Num 15:22-26 | KingComments | STEP | There is another aspect in connection with the land the LORD confronts His people here with. This concerns the offences which the people will also be able to do in the land. The LORD not only presents blessing, He also presents failure. We see this in the letters that speak about the heavenly blessings. There is also spoken about failure in them. This happens if we do not walk with dignity, that is, not in accordance with our position. It is about inattention, a sin without noticing it. God does not assume that we intentionally sin. A sinner often knows this, but he does not have the strength to resist sin. Yet while he is sinning, he will at the same time hate the sin that has regained power over him. How the believer stands against this unintentional sin hidden from him is well illustrated by David: “Who can discern [his] errors? Acquit me of hidden [faults]“ ( ). In Leviticus there is also talk of unintentional sinning by the whole church of Israel and the offering to be brought for it ( ). There it is about doing something that according to the commandments of the LORD should not be done, while here it is about not doing something that according to the commandments of the LORD should be done. The starting point remains that it happens unintentionally. Peter’s denial of the Lord is an example of unintentional sin. Peter has come through his self-confidence to a place where he has lost control of himself. Through fear of man he comes to statements concerning his relationship with the Lord Jesus in which he denies the Lord. But he has not become an adversary of the Lord. A little later he comes to deep repentance ( ; cf. ). Deliberately sinning, that is sinning “defiantly” ( ), means rebellion against God, consciously going against God, knowingly. There is no forgiveness for this: “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins” ( ). A person who takes such a similar attitude to God is not too weak to resist sin, but consciously gives in to sin. He realizes what he is doing, knows the consequences, but there is nothing that can stop him. In Leviticus 4, where unintentional sin is discussed in detail, only a sin offering is mentioned. But here, in Numbers 15, also is talk of a burnt offering, which also is greater than the sin offering. That is because this is about a sin in the land. Being there gives a greater responsibility. If we sin there, we have also endangered the blessings. That is why this is a burnt offering, to remind us once again, as it were, that our blessings are the consequences of the work of the Lord Jesus for God. Two cases of sinning are presented in this section: by the church ( ) and by the individual ( ). We can connect this with the blessings, for there are also blessings in these two forms: there are collective blessings for the church as a whole ( ) and there are personal blessings for each individual believer ( ). When sin enters, the enjoyment of the blessing disappears, both for the whole and for the individual.

‏ Numbers 15:22-26

Sinning Unintentionally and Defiantly

There is another aspect in connection with the land the LORD confronts His people here with. This concerns the offences which the people will also be able to do in the land. The LORD not only presents blessing, He also presents failure. We see this in the letters that speak about the heavenly blessings. There is also spoken about failure in them. This happens if we do not walk with dignity, that is, not in accordance with our position.

It is about inattention, a sin without noticing it. God does not assume that we intentionally sin. A sinner often knows this, but he does not have the strength to resist sin. Yet while he is sinning, he will at the same time hate the sin that has regained power over him. How the believer stands against this unintentional sin hidden from him is well illustrated by David: “Who can discern [his] errors? Acquit me of hidden [faults]“ (Psa 19:12).

In Leviticus there is also talk of unintentional sinning by the whole church of Israel and the offering to be brought for it (Lev 4:13-21). There it is about doing something that according to the commandments of the LORD should not be done, while here it is about not doing something that according to the commandments of the LORD should be done. The starting point remains that it happens unintentionally.

Peter’s denial of the Lord is an example of unintentional sin. Peter has come through his self-confidence to a place where he has lost control of himself. Through fear of man he comes to statements concerning his relationship with the Lord Jesus in which he denies the Lord. But he has not become an adversary of the Lord. A little later he comes to deep repentance (Lk 22:56-62; cf. 1Tim 1:13).

Deliberately sinning, that is sinning “defiantly” (Num 15:30-31), means rebellion against God, consciously going against God, knowingly. There is no forgiveness for this: “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins” (Heb 10:26). A person who takes such a similar attitude to God is not too weak to resist sin, but consciously gives in to sin. He realizes what he is doing, knows the consequences, but there is nothing that can stop him.

In Leviticus 4, where unintentional sin is discussed in detail, only a sin offering is mentioned. But here, in Numbers 15, also is talk of a burnt offering, which also is greater than the sin offering. That is because this is about a sin in the land. Being there gives a greater responsibility. If we sin there, we have also endangered the blessings. That is why this is a burnt offering, to remind us once again, as it were, that our blessings are the consequences of the work of the Lord Jesus for God.

Two cases of sinning are presented in this section: by the church (Num 15:22-26) and by the individual (Num 15:27-29). We can connect this with the blessings, for there are also blessings in these two forms: there are collective blessings for the church as a whole (Eph 3:1-10) and there are personal blessings for each individual believer (Eph 1:3-8). When sin enters, the enjoyment of the blessing disappears, both for the whole and for the individual.