“And if the whole congregation of Israel sin through ignorance, and the thing be hid from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done somewhat against any of the commandments of the Lord concerning things which should not be done, and are guilty;”
If the whole Israelite community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord's commands, even though the community is unaware of the matter, they are guilty. The community sin offering addresses the situation where the entire covenant community has inadvertently violated God's commands — not an individual's failure but a corporate one. The guilt is real even when the community is unaware: sin's effect on the covenant relationship does not depend on the subjective awareness of the guilty party. Romans 5:13 says sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone's account where there is no law — the sin offering for the community addresses the guilt that exists before awareness arrives.
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
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