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If the law taught anything it is this
Amen. I think of times when the Lord wasn't accepting Israel's sacrifices...when they were living in sin and no longer following the Lord in sincerity. That is an "ensample" and warning to the church as well..... a picture of how God may no longer accept our sacrifice (Lamb of God) either if we "keep on wilfully sinning". The modern church is in trouble if they think they can just live as they please like the world does and expect to inherit eternal life. Thank you Lord.....so we see how this in no way undermines or takes away from the riches of His wonderful grace that did and does come to us through the cross of Christ....as long as we don't likewise fall away but follow Him in sincerity. Amen and praise the Lord for his word that gives light to our path.Forgiven (05545)(salach) means to free from or release from something and so to pardon, to forgive, to spare. God's offer of pardon and forgiveness to sinners. Salach is never used of people forgiving each other but used of God forgiving. Jehovah Himself announces, in response to Moses' prayers for Israel, that He has forgiven Israel at two of their darkest moments, the golden calf incident and the murmuring at Kadesh Barnea (Ex 34:9; Nu 14:19-20).
Vine adds that "The basic meaning (of salach) undergoes no change throughout the Old Testament. God is always the subject of “forgiveness.” No other Old Testament verb means “to forgive,” although several verbs include “forgiveness” in the range of meanings given a particular context (e.g., naca and awon in Ex. 32:32; kapar in Ezek. 16:63)… Most occurrences of calach are in the sacrificial laws of Leviticus and Numbers. In the typology of the Old Testament, sacrifices foreshadowed the accomplished work of Jesus Christ, and the Old Testament believer was assured of “forgiveness” based on sacrifice (see Nu 15:25, 28)… he mediators of the atonement were the priests who offered the sacrifice. The sacrifice was ordained by God to promise ultimate “forgiveness” in God’s sacrifice of His own Son. Moreover, sacrifice was appropriately connected to atonement, as there is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood (Lev. 4:20; cf. Heb. 9:22). Out of His grace, God alone “forgives” sin. The Israelites experienced God’s “forgiveness” in the wilderness and in the Promised Land. As long as the temple stood, sacrificial atonement continued and the Israelites were assured of God’s “forgiveness.” When the temple was destroyed and sacrifices ceased, God sent the prophetic word that He graciously would restore Israel out of exile and “forgive” its sins (Jer. 31:34).
The Septuagint (Lxx) translates salach with the Greek verb aphiemi (see word study) in all 9 uses of salach in the book of Leviticus. The verb aphiemi (from apo = prefix implies separation + hiemi = put in motion, send; See also study on noun aphesis) conveys the basic idea of an action which causes separation and means to send from one's self, to forsake, to hurl away, to put away, let alone, disregard, put off. It depicts an action which causes separation that results in total detachment, total separation, from a previous location or condition. In secular Greek aphiemi initially conveyed the sense of to throw and in one secular writing we read "let the pot drop" (aphiemi). From this early literal use the word came to mean leave or let go. Aphiemi basically means to send away and was used to indicate the legal repayment or cancellation of a debt or the granting of a pardon. It is used in Scripture to refer to God’s forgiveness of sin. Through the shedding of His own blood, Jesus Christ actually took the sins of the world upon His own head, as it were, and carried them an infinite distance away from where they could never return. That is the extent of the forgiveness of our trespasses.
Salach - 46x in NAS - Salach is translated as - forgive(19), forgiven(13), pardon(12), pardoned(2), pardons(1). Ex 34:9; Lev 4:20, 26, 31, 35; 5:10, 13, 16, 18; 6:7; 19:22; Num 14:19f; 15:25f, 28; 30:5, 8, 12; Dt 29:20; 1Sa 15:25; 1 Kgs 8:30, 34, 36, 39, 50; 2 Kgs 5:18; 24:4; 2 Chr 6:21, 25, 27, 30, 39; 7:14; Ps 25:11; 103:3; Isa 55:7; Jer 5:1, 7; 31:34; 33:8; 36:3; 50:20; Lam 3:42; Dan 9:19; Amos 7:2
The first use is notable, where Moses intercedes for the rebellious nation of Israel…
Ex 34:9 And he said, “If now I have found favor in Thy sight, O Lord, I pray, let the Lord go along in our midst, even though the people are so obstinate; and do Thou pardon (Lxx = aphaireo = take away, remove) our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Thine own possession.”
Other representative uses (if you have time, consider studying all 46 uses above for a fuller understand of pardon and forgiveness in the OT)…
Ps 25:11 For Thy name’s sake, O LORD, Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.
Ps 103:3 Who pardons all your iniquities; Who heals all your diseases;
Isa 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the LORD, And He will have compassion on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.
Walter Kaiser has an excellent summary on salach…One of the greatest evangelical notes in the OT is struck by this word: forgiveness and pardon from the very God of forgiveness. It also raises the greatest problem as well: What was the nature of this forgiveness? Hebrews seems to state just as categorically that OT forgiveness was ineffective and impossible (Heb 9:9; Heb 10:4). The resolution is clear. In the first place, Jehovah himself announces, in response to Moses’ prayers for Israel, that he has forgiven Israel at two of their darkest moments, the golden calf incident and the murmuring at Kadesh Barnea (Ex 34:9; Num 14:19–20). In the second place, on the basis of Mosaic legislation, real atonement and forgiveness were available for all sins except those of the defiant and unrepentant sinner (Num 15:30–31) who “despised the word of the Lord.” The claim is made repeatedly (Lev 4:20, 26, 31, 35, 5:10, 13, 16, 18, 26; 19:22) that when atonement was made, the sinner’s sins were forgiven. For all such sins as lying, theft, perjury, fraud (Lev 6:1–7), or those “against any of the Commandments of the Lord” (Lev 4:2), it was possible to obtain divine pardon. Rather than being excluded, these sins were specifically included in God’s provision for the ot believer along with “sins of ignorance” (Nu 15:25, 26, 28). As if to emphasize the point, it is stated repeatedly that on the Day of Atonement, “all the iniquities” and sins of Israel were atoned (Lev 16:21, 30, 32, 34). But the individual Israelites had to properly “humble themselves” in true confession (Lev 16:29, 31). This is the kind of forgiveness which Solomon prayed would be available to all as he led a prayer of dedication for the temple (1Kgs 8:30, 34, 39, 50, and its parallel in 2Chr 6). Amos requested it for Judah (Amos 7:2) as did Daniel (Da 9:19). However, at times Israel was not pardoned (Dt 29:19; La 3:42). So exciting was the openness of this offer of forgiveness that Isaiah (Isa 55:7) featured it as the heart of his invitation to salvation. So ready was their Lord to forgive, that Isaiah’s listeners must forget all notions based on the reluctance of men to forgive each other. The experience of forgiveness in the OT was personally efficacious, although objectively the basis and grounds of that forgiveness awaited the death of Christ. Other terms used for forgiveness stressed the ideas of wiping out or blotting out the memory of the sin (māâ), covering or concealing the record of the sin (kāsâ), lifting up and removal of sin (nāśā), passing by of sin (ābar), and pardoning on the basis of a substitute (kāpar in the Piel q.v.). Three texts in Jeremiah, 31:34; 33:8; 50:20, celebrate a future forgiveness of our Lord in connection with the New Covenant and ultimately his second coming. (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament).
Leviticus 19 Commentary | Precept Austin
www.preceptaustin.org
I am amazed that there are some who does not understand this basic biblical truth.
Ever read Pilgrims Progress? A amazing classical piece of work!
Amen...the gospel is preached from beginning to end! The mystery of God from the foundation of the world.
A part of that mystery is why the people chose Barabbas rather than Jesus. People prefer amnesty and forgiveness to sacrifice and holiness. That's how God selects His people. We reveal ourselves by our choices.
Just a few comments. Kind of random thoughts. My husband and I were just talking about this last night. How obviously there are metaphors in the bible. But metaphors are metaphors. To me it’s a weak word “metaphor” used to describe “you must eat My flesh and drink My blood”. To me it goes beyond common metaphors because I’ve never seen metaphors that contain Life itself. I’ve never seen mere metaphors contain Spirit. As Jesus Christ said “My words are Spirit, they are life.” Yes…if we’d go into literature classes (Imo) and theres the great writers of classics being studied for metaphors …personally metaphors is a weak word to describe His parables or proverbs when He said “I’ll speak to no more in parables and proverbs but show you plainly the Father.”
Reminds of where everyone is a friend to a gift giver. It’s appealing and tempting …there’s gifts? Well sign me up! I’ll take a free gift. I use to work at Lowe’s and when they told us they were cleaning out inventory and giving it away free to us workers …I didn’t even bother trying to get what was free because of the pushing and shoving. It’s didn’t matter if it was packs of flowers seeds going out at the end of the season or grills…as long as it was free it became a push and shove game. You may say…it’s not the same. But miraculous gifts …or claimed gifts…like men slapping people on their foreheads so they fall over twitching, claiming these men have been given the gift. Same thing. Everyone loves a gift giver. If something is gained immediately all the better.
Good question.
To me Paul shows something in the Corinthians letter…where Paul is being asked to prove Christ speaks in him. Paul ends it with “we will gladly be weak, that you be made strong, this we hope, even your perfection.” How much more proof can there be? “My strength is made perfect IN weakness.” …Paul said “I’ll be weak!” That God’s strength (the power of God toward you which is Not weak) be made Perfect…in my weakness.
Eli is all over the place.
Drawing this to your attention @Episkopos , in case you miss it. There is no need for US to take away or deny the wonderful foundation of His grace.......if any fall away from obeying the Lord in sincerity and expect the Atonement to avail no matter what they do and how they live, God Himself might take it away unless repentance ensues. But I want to mention also that a three fold cord is not easily broken....God doesn't give up so easily on a soul.
Incorrect-on all points-and you are not my savior brother-and I can discern when a person is gifted and you are not gifted in preaching or teaching.
yes, that disingenuousness is seen a lot.........and I think we have to accept that it says a lot, sadly.
People love free stuff. Did Jesus pay for ALL your sins. Well, the bible doesn't say that. For you splitting hairs could be the difference between life and death. Not many understand spiritual things.
My husband said something the other night, and the way he said it …it stood out. “God killed an animal to clothe me.”
Wondering if throwing out the foundation has affected Epi spiritually and that is why he is unable to grasp the paradoxes of truth that are found in scripture which can only be understood in spirit. It's not about winning arguments but I sincerely hope he reconsiders those foundational things for his own sake, because they are vital to salvation and having the spirit of Christ. And of course it will then adjust and help the rest of the "building" come into alignment.
You want to choose both Barabbas and Jesus? Of course...you want to compromise the truth. You want an assurance of amnesty... you want Jesus to die in your place...any human would. But you also don't disagree with the idea, the concept, the premise of sacrifice and holiness.
No we must not abuse His grace, that way leads to death......but that is not the same thing as sometimes inadvertently sinning. And I agree we must seek to be holy....I believe that means to be spiritual, no longer carnal and in the flesh. I don't disagree with all that you say, but you are too polarized in your thinking on some of these things....please try to take a step back and be willing to see what might need adjusting in some of it. It's ok to make adjustments and change our minds on things as we go along...that is how we grow and I don't believe any of us have stopped growing.
Epi, my post was not directed to ‘people’ but you.
Of course not choosing Barabbas over Jesus brother. I'm talking about forgiveness versus holiness. The grace of God and seeking holiness are not mutually exclusive. Hope you are not being disingenuous again. That is not indicative of someone willing to be honest.
