“And it shall be, when he shall be guilty in one of these things, that he shall confess that he hath sinned in that thing: and he shall bring his TRESPASS OFFERING unto the LORD for his sin which he hath sinned, a female from the flock, a lamb or a kid of the goats, for a sin offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his sin.” Leviticus 5:5-6

Yes, the fifth offering described in Leviticus is the “trespass offering.” And it is invariably translated so from the Hebrew noun “asham.” The verb of which means “to offend, to do injury, to be held guilty,” and once “to destroy.”

The emphasis seems to be on the “damage” done by our wrongs, our sins, our “trespasses.”

The verb idea of “trespass” (in English) is that one has “stepped across the line” and hurt another person. Its Latin etymology suggests “passing/crossing” over some boundary, thus incurring responsibility for wrongs committed.

Here (again) the King James Version of the Bible holds a major advantage (in accuracy) over the other so-called “modern” versions.

They (for the most part) say the “trespass offering” is a “compensation” offering. Or a “penalty” offering. Or a “reparation” offering.

To me “trespass” suggests even more … that my sin has “hurt” Almighty God! And most of the time also “hurt” my fellow man as well!

Wounding/defrauding to the extent that “restitution” must be involved, must be repaid!

In this sense, the trespass offering is different than any of the other four offerings we have studied.

It not only addresses God (which it certainly, if not foremostly does) … but also our peers, my brothers and sisters.

One Bible teacher of the past (long since in Heaven) says this offering “always has reference to an invasion of the rights of another, especially in respect of property.”

So … when I sin, I might not hurt just “myself,” though that truth is certainly evident in all of life.

So … when I sin I might just hurt Almighty God  as well! Thus He deserves a trespass offering.

So … when I sin I just might have hurt others as well, one or more! And they, under the law of this offering, deserve to be repaid for the wrong I have done to them, to their property.

More tomorrow, the Lord willing … about this unique (and fundamental) view of spiritual life.

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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