I have failed as a father. I have recently realized that in the endeavor of passing my faith to my children, it may be impossible to transfer the most important elements of faith and morality. Judaism’s demands that children memorize such massive amounts of scripture is truly the only way to ensure children will know the truth. The voice of God cuts through the cacophony of messages inundating the ears of young people, when the voice of their father becomes a clanging cymbal.

One important truth I failed to teach my children is the reality that sin is weighted. It is taught in modern religious circles that all sin is the same. In this ideology, a person that speeds, is the same in God’s eyes as a child molester. Sadly, this is NOT what the bible teaches.

I recently taught a course on Biblical covenants. For whatever reason, God chose to frame His relationship with His creation within covenants He established. To be clear, a contract is between equal parties. But a covenant is established when there is an imbalance of power, like a King to the inhabitants of his kingdom. Since we have no standing to negotiate with God, He extends a covenant that provides for my human frailties, to commune with Him. It is a beautiful thing.

The Davidic Covenant is the most fascinating of them all. David does a LOT of bad things. And even though you mind probably went straight to adultery, the fact is, David’s act of adultery is not what stood between David and God. God certainly judged David for each of his sins. David’s children committed incest, they murdered each other, one tried to steal the kingdom away, one of his wives hated him—the list is long. But after his death, the Bible declares:

“David did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, and turned not aside from any thing that he commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.” (1 Kings 15:5)

What is clear from this passage is that, in God’s eyes, David wanted nothing more than to honor God in all things. But he was weak, like all of us. He did horrible things, like all of us. But the one thing that God could not overlook was not his adulterous relationship, but the shedding of innocent blood.

When faced with the reality of Bathsheba’s pregnancy, David arranged that her husband, Uriah, be placed at the fiercest point of the battle, right on the front lines. As the fighting raged, David instructed his men to retreat from Uriah, leaving him to fend for himself. Urah was killed in that battle. Interesting, Uriah was actually killed by the enemy of Israel. But in God’s eyes, David might as well have slit Uriah’s throat himself. It was considered pre-meditated murder. In the legal system, this is called First-Degree murder and it is considered the most horrific form of murder that exists, often carrying the death penalty.

Torah law categorizes sin in two domains: intentional and unintentional. The premediation of sin carries far more guilt than unintentionally sinning. Additionally, the Torah divides these into sins of “commission” (doing something one knows as wrong) and sins of “omission” (failing to do something good or right that one is obligated to do). Interestingly, the Torah places the strongest emphasis on the prohibition against shedding innocent blood, viewing it as a grave transgression that pollutes the physical land and demands justice (Numbers 35:33). In God’s system, the taking of innocent blood is the very nature of playing God. No human shall have that right.

The Torah teaches that certain sins are weighted. And we clearly see this in the final determination by God on David’s life. God did not bring up adultery, or sexual sin. He brought up the shedding of innocent blood. However, the Torah teaches an additional concept on sexual impurity, which is affirmed in the New Testament by Paul. Leviticus 18 outlines sexual perversions and then provides this ominous warning:

“You must not do any of these detestable things. And if you defile the land, it will vomit you out”

Paul further clarifies:

“Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.”  (1 Corinthians 6:18)

This passage emphasizes that sexual sin is unique in that it directly harms the body, which is considered a temple of the Holy Spirit. The implication is that other sins, while wrong, don’t have the same direct and potentially damaging impact on the individual’s physical being as sexual sin.

Sin is Weighted

While Christians find comfort in the one sin = all sin concept, the truth is, sin is a little more complicated than that. As was the case with Yeshuah, observing one law, does not negate the need to observe other laws. In several places, Yeshuah heals on the Sabbath and is confronted by religious leaders. He responded in Mark 3, ” “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” Despite the law that forbids work on the sabbath, if a tree falls on a man during the sabbath, I would need to break Sabbath law to work to save the man, since saving life would be deemed a great observance than not working. Since it would also be breaking the law to stand and watch a man die, which sin becomes greater? If I break Sabbath law, it is between me and God. If I watch a man die on Sabbath, it is between me, God, the man, and his family.

To make this even more poignant, Jesus warns of a sin carries SO MUCH WEIGHT that it can NEVER BE FORGIVEN! In Matthew and Mark, Yeshuah state, “Every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.” Is sin weighted? Clearly it is.

Measure for Measure

Judaism teaches that we are weighed on God’s scales twice each year, once at Passover, and once at the Day of Atonement. It is the balance of these scales that determines God’s actions toward us for the next six months. In the Bible, Belteshazzar was weighed and found lacking. In the New Testament, Yeshuah instructs that, “you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you”. In God’s reality, sin has different weights. And the cumulation of that weight is measured twice each year. This is not always a “Heaven or Hell” issue Many times, it is God using his “rod and staff” to guide us on our path.

To My Children

I am sorry I failed this important lesson. All sin is NOT equal. Sexual sin and the shedding of innocent blood are heavier. And the New Testament makes this even MORE COMPLICATED by adding: “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life.” (1 John 3:15) God help all of us to not shed innocent blood through our hatred of others. Shabbat Shalom.