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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
Lev_6:1
And the Lord spake. The six following verses contain a separate communication from the Lord to Moses, but in continuance of the subject which began at Le Lev_5:14.
Lev_6:2
This verse would be better translated as follows:—If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the Lord, and falsely deny to his neighbour something that was delivered to him to keep, or something that he had received in pawn, or something that he had taken away by violence, or hath got something by oppression from his neighbour. Cf. the injunction in Le Lev_19:11 : "Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another." Exo_22:7-13 contains earlier legislation on the subject of things taken in trust.
Lev_6:3
Or have found that which was lost. Cf. Deu_22:2, Deu_22:3, "Thou shalt bring it unto thine own house, and it shall be with thee until thy brother seek after it, and thou shalt restore it to him again. In like manner shalt thou do with his ass; and so shalt thou do with his raiment; and with all lost thing of thy brother's, which he hath lost, and thou hast found, shalt thou do likewise." And sweareth falsely. By previous legislation it had been appointed that, in case of a doubt arising as to what had become of property delivered to another to keep, there should be "an oath of the Lord between them both, that" the latter "hath not put his hand unto his neighbour's goods; and the owner of it shall accept thereof, and he shall not make it good" (Exo_22:11). This opened the way to false swearing where men were dishonest. Sinning therein. Wrong to man is sin against God in every ease, but a special sin against God is committed when an appeal has been made to him by oath, and the oath has been false.
Lev_6:4
As before, the profit gained by fraud or violence is to be given up, and with it a fine is to be paid, amounting to one-fifth of the value of the thing appropriated.
Lev_6:5
In the day of his trespass offering is a better rendering than that of the margin, "in the day of his being found guilty," or" in the day of his trespass." The reparation is to take place, and immediately afterwards the offering is accepted.
Lev_6:5
I. AN ENUMERATION OF WRONGS. These may be distributed into two classes, viz.:
1. In matters of fraud. These may be
(1) in respect to things in custody, "that which was delivered him to keep." Under this heading may he ranged things left in pledge, the possession of which is afterwards denied. Also things borrowed and fraudulently retained.
(2) In respect to "fellowship." This may refer, in matters of partnership, to claiming for sole interest profits that should be divided, or shifting liabilities which should be jointly borne wholly to the partner's account. The Hebrew here is "putting of the hand," which the margin interprets "in dealing." Any fraud in trade would, therefore, come under this head, viz. by light weight, short measure, false balances, false samples, adulterations, misrepresentation of values, or saunterings by which an employer is robbed of his time.
(3) In respect to trusts. Executors so managing estates as to enrich themselves at the expense of their wards. Public servants manipulating accounts to pocket balances, or taking bribes to favour particular contractors to the prejudice of competitors or of the public.
(4) In respect to "the lost thing which he found." Solon's law was, "Take not up that which you laid not down." Historians relate that in England, in the days of Alfred the Great, golden bracelets might be safely hung up in the road. Whoever retains what he found when he knows who the owner is, or without using diligence to discover him, is a thief.
2. In matters of violence. Such as
(1) "A thing taken away by violence." A horrible example is furnished in the case of the vineyard of Naboth (1Ki_21:15, 1Ki_21:16).
(2) Any kind of oppression. Exactions under pressure of necessity. Exactions under threats. Withholding adequate remuneration for service (see Jas_2:6; Jas_5:4-6).
II. AGGRAVATIONS OF THE WRONGS. These are:
1. When lies are told to cover them.
(1) Some may have the hardihood stoutly to deny, in the face of witnesses to the contrary, that they came into fraudulent possession of property.
(2) It is more easily denied when there are no witnesses to attest delivery, or prove custody or trust against the holder.
(3) Lies are told in the forms of evasion, shuffling, and false colouring.
2. When oaths are taken to give countenance to the lies.
(1) God is a witness of everything (2Ch_16:9; Psa_34:15; Pro_15:3). He is often a silent observer. It is an awful aggravation of a wrong to think that it is done under the eye of God,
(2) But when an oath is taken to cover a wrong, God is appealed to. What a fearful outrage against the God of truth, to be thus called in to attest a lie!
(3) Whether a wrong be done before God as a "witness," which it must be if it is done at all; or whether he be "appealed" to by an oath, every trespass against man is also "a trespass against Jehovah" (see Jas_5:4). Trespasses cannot, therefore, be treated lightly because of the insignificance of the person wronged, when the Almighty also is concerned. In all the interest which God takes in the justice of human actions, he has the good of man at heart.
III. THE LAW OF REPARATION.
1. He shall make up the wrong to the person injured.
(1) "He shall restore it in the principal." If this cannot be done in the identical thing, then an "estimation" of its value must be taken, and payment made, viz. "in shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary" (comp. Le Lev_5:15).
(2) "He shall add the fifth part more thereto." This is a proper consideration for the inconvenience the owner may have suffered through the fraud. But if the "estimation" be, as some read it in Le Lev_5:15, "two shekels," then the restoration would be "fourfold," since the atonement money was "half a shekel." This would agree with Exo_22:1 (comp. also 2Sa_12:6; Luk_19:8).
(3) And he shall "give it unto him to whom it appertaineth, in the day of his trespass offering." The trespass offering will not be accepted else. Job's blends had to make peace with him before their sacrifices would be accepted (Job_42:8; see also Mat_5:23, Mat_5:24).
2. He shall then "bring his trespass offering unto the Lord."
(1) "A ram that is perfect." God will accept nothing that is imperfect. Therefore we must come to him through Christ, who can invest us with his righteousness.
(2) "With thy estimation, for a trespass offering, unto the priest." This, according to Le Job_5:15, would be of the value of two shekels.
(3) "And the priest shall make an atonement for him," etc. Reflect: What a power there is in conscience! What a costly thing is sin! How carefully should it be avoided! Let us avail ourselves of the benefits of redemption.—J.A.M.
I. THAT GOD ALLOWS US TO CONSIDER HIS GIFTS AS BELONGING TO OURSELVES. By inheritance or by labour we acquire property; a man has a right to say, concerning an object thus legally acquired, "This is mine." The possession of property is carefully guarded by the declarations of God's Word; "the commandments of the Lord" make the violation of this right a very serious sin (see text). It is well, however, to remember that human ownership is never absolute; it is subject to:
1. God's prior and supreme claim (Psa_24:1; 1Ch_29:11; Hag_2:8).
2. Our duty, in holding it, to keep in view the general good; e.g; large landowner has no right to let ground lie waste, and be covered with seed-sowing weeds.
3. Our liability, at any hour, to lay it down at God's will.
II. THAT MEN FIND VARIOUS WAYS OF DISREGARDING THIS RIGHT. Many forms of dishonesty prevail in every land; it is an inevitable excrescence of sin. Five special cases are here provided against:
1. Breach of trust, or failure to return anything borrowed; lying in "that which was delivered him to keep" (Lev_6:2).
2. Unfairness in partnership or cooperation; "in fellowship."
3. Violent appropriation or hardship (oppression),—"a thing taken away by violence" (Lev_6:2).
4. Fraud in trading,—"hath deceived his neighbour" (Lev_6:2).
5. Illegal retention of something accidentally acquired,—"have found that which was lost," etc. (Lev_6:3).
III. THAT DISHONESTY IN ANY FORM IS A SERIOUS SIN AGAINST GOD, as well as a wrong done to our neighbour. By committing any one of these offenses a soul is said to "sin, and commit a trespass against the Lord" (Lev_6:2); "he sins therein" (Lev_6:3); "he hath sinned, and is guilty." Evidently the taking from our neighbour "that which is his' is a high misdemeanour in the sight of God. Two of the "ten commandments" (Exo_20:1-26) are directed against it: "Thou shalt not steal;" "Thou shalt not covet," etc. Theft, dishonesty, is a treble sin: it is a wrong to our fellow; it is an injury to ourselves (spiritual demoralization); it is an offense against God.
IV. THAT IT CALLS FOR RESTITUTION AS WELL AS SACRIFICE.
1. We must, indeed, bring our sacrifice to God. The Jew was to bring his "ram without blemish" (Lev_6:6), and an atonement was to be made before the Lord, and his trespass was forgiven him (Lev_6:7). We must bring the sacrifice of a contrite spirit, and plead the One Sacrifice for all sin, and we shall be forgiven.
2. But we are also bound to make restitution where that is possible. The Jew was to "restore it in the principal, and … add the fifth part more thereto" (Lev_6:5); he was to more than make up for the injury he had done. And
(1) in order that the will of Christ concerning us in such case may be fully done (see Mat_5:24),
(2) that our own conscience may be perfectly clear and unstained, and
(3) that our brother may have reason to be entirely satisfied with us,—let us make not only adequate but ample or even overflowing compensation for the wrong which we have done.—C.
Lev_6:3
I. NO MAN WHO SINS CAN TELL HOW FAR HIS SIN WILL TAKE HIM. Hazael, Gehazi, Ahab, Judas, etc.; "facilis descensus Averni."
II. IT IS IN THE NATURE OF SIN TO TEMPT TO FURTHER SIN. The instances with which we are familiar are not remarkable exceptions; they are illustrations of a principle at work everywhere and always. "There's not a crime but takes its change out still in crime, when once rung on the counter of this world;" dishonesty naturally, if not necessarily, leads to lying, and lying to perjury. One sin is the germ of another, and is sure to bear fruit.
III. IT IS A PART OF THE PENALTY OF SIN THAT IT SHOULD DO SO. We sometimes think that sin carries no penalty; so it seemed to the Psalmist (Psa_73:1-28), but he was wrong, as he owned (Lev_6:15). It not only ends disastrously ("then understood I their end"), but it results in certain, immediate, spiritual injury. On the day in which the forbidden fruit is eaten, we do die,—in the soul.
IV. THIS FACT OF THE DIFFUSIVENESS OF SIN HELPS TO EXPLAIN THE EXCEEDING EVIL OF IT IN THE SIGHT OF GOD. It may well be accounted "an evil and bitter thing," a thing which he "hates," which he "abhors," etc.
These considerations furnish
(1) a very strong reason for repentance, etc; and
(2) an equally strong inducement for the cultivation of holiness in the heart and life of the good.—C.
I. THE SIN DESCRIBED.
1. Its main feature is the unlawful possession of another's property, through wrongful acquisition or detention. Force or deceit has been employed in procuring or retaining the goods. This sin may be committed in little things or great, and by communities as well as individuals.
2. Its source is avarice. The eye beholds, the heart covets, the will consents, and the hand grasps, as in the history of Achan, who robbed God (Jos_7:21). There is thus the evil cooperation of the senses and faculties, sin in inward thought and outward act. The temporary gratification of the flesh is preferred to the durable contentment of the spirit; self is brought into hideous prominence, as if it could never be coincident with the interest of others and of God. It is classed with sins of ignorance because, though wittingly done, the covetous desire seems to blind the moral sight, and man acts as if under the constraint of a foreign power. Beware of greed! it is insidious in its approaches, and awful in its effects.
3. It is aggravated by falsehood. One sin drags another in its wake; avarice prepares the way for lying, even demands it that its designs may be achieved. What has been taken by force is often defended by perjury. The pillars of wickedness are unstable; they need each other's support, for they cannot stand alone in their own native strength. A covetous heart calls for a deceitful tongue.
II. THE REPARATION. Real happiness does not accompany sin; it is a thorny rose, a cup with nauseous elements, a nightmare sleep. Though no human eye detect the wrong, the sinner is guilty, and knows that One above will not recognize the right of might and violence, nor allow his name to be used with impunity as a shield to vice. Remorse tortures the transgressor, until he is driven to confess his crime and to make amends for it. The Law mercifully appoints a salve for the bleeding conscience.
1. Full restitution to the rightful owner. The property stolen or retained, together with an added fifth, is returned as compensation for the injury suffered. Sin is shown to be unprofitable, and no length of possession is allowed to supply a reason for inequitable retention. Lapse of time must never be supposed to bar recovery of rights. Are there no persons in our assemblies to whom this law is applicable?
2. Acknowledgment of an offense committed against God. It was "a trespass against the Lord" (Lev_6:2), and in several respects. His commandments were broken, notably the second, third, eighth, and tenth (Exo_20:1-26). An atonement is required, the sacrifice of a ram, the fat parts of which are burnt on the altar, and the rest eaten by the priests. The two branches of the moral law are closely connected. To violate the one is to dishonour the other. Experience attests their contiguity. Those who best regard the interests of their neighbours are the men that are jealous for the honour of God. Forget not to impress upon children the importance of asking, not only their parents' pardon, but the forgiveness of their heavenly Father when they have acted dishonestly or unkindly. Frequently the newspapers record the receipt by the Chancellor of the Exchequer of money sent because of unpaid taxes. Do the senders always remember that they have sinned against God as well as man; and implore forgiveness in the name of Jesus Christ?—S.R.A.
I. SOCIAL MORALITY RESTS UPON RELIGION. Offenses against neighbours, offenses against God. No true support of society apart from faith. Follies of the modern skeptical school. Enthusiasm of humanity, atheism, development of morality out of a physical basis,—mere dreams of the intellect. Facts of history show that corrupt religion is corrupt morals; that an atheistic society is mere organized selfishness.
II. THE TRUE HEALING PRINCIPLE OF SOCIETY. The preservation of individual rights in the spirit of a common allegiance to God. We are all brethren. If one offend, let his offense be both readily acknowledged and atoned for, and readily forgiven. So long as we simply pay back, we do not heal the hurt; we must more than pay back. His restitution was of the principal and the fifth part more thereto. Such a regulation was founded on the Divine love, as the essence of the Divine Law. We must remedy wrongs in the spirit of benevolence.
II. AS TYPICAL OF THE CROSS OF CHRIST, THE DIVINE FULNESS OF REDEMPTION is set forth. The offenses of men are more than made up for. Their redeemed state is an advance upon their state of innocence. The new Law is better than the old. Christ in us is not only the crucifixion of sin and the world, but "the hope of glory." The believer will find in the blood of the atonement both a cleansing away of guilt, and a washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost.—R.