Today’s
Scripture Reading (July 2, 2012): Leviticus 4
One of our assumptions about the law is that it is absolute. The caricature
of the State Trooper hiding behind a bush, with the speed limit sign hiding
behind the bush with him, is an example of our idea of the absoluteness of the law.
The law is held to be so absolute that our ignorance of it is no excuse. The law
is placed above our own knowledge. And yet, our first inclination since our
earliest adventures against the law is claim our innocence because we did not
know. It is the cry of the preschool child who makes a journey beyond the
boundaries that the parents had set out and the protestations of a teen-ager
caught out after curfew – but I did not know. And usually the response of the law
maker is – well you should have known. It is the first excuse, and the earliest
description of an absolute law.
The absoluteness of the law has been the subject of a number of
fictional stories as authors have enjoyed exploring the relationship between
knowledge and the law. Usually the storyline is about a culture with strange
regulations that the visitor breaks because they are unaware that such laws
could exist. And beyond the pages of our books, it is a very real problem for
visitors to certain very real cultures. Absurd laws are still on the books in a
number of areas – including in our Western Culture – although in the West the
absurd laws are rarely enforced.
God tells Moses that his laws are absolute. Ignorance of the law does
not absolve someone from the guilt. But at the same time, the penalty was almost
always found in a sacrifice. It is the reason behind Job’s daily sacrifices for
his children - because one of his children might have unwittingly broken a law.
But ultimately, it is Jesus who sacrificed for us – giving his life for us and
all of the wrongs that we commit unintentionally. It is not that we are
innocent, just that the penalty has already been paid.
Tomorrow’s
Scripture Reading: Leviticus 5
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