NOTES for Lev 5:1-19
It is striking how many parallels there are between the ancient Israelite cult and our most ordinary lives. The life of the ancients was full of taboos, ritual prohibitions connected with uncleanness; at every step they faced the demanding commandments of the stern Old Testament law. It is exactly the same for us—and this is not the product of an acute sense of guilt: we have been given a far greater commandment, “Be perfect, merciful and holy, as your heavenly Father is.” Is there any need to say that we constantly fall short of this ideal? If lust for another man's wife is already adultery, and if anger and irritation are already manifestations of hatred, then we are simply surrounded by sin, no less than those ancient Israelites. Yet just as they always had the opportunity to renew the covenant by offering a sacrifice for sin, how much greater is the mercy the Lord shows us, having Himself become the perfect offering to the Father! His mercy and forgiveness truly surround us on every side, opening for us the way to reconciliation with God and—nothing less—to holiness and perfection.