I began to pose this question after reading Sha’ul’s sermon in Acts 13: 38&39 -

“Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached
unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by him all that believe are justified from all things,
from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.”

Just what is Sha’ul talking about?  Where in the Torah is he getting this from?   What is it
that we weren’t able to be justified - declared righteous/forgiven - from under the Torah?

OK, I had always understood that the system of animal offerings as set up in the Torah
are simply a symbol of the real thing - that which was accomplished through Messiah.
But as symbols one would expect them to have the same effect, i.e. to make an animal
offering for one’s sin would be the same as having faith in Messiah.

And does it not say in reference to the sin offerings that “the priest shall make an
atonement for him for his sin which he hath sinned, and it shall be forgiven him.”  Isn’t
“forgiven” enough??  3Mosh/Levi. 4&5 has a whole list of sin offerings - but I  noticed
one limitation on them all - in all cases it used the term: “sin through ignorance.”  Now
Strongs defines the word shegagah here translated “ignorance” as meaning “a mistake or
inadvertent transgression.”  What about deliberate or wilful sin?  What is YHWH’s
attitude to that?  How is it forgiven - or even can it be forgiven, assuming a person later
repents??

4Mosh/Num. 15:30-31  spells it out very clearly “But the soul that doeth ought
presumptuously, whether he be born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth the
YHWH; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Because he hath despised
the word of the YHWH, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut
off; his iniquity shall be upon him.”

What does “presumptuously” mean?  The word in Hebrew is “yad”  - a hand, but it is
speaking of a figurative “open hand.”
These following verses also express the same thought -

3Mosh/Lev 20:20  “And if a man shall lie with his uncle's wife, he hath uncovered his
uncle's nakedness: they shall bear their sin; they shall die childless.”

3Mosh/Lev. 24:15 “And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Whosoever
curseth his Elohim shall bear his sin. 16  And he that blasphemeth the name of the
YHWH, he shall surely be put to death,.... 17  And he that killeth any man shall surely be
put to death.”

This is in line with what it says in Hebrews 10:28  “He that despised Moses' law died
without mercy under two or three witnesses”

Now at this point I was somewhat stumped and still unsure of what Sha’ul could mean.
It was suggested that I look at Yesh/Isaiah 53, which I did, but at this point I could see no
help there.  I had the feeling that Sha’ul was talking about a forgiveness existing in
Yahushua for this willful sin, a forgiveness for which no atonement or offering existed in
the Torah, but I had no evidence.

But our Rabbi said “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it
shall be opened unto you:” so having taken the issue to YHWH in prayer the answer was
not long in coming!  I found the first clue in the Siddur, the Jewish prayer book.  In it I
saw a translation 2Mosh/Ex. 34:6-7 that was a little different to most, it read:

“HaShem, HaShem, God, Compassionate and Gracious, Slow to anger, and Abundant in
Kindness and Truth.  Preserver of kindness for thousands of generations, Forgiver of
iniquity, wilful sin, and error, and Who cleanses.”

Judaism knows these verses as the “13 Attributes of Mercy” but the thing that grabbed my
attention was the reference to “wilful sin.”  I realized I had to go back and study the
actual Hebrew words used here.  This is what I found.  There are three words used in this
text that describe different types of sin, types of sin which YHWH says here that He does
forgive.  In this translation they have been translated “iniquity, wilful sin” and “error,”
but the KJV renders them “iniquity, transgression” and “sin.”  The three Hebrew words
involved are: ‘avon, pesha’ and chatta’ah.

‘Avon: as defined by Strongs - “perversity, i.e. (moral) evil:--fault, iniquity, mischief,
punishment (of iniquity), sin.”

Pesha’: Strongs -  “a revolt (national, moral or religious):--rebellion, sin, transgression,
trespass.”

Chatta'ah: Strongs - “an offence, and the penalty or sacrifice for it:--sin (offering).”
This word comes from the root word chata', of which Strongs says “a prim. root; prop. to
miss; hence (fig. and gen.) to sin; by infer. to forfeit, lack, expiate, repent, (causat.) lead
astray, condemn:--bear the blame, cleanse, commit [sin], by fault, harm he hath done,
loss, miss, (make) offend (-er), offer for sin, purge, purify (self), make reconciliation,
(cause, make) sin (-ful, -ness), trespass.”

Now I saw a picture of three grades of sin,  the least being, chatta’ah - accidental sins,
simple things that one could commit without being aware of it, and what we could call
“non-capital crimes.”  The next being  ‘avon - sins which result from our human
perversity, wilful violation of Torah, things which we cannot claim to have done in
ignorance - murder, adultery, idolatry (sometimes), etc.  And the worst being pesha’ -
sins which involve direct rebellion against YHWH -  breaking the first command,
blasphemy, and such.

Now  I quickly discovered that in all cases except one, animal offerings related to
chatta’ah only!  In the case of the other sins they are “capital offences” and the offender
was supposed to be executed in one way or another.  Actually there is a suggestion that
their death atones for their crime in 4Mosh/Numbers 35:33 were it is talking about
murderers, “for blood, it polluteth the land; and no expiation can be made for the land for
the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it.”

And now I understood why following his sins in the case of Bathsheba, David wrote: “For
thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it (Ps.51:16).”  There were no sacrifices
prescribed for David’s sin in the Torah in this case it was as he says - “The sacrifices of
Elohim are a broken spirit:”  David makes regular use of all three words to describe his
sins in this Psalm, read it.

But the really interesting part is that there is one animal offering which does cover all
three types of sin, this is the goats of Yom Kippur! In relation to the first goat it says:

“Then shall he kill the goat of the sin-offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood
within the veil, and do with his blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle
it upon the mercy-seat, and before the mercy-seat: and he shall make atonement for the
holy place, because of the uncleannesses of the children of Israel, and because of their
transgressions (pesha’), even all their sins: and so shall he do for the tent of meeting,
that dwelleth with them in the midst of their uncleannesses.” 3Mosh/Lev. 16:15-16.

And in regard to the second goat it says:

 “Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all
the iniquities (‘avon) of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions (pesha’), even
all their sins (chatta’ah); and he shall put them upon the head of the goat, and shall send
him away by the hand of a man that is in readiness into the wilderness:” 3Mosh/Lev.
16:21

Of course it is Yom Kippur, the day of Atonement that is connected to the death of
Yahushua in Hebrews 9&10.  But before we look at Messiah, there is something else of
particular interest I found.  Yom Kippur has a particular national function, that is, those
goats offered on that day atoned for the sins of the nation, rather than the individual
alone.  Now what I found is that it was because of Israel’s national sins in the category of
‘avon and pesha’, perversity and rebellion, that they were exiled from the land!  Lets take
a look at a few verses.

Eze. 39:23&24 is probably the most direct - “And the nations shall know that the house
of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity (‘avon); because they trespassed against
me, and I hid my face from them: so I gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and
they fell all of them by the sword. According to their uncleanness and according to their
transgressions (pesha’) did I unto them; and I hid my face from them.”

Isaiah 50:1 “Behold, for your iniquities were ye sold, and for your transgressions was
your mother put away.

Amos 2:4-6 ”Thus saith YHWH: For three transgressions of Judah, yea, for four, I will
not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have rejected the law of YHWH, and
have not kept his statutes, and their lies have caused them to err, after which their fathers
did walk: but I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.
Thus saith YHWH: For three transgressions of Israel, yea, for four, I will not turn away
the punishment thereof; because they have sold the righteous for silver, and the needy for
a pair of shoes--”

Getting depressed?  Well here’s the hope, back in 3Mosh/Levi. 26:40-42 we read:

“And they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, in their
trespass which they trespassed against me, and also that, because they walked contrary
unto me, I also walked contrary unto them, and brought them into the land of their
enemies: if then their uncircumcised heart be humbled, and they then accept of the
punishment of their iniquity; then will I remember my covenant with Jacob; and also my
covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will
remember the land. “

 This of course leads me, in a round about way, back to Isaiah 53, that great prophecy of
YHWH’s anointed servant!  In Isaiah 53:5 we read “But he was wounded for our
transgressions (pesha’), he was bruised for our iniquities (‘avon); the chastisement of
our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”  So yes, Sha’ul is right
when he says regarding Yahushua: “And by him all that believe are justified from all
things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.”  Rabbi Yahushua is
the remedy for the sins of our wilfulness and rebellion.
 
  The Shofar