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lock
Registered Member
Date Joined Jul 2004
Total Posts : 701
| Posted 12/6/2004 7:41 AM (GMT -6) |   | I came across this article the other day concerning atonement on a messianic jewish website...
quote:
A Significant Reminder
Moses carefully mentioned the reason underlying the sin offering: unintentional sin. But what does it mean to sin in such a manner? Is this a sin of commission, or omission? Gesenius defined "unintentional" as an error or fault committed through inadvertence.4 A person therefore, can sin without even realizing it.
But if a person can sin and be unaware of it at the time, what is man's real problem? The Ramban (Nachmanides) declared in his comment on this verse, "The reason for the offerings for the erring soul is that all sins (even if committed unwittingly) produce a particular 'stain' upon the soul .. And yet, this observation only reflects that, according to a later Judaism, a person is a sinner because of his wrong deeds. One elects to follow his evil inclination and chooses to sin; therefore, he is a sinner. But this is not what Moses said; unintentional sin means that man has a quirk in his being. The act to sin does not produce the stain on the soul; the stain is already there.
The sin offering is for "who the person is," and when an Israeli offered this sacrifice, he was reminded that in his very being, he is a sinner, not because of his deeds of sin, but that his deeds came from his inner nature.
www.familyrestorationmagazine.org/tishrei/tishrei031.htm
What implications would this have on the "age of accountability" theology?
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spenlake
Registered Member
Date Joined Jan 2004
Total Posts : 1050
| Posted 12/6/2004 2:52 PM (GMT -6) | | quote:
Originally posted by JEE
quote:
Originally posted by lock
What implications would this have on the "age of accountability" theology?
None that I know of. If anything the fact of unintentional sins supports the basic premise behind the idea of an age of accountability--one is responsible for what one willingly and knowingly does.
As revealed in Lev. 4 & 5, unintentional sins are dealt with by atonement after they become known as sin to the one who committed them.
This is precisely in keeping with the basic idea behind the age of accountability concept. One can't repent of something until one KNOWS what he did was wrong.
John
INTERESTING! I agree with you when you state, "One can't repent of something until one KNOWS what he did was wrong." This doesn't mean that God doesn't hold us guilty before we know, however. I believe that the scriptures show us that we are guilty of unintentional sins even if we don't know of them. God's wrath burns against even unintentional sins hidden from the sinner.
2 Kings 22 when Josiah finds book of Law
When the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes. Then the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Achbor the son of Micaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king’s servant saying, “Go, inquire of the LORD for me and the people and all Judah concerning the words of this book that has been found, for great is the wrath of the LORD that burns against us, because our fathers have not listened to the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”... “thus says the LORD, “Behold, I bring evil on this place and on its inhabitants, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read. “Because they have forsaken Me and have burned incense to other gods that they might provoke Me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore My wrath burns against this place, and it shall not be quenched.”’
Psalm 19
Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults.
Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins;
Let them not rule over me;
Then I will be blameless,
And I shall be acquitted of great transgression.
Joshua 7 Hidden sin of Achan
therefore the anger of the LORD burned against the sons of Israel...The men of Ai struck down about thirty-six of their men... the sons of Israel cannot stand before their enemies; they turn their backs before their enemies, for they have become accursed...You cannot stand before your enemies until you have removed the things under the ban from your midst
2 Samuel 6 The Gibeonites
Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David sought the presence of the LORD. And the LORD said, “It is for Saul and his bloody house, because he put the Gibeonites to death.”...the Gibeonites said to him, “let seven men from his sons be given to us, and we will hang them before the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of the LORD.” And the king said, “I will give them.”...and after that God was moved by prayer for the land.
2 Samuel 6 Uzzah's well intentioned helping hand
But when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out toward the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen nearly upset it. And the anger of the LORD burned against Uzzah, and God struck him down there for his irreverence; and he died there by the ark of God.
Spen Lake
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JEE
Registered Member
Date Joined Jul 2004
Total Posts : 1466
| Posted 12/6/2004 3:30 PM (GMT -6) | | quote:
INTERESTING! I agree with you when you state, "One can't repent of something until one KNOWS what he did was wrong." This doesn't mean that God doesn't hold us guilty before we know, however. I believe that the scriptures show us that we are guilty of unintentional sins even if we don't know of them. God's wrath burns against even unintentional sins hidden from the sinner.
2 Kings 22 when Josiah finds book of Law
When the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes. Then the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Achbor the son of Micaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king’s servant saying, “Go, inquire of the LORD for me and the people and all Judah concerning the words of this book that has been found, for great is the wrath of the LORD that burns against us, because our fathers have not listened to the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”... “thus says the LORD, “Behold, I bring evil on this place and on its inhabitants, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read. “Because they have forsaken Me and have burned incense to other gods that they might provoke Me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore My wrath burns against this place, and it shall not be quenched.”’
That would be an instance of willful ignorance of God's Law, which would in fact be intentional in nature.
quote:
Joshua 7 Hidden sin of Achan
therefore the anger of the LORD burned against the sons of Israel...The men of Ai struck down about thirty-six of their men... the sons of Israel cannot stand before their enemies; they turn their backs before their enemies, for they have become accursed...You cannot stand before your enemies until you have removed the things under the ban from your midst
2 Samuel 6 The Gibeonites
Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David sought the presence of the LORD. And the LORD said, “It is for Saul and his bloody house, because he put the Gibeonites to death.”...the Gibeonites said to him, “let seven men from his sons be given to us, and we will hang them before the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of the LORD.” And the king said, “I will give them.”...and after that God was moved by prayer for the land.
Those two are simply instances of societal impact of individual sin, not unintentional sins. One of the effects of the willful sin, in both of these cases, was that the rest of the community suffered. But that does not mean they were all in fact guilty of Achan's or Saul's sin per se.
quote:
2 Samuel 6 Uzzah's well intentioned helping hand
But when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out toward the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen nearly upset it. And the anger of the LORD burned against Uzzah, and God struck him down there for his irreverence; and he died there by the ark of God.
I don't think the irreverance in this case could be unintentional. Uzzah had to know that the Ark was not something that could touched by anyone.
As to "hidden faults," of course it is true that we may have many of these. God judges the heart/motive/intention of the individual, not whether or not they've reach full spiritual maturity as yet, unless it is the case that their immaturity is due to willful disobedience to God.
John
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