Leviticus 6:1 ¶ And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2 If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the LORD, and lie unto his neighbour in that which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship, or in a thing taken away by violence, or hath deceived his neighbour; 3 Or have found that which was lost, and lieth concerning it, and sweareth falsely; in any of all these that a man doeth, sinning therein: 4 Then it shall be, because he hath sinned, and is guilty, that he shall restore that which he took violently away, or the thing which he hath deceitfully gotten, or that which was delivered him to keep, or the lost thing which he found, 5 Or all that about which he hath sworn falsely; he shall even restore it in the principal, and shall add the fifth part more thereto, and give it unto him to whom it appertaineth, in the day of his trespass offering. 6 And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD, a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass offering, unto the priest: 7 And the priest shall make an atonement for him before the LORD: and it shall be forgiven him for any thing of all that he hath done in trespassing therein.
We have a principle established here that a trespass against
another person is also a trespass against the Lord. This is in keeping with our
own practice of an accused person in court said to have committed a crime
against the state when they, in fact, committed a crime against a person.
This principle can get even more complicated in regard to falsely
accusing or slandering a brother or sister in Christ.
James 4:11 ¶ Speak not evil
one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law,
and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law,
but a judge.
But, here, if a man lies to his neighbor and assumes ownership
over something he borrowed from him, say, if you borrowed your neighbor’s
weed-eater and kept it for yourself and told him it was stolen from you you’d
be guilty of a crime. Of course, I used a preposterous example because your
neighbor would see you using his weed-eater. But, you can imagine what I am
saying.
Suppose the person picks up something that was dropped and is not
his and he makes no effort to return it and assumes ownership. I’ve known a
couple of people in my life who, if they found money on the ground, would turn
it in to the police whether it be a $20 bill or a $100 bill because they knew
it was not theirs.
Paul said that a Christian who commits adultery with another
Christian’s wife is defrauding him, cheating him out of what is rightfully his.
In the following fornication, concupiscence, and uncleanness are all related to
sex.
1Thessalonians 4:3 For this
is the will of God, even your
sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: 4 That every one of you should know how to
possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; 5 Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the
Gentiles which know not God: 6 That no man go beyond and defraud his brother
in any matter: because that the
Lord is the avenger of all
such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. 7 For God hath not called us unto uncleanness,
but unto holiness. 8 He therefore that
despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy
Spirit.
Even a husband or wife defrauds the other when they deny the
bonding and gratification that comes from lawful sexual union.
1Corinthians 7:1 ¶ Now
concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. 2 Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let
every woman have her own husband. 3 Let
the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife
unto the husband. 4 The wife hath not
power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not
power of his own body, but the wife. 5
Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to
fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your
incontinency.
Here we have another example of one meaning of the crime in this
passage in the parable that the prophet Nathan told to King David in the affair
of Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife, and David’s response not knowing the parable was
about him. Here is the restitution that David required of the rich man in the
story and the consequences of God’s judgment on David’s dynasty because of his
egregious sin for which there was no sacrifice or offering for atonement. With
David deserving death only God’s mercy and God’s plan for him saved him.
2Samuel 12:1 ¶ And the LORD
sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two
men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. 2 The rich man had
exceeding many flocks and herds: 3
But the poor man had
nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it
grew up together with him, and with his
children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup,
and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. 4 And there came a traveller unto the rich man,
and he spared
to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the
wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man’s lamb, and dressed
it for the man that was come to him.
5 And David’s anger was
greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die: 6 And he shall restore the lamb fourfold,
because he did this thing, and because he had no pity. 7 And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God
of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the
hand of Saul; 8 And I gave thee thy
master’s house, and thy master’s wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house
of Israel and of Judah; and if that
had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such
things. 9 Wherefore hast thou despised
the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah
the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the
children of Ammon. 10 Now therefore the
sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and
hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. 11 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up
evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before
thine eyes, and give them unto
thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.
12 For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing
before all Israel, and before the sun. 13
And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan
said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.
14 Howbeit, because by this deed thou
hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child
also that is born unto thee
shall surely die.
So, this passage involved the sin of not being faithful in a
trust, taking something away violently, being deceitful, using something you
found that belonged to someone else, lying about these things, and the offering
and restitution. Where there is an offense there must be restitution. The
wronged party always has God on their side as a co-plaintiff in the act. Keep
that in mind. You may think you are clever but we are never clever enough to
put one over on God.
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