Leviticus 5:14-19

14 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 15 “If a person acts unfaithfully and sins unintentionally against the Lord’s holy things, then he shall bring his guilt offering to the Lord: a ram without defect from the flock, according to your valuation in silver by shekels, in terms of the shekel of the sanctuary, for a guilt offering. 16 He shall make restitution for that which he has sinned against the holy thing, and shall add to it a fifth part of it and give it to the priest. The priest shall then make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering, and it will be forgiven him.

17 “Now if a person sins and does any of the things [k]which the Lord has commanded not to be done, though he was unaware, still he is guilty and shall bear his punishment. 18 He is then to bring to the priest a ram without defect from the flock, according to your valuation, for a guilt offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his error in which he sinned unintentionally and did not know it, and it will be forgiven him. 19 It is a guilt offering; he was certainly guilty before the Lord.”

Again we see these unintentional sins, and it states that even though it was not open rebellion, it is still sin. The penalty when it concerns the Lord’s holy things (items used in worship at the tabernacle) is a bit more stiff, and a ram is required here, plus a fifth of the value in silver shekels. God was raising the bar when it came to worshiping Him. The stiffer penalty meant folks would be more cautious, and less prone to error when it came to the things of God. Sometimes, I think we take for granted our places of worship. Even though your local church might not be the tabernacle of old, and has no area designated as the Holy of Holies, it is still one of the main places we meet with God (although hopefully you do that elsewhere of your own accord). Don’t take that lightly, but treat it with honor and respect.

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