How does Numbers 15:28 address unintentional sin and its forgiveness? Verse in Focus “‘The priest shall make atonement before the LORD for the person who errs by unintentional sin, and when atonement has been made for him, he will be forgiven.’ ” (Numbers 15:28) Literary Setting and Immediate Context Numbers 15 follows the rebellion of chapters 13–14 and is given “when you enter the land” (15:2), assuring the nation that covenant life will continue despite past failure. Verses 22-29 address inadvertent sin first on a national and then on an individual scale (vv. 27-28), culminating in the stark contrast of high-handed, defiant sin (vv. 30-31). Thus 15:28 sits in a unit that clarifies how fellowship with a holy God can be maintained after unpremeditated wrongdoing. Priestly Mediation and Sacrificial Procedure Verse 27 prescribes “a year-old female goat” as the sin offering. The priest lays hands on the animal, slaughters it, sprinkles blood on the altar, burns the fat, and disposes of the remainder (cf. Leviticus 4). Blood symbolizes life exchanged for life (Leviticus 17:11). The priest acts as mediator—anticipating the ultimate Mediator (1 Timothy 2:5). Unintentional versus High-Handed Sin Numbers 15:30-31 immediately warns that the “high-handed” sinner (בְּיָד רָמָה, literally “with a raised hand”) has “reviled the LORD” and “must be cut off.” The juxtaposition teaches: • God distinguishes motive—error can be atoned; brazen rebellion incurs judgment. • Mercy is not indulgence; divine justice upholds holiness. • The sacrificial system educates conscience, leading worshipers to honest self-examination (Psalm 19:12-13). Theological Themes 1. Holiness: God’s moral perfection demands payment for every sin, however inadvertent. 2. Grace: He supplies the means of atonement and guarantees forgiveness. 3. Substitution: Innocent life stands in the guilty party’s place, preparing Israel to comprehend Messiah’s sacrifice. 4. Covenant Faithfulness: Ongoing access to God is preserved within the covenant community. Canonical Connections • Leviticus 4–5: Parallel regulations for sins of ignorance. • Psalm 19:12: “Who can discern his own errors?”—echoing the need for covering of unintended faults. • Deuteronomy 4:42; 19:4-7: Cities of refuge protect unintentional manslayers—another legal distinction between inadvertence and defiance. • Ezekiel 45:20: Future temple offerings “for anyone who sins unintentionally.” • Hebrews 9:7: Day of Atonement “for himself and the sins of the people committed in ignorance,” directly citing the Numbers-Leviticus framework. • Hebrews 10:26-29: Willful sin after receiving the truth has no remaining sacrifice—reflecting Numbers 15:30-31. Christological Fulfillment Hebrews reads the entire sacrificial system as “a shadow of the good things to come” (10:1). Jesus, sinless yet fully human, is both the greater Priest and the perfect Offering (9:11-14; 9:26-28). His cross addresses: • Unintentional sins—He prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). • Conscious, repentant rebellion—“The blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). • Finality—“He offered one sacrifice for sins for all time” (Hebrews 10:12). Thus Numbers 15:28 is a type pointing to Calvary’s comprehensive atonement. Practical and Pastoral Implications 1. Humility: Believers acknowledge daily need for forgiveness, even of faults unnoticed at the moment. 2. Confession: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful…to forgive” (1 John 1:9). 3. Assurance: Forgiveness rests on God’s promise, not on intensity of remorse or completeness of understanding. 4. Ethical Vigilance: Grateful awareness of grace motivates careful obedience (Titus 2:11-14). Summary Numbers 15:28 teaches that God, through priestly mediation and blood sacrifice, forgives unintentional sin. The verse underscores divine holiness, human fallibility, gracious provision, and the necessity of substitution—truths that converge climactically in Jesus Christ’s once-for-all atonement. The passage invites every reader to humble confession and joyful assurance, confident that the God who covered inadvertent sin under Moses now grants full pardon and new life in the risen Messiah. |
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