done. And they can put things right by making what are called, reparations. So after WW2, Germany was asked to make reparations for the vast destruction they had brought over Europe – the original proposal was 20trillion dollars. And in our courts of law here in Australia, we have what are called reparation orders. So if an employee has stolen from their employer, not only will they be convicted of theft, they will be given a reparation order – they will have to pay back the amount they stole.
We understand how important reparations are on a personal level as well. If a wife has thrown out her husband’s favourite T-shirt, and he complains long enough about it, she might buy him a new one and it’s a kind of reparation offering. If your brother or sister has taken your book to school and then left it on the oval and it gets rained on, then you would expect them to help you buy a new one – that’s reparations. It’s a basic principle of justice. People need to pay back for what they’ve broken, damaged, or taken from you.
And that’s the principle the offering we are looking at this evening is teaching us. Our Bible calls it the guilt offering, but I am going to use the term reparation. This sacrifice is all about paying something back, when you’ve caused damage. We see this in the language of penalty in vs.15, as well as restitution in vs.16. So, this offering is about sin as debt. In the purification offering, sin is described as a pollution. It pollutes everything it touches and needs to be cleansed. But here sin is pictured as a debt that needs to be paid off. Our society speaks in this way of those who have been in prison for breaking the law. When they are out, we say ‘they’ve paid their debt to society’. Remember how Jesus teaches us to pray ‘forgive us our… debts, as we forgive our debtors.’ And when people sin against us personally, we feel, in our own psyche, that people incur a debt toward us. So if a friend has betrayed your trust, you might make them pay back that debt, by speaking about them behind their back. Or you might pay that debt off yourself, by forgiving them, and suffering the cost of what that means to forgive.
And when we sin against God we incur a debt. How can we pay back the debt we owe? How can you be debt free before God? Well, this offering shows us how.
- Firstly, we’ll look at reparations when you’ve sinned unintentionally.
There are two distinct types of sin that this sacrifice deals with. In 5:14-19 we have described for us the category of unintentional sins and reparations for them. And then in 6:1-7 we have sins committed deliberately and the reparations for them.
So firstly, unintentional sins. We talked about this last time we were in Leviticus. Sins committed because you were ignorant of the law, or you didn’t realise you committed them. They happen because of our weakness or carelessness or tiredness. We don’t deliberately set out to defy God, it just happens. And it is described in vs.15 as being unfaithful to the Lord. This is covenantal language. Because our relationships with God is covenantal – we don’t just have a casual relationship with him, but a deeply committed one that takes the form of a covenant. And any time we commit these unintentional sins, we are being unfaithful to Him.
This is the language that is used when a husband or wife commits the ultimate act of treachery, adultery (Num.5:12). One of the things Leviticus gives us, is a very robust theology of sin. It reminds us that sin deserves death. It tells us that ignorance of the law is no excuse, because even unintentional sin makes you guilty. And here it tells us, that sin is no trifling matter, it’s like committing adultery.
If you have trouble understanding why God get’s angry and upset when you and I don’t obey him… If you have trouble understanding why God is described as a jealous God, and he’s keenly seeking the affections of his people. It’s because in the Bible God is described as the husband, and his people are described as his wife. That’s the best way to describe the relationship between the Lord and his covenant people. How would a wife feel if she came home and found out her husband has been cheating on her? Would she continue cooking dinner and humming Psalm 23 to herself?
If she doesn’t feel like a dagger has been plunged into her heart, if it doesn’t feel that she has experienced the deepest betrayal possible in life, then there is something wrong with the relationship. And what Leviticus tells us, is that’s what we do to God when we disobey him. We’re like a spouse who’s cheated on their husband or wife. And how on earth are you going to put that right congregation. If you’ve cheated on God, how do you make that up to him? Anything you say will seem so pathetic in view of what you’ve done. How can you pay him back such a debt? We can’t. That’s what’s so delightful about this offering. God in his grace supplies the reparation offering, the means to put things right even when we’ve been spiritually unfaithful.
The particular area of unfaithfulness being addressed here, is sin against the Lord’s Holy things (vs.15). It’s not treating the Lord’s things with proper respect and reverence. What are the Lord’s things? Those things which are set apart for God’s purposes. The most obvious of which are the tabernacle, all those utensils, and bowls used there, as well as discarded parts of the offerings and the clothing the priests were supposed to wear. In Lev.22:2 we read: ‘Tell Aaron and his sons to treat with respect the sacred offerings the Israelites consecrate to me, so they will not profane my holy name. I am the Lord.’
So there are all sorts of scenarios in which you could sin against the holy things. Let’s say you eat the wrong part of the fellowship sacrifice because the priest made a mistake. Or some tongs used in the temple come into your possession and you actually use them. Or you don’t observe one of the holy festivals properly. Or you speak against one of the holy priests because you didn’t like his manner at the temple. If you do any of these things you’ve been unfaithful, you’ve cheated on God, and you need to pay him back. How? With a reparation offering…! The offering was a ram, as well as 20% of the value of whatever holy thing you profaned.
It is clear that there is nothing intrinsically special about the animals or bowls which make them God’s holy things. They are special because they belong to God. And when you respect someone, you treat their things with special respect. If Dad lets you use his Land-Cruiser for the first time, you don’t go doing crazy things with it, you drive it with respect and care because it belongs to Dad.
Or maybe Oma gave you one of her necklaces to look after. There is nothing all that special about it – it is in fact a little old and dated – but it’s special because it is hers. It belongs to her, and you make sure you look after it very carefully. And it is meant to be the same with God’s holy things. You are meant to treat them with special care and reverence, because they are his. You are not meant to treat holy things casually, lightly, or with any kind of disrespect.
Now, before you start thinking, aren’t we glad we live in the New Covenant age, and there are no tabernacle sacrifices to profane, there are no holy things for us to sin against, you need to think again. The Lord still has many ‘holy things’ which he expects us to treat with respect and reverence. The Lord has a holy day. He sets aside one day in seven, where we can rest and rejoice in his goodness and rest from our daily labours. So, do you treat this day, as a special, with reverence and respect? Or is it just like any other day?
God’s name is holy. He expects us to revere and reverence his name, and hold him in the highest regard. That’s what we do in corporate worship. We come together with the express purpose of exalting God’s name, and treating that name with the greatest dignity. So, did you approach worship today with the greatest of respect and admiration of God, or did you not even think about what it was you’d be doing in worship?
And what about the church. We are God’s Holy people. We as set aside for his purpose and his glory. And so do you treat the church with respect and reverence. Is the church simply another service you access to get something out of it or is the church, one of God’s holy things which you seek to love, and to serve, and speak well of.
I hope you are beginning to see how relevant the reparation offering is. You might think the book of Leviticus is just all weird O.T. stuff, but it isn’t just O.T. worshippers who need the reparation offering is it? Don’t you and I need it? Haven’t you treated God’s holy things with contempt? And we haven’t even gotten into verses 17-19 which speaks of general violations of the Lord’s commands.
How can you repair things with God? Well, notice that we see here, that you can’t repair things with God; you can’t pay him what you owe him, by going out and trying harder to be a good person.
You don’t repair things by being more respectful and reverential in worship. You can’t put things right by using the rest of this day as God intends you to use it. You can’t put things right by saying, I’m going to do better. Things can only be put right by dying.
Who dies? Well, the ram dies doesn’t it? That’s the only way reparation can be made to the Lord. That’s the only way you can pay back God. The procedure is not outlined for us. But what we are being taught is the principle that God alone determines the appropriate reparation for our sin. God tells us what it takes to make things right. Sometimes we want to tell God what is needed to make things right between us. We tell him, all that’s needed is if you forgive and forget. All that’s needed is for me to say I’m sorry and it’s all sweet between us. All that is needed is nothing, God just needs to stop being so sensitive about sin.
But we can’t tell God what the appropriate way to pay the debt is. He’s the one who’s been offended, he’s the one who needs to be compensated. And there is only one thing that can repair our relationship with God. There is only one way that he can be adequately compensated. It’s through the reparation offering. You know, that famous passage in Isaiah 53 which speaks of the servant of the Lord who would be pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities. He’s described as a guilt offering (a reparation offering). That’s what Christ did. He paid the debt we owe on the cross[1]. It’s the only way God could be paid. The only way for restitution to be made. And we don’t give it. God graciously provides it for us. He pays what we could never hope to pay ourselves.
- So that’s reparations when you’ve sinned unintentionally, now let’s consider reparations when you’ve sinned deliberately (6:1-7)
In chapter 6, verses 1-3 there are a list of various sins against the property or possessions that belong to one of your Israelite neighbours. So the kind of thing in mind here is, that someone has given you there ox to look after, you don’t fence it off at night, and it get’s killed, and you refuse to pay them for it. Or you take something that is not yours: your neighbours lamb wanders onto your property, and you decided it’s roast lamb for dinner.
Or you sell one of your neighbours a cow you claim is pregnant, but then all of a sudden by miracle it is not pregnant and you claim it must have just miscarried. All these are all sins where you rip off your neighbour.
If you wanted to put it in modern day terms, it’s when you borrow something, you damage it, and don’t tell the person you borrowed it from. Or it’s when you borrow money of someone in the church, and all of a sudden with the passage of time the repayments stop and you find a new church. Or Deceiving someone about the quality of something you’ve sold to them. Or you receive support from the church, when you don’t actually need it. There are all kinds of ways we can sin against the property and possessions of others in the covenant community.
And notice what v2 says. These things are not simply sins against brothers and sisters in the Lord. These are sins against the Lord himself – vs.2 ‘If anyone sins and is unfaithful to the Lord by deceiving his neighbour…’ (same as 5:14 – unfaithfulness = covenant adultery) All sin, is sin against God. Or as Calvin writes, “Whenever an injury is inflicted on men, God in their person is offended.” We see this truth illustrated in Joseph’s response to Potiphar’s wife (Gen 39:9). He says, how can I sin against the Lord by being unfaithful to you. Or to put it in NT terms – turn to 1John 4:20: Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. When we break faith with our fellow brother and sisters, we break faith with God. We sin against God. And so a reparation is in order.
Notice that on top of the Ram as a reparation offering, you also have to pay 20%. This 20% fine is to make up for the loss: loss of work or loss of income, or whatever, the other person had suffered. But it was also evidence of repentance. It was evidence that you were truly sorry for your sin. That’s what we see with Zacchaeus in the NT (look up Luke 19). He offers to pay back those he may have ripped off with a fourfold payment! He’s didn’t pluck that figure out of nowhere, he takes us from some of the laws of reparations in Exodus 21/2.
But, what I want you to notice though, is the order of things. The order is, you’ve got to go and work things out with your brother or sister you’ve ripped off, before you come and offer your gift at the altar.
Reconciliation with a brother or sister, take precedence over worship. This is the very law that Jesus is working from in Matthew 5: ‘If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.’ Wouldn’t the church be a wonderful place, if it followed this?
Christina and I decided very early in our married life, that if there was something that had come between us, and one of us was angry with the other, we wouldn’t be in the company of other people, until it was dealt with. And we’ve sat in the car in the car park on a Sunday, and had to give an apology or give forgiveness, prior to coming here to worship. And it’s a wonderfully freeing thing. To be able to worship with a clear conscience, that as far as it depends upon me, I’m at peace. Is there someone you’re not a peace with here today? Someone in the covenant community who has wronged you, or whom you have wronged and you know it. Then won’t you heed the words of Jesus Christ – Go and be reconciled to your brother.
We’ve covered a lot of territory as we’ve looked at the five sacrifices in the book of Leviticus. The burnt offering – showing that acceptance with God comes only through a life completely consecrated to God.
The grain offering – teaching us the permanence of God’s promises to us.
The fellowship offering – revealing that fellowship with God is enjoyed only on the basis of a life laid down.
The purification offering – picturing that purification from the pollution of our sin is provided for our covenant Lord.
What are you going to go home with after this series on Leviticus? Maybe some enthusiasm – a greater enthusiasm for the book of Leviticus. Perhaps relief – that we are not going to wade through any more bloodied sacrifices. What I hope you will go home with, is assurance. The thing about the O.T. sacrifices, is that you had to keep making them over and over and over again. There was always another sin against God’s holy things you needed to bring a sacrifice for. There was always another sin of omission that required costly sacrifice.
That relentless repetition of another trip to the tabernacle wondering if the debt with God could ever be paid off. How could you ever have the assurance, that you debt to God for sin has ever been paid off?
How can you have assurance congregation, that you are now debt free with God? That there is never another cent you will owe him for your sin – for all the sin that you’ve committed, the sin that you will do tomorrow, the stuff that you can’t put right with a brother or sister in the Lord because they are long gone. There is only one way you can have assurance. Because Christ has offered up his body once and for all, to pay the debt of all the sin of his people. Although he was faithful to the covenant, he was treated as the unfaithful one as he endured the curse for sin on the cross. And when he’d done his work he cried out: It is finished. No more sacrifice required for sin. Every last debt of yours, every last reparation, it’s been made.
That’s the good news of the gospel isn’t it? You don’t have to pay God back with your good works, wondering if it is ever enough. You don’t have to make yourself pay for the debt of your sin telling yourself over and over how stupid you’ve been and punishing yourself mentally or physically. You don’t have to live in fear that God will call in the debt. It’s been paid. Jesus Christ has made reparations and paid the debt. So what our Saviour wants us to go home with, is assurance.
The assurance found in the old hymn:
Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.
Jesus paid it all – that’s the glorious gospels isn’t it. And what should I do in response: All to Him I owe. AMEN
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[1] This is the basis for the proclamation that Jesus ‘paid’ for our sins. Acts 20:28; 1 Cor 6:20; 7:23; Rev 5:9; 14:4.