We Must Rule Over Sin

We Must Rule Over Sin

Genesis 4:1-8 reads,

^{4:1The man knew Eve his wife. She conceived, and gave birth to Cain, and said, "I have gotten a man with Yahweh’s help." ^4:2Again she gave birth, to Cain’s brother Abel. Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. ^4:3As time passed, it happened that Cain brought an offering to Yahweh from the fruit of the ground. ^4:4Abel also brought some of the firstborn of his flock and of the fat of it. Yahweh respected Abel and his offering, ^4:5but he didn’t respect Cain and his offering. Cain was very angry, and the expression on his face fell. ^4:6Yahweh said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why has the expression of your face fallen? ^4:7If you do well, will it not be lifted up? If you don’t do well, sin crouches at the door. Its desire is for you, but you are to rule over it." ^4:8Cain said to Abel, his brother, "Let’s go into the field." It happened, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel, his brother, and killed him.}

It appears that Cain was angry without good cause.

It appears that there is a battle going on between sin and human beings, with each one trying to rule over the other. Yahweh's words show us that we must rule over sin despite sin's desire to rule over us.

It therefore appears that human beings must indeed be warriors, warring against sin.

What is the nature of man's opponent - sin? How can one war effectively against sin?

The Men Of Sodom Sinned Against Yahweh

Genesis 13:13 reads,

^{13:13Now the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinners against Yahweh.}

How were the men of Sodom sinners against Yahweh?

Is it possible to sin against a person other than Yahweh? If so, how can one so sin?

Again it is asked - what is sin?

The Sin Of Sodom And Gomorrah Was Very Grievous

Genesis 18:16-19:29 reads,

^{18:16The men rose up from there, and looked toward Sodom. Abraham went with them to see them on their way. ^18:17Yahweh said, "Will I hide from Abraham what I do, ^18:18seeing that Abraham has surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed in him? ^18:19For I have known him, to the end that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of Yahweh, to do righteousness and justice; to the end that Yahweh may bring on Abraham that which he has spoken of him." ^18:20Yahweh said, "Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous, ^18:21I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come to me. If not, I will know."

^{18:22The men turned from there, and went toward Sodom, but Abraham stood yet before Yahweh. ^18:23Abraham drew near, and said, "Will you consume the righteous with the wicked? ^18:24What if there are fifty righteous within the city? Will you consume and not spare the place for the fifty righteous who are therein? ^18:25Be it far from you to do things like that, to kill the righteous with the wicked, that so the righteous should be as the wicked. May that be far from you. Shouldn’t the Judge of all the earth do right?"
^{18:26Yahweh said, "If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sake." ^18:27Abraham answered, "See now, I have taken it on myself to speak to the Lord, who am but dust and ashes. ^18:28What if there will lack five of the fifty righteous? Will you destroy all the city for lack of five?"
He said, "I will not destroy it, if I find forty-five there."
^{18:29He spoke to him yet again, and said, "What if there are forty found there?"
He said, "I will not do it for the forty’s sake."
^{18:30He said, "Oh don’t let the Lord be angry, and I will speak. What if there are thirty found there?"
He said, "I will not do it, if I find thirty there."
^{18:31He said, "See now, I have taken it on myself to speak to the Lord. What if there are twenty found there?"
He said, "I will not destroy it for the twenty’s sake."
^{18:32He said, "Oh don’t let the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once. What if ten are found there?"
He said, "I will not destroy it for the ten’s sake."
^{18:33Yahweh went his way, as soon as he had finished communing with Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.
^{19:1The two angels came to Sodom at evening. Lot sat in the gate of Sodom. Lot saw them, and rose up to meet them. He bowed himself with his face to the earth, ^19:2and he said, "See now, my lords, please turn aside into your servant’s house, stay all night, wash your feet, and you will rise up early, and go on your way."
They said, "No, but we will stay in the street all night."
^{19:3He urged them greatly, and they came in with him, and entered into his house. He made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. ^19:4But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people from every quarter. ^19:5They called to Lot, and said to him, "Where are the men who came in to you this night? Bring them out to us, that we may have sex with them."

^{19:6Lot went out to them to the door, and shut the door after him. ^19:7He said, "Please, my brothers, don’t act so wickedly. ^19:8See now, I have two virgin daughters. Please let me bring them out to you, and do you to them as is good in your eyes. Only don’t do anything to these men, because they have come under the shadow of my roof."

^{19:9They said, "Stand back!" They said, "This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he appoints himself a judge. Now will we deal worse with you, than with them!" They pressed hard on the man, even Lot, and drew near to break the door. ^19:10But the men put forth their hand, and brought Lot into the house to them, and shut the door. ^19:11They struck the men who were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves to find the door.
^{19:12The men said to Lot, "Do you have anybody else here? Sons-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whoever you have in the city, bring them out of the place: ^19:13for we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is grown great before Yahweh. Yahweh has sent us to destroy it."
^{19:14Lot went out, and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry his daughters, and said, "Get up! Get out of this place, for Yahweh will destroy the city."
But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be joking. ^19:15When the morning arose, then the angels hurried Lot, saying, "Arise, take your wife, and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the iniquity of the city." ^19:16But he lingered; and the men laid hold on his hand, and on the hand of his wife, and on the hand of his two daughters, Yahweh being merciful to him; and they took him out, and set him outside of the city. ^19:17It came to pass, when they had taken them out, that he said, "Escape for your life! Don’t look behind you, neither stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountain, lest you be consumed!"
^{19:18Lot said to them, "Oh, not so, my lord. ^19:19See now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have magnified your lovingkindness, which you have shown to me in saving my life. I can’t escape to the mountain, lest evil overtake me, and I die. ^19:20See now, this city is near to flee to, and it is a little one. Oh let me escape there (isn’t it a little one?), and my soul will live."}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

19:21He said to him, "Behold, I have granted your request concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken. ^19:22Hurry, escape there, for I can’t do anything until you get there." Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.

^{19:23The sun was risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar. ^19:24Then Yahweh rained on Sodom and on Gomorrah sulfur and fire from Yahweh out of the sky. ^19:25He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew on the ground. ^19:26But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
^{19:27Abraham got up early in the morning to the place where he had stood before Yahweh. ^19:28He looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and looked, and saw that the smoke of the land went up as the smoke of a furnace.
^{19:29It happened, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot lived.}}}

18:20 notes that the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was very grievous. How was it very grievous? In other words, what was the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah?

The Men Of Sodom Were Homosexuals

19:4-5 shows that the men of Sodom were homosexuals, in that men had sex with men!

Homosexuality Is Greater Wickedness Than Rape Or Adultery

19:7-8 shows that Lot's judgement was that homosexuality is wickedness - great wickedness. To Lot it was less wicked for a man to commit rape or adultery than to practice homosexuality.

The Men Of Sodom Did Not Accept Correction When Given To Them

19:9 shows that the men of Sodom did not accept correction when it was spoken to them, even mild correction not to be as wicked as they had purposed to be. They instead turned against the person correcting them.

19:15 notes that the wicked practices of the men of Sodom are also called iniquity.

Abimelech Betrothed To Himself Abraham's Wife

Genesis 20 reads,

^{20:1Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the South, and lived between Kadesh and Shur. He sojourned in Gerar. ^20:2Abraham said about Sarah his wife, "She is my sister." Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah. ^20:3But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him, "Behold, you are a dead man, because of the woman whom you have taken. For she is a man’s wife."

^{20:4Now Abimelech had not come near her. He said, "Lord, will you kill even a righteous nation? ^20:5Didn’t he tell me, ‘She is my sister?’ She, even she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands have I done this."
^{20:6God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also withheld you from sinning against me. Therefore I didn’t allow you to touch her. ^20:7Now therefore, restore the man’s wife. For he is a prophet, and he will pray for you, and you will live. If you don’t restore her, know for sure that you will die, you, and all who are yours.}}^{20:8Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ear. The men were very scared. ^20:9Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said to him, "What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done deeds to me that ought not to be done!" ^20:10Abimelech said to Abraham, "What did you see, that you have done this thing?"
^{20:11Abraham said, "Because I thought, ‘Surely the fear of God is not in this place. They will kill me for my wife’s sake.’ ^20:12Moreover she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. ^20:13It happened, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said to her, ‘This is your kindness which you shall show to me. Everywhere that we go, say of me, "He is my brother."’"
20:14Abimelech took sheep and oxen, men-servants and women-servants, and gave them to Abraham, and restored Sarah, his wife to him. ^20:15Abimelech said, "Behold, my land is before you. Dwell where it pleases you." ^20:16To Sarah he said, "Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. Behold, it is for you a covering of the eyes to all that are with you. In front of all you are vindicated."

^{20:17Abraham prayed to God. God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maid-servants, and they bore children. ^20:18For Yahweh had closed up tight all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.}}}}
It Is Sin To Betroth Unto Yourself Another Man's Wife

It is sin against Yahweh for a man to take as his own another man's wife. This sin is called adultery.

It Is Sin To Sexually Lie With Another Man's Wife

It is a greater sin against Yahweh for a man not only to take as his own another man's wife but also to sexually lie with her. This is the fullness of adultery.

It Is Possible To Sin Against Yahweh Unwittingly

Abimelech sinned unwittingly, in that when he took Sarah to be his wife he thought that she wasn't a man's wife. It should therefore be noted that it is possible to sin against Yahweh unwittingly.

Carefully Ascertain A Woman's Status Before Taking Her As Your Wife

The manner Abimelech might have avoided sinning unwittingly was by ascertaining more accurately the facts before he took Sarah to be his wife. It therefore appears that any man who desires to learn from Abimelech's experience should carefully ascertain the status of any woman he desires to take as his own, lest he find himself to have unwittingly taken another man's wife, thereby sinning against Yahweh!

If You Have Taken Another Man's Wife Restore Her To Her Husband

Yahweh's words in 20:7 show that a man who learns that he has taken another man's wife should restore her to her husband. If he does not do so, seeing that Yahweh does not force him to restore her, Yahweh will see to it that he dies, for his adultery!

Taking A Man's Wife Is Greatly Sinning Against Yahweh And The Man

20:9 notes that Abimelech understood that it was possible for him to have sinned against Abraham. In other words, not only do humans sin against Yahweh, they can also sin against their fellow human beings.

It should also be noted from Abimelech's words in 20:9 that taking as your own another man's wife is indeed a great sin!

Sin Is Trespass

Genesis 31:36-42 reads,

^{31:36Jacob was angry, and argued with Laban. Jacob answered Laban, "What is my trespass? What is my sin, that you have hotly pursued after me? ^31:37Now that you have felt around in all my stuff, what have you found of all your household stuff? Set it here before my relatives and your relatives, that they may judge between us two. ^31:38These twenty years have I been with you. Your ewes and your female goats have not cast their young, and I haven’t eaten the rams of your flocks. ^31:39That which was torn of animals, I didn’t bring to you. I bore the loss of it. Of my hand you required it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. ^31:40Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep fled from my eyes. ^31:41These twenty years have I been in your house. I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times. ^31:42Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked you last night."}

31:36 shows that Jacob understood that sin is trespass. Therefore sin against Yahweh is trespass against Yahweh, and sin against man is trespass against man. He who goes against Yahweh's word sins against Yahweh, and he who goes against man's word sins against man.

What is Yahweh's word to man, that man may know how to avoid walking sinfully before Yahweh, walking uprightly before him?

Sexually Lying With Another Man's Wife Is Great Sin And Wickedness Against Yahweh

Genesis 39:1-9 reads,

^{39:1Joseph was brought down to Egypt. Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the hand of the Ishmaelites that had brought him down there. ^39:2Yahweh was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man. He was in the house of his master the Egyptian. ^39:3His master saw that Yahweh was with him, and that Yahweh made all that he did prosper in his hand. ^39:4Joseph found favor in his sight. He ministered to him, and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand. ^39:5It happened from the time that he made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that Yahweh blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of Yahweh was on all that he had, in the house and in the field. ^39:6He left all that he had in Joseph’s hand. He didn’t concern himself with anything, except for the food which he ate.
Joseph was well-built and handsome. ^39:7It happened after these things, that his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph; and she said, "Lie with me."
^{39:8But he refused, and said to his master’s wife, "Behold, my master doesn’t know what is with me in the house, and he has put all that he has into my hand. ^39:9He isn’t greater in this house than I, neither has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?"}}

Sexually lying with another man's wife is great wickedness and sin against Yahweh!

Joseph's Brothers Sinned Against Him

Genesis 42:21-22 reads,

^{42:21They said one to another, "We are most assuredly guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us, and we wouldn’t listen. Therefore this distress has come on us." ^42:22Reuben answered them, saying, "Didn’t I tell you, saying, ‘Don’t sin against the child,’ and you wouldn’t listen? Therefore also, behold, his blood is required."}

Reuben understood that by acting against Joseph's words they were indeed sinning against Joseph. His understanding was therefore as that of his father, as seen in Genesis 31:36 in his encounter with Laban. When a person goes against the word of another he sins against the other whose word he goes against.

What Should You Do When Faced With Sinning Against Yahweh Versus Sinning Against Another?

What should a person do when faced with two conflicting words requiring him to act, such as conflicting words from Yahweh and from another person? Seeing that by following one word he will be going against another which word should he abide by? In other words, when faced with a choice between sinning against Yahweh and sinning against another person whom should one avoid sinning against?

Doing Evil To Another Is Sin Against Yahweh

Genesis 50:15-21 reads,

^{50:15When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "It may be that Joseph will hate us, and will fully pay us back for all of the evil which we did to him." ^50:16They sent a message to Joseph, saying, "Your father commanded before he died, saying, ^50:17'So will you tell Joseph, ‘Now please forgive the disobedience of your brothers, and their sin, because they did evil to you.’ Now, please forgive the disobedience of the servants of the God of your father." Joseph wept when they spoke to him. ^50:18His brothers also went and fell down before his face; and they said, "Behold, we are your servants." ^50:19Joseph said to them, "Don’t be afraid, for am I in the place of God? ^50:20As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save many people alive. ^50:21Now therefore don’t be afraid. I will nourish you and your little ones." He comforted them, and spoke kindly to them.}

It is sin to do evil to another, a sin against Yahweh.

Provide For The Needs Of Those Who Have Done Evil To You

Joseph's example of how he treated his brothers after their father's death gives us an example of how we should treat those who have done evil to us. When they are in need we should provide for the needs, and should not presume to execute judgement against them on account of the evil they did to us. Vengeance belongs to Yahweh, the Judge of all the earth.

It Is Sin To Disobey Yahweh's Word To One, Whatever The Word

Exodus 9:13-35 reads,

^{9:13Yahweh said to Moses, "Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and tell him, ‘This is what Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, says: "Let my people go, that they may serve me. ^9:14For this time I will send all my plagues against your heart, against your officials, and against your people; that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth. ^9:15For now I would have put forth my hand, and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth; ^9:16but indeed for this cause I have made you stand: to show you my power, and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth; ^9:17as you still exalt yourself against my people, that you won’t let them go. ^9:18Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as has not been in Egypt since the day it was founded even until now. ^9:19Now therefore command that all of your cattle and all that you have in the field be brought into shelter. Every man and animal that is found in the field, and isn’t brought home, the hail shall come down on them, and they shall die."’"

^{9:20Those who feared the word of Yahweh among the servants of Pharaoh made their servants and their cattle flee into the houses. ^9:21Whoever didn’t regard the word of Yahweh left his servants and his cattle in the field.}^{9:22Yahweh said to Moses, "Stretch forth your hand toward the sky, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, on man, and on animal, and on every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt."
^{9:23Moses stretched forth his rod toward the heavens, and Yahweh sent thunder, hail, and lightning flashed down to the earth. Yahweh rained hail on the land of Egypt. ^9:24So there was very severe hail, and lightning mixed with the hail, such as had not been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. ^9:25The hail struck throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and animal; and the hail struck every herb of the field, and broke every tree of the field. ^9:26Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, there was no hail.
^{9:27Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, "I have sinned this time. Yahweh is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. ^9:28Pray to Yahweh; for there has been enough of mighty thunderings and hail. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer."

^{9:29Moses said to him, "As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands to Yahweh. The thunders shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that you may know that the earth is Yahweh’s. ^9:30But as for you and your servants, I know that you don't yet fear Yahweh God."
^{9:31The flax and the barley were struck, for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was in bloom. ^9:32But the wheat and the spelt were not struck, for they had not grown up. ^9:33Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread abroad his hands to Yahweh; and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured on the earth. ^9:34When Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants. ^9:35The heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he didn’t let the children of Israel go, just as Yahweh had spoken through Moses.}}}}}}

Pharaoh's sin and wickedness, together with that of his people, was that he did not listen to Yahweh's word to obey it. Whoever does not listen to Yahweh's word to him, whatever the word that Yahweh speaks to him, sins against Yahweh.

Listening To Yahweh's Word Is Humility

Exodus 10:1-20 reads,

^{10:1Yahweh said to Moses, "Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, that I may show these my signs in the midst of them, ^10:2and that you may tell in the hearing of your son, and of your son’s son, what things I have done to Egypt, and my signs which I have done among them; that you may know that I am Yahweh."
^{10:3Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and said to him, "This is what Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me. ^10:4Or else, if you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country, ^10:5and they shall cover the surface of the earth, so that one won’t be able to see the earth. They shall eat the residue of that which has escaped, which remains to you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which grows for you out of the field. ^10:6Your houses shall be filled, and the houses of all your servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians; as neither your fathers nor your fathers’ fathers have seen, since the day that they were on the earth to this day.’" He turned, and went out from Pharaoh.

^{10:7Pharaoh’s servants said to him, "How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve Yahweh, their God. Don’t you yet know that Egypt is destroyed? ^10:8Moses and Aaron were brought again to Pharaoh, and he said to them, "Go, serve Yahweh your God; but who are those who will go?"
^{10:9Moses said, "We will go with our young and with our old; with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we must hold a feast to Yahweh."
^{10:10He said to them, "Yahweh be with you if I will let you go with your little ones! See, evil is clearly before your faces. ^10:11Not so! Go now you who are men, and serve Yahweh; for that is what you desire!" They were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.
^{10:12Yahweh said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up on the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land, even all that the hail has left." ^10:13Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and Yahweh brought an east wind on the land all that day, and all the night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. ^10:14The locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the borders of Egypt. They were very grievous. Before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such. ^10:15For they covered the surface of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened, and they ate every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left. There remained nothing green, either tree or herb of the field, through all the land of Egypt. ^10:16Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste, and he said, "I have sinned against Yahweh your God, and against you. ^10:17Now therefore please forgive my sin again, and pray to Yahweh your God, that he may also take away from me this death."

^{10:18He went out from Pharaoh, and prayed to Yahweh. ^10:19Yahweh turned an exceeding strong west wind, which took up the locusts, and drove them into the Red Sea. There remained not one locust in all the borders of Egypt. ^10:20But Yahweh hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he didn’t let the children of Israel go.}}}}}}}

10:3 notes that when a person listens to Yahweh's word he humbles himself before Yahweh. It is therefore humility to listen to Yahweh's word in whatever it is that Yahweh tells one.

Fear Yahweh That You May Not Sin

Exodus 20:18-21 reads,

^{20:18All the people perceived the thunderings, the lightnings, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking. When the people saw it, they trembled, and stayed at a distance. ^20:19They said to Moses, "Speak with us yourself, and we will listen; but don’t let God speak with us, lest we die."
^{20:20Moses said to the people, "Don’t be afraid, for God has come to test you, and that his fear may be before you, that you won’t sin." ^20:21The people stayed at a distance, and Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.}}

Having the fear of Yahweh in us helps us avoid sin. We should therefore fear Yahweh, that we may not sin.

Do Not Dwell Together With Those Who Do Not Serve Yahweh

Exodus 23:20-33 reads,

^{23:20"Behold, I send an angel before you, to keep you by the way, and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. ^23:21Pay attention to him, and listen to his voice. Don’t provoke him, for he will not pardon your disobedience, for my name is in him. ^23:22But if you indeed listen to his voice, and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and an adversary to your adversaries. ^23:23For my angel shall go before you, and bring you in to the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Canaanite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; and I will cut them off. ^23:24You shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor follow their practices, but you shall utterly overthrow them and demolish their pillars. ^23:25You shall serve Yahweh your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from your midst. ^23:26No one will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will fulfill the number of your days. ^23:27I will send my terror before you, and will confuse all the people to whom you come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. ^23:28I will send the hornet before you, which will drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before you. ^23:29I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate, and the animals of the field multiply against you. ^23:30Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and inherit the land. ^23:31I will set your border from the Red Sea even to the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the River; for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you. ^23:32You shall make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. ^23:33They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against me, for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you."}

The manner the Israelites risked sinning against Yahweh was by having the nations they were to drive out dwelling in the land that Yahweh had given them. For by dwelling in the same land as the Israelites dwelt in they would make the Israelites go against Yahweh's word forbidding them from serving the gods of these people.

Learning from Yahweh's command to the Israelites we should avoid dwelling with those who do not serve Yahweh, lest they make us serve their own gods, and we sin against Yahweh. For we are to serve Yahweh only, and not another god.

What Is The Purpose Of A Sin Offering?

Exodus 29:1-14 reads,

29:1"This is the thing that you shall do to them to make them holy, to minister to me in the priest’s office: take one young bull and two rams without blemish, ^29:2unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil: you shall make them of fine wheat flour. ^29:3You shall put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bull and the two rams. ^29:4You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the tent of meeting, and shall wash them with water. ^29:5You shall take the garments, and put on Aaron the coat, the robe of the ephod, the ephod, and the breastplate, and dress him with the skillfully woven band of the ephod; ^29:6and you shall set the turban on his head, and put the holy crown on the turban. ^29:7Then you shall take the anointing oil, and pour it on his head, and anoint him. ^29:8You shall bring his sons, and put coats on them. ^29:9You shall dress them with belts, Aaron and his sons, and bind headbands on them: and they shall have the priesthood by a perpetual statute: and you shall consecrate Aaron and his sons.
^{29:10"You shall bring the bull before the tent of meeting: and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the bull. ^29:11You shall kill the bull before Yahweh, at the door of the tent of meeting. ^29:12You shall take of the blood of the bull, and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger; and you shall pour out all the blood at the base of the altar. ^29:13You shall take all the fat that covers the innards, the cover of the liver, the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, and burn them on the altar. ^29:14But the flesh of the bull, and its skin, and its dung, you shall burn with fire outside of the camp: it is a sin-offering.}

What is the purpose of a sin-offering?

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