Atonement for Sin

22 “When a leader sins, doing unintentionally any one of all the things that by the commandments of the Lord his God ought not to be done, and realizes his guilt, 23 or the sin which he has committed is made known to him, he shall bring as his offering a goat, a male without blemish, 24 and shall lay his hand on the head of the goat and kill it in the place where they kill the burnt offering before the Lord; it is a sin offering. 25 Then the priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out the rest of its blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering. 26 And all its fat he shall burn on the altar, like the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings. So the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin, and he shall be forgiven.

27 “If anyone of the common people sins unintentionally in doing any one of the things that by the Lord's commandments ought not to be done, and realizes his guilt, 28 or the sin which he has committed is made known to him, he shall bring for his offering a goat, a female without blemish, for his sin which he has committed. 29 And he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and kill the sin offering in the place of burnt offering. 30 And the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out all the rest of its blood at the base of the altar. 31 And all its fat he shall remove, as the fat is removed from the peace offerings, and the priest shall burn it on the altar for a pleasing aroma to the Lord. And the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be forgiven.

32 “If he brings a lamb as his offering for a sin offering, he shall bring a female without blemish 33 and lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and kill it for a sin offering in the place where they kill the burnt offering. 34 Then the priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out all the rest of its blood at the base of the altar. 35 And all its fat he shall remove as the fat of the lamb is removed from the sacrifice of peace offerings, and the priest shall burn it on the altar, on top of the Lord's food offerings. And the priest shall make atonement for him for the sin which he has committed, and he shall be forgiven. – Leviticus 4:22-35 ESV

Everyone sins. It’s an inevitable and unavoidable fact of life. The apostle Paul put it this way: “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 3:23 NLT). King Solomon gave this rather sobering assessment of the problem.

Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins. – Ecclesiastes 7:20 ESV

And Solomon would double down on the same stark evaluation of sin’s relentless stranglehold on humanity.

…there is no one who does not sin. – 1 Kings 8:46 ESV

And it was the pervasive and inescapable reality of sin that caused the apostle John to encourage confession rather than denial.

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. – 1 John 1:8-10 ESV

No one understands the damaging effects of sin better than God. While He is completely free from any form of unrighteousness, He understands that sin’s entrance into the world had a devastating impact on humanity. When Adam and Eve made the fateful decision to eat fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they did far more than disobey God’s command; they expressed their desire to become their own gods. They listened to the lie of the enemy and asserted their right to run their own lives according to their own wills. What God had declared off-limits, they determined was rightfully theirs to have. Rather than trust God’s perfect will for their lives, they allowed their desire for autonomy to cloud their thinking and blind their eyes to the devastating outcome of self-rule.

God’s decision to set apart the people of Israel as His special possession was intended to show how sinful humanity might enjoy a restored relationship with its creator. By choosing the descendants of Abraham as participants in His divine case study, God was going to reveal how the pernicious presence of sin could be dealt with in a way that could result in their restoration to a right relationship with Him. He would use this one nation to showcase His grace, love, and forgiveness. He would make a covenant with them that would guarantee them status as His chosen people and assure them of His future blessings. But they would be required to live in obedience to all the laws and regulations associated with that covenant. Failure to do so would bring divine discipline. But knowing that His people would find it impossible to live in perfect obedience to His law, God provided the sacrificial system as a means to atone for the sins they would inevitably commit.

That brings us back to Leviticus chapter 4. God has already made it clear that sin was a problem for His people. Even the priests would have difficulty living in obedience to His commands. And it was only a matter of time before the entire nation came under the weight of God’s wrath for some inadvertent and unintentional sin committed by one of their own. The whole focus of the opening chapters of Leviticus seems to be God’s emphasis on the inescapable nature of sin. Even when the people of Israel thought they were doing well, there was the very real possibility that they had sinned without even knowing it. Sin was hardwired into their systems. It was part of their nature. And they were fully capable of committing sins both willingly and unwittingly.

That’s why God instituted these sin or purification offerings. Even if someone committed a sin by accident, they were still required to make atonement for that sin. As soon as they became aware of their offense, they needed to bring their offering before God in order to receive forgiveness and restoration. And this requirement applied to every Israelite, regardless of their social status or economic standing. God even made provisions to accommodate the poor by allowing them to offer less costly sacrifices. Everyone from priests, elders, the rich, and the poor was required to follow God’s purification process. It was mandatory and not up for debate. To refuse to make the proper sacrifice for sin would leave the individual separated from God and under a death sentence. Sin required confession, sacrifice, and purification. Forgiveness was available, but only if the sinner faithfully followed God’s gracious commands. 

Verses 22-35 deal provide the same protocol for the leader and the common man. Their social status did not change anything. It didn’t matter if Moses had committed the sin or if the guilty party was an obscure member of the working class. Both were required to “bring as his offering a goat” (Leviticus 4:23, 28 ESV). The only difference was that God allowed the less affluent Israelite to substitute a less-expensive female goat as a sacrifice. But both animals had to be without blemish, and the same ritual had to be painstakingly followed in order for the sacrifice to be effective. When God’s program of purification was adhered to, both individuals received the same results.

“…the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin, and he shall be forgiven.” – Leviticus 4:26, 31 ESV

The goal was forgiveness. God knew that sin was inevitable, even among His chosen people. The presence of the law didn’t eliminate the Israelite’s propensity for sin. The law simply provided a clear and irrefutable outline of God’s expectations for His chosen people. The apostle Paul would later explain the purpose behind the law.

…the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. – Romans 3:19-20 NLT

…the law always brings punishment on those who try to obey it. (The only way to avoid breaking the law is to have no law to break!) – Romans 4:15 NLT

The law of God established His standard of holiness. But He knew that the Israelites were incapable of living up to that standard. Their sinful natures made it impossible to live in perfect obedience to His righteous requirements. As a Jew, the apostle Paul could relate to the difficulty they faced.

In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin. – Romans 7:25 NLT

So, God provided the sacrificial system as a way of mitigating the inevitable damage that sin would do to the Israelite’s relationship with Him. Sin would result in division between God and His people. In His holiness, He would be obligated to deal with their sin justly and righteously. He could not turn a blind eye or act as if it never happened. So, the sacrificial system was designed to offer atonement, make available forgiveness, and provide a restored relationship with God.

The author of Hebrews provides a powerful reminder of how the law was a foreshadowing of something far more significant to come. It was meant to serve as a sign of a greater program of sacrifice and atonement that God had in mind.

The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared.

But instead, those sacrifices actually reminded them of their sins year after year. For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. – Hebrews 10:1-4 NLT

And the author goes on to reveal what the Old Testament sacrificial system was meant to point towards:

That is why, when Christ came into the world, he said to God,

“You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings.
    But you have given me a body to offer.
You were not pleased with burnt offerings
    or other offerings for sin.
Then I said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will, O God—
    as is written about me in the Scriptures.’” – Hebrews 10:5-7 NLT

God had always planned to send His Son as the final and all-sufficient sacrifice that would pay for the sins of mankind, once and for all.

For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time. – Hebrews 10:10 NLT

But during the Old Testament dispensation, God provided the sacrificial system as a temporary and incomplete model of the greater plan to come. Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29), had always been God’s ultimate plan of atonement, forgiveness, and restoration. And as the author of Hebrews states, “when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices” (Hebrews 10:18 NLT). Jesus alone can offer full forgiveness from sin and freedom from future condemnation. And Paul sums up the incredible reality of God’s perfect plan of redemption, made possible through the sacrifice of His Son.

The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature.c So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit. – Romans 8:3-4 NLT

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Sin in the Camp

13 “If the whole congregation of Israel sins unintentionally and the thing is hidden from the eyes of the assembly, and they do any one of the things that by the Lord's commandments ought not to be done, and they realize their guilt, 14 when the sin which they have committed becomes known, the assembly shall offer a bull from the herd for a sin offering and bring it in front of the tent of meeting. 15 And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands on the head of the bull before the Lord, and the bull shall be killed before the Lord. 16 Then the anointed priest shall bring some of the blood of the bull into the tent of meeting, 17 and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the Lord in front of the veil. 18 And he shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar that is in the tent of meeting before the Lord, and the rest of the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering that is at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 19 And all its fat he shall take from it and burn on the altar. 20 Thus shall he do with the bull. As he did with the bull of the sin offering, so shall he do with this. And the priest shall make atonement for them, and they shall be forgiven. 21 And he shall carry the bull outside the camp and burn it up as he burned the first bull; it is the sin offering for the assembly.” – Leviticus 4:13-21 ESV

The next mandatory blood sacrifice was in the case of the entire community committing an unintentional sin. It seems that it would have been a rare occurrence for the entire nation to be guilty of having committed the same inadvertent sin. How could an entire multitude of people have unknowingly participated in a violation of God’s law without knowing it? It’s difficult to imagine every single Israelite unwittingly or accidentally participating in the very same violation of God’s law.

But the Hebrew word for “congregation” carries a range of meanings that includes a family, crowd, assembly, or gathering. Yet the context of this passage would seem to indicate that God has the entire Israelite community in mind. The actual sin committed might be the work of a few within the community, but God would hold the entire nation responsible. Sin is like an infectious disease and has a way of spreading throughout the entire body if left undetected and untreated. So, even if the violation had been committed by only a handful of the Israelites, the entire nation would find itself impacted by their actions. The impurity of a few would leave the whole congregation in a state of impurity and in need of cleansing.

So, God provided a means of receiving atonement. He wanted His people to take seriously any form of sin within the camp, and there is a powerful example of this in the book of Joshua. When the people of Israel eventually entered the land of Canaan, God gave them a miraculous victory over the city of Jericho. But this was followed by an unexpected defeat at the hands of the much-smaller city of Ai. Joshua chapter 7 opens up with the statement: “But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things…” (Joshua 7:1 ESV).

Before they began their siege of Jericho, God had given the people clear instructions concerning their post-victory celebrations.

“Jericho and everything in it must be completely destroyed as an offering to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute and the others in her house will be spared, for she protected our spies.

“Do not take any of the things set apart for destruction, or you yourselves will be completely destroyed, and you will bring trouble on the camp of Israel. Everything made from silver, gold, bronze, or iron is sacred to the Lord and must be brought into his treasury.” – Joshua 6:17-20 NLT

But one man decided to ignore God’s command and enrich himself with some of the plunder from the city. And yet, Moses records, “Israel violated the instructions about the things set apart for the Lord” (Joshua 7:1 NLT). God held the entire nation culpable for Achan’s actions. In fact, Moses notes that “the Lord was very angry with the Israelites” (Joshua 7:1 NLT).

Joshua and the rest of the Israelites were completely oblivious to Achan’s sin. So confident of certain victory over the smaller city of Ai, Joshua sent a contingent made up of 3,000 Israelite soldiers, but their mission ended in defeat. And Moses records that “the Israelites were paralyzed with fear at this turn of events, and their courage melted away” (Joshua 7:5 NLT). Joshua, shaken by this unexpected turn of events, called out to God for an explanation. He couldn’t understand why God had failed to intervene on their behalf against the Amorites living in Ai. But what Joshua didn’t know was that sin had entered the camp of Israel. Achan’s violation of God’s command had left the entire community contaminated and worthy of God’s judgment, and God pulled no punches in declaring the seriousness of the situation.

“Israel has sinned and broken my covenant! They have stolen some of the things that I commanded must be set apart for me. And they have not only stolen them but have lied about it and hidden the things among their own belongings. That is why the Israelites are running from their enemies in defeat. For now Israel itself has been set apart for destruction. I will not remain with you any longer unless you destroy the things among you that were set apart for destruction.” – Joshua 7:11-12 NLT

While Achan’s sin had been anything but accidental, the rest of the nation had been unaware of its occurrence. They were ignorant of Achan’s crime but were just as responsible before God as if they had all taken part. And God made it clear that the entire community would be considered impure and responsible for the crime until the guilty party was sought out and exposed.

“Get up! Command the people to purify themselves in preparation for tomorrow. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Hidden among you, O Israel, are things set apart for the Lord. You will never defeat your enemies until you remove these things from among you.” – Joshua 7:13 NLT

Purification was part of the process. The entire community needed to purge itself of the sin that had left them contaminated and worthy of God’s judgment. The next day, God revealed the identity of the guilty party and ordered his execution.

“The one who has stolen what was set apart for destruction will himself be burned with fire, along with everything he has, for he has broken the covenant of the Lord and has done a horrible thing in Israel.” – Joshua 7:15 NLT

In this case, Achan and his entire family were stoned to death and then burned with fire. The sin was purged from their midst and the nation was spared God’s judgment. But the atonement came at a high price.

And all the Israelites stoned Achan and his family and burned their bodies. They piled a great heap of stones over Achan, which remains to this day. That is why the place has been called the Valley of Trouble ever since. So the Lord was no longer angry. – Joshua 7:25-26 NLT

When it came to the sin/purification offering, God provided a means by which the nation could receive a different form of atonement for inadvertent or unintentional sins committed among them. When someone violated one of God’s laws and it ended up impacting the entire community, there was a way to restore fellowship and receive forgiveness. But it involved a blood sacrifice. A life had to be given so that the guilty might be spared. In this case, it was to be “a bull from the herd” (Leviticus 4:14 ESV). This animal must be free from defects and in perfect health. It represented a payment of high value and illustrated the gravity of the crime committed. Atonement could not be achieved without considerable cost to the guilty party.

As representatives of the people, the elders were to lay their hands on the sacrificial animal, symbolizing its role as their substitute or stand-in. The guilt of the people was symbolically transferred to the bull, then the life of the animal was taken. Its blood was shed so that the Israelites could live and enjoy God’s forgiveness. But before atonement from sin could be enjoyed, the blood of the animal had to be taken by the priest and sprinkled on the veil that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. The people’s access to God had been impacted by their sin. The entrance into God’s presence, represented by the veil, had been contaminated by sin, and needed to be purified by the blood of the sacrificial animal. As the author of Hebrews reminds us, “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22 ESV).

Having purified the veil, the priest was to take the remainder of the blood and purify the bronze altar as well as the altar of incense. This ritual cleansing of the two altars of sacrifice was intended to restore their holiness and reestablish their use for worshiping God. And by following all the details of this preestablished ceremony “the priest shall make atonement for them, and they shall be forgiven” (Leviticus 4:20 ESV).

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Joy of Forgiveness

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If anyone sins unintentionally in any of the Lord’s commandments about things not to be done, and does any one of them, 3 if it is the anointed priest who sins, thus bringing guilt on the people, then he shall offer for the sin that he has committed a bull from the herd without blemish to the Lord for a sin offering. 4 He shall bring the bull to the entrance of the tent of meeting before the Lord and lay his hand on the head of the bull and kill the bull before the Lord. 5 And the anointed priest shall take some of the blood of the bull and bring it into the tent of meeting, 6 and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle part of the blood seven times before the Lord in front of the veil of the sanctuary. 7 And the priest shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense before the Lord that is in the tent of meeting, and all the rest of the blood of the bull he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering that is at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 8 And all the fat of the bull of the sin offering he shall remove from it, the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails 9 and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins and the long lobe of the liver that he shall remove with the kidneys 10 (just as these are taken from the ox of the sacrifice of the peace offerings); and the priest shall burn them on the altar of burnt offering. 11 But the skin of the bull and all its flesh, with its head, its legs, its entrails, and its dung— 12 all the rest of the bull—he shall carry outside the camp to a clean place, to the ash heap, and shall burn it up on a fire of wood. On the ash heap it shall be burned up.” – Leviticus 4:1-12 ESV

Having covered the burnt, grain, and peace offerings, God now addresses two distinctively different sacrifices dealing with unintentional violations of His commands. The Hebrew phrase is בִּשְׁגָגָה (bishgagah) and it refers to a sin committed in ignorance and without premeditation. This could involve a case of someone violating one of God’s commands unknowingly or accidentally. Unlike the first three kinds of offerings, these two offerings place emphasis on the status of the sinner and not the sacrifice itself. It’s not that the type of sacrifice or the manner in which it is given is unimportant but that the specific type of sin is the higher priority.

These sacrifices involve accidental sins or sins of omission. If someone inadvertently committed a sin of which they were ignorant or unaware, there was a way for them to be restored to a right relationship with God. Their ignorance did not excuse or absolve them from guilt or condemnation. Simply claiming, “I didn’t know” would not alleviate their guilty standing before a holy God. Failing to observe one of God’s commands was a violation worthy of judgment whether the individual did so knowingly or not. And, like all other violations of God’s commands, these sins of ignorance required atonement.

So, God provided a gracious and very specific remedy for these unique situations. He knew that not all sins would be blatant displays of willful rebellion against His law. Some would innocently and unknowingly break His commands and find themselves under His righteous judgment. What were they to do? How were they supposed to remedy the situation in a way that God would find acceptable?

First of all, God addressed the priesthood. Even this select group of men would find themselves in the awkward and dangerous spot of having violated one of God’s commands unknowingly. Yet, it seems that these kinds of cases would have been rare since the priests were to be the experts when it came to God’s laws. But God knew that even Aaron and his sons were fully capable of making a mistake and unwittingly violating one of God’s many laws. And, when that unlikely occasion arose, there was a way for them to restore their broken relationship with God.

One of the important things to note in this passage is that God took all forms of sin seriously. It didn't matter whether the individual intended to sin or not. Once the sin had been committed, it created a barrier between the individual and God. It left the violator impure and unworthy to enter God’s presence. This posed a real problem for those men who had been set apart to minister as mediators between God and His people. If Aaron or one of his sons committed an unintentional sin, their very presence in the Tabernacle and their interactions with the altars and utensils would invalidate any offerings they made. They would end up contaminating God’s house and rendering any of their actions as priests to be unacceptable.

“Purification is the main element in the purification [sin] sacrifice. Sin not only angers God and deprives him of his due, it also makes his sanctuary unclean. A holy God cannot dwell amid uncleanness. The purification offering purifies the place of worship, so that God may be present among his people.” – Gordon J. Wenham, The Book of Leviticus

These men played a vital role in the spiritual well-being of the people of Israel, and if their personal sins, whether willing or unwilling, remained unatoned for, the people will suffer the loss of God’s presence and power in their lives. Not only that, any sacrifices they offered would be deemed unacceptable to God. So, it was essential that the priests had a way to appease God for any and all sins they committed – even those that were the result of ignorance.

These inadvertent sins included such things as failing to keep one’s word or simply neglecting to do the right thing. Living in a sin-stained world could leave someone contaminated without them even knowing it. The key to these kinds of sins is awareness. Once someone became aware that they had unknowingly broken one of God’s commands, they were expected to confess their sin and make atonement for it. The former ignorance would not absolve them from responsibility or assuage their guilt. If they had unknowingly touched something that was unclean, that action would have rendered them unclean. Once they became aware of their unclean status, they were expected to do the right thing and offer the proper sacrifice. And God was quite specific as to the nature of that sacrifice.

While these sin offerings bear similarities to the burnt, grain, and peace offerings, there were slight differences. These offerings were not meant to be a soothing aroma to God. Instead, they were intended to expiate or make amends for the sin committed. As with all the other offerings, the animal that was to be sacrificed had to be without defect. There was a cost involved, even if the sin was accidental. The manner in which the sin was committed did not lessen the penalty or the cost of atonement. A perfect sacrifice was required to restore the sinner’s broken relationship with God.

When it comes to sin, ignorance is not bliss. A misguided sense of innocence did not render one right in the eyes of a holy, all-knowing God. That is why all sin should be taken seriously and it is a sober awareness of sin’s capacity for hiddenness that led David to cry out to God, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life” (Psalm 139:23-24 NLT).

David knew that sin was insidious in its ability to hide in plain sight. There was no way that he could know the true condition of his own heart, so he asked God to reveal any hidden sin that needed to be confessed and atoned for. And God reminded the prophet, Jeremiah, that the key to unlocking the secrets of the human heart lies with God and not man.

“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,
    and desperately wicked.
    Who really knows how bad it is?
But I, the Lord, search all hearts
    and examine secret motives.
I give all people their due rewards,
    according to what their actions deserve.” – Jeremiah 17:9-10 NLT

Even sins committed in ignorance carry weight and require atonement. They cannot be overlooked, should not be underestimated, or treated apathetically. God wanted His people to live in perfect fellowship with Him, but He knew that sin would create an impenetrable barrier. The presence of sin in the individual’s life rendered them unacceptable and made God inaccessible. But God graciously provided a solution – in the form of a blood sacrifice because “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22 ESV).

And once the atoning sacrifice was offered and the blood was sprinkled on the altar, the remaining portion of the slain animal was carried outside the camp and burned.

“…the skin of the bull and all its flesh, with its head, its legs, its entrails, and its dung— all the rest of the bull—he shall carry outside the camp to a clean place, to the ash heap, and shall burn it up on a fire of wood. On the ash heap it shall be burned up.” – Leviticus 4:11-12 NLT

In a sense, these unacceptable portions of the animal represented the unacceptable nature of the individual’s sin. Unworthy for use as an offering to the Lord, these leftovers were to be taken outside the camp and burned. It was David who wrote of the amazing reality of God’s forgiveness.

Finally, I confessed all my sins to you
    and stopped trying to hide my guilt.
I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.”
    And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. – Psalm 32:5 NLT

And it was God who assured His stubborn and rebellious people of His willingness to faithfully forgive their repeated acts of sin against Him.

“I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for my own sake
    and will never think of them again.” – Isaiah 43:25 NLT

Sin was inevitable. Accidental sins were unavoidable. But forgiveness was always available. And the key to restoration was confession and atonement. God would later remind His covenant people of His willingness to forgive if they would only confess.

“…if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.” – 2 Chronicles 7:14 NLT

Men sin but God forgives. This requires that men confess so that God can restore them. And, thankfully, God provided His people with the means to be restored to a right relationship with Himself, even when they had violated His law by mistake.

The great news is, that “if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness” (1 John 1:9 NLT).

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.