Daily Bread

IIT UBF - University Bible Fellowship at IIT

The Guilt Offering

Date: Aug. 21, 2026

Passage

Leviticus 5:14-6:7

Laws for Guilt Offerings

14 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 15 “If anyone commits a breach of faith and sins unintentionally in any of the holy things of the LORD, he shall bring to the LORD as his compensation, a ram without blemish out of the flock, valued in silver shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, for a guilt offering. 16 He shall also make restitution for what he has done amiss in the holy thing and shall add a fifth to it and give it to the priest. And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering, and he shall be forgiven.

17 “If anyone sins, doing any of the things that by the LORD’s commandments ought not to be done, though he did not know it, then realizes his guilt, he shall bear his iniquity. 18 He shall bring to the priest a ram without blemish out of the flock, or its equivalent, for a guilt offering, and the priest shall make atonement for him for the mistake that he made unintentionally, and he shall be forgiven. 19 It is a guilt offering; he has indeed incurred guilt before the LORD.”

6:1 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “If anyone sins and commits a breach of faith against the LORD by deceiving his neighbor in a matter of deposit or security, or through robbery, or if he has oppressed his neighbor 3 or has found something lost and lied about it, swearing falsely—in any of all the things that people do and sin thereby—4 if he has sinned and has realized his guilt and will restore what he took by robbery or what he got by oppression or the deposit that was committed to him or the lost thing that he found 5 or anything about which he has sworn falsely, he shall restore it in full and shall add a fifth to it, and give it to him to whom it belongs on the day he realizes his guilt. 6 And he shall bring to the priest as his compensation to the LORD a ram without blemish out of the flock, or its equivalent, for a guilt offering. 7 And the priest shall make atonement for him before the LORD, and he shall be forgiven for any of the things that one may do and thereby become guilty.”

Key Verse: Leviticus 5:5:16

when he realizes his guilt in any of these and confesses the sin he has committed,

The guilt offering applied to anything related to the tabernacle and its rituals (14-16). For example, if someone failed to bring an offering at its appointed time, they had to bring a guilt offering. The required offering was a ram. They were also required to add one-fifth of the value to make up for the offering they had missed and to compensate for any harm they had done to holy things. Offering more was a sign of genuine repentance, and a desire to make restitution and live under God’s mercy and grace.

The guilt offering also applied to offenses in which a person did not do something according to the law, even unknowingly (17-19). “I didn’t know,” is not an excuse. Once we realize we are wrong, we must admit our guilt and take responsibility.

Lastly, the guilt offering was required when a person neglected, damaged, or stole a neighbor’s property (6:1-7). Have you ever kept something you found? That’s stealing. We must return what we found and make restitution if we have cheated others or damaged their belongings. Zacchaeus, the tax collector, practiced this by declaring that he would repay anyone he cheated fourfold (Lk 19:8).

Prayer: Father, thank you for your Son Jesus who removes my guilt, especially my guilt of not living for your glory. I praise you and offer my life to you. Use my life for your glory.

One Word: Jesus’ death on the cross takes away all our guilt and shame and restores us.

In the Shelter of God’s Wings

Psalm 61:1-8

Key Verse: 61:4

Let me dwell in your tent forever!
Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings! Selah

Today's Question

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