Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 4:27-31

27 And if any one of the common people sin through ignorance, while he doeth somewhat against any of the commandments of the Lord concerning things which ought not to be done, and be guilty;

28 Or if his sin, which he hath sinned, come to his knowledge: then he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a female without blemish, for his sin which he hath sinned.

29 And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering, and slay the sin offering in the place of the burnt offering.

30 And the priest shall take of the blood thereof with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar.

31 And he shall take away all the fat thereof, as the fat is taken away from off the sacrifice of peace offerings; and the priest shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet savour unto the Lord; and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him.

Now we come to how the sin offering was performed for the common Israelite, following the same basic pattern as for the leader, the congregation, and the priest. Today let us focus on an element that has been in all of these repeated descriptions, but that we have not yet had time to touch on.

Notice in verse 27 how it says these offerings are for those that “sin through ignorance,” and it has said the same thing for each other instance. So that would mean ways that people trespassed against God’s law without knowing or meaning to. Perhaps they overlooked a ritual, or forgot a commandment, or were unsure of the moral rightness of an action and later regretted their decision.

This, of course, would be different from deliberate and serious sin. Later, in the book of Numbers, we will hear about “high-handed sin,” which means an act of willful defiance against the Lord. For these people, they were what Paul called “under the law,” meaning subject to the penalties of crime. Whether that meant exile, curses, or even death.

Thus, we are meant to understand that the tabernacle ordinances were meant for those who were actively trying to follow God. Yes, those that brought a sin offering had sinned, but they were still oriented towards doing what was right, and they just needed to correct the minor indiscretions common to life. However, if a person were living a deliberately sinful lifestyle, then they would not be taking part in rituals and sacrifices. They would first need to repent, return to the path of goodness, and then would take part in the rituals, now that they were sincerely trying to follow the Father.

SacrificeEligible oblationStepsExplanation
Sin offeringBullock, young goatSacrifice for sin
The same performance for an individual, community, priest, or leaderAn equal path to God for all
Hands placed on head, slaughteredAnimal takes the place of us
Blood placed on horns of the altarA heartfelt plea to the Lord for mercy
Fat and kidneys burned on altarCleansing our behavior and desire
Skin, dung, and flesh burned beyond the campThe sinful behavior purged out of us

Full table.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 21:1

1 Now these are the judgments which thou shalt set before them.

After giving the ten commandments, God goes on to clarify other aspects of His law. The things that we are going to read now are going to look much less like the transcendent, eternal principles of the ten commandments, and more like the nitty-gritty terms of judicial law, meant to help the judges when ruling over a dispute.

And for this study, it is essential to remember that the people and time that the Lord is providing a law to is not the same as the people and time of today. In our next study’s verses we will examine the rules related to servants belonging to their masters. Some of these practices may sound shocking to us, but that is with the lens of today’s unprecedented upwards mobility. We did not live at this time, we did not have the same problems, we did not need the same solutions. It is too shallow, too simplistic, to just dismiss these parts of Jewish law out of hand, and call them unjustifiable in every time and place, and never admit that in actuality we just don’t really know. Most of us don’t even try to study the day-to-day life of these people, and even those who do have never had to face it firsthand. We just don’t know.

And so, if some of these rules feel out-of-place in today’s world then they probably are. That’s alright, because these aren’t eternal commandments that we’re reading about now. These are merely the legal rules and definitions that applied to the local scope that they belonged to.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Thought for the Day- Ignorance is a Choice

Today we are not denied access to the written word of God, as in the Dark Ages. Today the existence of the gospel is not hidden from view. Today the love of God is readily available to any who seek for it. Today we have the ability to do all the right things that are stirring in our hearts.

Today, ignorance is a choice.

Posted on by Abe Austin

For Our Own Good- Summary

There is a natural aversion to rules that we don’t understand. In our fallen world there are countless examples of laws and rules given to suppress and oppress, to maintain power for tyrants, to be followed without question, no matter how they destroyed the very people that obeyed them. Even if a rule doesn’t seem intended to harm, we still want to know the reasons why we should exert effort to follow it.
And I would say that our need to understand the rules that we follow is actually a good thing, even God-given. Yes, there is a need for following by faith alone, but also God intends for us to dig into the gospel and find answers. He gave us a hunger so that we would work to satiate it with understanding.
But even as we seek understanding, there will necessarily be a period of time before we have received it. From my study I believe there are a few principles which can help us through that intermediary time.

A Healthy View For Ignorance

One of the hardest things can be to admit that we don’t know something. Each of us has been through that unpleasant experience of being spoken to us as if we already understood, when really we did not. It might be in an education or training setting, or someone disclosing their personal feelings, or during a philosophical discussion. It isn’t that we don’t wish to understand, but that we simply don’t. In fact, many times, we don’t even know what it is that we don’t know, or how to put together the question whose answer would unlock our ability to comprehend.
And while the gospel can speak directly to our soul in such a way that no words are necessary, there are still elements of it that are difficult to fully grasp. We are divided beings, after all, one part spiritual and the other part carnal. And that carnal part just “doesn’t get” certain commandments and principles.
Instead of feeling shame for our lack of knowledge, and instead of pretending to understand more than we do, we need to be able to accept that we are ignorant, that all are ignorant in some way or another, and that this is a perfectly acceptable platform to begin our spiritual journey from. But we also need to know and accept that we can learn. Our lack of understanding is not proof that we cannot understand. Perhaps the words don’t click with us now, but one day the feelings will.
2 Nephi 28:30- For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.
1 Corinthians 2:14- But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

An Environment for Learning

As mentioned above, we have both a spiritual and a carnal part to us, and the carnal (or natural, as Paul called it) cannot understand that which is spiritual. As a result, the capacity for one to understand the principles of the gospel will be directly tied to how far one dips into a spiritual lifestyle or a carnal one.
The more we surround ourselves with worldly messages, the more we indulge in carnal pleasures, the more we identify ourselves by the flesh, the harder time we are going to have perceiving and comprehending the spiritual. Our understanding will be more and more limited only to carnal understanding. On the other hand, the more we seek messages of spiritual enlightenment, the more we do the things that satiate our conscience, the more we identify ourselves by the entire soul, the more we will accumulate spiritual understanding instead.
Much of being educated is in just putting oneself in an environment of learning. If you wish to develop your sense of music, you should surround yourself with music and those that live in it. If you wish to grow more analytical, you should surround yourself with algorithms and those that solve problems by them. You find a place where you can breathe in its atmosphere, you find mentors, you look for sources that can answer your questions, and you learn by pure osmosis. It is no different with developing a fluency with the soul.
Galatians 3:24-Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Ruth 1:16- And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.

The Blessing of Learning

Finally, let us make clear that this natural ignorance and this difficulty of acquiring knowledge is not a mistake. The fact that we have to work for this understanding is by design. For while it is important for us to learn things, it is even more important for us to simply learn how to learn.
God did not send us here to know everything right from the start. He did not send us here to be perfect from the outset. Rather He sent us broken, flawed, and confused. The reason being that if we already possessed all, we would never develop the wisdom and quality of character that can only come by walking the journey. We would be stagnant, and would not develop ourselves as individuals.
God gave us the blank slate that we start off with, but also the desire to change that state. We feel in our hearts that it is better to know than to not know, and so we chase and pursue, we study and we discover, we invent and we explore. The greatest things we make and do, we make and do because God made us both flawed and self-aware of that flaw. These two qualities are both the fuel and the spark, the power and the catalyst of our great journey. They drive us into defining and becoming who we are and will be. Where they will take us we get to choose, but it will be far.
Ether 12:27-And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

Posted on by Abe Austin

The Way That Things Are- 1 Corinthians 2:6-8, 1 Nephi 8:27-28

Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

And it was filled with people, both old and young, both male and female; and their manner of dress was exceedingly fine; and they were in the attitude of mocking and pointing their fingers towards those who had come at and were partaking of the fruit.
And after they had tasted of the fruit they were ashamed, because of those that were scoffing at them; and they fell away into forbidden paths and were lost.

COMMENTARY

But we speak the wisdom of God, even the hidden wisdom, which none of the princes of this world knew
As I said yesterday, truth does not need to be known to be true. That one does not understand something is not evidence against it. As a three-year-old I did not understand Algebra, Geometry, or Calculus, yet they still contained correct teachings.
Now imagine if I grew to adulthood, successfully gained an understanding of many other things, but still could not comprehend mathematics. Would the fact that I was capable of knowing many other things, but still not mathematics, be evidence at last that there was no truth in arithmetic? Still no.
To be intelligent beings, yet still have our blind spots of ignorance, is a fact of life.

And after they had tasted of the fruit they were ashamed, because of those that were scoffing at them
When our car has trouble we go to a mechanic, when we want to build a house we find a contractor, when we feel sick we seek guidance from a doctor. Wisely we have learned to rely on those who know when we ourselves are ignorant….except, it would seem, in one particular case.
For some inexplicable reason, we take the religious opinions of those that openly admit that they are not religious, and we take the moral guidance of those that are not moral. We give people credentials in the matters of the soul simply because they are popular or because we like them, not because they actually know.
There are those that actually know, there is even one who knows all. If we want to understand divine truth, we cannot hope to gain it through an ignorant source.

Posted on by Abe Austin

The Way That Things Are- John 18:37-38, Doctrine and Covenants 93:24, 30

Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.
Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all.

And truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come;
All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligence also; otherwise there is no existence.

COMMENTARY

For this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth
Pilate saith unto him, What is truth?
During the trial of Jesus he had philosophical discussions with Pilate, in which he testified of his role as the bearer of truth. Pilate’s response shows a cynical mindset, one that questions what truth even is. Thus we see that a “meh” attitude towards the eternal verities is not a modern invention at all, it has been around for millennia!
For as far back as philosophy extends, the question of absolute truth has been debated. Are there things that are eternal and constant, or is everything shifting and impermanent? And if everything on earth is shifting and impermanent, can there still exist a higher realm where things are eternal and constant?

Truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come
All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it
I once heard a brother compare truth to a tool lost in the yard. If a family cannot find the tool, they might have all manner of opinions as to what became of it. The father doesn’t recall that the tool was ever actually owned. The mother knows that the tool was owned, she was the one who bought it for a specific project. The son who used the tool last knows that he must have been the one to lose it, and claims total ignorance of anything to do with the tool whatsoever! The sister hears all of these conflicting opinions and decides that there is just no definitive truth related to the tool.
But there is a truth. It is still sitting under the bush in the backyard, whether anyone knows that it is there or not. Because truth is not based upon opinion. It is simply “things as they are.” And so truth is independent, it does not have to be known or even accepted to exist. It just is.
Pilate didn’t know what the truth was. Not because the truth didn’t exist, but because he did not receive it. He delivered it up to the crucifixion instead. But even though he was ignorant, Jesus still was who he was, and the truth is what it is.