Backwards Redemption
he shall make atonement on it with the blood of the sin offering of atonement once a year Exodus 30:10
Sin Offering – Yesterday we learned that the Hebrew view of sin is relational. Sin is relationship-breaking behavior and it affects everyone within the community. From our individual worldview, we might not like the consequences, but that doesn’t matter. Sin is what it is – a community disaster.
Once we understand this, we need to take another look at the idea of a sin offering. You see, there is no word for “offering” here. The only word present in the Hebrew text is chatta’th. That’s the word for sin, not sin offering. So, how did this get translated as “sin offering?” The answer is found in the influence of Roman thinking about sacrifices. What we discover has had an enormous effect on our whole idea of God’s grace. Unfortunately, the effect isn’t Biblical.
Translators have added the idea of an offering to this text because of something that happened centuries ago when this verse was translated into Latin. The Latin idea behind an offering is the phrase do ut des. It means, “I give so that you might give.” It’s like our modern phrase “tit for tat.” In other words, Latin contained within it a presupposition about the nature of sacrifices. That presupposition was based on the pagan idea of appeasement. I did something to appease the gods and the gods did something for me in return. This concept gets built into the translation of the text, so when the translators came to the word chatta’th in the context of sacrifices, they assumed that this was an appeasement process. The great tragedy is that we have carried this view along with us for centuries. We still think that we have to do something in order for God to accept us and forgive our sins.
But consider how backwards this really is. YHWH is not a God who receives anything. He is a God who gives. His very nature is about giving love and compassion. YHWH is not the object of a sacrifice. He is the subject. That’s why the priests minister to Him, not to the people on His behalf. The sacrifices are not to appease God. They aren’t there to assuage His anger. The sacrifices are about worshipping Him, honoring His glory and majesty. Actually, the sacrifices have nothing to do with human efforts to take away our guilt. Instead, they are demonstrations that God has already forgiven us. They are celebrations, not forensic obligations.
This is a tremendous shift in our thinking, but an absolutely critical one. Why? Because so much of our behavior is still based on the idea that I have to become worthy of God’s love. So much of our thinking is still stuck in the appeasement process of pagan religion. Even our translations of the text contain disguised pagan concepts. We must stop thinking of the sacrificial system in pagan terms. It is not, and never was, a process for achieving forgiveness. God is the subject of the sacrifices, not the object. The sacrifices are rejoicing over who He is, not rituals to earn His favor. Once we see this, we will never again think that the Old Testament sacrificial system had anything to do with meriting grace. That is pagan and it was never part of the way God revealed Himself. Grace is God’s way, and it has always been God’s way. There aren’t two covenants. There is only one – a covenant of grace.
Never slip into pagan appeasement. God does not require merit. He does not wait to be placated. God gives mercy to the unworthy. God gives grace to sinners. God never expects us to become holy in order to earn His favor. If that’s what you thought the sacrifices are all about, you missed the whole message. It’s time to change to John’s point of view. “For God so loved the world that He gave.”
Topical Index: Offerings
