Our Unintentional Sin

Ezekiel 45: 18-20 ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: In the first month on the first day you are to take a young bull without defect and purify the sanctuary. ¹⁹ The priest is to take some of the blood of the sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the temple, on the four corners of the upper ledge of the altar and on the gateposts of the inner court. ²⁰ You are to do the same on the seventh day of the month for anyone who sins unintentionally or through ignorance; so you are to make atonement for the temple.'

This passage is about coming back to God through the temple sacrifices - through the law. I don't remember the specific circumstances. That isn't even important for what I want to talk about. Part of the instruction given here is "for anyone who sins unintentionally or through ignorance". There are no examples given or further explanation. None are really needed for us to understand.

The more we learn, the more we understand how far from the perfect Garden of Eden we are. How far from Heaven we are. How far from God's original creation we've strayed. It's easy to grasp that we sin unintentionally and because we are ignorant of what God says is right and righteous. We even sin intentionally, don't we?

So is it enough to confess the sins we know about? This passage leads me to believe that we should confess even those sins that are unintentional and those we are ignorant of, even before we know something is wrong. How do we do that? I think coming to the throne of Jesus with a humble heart expressing sorrow and regret for all things that offend is a place to start. Additionally, asking the Holy Spirit to open our eyes and ears to those unknown sins will show that we want to please God.

Solomon was a man full of wisdom and found this search for knowledge and wisdom to be heartbreaking. Ecclesiastes 1:18 says,"For with much wisdom comes much sorrow;
the more knowledge, the more grief"

My take on this is that the more we know of God and his creation, the more we understand and feel the burden of all the sins we carry. The less we know, the more rose-colored are the glasses we wear. This is not the way to please God though. We must strive to learn more of the ways that we disappoint. The more we know that, the more we can begin to grasp the need for Jesus. The more we come to appreciate the great favor Jesus has done for us and the astounding mercy God has shown.

Without a complete understanding of God's goodness, we can't understand how short we fall. When we don't get that, we don't appreciate the full extent of God's love. We can't understand the message of Romans 8:38-39 "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Thank God he loves us in our ignorance.

Thank You, Father, for putting up with me. Open my eyes to the ways I sin against Your perfectness and Your creation. Then help me to not only regret but repent of those sins. In Jesus powerful and precious name. Amen.

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