Weekly Torah Lesson
Parasha: Nasso “Elevate the Head”
Torah:B’midbar (Numbers) 4:21 – 7:89
5 Then Avinu spoke to Moshe, saying, 6 Speak to the children of Israel: When a man or woman commits any sin that men commit in unfaithfulness against Avinu, and that person is guilty, 7 then he shall confess the sin which he has committed. He shall make restitution for his trespass in full, plus one-fifth of it, and give it to the one he has wronged. 8 But if the man has no relative to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution for the wrong must go to Avinu for the priest, in addition to the ram of the atonement with which atonement is made for him. 9 Every offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they bring to the priest, shall be his. 10 And every man’s holy things shall be his; whatever any man gives the priest shall be his. (B’Midbar 5:5-10)
I just noticed something that I don’t remember reading before.
5:6 Speak to the children of Israel: ‘When a man or woman commits any sin that men commit in unfaithfulness against Avinu, and that person is guilty, 7 then he shall confess the sin which he has committed.
“.. any sin that is committed in unfaithfulness against Avinu ..”
I had never noticed this definition of “sin” in the Torah. I thought that this was a definition that the writers of the Apostolic Writings had developed. Notice this verse in Romans:
But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin. (Ro 14:23)
Let’s expand the Bible’s definition of sin:
“Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is breaking the law.” (1Jo 3:4)
So, according to the Scriptures, when we are “keeping the law” we are doing it by faith and when we are “breaking the law” we are “breaking faith against Avinu”.
Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law. (Ro 3:31)
** Are you using your “faith” to observe the law or are you using your faith to “avoid” the law?
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