Leviticus 5

Although some sins mentioned in Leviticus no longer apply today--most of them having to do with touching anything "ceremonially unclean" (verse 2)--the sin opening up chapter 5 is just as relevant today as it was back when people had to wave pieces of bread at God as an offering. Verse 1 basically says that if you're called to testify, you should speak up and not withhold any information. I've never been called to testify in court, but that doesn't mean I should keep my mouth shut if opening it up would help other people. I can find this difficult because I'm a shy, non-confrontational person by nature. I haven't done anything as drastic as shout, "Stop!" to save someone from being hit by a cement mixer, but I have spoken up about small matters here and there to help people. I don't want to go into detail because this is not my Ego Hour (it won't start for another four hours), but I will say that there have been times that I maybe should have spoken up. Yes, someone else took the initiative in those situations to prevent any mishaps, but I shouldn't wait for others to do something clearly within my abilities. (Sorry for not being specific here, but I do want to respect the privacy of the parties involved.)

We learned about bulls and sheep for sin offerings in the last chapter, but now we see that those suffering from privation can bring doves, pigeons, or flour. God, of course, understands that not everyone is blessed with Harris Ranch-sized fields of cattle, so He allows plebeians to bring sacrifices within their means. God doesn't ask for what He knows you can't provide, but He sometimes asks for what we don't want to provide. I'm relatively comfortable in my cozy little life, and I know that I need to deepen my relationship with God so that I value Him more than certain entertainments in my life.

When someone commits a sin with a set financial value (I'm guessing thievery or destruction of property), they must not only sacrifice a ram, but pay the value back with 20% interest. Rams are pretty hefty animals, and 20% is a pretty high interest rate (well, OK, it depends on what kind of interest we're talking about, but still), which should provide an efficacious deterrent to further nefarious avocations. God doesn't say here whether the priests get to eat part of the ram; if they didn't, I wonder if they were crestfallen as lamb is pretty tasty. (At least I think it is.) We know that these sacrifices don't apply today, but imagine--What if every time you committed a sin with a financial cost, you had to not only pay it back with a 20% indemnity fee, but you had to sacrifice your Ram pickup truck as well?