It was a word specifically for the people of God, those who had been delivered from bondage, set apart as holy, and were on their way to the promised land. Guess then, I could take it as a word for me.

A word about sinning against their brothers and sisters. A word about realizing their guilt. A word about making restitution. But what grabs me this morning is that it’s also a word about, as the ESV puts it, breaking faith with God.

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel, When a man or woman commits any of the sins that people commit by breaking faith with the LORD, and that person realizes his guilt, he shall confess his sin that he has committed. And he shall make full restitution for his wrong, adding a fifth to it and giving it to him to whom he did the wrong.”

(Numbers 5:6-7 ESV)

Breaking faith, that’s the term I’m chewing on this morning.

Unfaithfulness. Treacherousness. Trespassing. Transgressing. Though the sin was a sin against another person, when all was said and done, it was breaking faith with the LORD.

Breaking faith. Specifically, the scenario in mind may have entailed sin against a brother or a sister where an oath had been made in the Lord’s name but where the promise was never delivered upon. To not make good on their pledge to another was to be unfaithful to the God whose name they invoked as the guarantor of their pledge.

But generally, isn’t breaking faith with God what’s at the core of any sin? Isn’t sin fundamentally behaving in a manner towards others which is at odds with what we say we believe about God? Isn’t it doing to others that which, at least implicitly if not explicitly, we pledged not to do when we said we’d follow Jesus? I’m thinking. Thus, isn’t all sin against men ultimately a sin against the LORD? David saw it that way.

For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You may be justified in Your words and blameless in Your judgment.

(Psalm 51:3-4 ESV)

Breaking faith, at its core, is what all sin is — acting contrary to the truth we say we’ve appropriated. Thus, to experience guilt is fitting. But, praise God, where guilt abounded, grace did more abound (or something like that). Praise God (again) that confession is possible because atonement is available. There’s a place to go with our unfaithfulness. There’s a remedy for our treachery.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

(1John 1:9 ESV)

We need to own up to breaking faith with the LORD — again. We need to fess up, again. But praise God (one more time) we can then again go up, boldly approaching His throne of grace, through the blood shed when, at Calvary, He was lifted up.

What grace. To God be the glory.