“Now if the whole congregation of Israel commits error and the matter escapes the notice of the assembly, and they commit any of the things which the Lord has commanded not to be done, and they become guilty;” 

Leviticus 4:13

We usually want to point our fingers at others and disassociate ourselves from those we believe are committing acts of sin. In the United States we divide ourselves up in the us and them categories whether it be in politics or religion or lack thereof. We pick sides and we want only our perceived guilty side to take the blame and rarely does anyone in authority step up and choose to take responsibility for the choices of those living under their authority. 

In 2020, here in the US, we have the Baby Boomers versus the Millennials with the Generation Z coming up quickly behind them. We have the Baby Boomers being blamed for criticizing and demeaning the Millennials for all that is going wrong in the world while the Millennials point the fingers back to the Boomers. What we don’t often see is the Baby Boomers, who are now the “elders” of our families, churches, and even our nation taking responsibility for what is deemed wrong in our homes, in our churches, and in our nation.

In the days of the nation of Israel’s birth when the Lord was giving these instructions for the sin offerings for the people we see that the elders were to take responsibility and action for the sin of the congregation. When it was discovered that the assembly was not walking in accordance with the command of the Lord the elders were not to stand up and point fingers at the people. They were, instead, to take the sin of the congregation upon themselves and bring it before the Lord.

It was the responsibility of the elders to teach the congregation. It was the responsibility of the elders to be the guides and the coaches and the examples to the generations that followed them. If error was found in the congregation it was not automatically assumed that it was rebelliousness of the youth but it was deemed as something unknown now becoming known and it was dealt with according to the law of God. 

The sin offering for the unintentional sin of the congregation once again would be the largest and most costly offering, a bull. The blood of the bull would also be taken and placed on the horns of the altar before the Lord which was in the tent of meeting. The blood of this offering would also be sprinkled before the Lord in front of the veil. This offering was as serious as the offering of the priest for it was just as far reaching. The elders took responsibility for the entire congregation’s sin and therefore in their forgiveness the entire congregation was forgiven. This is the grace and mercy of our God at work.

It is possible for an entire nation to be led astray and into wrong thinking and wrong actions by having the wrong perspective due to the lack of instruction of a few. Elders assuming something should be known and therefore not purposely teaching it snowballs into a generation being completely ignorant of those particular things. This ignorance leads to error and sometimes it takes a while for that error to become known. 

It is also possible for us to be living and teaching error, but be unaware that we are doing so because we cannot see it within ourselves. However, when the fruit of our lives and teaching begins to be manifested through the lives of those who live around us and learn from us, then we can finally see through them that there is error coming from us. The mercy and grace of our God makes a way for us to address this error without it leading to blaming and choosing sides and wrongful prosecutions. The elders simply acknowledge it, own it, bring it before the Lord, and it is forgiven and we change and move on in our forgiveness and knowledge. 

When our children were young there were many times and many things that I would see them say and do that I would react to and wonder why in the world they were behaving that way or saying something that way. Then I would hear it or recognize it afterward coming from myself. I had never recognized it in myself before. I had never seen it as erroneous or unkind or even annoying when it came from myself, but when I watched it lived out in them it was different. In those moments I had a choice to make. I could continue to blame and discipline them or I could take personal responsibility. I have learned that taking personal responsibility as “the elder” has never failed to change them as well as me. 

In 1 Peter 5:1-5 we read, “Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 

Could it be in the days of the giving of Leviticus that the younger could easily submit to the elder because they knew the elder was taking responsibility for them before God. The elder could in return be humble to the younger because they recognized that the younger simply lived out what they themselves had modeled before them. There was to be no finger pointing or blaming among the people. They were all to know and understand that we all are in need of the mercy and grace of the Lord our God. Here in Leviticus 4:13-21 all pride was laid aside and the elders humbled themselves before the Lord taking responsibility for the sin of the congregation and in this act of obedient faith the entire nation would find forgiveness. 

Oh Father,

Your grace and mercy is from everlasting to everlasting. As I study through the book of Leviticus I don’t see legalism, I see provision for forgiveness. I see a God who loved us in spite of ourselves and knew how we would fail Him again and again, but made a way for us to have a relationship with Him anyway. I see a Holy God who takes responsibility for His people. I see a Creator who does not point fingers or cast blame, but instead takes the sin of others upon Himself. Jesus, thank You for being the example that we can follow. You look past our ignorance and offer us forgiveness in our repentance. You do not hold our lack of knowledge against us, but meet us where we are and lead us to Yourself. May we in our forgiveness and knowledge of Your truth do likewise for others and lead them to You.

My Jesus, I love You and it is in Your name I pray,

Amen

“Every grain offering of yours, moreover, you shall season with salt, so that the salt of the covenant of your God shall not be lacking from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt”

Leviticus 2:13

The fact that the Lord requires that every grain offering be seasoned with salt is such an interesting concept. It’s one of those verses in Scripture that makes you stop and wonder what in the world is the big deal about salt? The term “covenant of salt” is only used three times in Scripture. We see it here in Leviticus 2:13, then in Numbers 18:19, and finally in 2 Chronicles 13:5. As I pondered the importance of salt and it’s references in Scripture I opened my search to just the word “salt” instead of covenant of salt. I discovered the word “salt” is used forty-one times in the NASB translation of the Bible, and at least fourteen of those occurrences were in reference to a location, the Salt Sea. Therefore, I looked into the Salt Sea.

The Salt Sea is also known as the Dead Sea. This sea was given as a boundary to the land that the Lord promised to Abraham and his descendants and to this very day it remains a west border of the nation of Israel. What I found very interesting about the Salt Sea was that it is currently 430.5 meters (1,410 feet) below sea level. It is the lowest elevation of land on earth. It is actually not a sea at all, but is a lake with the Jordan River its only tributary. 

As I pondered these facts the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:13 came to my mind, “You are the salt of the earth.” We often take this verse and its use of salt to say that we, as believers, are to be the purifiers of the earth, but what if we were to take this verse and its use of salt and see it from another perspective. What if we considered the fact that the salt that Jesus most likely would have been referring to would have been coming from the Salt Sea, the lowest point on earth. What if instead of us seeing salt as its purifying agent we saw it for its lowliness? What if we connected this lowliness with humility?

What if the salt of the covenant was to remain humble before our God. To remember that we are low and all that we are and all that we have comes from one source, our Creator, our YHWH, our God. What if every time the Lord refers to salt in the Word we also choose to connect it as a reminder to be humble before Him. Every offering was to be seasoned with salt. Every offering was to be brought before the Lord with humility. “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8)

The physical properties of salt do act as a purifier and as a means to preserve from corruption. The Encyclopedia Britannica also states that “Covenants were ordinarily made over a sacrificial meal, in which salt was a necessary element. The preservative qualities of salt made it a peculiarly fitting symbol of an enduring compact, sealing it with an obligation to fidelity. The word salt thus acquired connotations of high esteem and honour in ancient and modern languages” (https://www.britannica.com/science/salt). Salt was used as a symbol and as a necessity. It is both spiritual and practical. Would not our willing habitual readiness to remain humble before our God keep us from corruption and lead us to maintain the integrity of our lives? Humility is both spiritual and practical. 

Let’s consider the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:13 again, “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.” We are the humble of the earth, but if the humble become full of pride, how can they be made humble again? They are no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. As believers, we are not to walk around all high and mighty, but we are to remain humble and low so that we can be used by God to lift others up, just as He lifted us up. 

Colossians 4:6 teaches us, “Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.” 1 Peter 5:4-7 teaches, “and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” Let every offering be seasoned with salt. Let every offering be seasoned with humility. 

We need not ever forget that we can bow low before our God and lay all things at His feet knowing that our supply for every need flows from Him. This was, after all, the whole point of the gift offerings. They were an opportunity to bring any and every need and all praise and thanks before the Lord. For these offerings to mean anything they have to come in humility. Humility is an attitude of our heart and the Lord sees our hearts. As the Salt Sea is the lowest elevation on earth, we who have been born again, redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, should be the most humbled people on earth, for we know what we have been forgiven and the holiness of the One who has forgiven us.

Oh Father,

It is so easy to find ourselves puffing up with pride, even as we appear to be bringing an offering to You. Our lips and actions can claim to honor You while our heart remains far from you. My Jesus, help me to never forget that You are my God. In Isaiah 66:2 You declare, “For My hand made all these things, thus all these things came into being, but to this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.” Lord, I know that Your hand has made all things and I do desire to be someone on which You can look. Lord, I so tremble at Your word. May the truth of Your word teach me to be humble and contrite of spirit so that I will not choose my own way, but will walk in Yours. 

My Jesus I love you and it is in Your name I pray,

Amen