Trespass

Unwitting Transgressions

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And if a soul sin, and commit any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the LORD; though he wist it not, yet is he guilty, and shall bear his iniquity.  And he shall bring a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass offering, unto the priest: and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his ignorance wherein he erred and wist it not, and it shall be forgiven him.  It is a trespass offering: he hath certainly trespassed against the LORD.
Leviticus 5:17-19

Forsaking God

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And in the time of his distress did he trespass yet more against the LORD: this is that king Ahaz.  For he sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus, which smote him: and he said, “And in the time of his distress did he trespass yet more against the LORD: this is that king Ahaz.  For he sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus, which smote him: and he said, “Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, therefore will I sacrifice to them, that they may help me.” But they were the ruin of him, and of all Israel. 2 Chronicles 28:22-23

Ahaz is one of the kings of Judah who did not do right in the sight of the LORD. It very much appears by this verse  he had no clue as to what loving God, knowing Him, and serving Him was about.

GOD is not the servant of mankind. He is to be worshiped, revered, and held in great awe and we are to be obedient to Him, and walk in holiness. Ahaz wanted a god he could elicit his wants from any god he chose.

Please note the words of Ahaz: “Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, therefore will I sacrifice to them, that they may help me.”  He was only about “Me” and these idols became his undoing, his ruin. God who is Holy, Righteous, and Just is also a Jealous God (Exodus 20:4-5; Nahum 1:2). Being Jealous means only that there is no other that is worthy of our worship, praise, and laud but Him. He alone is also worth obedience, and devotion; even our lives as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1-2).

Revering GOD begins by believing His word about His Son, His only begotten Son who is Jesus Christ. We must come to GOD through the death of Jesus on the cross, His burial and resurrection, believing Him and calling on His name. We are bought with a price ( 1 Corinthians 6:20; 7:23). We are no longer our own person; we are His and He is worthy of our total devotion, commitment and praise.

The Longevity of Guilt

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And Joseph said unto them the third day, “This do, and live; for I fear God: ‘If ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison: go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses: but bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die.” And they did so.   And they said one to another, “We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.”
And Reuben answered them, saying, “Spake I not unto you, saying, ‘Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? Therefore, behold, also his blood is required.”   And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter.   And he turned himself about from them, and wept; and returned to them again, and communed with them, and took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes.        Genesis 42:18-24

Joseph, betrayed by his brothers many years before this event, and sold into slavery was now a ruler in the land to which he had been sold for twenty pieces of silver. It was to Joseph the brothers had to see in order to get the food and grain they needed in Canaan, which was suffering from the famine which was affecting all the world.

I deal with personal guilt at times. I have guilt in my thoughts and my heart due to some deed I have done to someone in the past, recent, and sometimes over a thing, or thought that just comes to my mind. It seems that we have been told over the past few years that guilt is a bad thing, and I totally disagree. Guilt is a good thing if it leads us to repentance and renewing.

It is Reuben who speaks of the deed the brothers did to Joseph years before; and keep in mind they do not recognize the brother they had betrayed and sold. Do you see the guilt they are feeling. As well that they should, and suffered from it, probably for all those years keeping the secret from their father Jacob.

Guilt is bad only if you allow it to fester, and make you cold and hard as steel, and never make right the wrong you have done. Sometimes, just confessing it to God, and repenting of the thing or deed is all you can do and that will release you from the debt you owe. I say “debt” because it is a debt or a trespass against God or someone else that needs to be paid.

Joseph was in the process of testing his brothers to see if they were genuinely sorrowful for the wrong they had did. I am certain that when he saw them that he desired to run up to them, revealing who he was, and to show them the fulfilling of his dreams he had shared with them years before as a boy in Canaan. But he was wiser than that.

Guilt is a helper or it can be a crippler. A helper to show us our wrong and lead us to repentance. A crippler that causes the heart to grow stone, steel hard, and cold if we do not cry for forgiveness.

We have sinned against God. In His love He gave us His Son who was despised and rejected by His brethren, by the world even, and was sold for 30 pieces of silver, a guiltless, sinless man, condemned to die on the cross, was buried in a borrowed tomb, and He came out being raised to life He forever lives. Bring all you guilt and condemnation to Him, praying, confessing your sins, believing Him for full redemption and forgiveness. He will hear you and He will save.

That Thing Which No One wants to Deal With; Must Be Dealt With

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“And they slew the kings of Midian, beside the rest of them that were slain; namely, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.”

“Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD.” Numbers 31:8, 16 (KJV)

Are we grieved by our sin? Are we brokenhearted by our sin and the sin of others? Will we obey God concerning how we deal with sin? To the minds of humanity in our current days, some of these, or even all of these judgments are harsh, even cruel, and inhumane.

Sin in the eyes of holy God are trespasses against Him. He must deal with sin. In all truth He always has; since the garden of Eden, and through our own day; He still deals with our sin. Humanity today are the ones who are not addressing the matter of personal sin.

GOD has paid our sin debt through the violent, bloody death of His own Son Jesus Christ. He has shown how He hates sin even to the death of His Son.

The above event in the Bible takes place shortly before Moses’ own death, because of His sin of disobedience. The event takes place due to Balaam’s counsel to pervert the children of Israel, through the pagan, ungodly practices of Moab (Numbers 25).

Remember Jesus’ words,

“For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.” John 3:17

God has already dealt with the sins of those who believe Him. He will ultimately deal with all sin. Trust Jesus, and be saved.

When We are Gathered as One

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Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.  But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.  And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.  Verily I say unto you, ‘Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.’  Again I say unto you, ‘That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of My Father which is in heaven.  For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.”  Matthew 18:15-20 (KJV)

Only those who are in Christ can be one, as we join together in His Spirit and in His Word.  That means we are walking with God, and are in agreement with Him.  As individual Christians we may not always agree with one another, but we must agree with the Living and written Word He has sent us.  When we agree with His Word, and practice it; in faith and forgiveness; then we will be at peace with Him and one another.

-T.A.