The Four Levels of Disobedience
Level One – Chattah (חטאה)
by
Jon Thompson
Many teach that when you sin you have “missed the mark.” I have heard preachers explain that the Hebrew word for sin even means to miss the mark. They teach Elohim doesn't really expect you to keep the commandments and that you just miss the mark when you violate them. Their tendency is to lump sin, transgression, and iniquity into one category of miss the mark, but that is not accurate.
In this first of four articles, I want to talk about the first level of disobedience—sin. There are times when we do miss the mark. Unintentional sin falls into this category. The sin sacrifices brought to the temple were primarily for sin.
The English word “sin” in the Scriptures is usually translated from the Hebrew word chattah (חטאה). It means sin, miss, as in miss the mark. In the book of Judges, chattah is translated as “miss” in this context:
“Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men left-handed; every one could sling stones at a hair breadth, and not miss.” (Judges 20:16)
If you are aiming at a target, and even though you were trying to hit it, you missed, it was a chattah—a miss.
When we are new or unfamiliar with a task, we often miss. If you enjoy bowling, shooting, or any pastime involving the propelling of any object toward a goal, you are probably better at it now than when you began. When you started in your activity, you probably missed more often than you hit the target. I bowl strikes more often when I practice regularly than when I don't. Professional bowlers throw a strike more often than not, but now and then, they miss—chattah.
When we begin our journey of Torah obedience, we may find that we miss more often than we hit the target. First, you find out that your favorite appetizer contains shellfish. Later you find that the frozen dinner you just ate contained lard. After you finish your salad, you ask the server what was in the house dressing and find out it was bacon. At some point, you realize that you shouldn't have eaten there in the first place, because it was the Sabbath.
You missed the mark. You didn't realize, you didn't think, you didn't ask. Now what? Repent. Acknowledge your sin, your missing of the mark, recognize it for what it was, a violation of YHVH's Torah. Feel the sorrow of disobedience. Confess to YHVH, ask Him to forgive you, and move on with your new understanding of one more way you need to be aware of and not sin. Then don't do it again.
Weakness seems to fall into this category as well. You know the Scriptures instruct you to keep the Feast of First Fruits, but you are just too involved to take the time to find out what to do. Or you know you shouldn't injure your body with tobacco, but the addiction is strong and you give in. Weakness—repent, and next time obey YHVH.
So far, the idea of missing the mark fits. You try to obey to the extent you know what to do and you have the strength to overcome weakness, but you miss. Repent and move on. But that is only the first of three levels of disobedience.
This first level implies that you are aiming at the target. In the bowling example, you throw the ball down the lane toward the pins, or even drop it or throw it in the wrong direction in the process of trying to get it down the lane. It does not include throwing the ball into the snack bar.
Next time we will discuss the second level of sin—ma'al (מעל), and see the common misconception that whatever you do in violation of the instructions of YHVH is just missing the mark.
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“Behold, the days are coming, says YHWH,
when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah
. . . I will put My law in their minds,
and write it on their hearts;
and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”
Jeremiah 31:31,33b