And if ye have erred, and not observed all these commandments, which the LORD hath spoken unto Moses,
Numbers 15:22 opens the law for Israel when the whole congregation or a single person fails through ignorance to keep all that the Lord commanded through Moses. Such failure is truly sin and brings guilt before God even when there is no knowledge or sense of guilt, and sincerity does not excuse it. Sins of ignorance are the first and least heinous class of sins, far less serious than presumptuous sins which were punishable by death. Forgiveness required atonement by the appointed offerings, the congregation bringing a young bullock for a burnt offering with its meat and drink offering and a kid of the goats for a sin offering, and the individual a she goat of the first year, with the priest making atonement for them. When the sin becomes known it must be acknowledged and repented of and reformed without delay, and if light is then refused the former sins of ignorance become doubly sinful as if done with full knowledge.
Wording and Setting
The verse opens the case of Israel failing without intent to observe any of the commandments the Lord gave through Moses, and it belongs to the instructions about offerings and sins committed in ignorance. For that ignorance the whole congregation, when anything was committed by ignorance, was to bring one young bullock for a burnt offering with its meat offering and drink offering and one kid of the goats for a sin offering. Any single soul sinning through ignorance was to bring a she goat of the first year for a sin offering, and the priest was to make atonement for them and they were forgiven because it was ignorance.
One law for him that sins through ignorance covered both him born among the children of Israel and the stranger sojourning among them. Resident strangers were thus included in the religious rites and privileges of the congregation, and were subject to and protected by its laws. The provision for congregation and individual alike, including the sojourner, shows that ignorance does not make transgression guiltless but that forgiveness was provided through sacrifice.
The chapter containing the verse holds various laws together with the account of a man who violated the fourth commandment by gathering sticks on the Sabbath. That act was open and defiant sin against God, showing Sabbath-breaking to be presumptuous and abhorrent to God, not an ordinary sin. The verse therefore stands among subsidiary laws given through Moses, distinguishable from the Decalogue as the great constitution of God's government. The stoning of the man who in defiance gathered sticks on the Sabbath illustrates the kind of sanitary or police regulation adapted to that people, that time, their wilderness environment and particular offenses, not an eternal moral principle applicable to every time and place.
Numbers 15, together with Exodus 16, shows that definite Sabbath observance was maintained for forty years and therefore is not physically impossible.
Ignorance Still Sin
Erring and not observing all the commandments spoken through Moses, even without knowledge or feeling of guilt, is still truly sin that makes guilty before God, and not merely a mistake, for ignorance does not make transgression guiltless or disobedience harmless. Provision is made for forgiveness of such unintentional failure, both for the whole congregation when anything is committed by ignorance and for any single soul sinning through ignorance, including the sojourner, through sacrifice and priestly atonement, and then it is forgiven because it was ignorance. The congregation was to bring one young bullock for a burnt offering with its meat and drink offering and one kid of the goats for a sin offering, and the individual a she goat of the first year for a sin offering, with one law for him that sins through ignorance both for him born among Israel and for the stranger sojourning among them. These sins of ignorance are the first and least obnoxious class of sins, still truly sinful yet less serious, less heinous, and less obnoxious than sins committed presumptuously.
Such sins of ignorance differ from presumptuous sins, which are punishable by death, while sins of ignorance are to be atoned for. Paul's ignorant sin brought him mercy, but when God's law revealed his transgression he recognized that he stood condemned under the law. Sincerity in a wrong course does not excuse such erring or substitute for correct action, which proves that truth is essential. What is taught here about how God regards sin, the desert of sin, and the necessity of atonement reaches forward to the present time in which atonement is truly made, with the same force in both testaments.
Atonement and Repentance
Unintentional failure to keep any of the commandments spoken through Moses is not left guiltless but is provided a way of atonement and forgiveness for both the whole congregation and the single person, including the sojourner. For the congregation erring by ignorance the remedy is one young bullock for a burnt offering with its meat offering and drink offering and one kid of the goats for a sin offering, and for the individual sinning through ignorance a she goat of the first year for a sin offering, with the priest to make atonement for them so that it is forgiven them because it was ignorance. Without that atonement the sin remains, and when the failure becomes known the one accountable must bring the required offering to receive forgiveness. The ordering of different offerings for this least obnoxious class of sins under the old law helped make necessary the death of Christ. Ignorance does not make disobedience harmless, and sincerity in a wrong course cannot take the place of correct action.
Even what is done without knowledge or feeling of guilt is still truly sin, less serious and less heinous than presumptuous sin yet still needing repentance and forgiveness once it is known. When the violation comes to knowledge the sinner must acknowledge it, repent, and take steps to receive forgiveness, including the appointed offering. Lack of awareness and absence of guilt on the conscience do not justify, so the offering must still be brought to the Lord. In this the teaching on how God regards sin, the desert of sin, and the necessity of atonement reaches with the same force to the present time in which atonement is truly made.
Those who have failed through ignorance must repent and reform as soon as their ignorance is removed, and that duty still binds in this dispensation. If light comes to expose the sin and is chosen against, the past sins of ignorance become doubly sinful and are counted as if committed with clear knowledge of the whole duty. So Paul obtained mercy for what he did ignorantly, but when the law revealed his transgression he recognized that he stood condemned under the law.
Numbers 15:22 opens the law for Israel when the whole congregation or a single person fails through ignorance to keep all that the Lord commanded through Moses. Such failure is truly sin and brings guilt before God even when there is no knowledge or sense of guilt, and sincerity does not excuse it. Sins of ignorance are the first and least heinous class of sins, far less serious than presumptuous sins which were punishable by death. Forgiveness required atonement by the appointed offerings, the congregation bringing a young bullock for a burnt offering with its meat and drink offering and a kid of the goats for a sin offering, and the individual a she goat of the first year, with the priest making atonement for them. When the sin becomes known it must be acknowledged and repented of and reformed without delay, and if light is then refused the former sins of ignorance become doubly sinful as if done with full knowledge.
Wording and Setting
The verse opens the case of Israel failing without intent to observe any of the commandments the Lord gave through Moses, and it belongs to the instructions about offerings and sins committed in ignorance. For that ignorance the whole congregation, when anything was committed by ignorance, was to bring one young bullock for a burnt offering with its meat offering and drink offering and one kid of the goats for a sin offering. Any single soul sinning through ignorance was to bring a she goat of the first year for a sin offering, and the priest was to make atonement for them and they were forgiven because it was ignorance.
One law for him that sins through ignorance covered both him born among the children of Israel and the stranger sojourning among them. Resident strangers were thus included in the religious rites and privileges of the congregation, and were subject to and protected by its laws. The provision for congregation and individual alike, including the sojourner, shows that ignorance does not make transgression guiltless but that forgiveness was provided through sacrifice.
The chapter containing the verse holds various laws together with the account of a man who violated the fourth commandment by gathering sticks on the Sabbath. That act was open and defiant sin against God, showing Sabbath-breaking to be presumptuous and abhorrent to God, not an ordinary sin. The verse therefore stands among subsidiary laws given through Moses, distinguishable from the Decalogue as the great constitution of God's government. The stoning of the man who in defiance gathered sticks on the Sabbath illustrates the kind of sanitary or police regulation adapted to that people, that time, their wilderness environment and particular offenses, not an eternal moral principle applicable to every time and place.
Numbers 15, together with Exodus 16, shows that definite Sabbath observance was maintained for forty years and therefore is not physically impossible.
Ignorance Still Sin
Erring and not observing all the commandments spoken through Moses, even without knowledge or feeling of guilt, is still truly sin that makes guilty before God, and not merely a mistake, for ignorance does not make transgression guiltless or disobedience harmless. Provision is made for forgiveness of such unintentional failure, both for the whole congregation when anything is committed by ignorance and for any single soul sinning through ignorance, including the sojourner, through sacrifice and priestly atonement, and then it is forgiven because it was ignorance. The congregation was to bring one young bullock for a burnt offering with its meat and drink offering and one kid of the goats for a sin offering, and the individual a she goat of the first year for a sin offering, with one law for him that sins through ignorance both for him born among Israel and for the stranger sojourning among them. These sins of ignorance are the first and least obnoxious class of sins, still truly sinful yet less serious, less heinous, and less obnoxious than sins committed presumptuously.
Such sins of ignorance differ from presumptuous sins, which are punishable by death, while sins of ignorance are to be atoned for. Paul's ignorant sin brought him mercy, but when God's law revealed his transgression he recognized that he stood condemned under the law. Sincerity in a wrong course does not excuse such erring or substitute for correct action, which proves that truth is essential. What is taught here about how God regards sin, the desert of sin, and the necessity of atonement reaches forward to the present time in which atonement is truly made, with the same force in both testaments.
Atonement and Repentance
Unintentional failure to keep any of the commandments spoken through Moses is not left guiltless but is provided a way of atonement and forgiveness for both the whole congregation and the single person, including the sojourner. For the congregation erring by ignorance the remedy is one young bullock for a burnt offering with its meat offering and drink offering and one kid of the goats for a sin offering, and for the individual sinning through ignorance a she goat of the first year for a sin offering, with the priest to make atonement for them so that it is forgiven them because it was ignorance. Without that atonement the sin remains, and when the failure becomes known the one accountable must bring the required offering to receive forgiveness. The ordering of different offerings for this least obnoxious class of sins under the old law helped make necessary the death of Christ. Ignorance does not make disobedience harmless, and sincerity in a wrong course cannot take the place of correct action.
Even what is done without knowledge or feeling of guilt is still truly sin, less serious and less heinous than presumptuous sin yet still needing repentance and forgiveness once it is known. When the violation comes to knowledge the sinner must acknowledge it, repent, and take steps to receive forgiveness, including the appointed offering. Lack of awareness and absence of guilt on the conscience do not justify, so the offering must still be brought to the Lord. In this the teaching on how God regards sin, the desert of sin, and the necessity of atonement reaches with the same force to the present time in which atonement is truly made.
Those who have failed through ignorance must repent and reform as soon as their ignorance is removed, and that duty still binds in this dispensation. If light comes to expose the sin and is chosen against, the past sins of ignorance become doubly sinful and are counted as if committed with clear knowledge of the whole duty. So Paul obtained mercy for what he did ignorantly, but when the law revealed his transgression he recognized that he stood condemned under the law.