Shalom fellow seekers of YHWH and students of Torah.
Just what does the Hebrew phrase nasa avon (bear iniquity) mean?
In this study, I am going to try to explain why I have come to see it as having much to do with what we today sometimes use the vernacular "carrying the baggage" of our past mistakes. I am also going to try to explain how one can have this "baggage" removed from our shoulders.
First lets look at the actual meaning of the words, looking firstly at the Strongs definition of nasa:
05375 asn nasa' {naw-saw'} or nacah (Ps 4 : 6 [7]) {naw-saw'}
a primitive root; TWOT - 1421; v
1) to lift, bear up, carry, take
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to lift, lift up
1a2) to bear, carry, support, sustain, endure
1a3) to take, take away, carry off, forgive
1b) (Niphal)
1b1) to be lifted up, be exalted
1b2) to lift oneself up, rise up
1b3) to be borne, be carried
1b4) to be taken away, be carried off, be swept away
1c) (Piel)
1c1) to lift up, exalt, support, aid, assist
1c2) to desire, long (fig.)
1c3) to carry, bear continuously
1c4) to take, take away
1d) (Hithpael) to lift oneself up, exalt oneself
1e) (Hiphil)
1e1) to cause one to bear (iniquity)
1e2) to cause to bring, have brought
======
I find the basic underlying rooted meaning to be quite clear, the idea of "lifting up and carrying a load", so to speak.
According to Strongs, avon means:
05771 Nwe `avon {aw-vone'} or `avown (2 Ki 7:9, Ps 51:5 [7]) {aw-vone'}
from 05753; TWOT - 1577a; n m
1) perversity, depravity, iniquity, guilt or punishment of iniquity
1a) iniquity
1b) guilt of iniquity, guilt (as great), guilt (of condition)
1c) consequence of or punishment for iniquity
=======
Put together, they suggest the idea of lifting up and carrying perversity/depravity.
So, just what does this mean today, and just what did it mean back when Torah was given? Lets first look at some of the places in the book of Truth, ie, Torah, where it is used. I am going to use the KJV, although I am going to be consistent and change the translation so that nasa is always "bear" and avon is always "iniquity" that way the translation doesn't confuse us anymore than it already has. KJV often mistranslates nasa as "forgive" which is misleading and incorrect, for to bear and to forgive are 2 different things.
Qayn chose not to admit his crime against Hebel, seemingly acting as if he knew nothing about what had happened to Hebel, and now complained he was unable to bear with his iniquity as YHWH cast him from His presence:
Ge 4:13 And Cain said unto YHWH, My iniquity <05771> is greater than I can bear <05375>.
Aaron, being the great kohen, was the representative of YHWH, he and his sons were the ones the people came to to confess their sins, and they would bear the iniquity of the holy things which were the sin zebachs they would eat that were brought by the confessor:
Ex 28:38 And it shall be upon Aaron's forehead, that Aaron may bear <05375> the iniquity<05771> of the holy things, which the children of Y'shral shall hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before YHWH.
YHWH Himself tells us that He Himself can and will bear our iniquity, at His discretion of course:
Ex 34:7 Keeping mercy for thousands, bearing <05375> iniquity <05771> and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity <05771> of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourthgeneration.
If a person witnessed something and refused to tell, he too would bear his iniquity:
Le 5:1 And if a soul sin, and hear the voice of swearing, and is a witness, whether he hath seen or known of it; if he do not utter it, then he shall bear <05375> his iniquity <05771>.
If a person sinned and was not aware of it, he would bear his iniquity, quite possibly due to the fact that if he was ignorant of his sin, he wouldn't have confessed it:
Le 5:17 And if a soul sin, and commit any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of YHWH; though he knew not, yet is he guilty, and shall bear <05375>his iniquity <05771>.
If a person ate 3 day old flesh from a shalom zebach, they themselves would bear their iniquity:
Le 7:18 And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings be eaten at all on the third day, it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be imputed unto him that offereth it: it shall be an abomination, and the soul that eateth of it shall bear <05375> his iniquity <05771>.
Interestingly, when Nadab and Abihu were smitten by the fire of YHWH, Aaron thought it best to not eat the sin zebach, quite possibly due to the fact that YHWH had already made the judgment concerning Nadab and Abihu and Aaron could not bear the iniquity thru eating it if YHWH had already judged the matter:
Le 10:17 Wherefore have ye not eaten the sin offering in the holy place, seeing it is most holy, and hath given it you to bear <05375> the iniquity <05771> of the congregation, to make shelter for them before YHWH?
18 Behold, the blood of it was not brought in within the holy place: ye should indeed have eaten it in the holy place, as I commanded.
19 And Aaron said unto Moshe, Behold, this day have they offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before YHWH; and such things have befallen me: and if I had eaten the sin offering to day, should it have been accepted in the sight of YHWH?
20 And when Moshe heard that, he was content.
Because the children of Y'shral were to go to the kohens to confess their sins, it seems the kohens had no where to go other than to YHWH Himself (or maybe also to each other) to confess their sins, so this may be why they themselves would bear the iniquity of their priesthood and the iniquity of the holy things of the mishkan. This was their "inheritance":
Nu 18:1 And YHWH said unto Aaron, Thou and thy sons and thy father's house with thee shall bear <05375> the iniquity <05771> of the sanctuary: and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear <05375> the iniquity <05771> of your priesthood.
Nu 18:23 But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they shall bear <05375> their iniquity <05771>: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations, that among the children of Y'shral they have no inheritance.
Notice now what Dawid said concerning the issue:
Ps 32:5 I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity <05771> have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto YHWH; and thou have beared <05375> the iniquity<05771> of my sin. Selah.
Selah, think about it, dwell on it.
Hoshea says much the same thing as Dawid:
Ho 14:2 Take with you words, and turn to YHWH: say unto him, Bear <05375> all iniquity<05771>, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.
Notice what Y'shayahu says:
Isa 33:24 And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall bear<05375> their iniquity <05771>.
If one does not admit he is sick, he will bear his own iniquity and continue in his sickness.
Y'shayahu, imo, puts a little twist on it here, saying how the iniquities can bear us if we let them fester too long:
Isa 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities <05771>, like the wind, bear us <05375>.
I could keep quoting, and I highly suggest you do the word search on your own. There is a common theme here though, as I see it. It has much to do with the idea of "coming clean", confessing our sins and transgressions, which has a cleansing effect and tends to "lighten the load" of carrying around all that baggage from our past mistakes. If we don't come clean, we are left to carry the load ourselves which can haunt us, or as some would figuratively call them, the "demons" that haunt us.
Some people make light of the idea of confession. Unfortunately (fortunately?) for me, due to the many transgressions of my youth, I know the value of confession, and the ability of confession to help lighten the load so I wouldn't have to continue carrying the baggage of my past around with me. I am not talking about a ritual of going to the confessional here. I am talking about heartfelt confession accompanied by a heartfelt desire to change ones behaviour, whether it be confession directly to YHWH Himself, or to the one we have harmed, or to a kohen, or all three. Coming clean will help lighten the load, no matter how heinous the crime being confessed might be.
Going back to what Dawid wrote:
Ps 32:1 <<A Psalm of Dawid, Maschil.>> Blessed is he whose transgression is beared<05375>, whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man unto whom YHWH imputeth not iniquity <05771>, and in whose spiritthere is no guile.
3 WHEN I KEPT SILENCE, MY BONES WAXED OLD THROUGH MY ROARING ALL THE DAY LONG.
4 For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah.
5 I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity <05771> have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto YHWH; and thou have beared <05375> the iniquity <05771> of my sin. Selah.
Did you notice that? Keeping silent will eat away at our very bones, wearing away at us night and day. Unfortunately I know this feeling all too well. For many years I bore my iniquities, and they haunted me. I had myself convinced that I was too far gone to ever be set right with Father, so why bother trying? This attitude caused me to go deeper and deeper into sin, to the point of it being far too much for me to bear. I had become crippled under the weight of my own iniquities.
It wasn't until I was ready to take a good hard look at myself, and make a heartfelt commitment to change, that I was capable of asking Father to bear my iniquities. The truly amazing thing is, He did. A tremendous weight was lifted off my shoulders in one night, and I could feel it not only in my mind, but in my heart and even physically. I awoke the next morning a different person with a completely different mindset (ruach). A positive mindset, a mindset that yes, I can overcome and resist sin if I continue to look to Him and ask for His help.
Now, don't get me wrong here. As with pretty much all things, one should not over do it either. There may be situations where we have harmed someone and desire to confess it, although confessing it might bring further harm to the person. In these cases, confessing to YHWH and maybe another individual whom we trust would do well. We should not confess our sins for the selfish reason of simply wanting the baggage to be lifted off our shoulders at the cost of causing further pain. A good example of this is if one has been unfaithful to their spouse and the spouse was unaware. Another might be if you previously stole from your place of employment. Admitting it might get you fired, and if you have a family it may very well cause them unnecessary pain and suffering. Why cause further harm if you don't have too? Confess to YHWH, ask Him to bear with it, and don't do it again!
We are even told that when we find ourselves in a situation where we are receiving the curses of Torah that we should not only confess our own iniquities, but to also confess the iniquities of our forefathers:
Le 26:38 And ye shall perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up.
39 And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them.
40 IF THEY SHALL CONFESS THEIR INIQUITY, AND THE INIQUITY OF THEIR FATHERS, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me;
41 And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, AND THEY THEN ACCEPT OF THE PUNISHMENT OF THEIR INIQUITY:
42 Then will I remember my covenant with Yaqob, and also my covenant with Yitzchaq, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.
Sometimes though, it isn't necessarily a bad thing to bear our own iniquity. It may be a deserved punishment that we must deal with until our death as we see with the first generation of the children of Y'shral who came out of Mitzrym:
Nu 14:32 But as for you, your carcases, they shall fall in this wilderness.
33 And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness.
34 After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear <05375> your iniquities <05771>, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.
35 I YHWH have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.
Sounds terrible, no? They were condemned, right? Well, the interesting thing is, YHWH did forgive them as He had previously stated:
Nu 14:17 And now, I beseech thee, let the power of Adony be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying,
18 YHWH is longsuffering, and of great mercy, bearing iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.
19 Forgive, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast beared this people, fromEgypt
20 And YHWH said, I HAVE FORGIVEN ACCORDING TO THY WORD:
So, in that situation, YHWH did forgive them due to Moshe's intercession, although they were "condemned" to bear the weight of their own iniquity for 40 years. We see this (or at least I do), in the Yom Kippur ceremony where the azazel goat is a reminder and representation of those who must bear their own iniquity:
Le 16:21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Y'shral, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:
22 And the goat shall bear <05375> upon him all their iniquities <05771> unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.
I can see how this azazel goat pictures both Qayn and the 1st generation, and also those who were later cast out of the land, and find themselves bearing their own iniquity, which by the way includes many of us. Sometimes this is what it takes for us to return to Him. Sometimes we have to bear with the weight of our iniquities until it breaks us down and we find ourselves with no place left to turn but to YHWH.
Here is a good example of one in captivity outside the land, who understands Torah and does what YHWH instructs:
Dan 9:2 In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of came to Yeremyah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Y'rushalem.
3 And I set my face unto the my Master YHWH, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:
4 And I prayed unto YHWH my Ahlahym, and made my confession, and said, O my Master, the great and dreadful Ahlahym, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;
5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:
6 Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
7 O my Master, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Y'hudah, and to the inhabitants of Y'rushalem, and unto all Y'shral, that arenear, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.
8 O my Master, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.
9 To my Master our Ahlahym belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;
10 Neither have we obeyed the voice of YHWH our Ahlahym, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.
11 Yea, all Y'shral have transgressed thy Torah, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the Torah of Moshe the servant of Ahlahym, because we have sinned against him.
12 And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Y'rushalem.
13 As it is written in the Torah of Moshe, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before YHWH our Ahlahym, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.
14 Therefore hath YHWH watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for YHWH our Ahlahym is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.
15 And now, O my Master our Ahlahym, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.
16 O my Master, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Y'rushalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Y'rushalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us.
17 Now therefore, O our Ahlahym, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for my Master's sake.
18 O my Ahlahym, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.
19 O my Master, hear; O my Master, forgive; O my Master, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my Ahlahym: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.
For many years of my life, I was incapable of admitting some of the things I had done, for I was ashamed and didn't want anyone to know. I was also very afraid to admit them to YHWH (as if He didn't already know), I was terribly frightened to approach Him, for I had myself convinced that I was too far gone and that He would not accept my prayers. I had already earned the death penalty, so what is the big deal if I sin again? The only thing this attitude accomplished was to cause me to walk further away from Him, which left me alone, very alone to bear with the weight of my iniquities. As the saying goes, confession is good for the soul.
I would imagine there are probably some here who have a skewed idea of confession, mostly due to what some of us may have witnessed in the Catholic church. This does not invalidate the concept though. So, for this reason, let me share what I believe is a good example of what Torah is saying, which may help in explaining:
A child does something wrong while his father is away at work. His mother (the kohen, see Y'shayahu 50) knows what he did, and confronts him. She trys to get him to admit his mistake, and then has him clean up after himself and promise to not do it again. She is "bearing with his iniquity" and may not have to tell the father (YHWH), kinda like being on probation. If the child continues in this behaviour, she may now threaten him with "wait till your father comes home". So, father comes home and she tells him. What is the best thing for the child to do? Is it better to run and hide? Or, is it better to step forward and "face the music" and admit what you have done?
I think the answer is clear. If we run and hide, it changes nothing. All it does is increase the anger of the father as he seeks after the child to give him the punishment he deserves. The more he has to search, the more his anger grows. Is it not much the same with our Father in Heaven?
We have a choice, do we want to go on bearing our own iniquities, never admitting our sins to anyone, or, do we accept the instructions of YHWH, which are for our own good, and confess our iniquities so that our load may be lightened? The choice is ours.
Ps 32:5 I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity <05771> have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto YHWH; and thou have beared <05375> the iniquity<05771> of my sin. Selah.
Psalm 51 is also an excellent witness to the power of confession. May we all learn to be like Dawid and may YHWH bless us all by lightening our load as we return to Him, one step at a time.
Just what does the Hebrew phrase nasa avon (bear iniquity) mean?
In this study, I am going to try to explain why I have come to see it as having much to do with what we today sometimes use the vernacular "carrying the baggage" of our past mistakes. I am also going to try to explain how one can have this "baggage" removed from our shoulders.
First lets look at the actual meaning of the words, looking firstly at the Strongs definition of nasa:
05375 asn nasa' {naw-saw'} or nacah (Ps 4 : 6 [7]) {naw-saw'}
a primitive root; TWOT - 1421; v
1) to lift, bear up, carry, take
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to lift, lift up
1a2) to bear, carry, support, sustain, endure
1a3) to take, take away, carry off, forgive
1b) (Niphal)
1b1) to be lifted up, be exalted
1b2) to lift oneself up, rise up
1b3) to be borne, be carried
1b4) to be taken away, be carried off, be swept away
1c) (Piel)
1c1) to lift up, exalt, support, aid, assist
1c2) to desire, long (fig.)
1c3) to carry, bear continuously
1c4) to take, take away
1d) (Hithpael) to lift oneself up, exalt oneself
1e) (Hiphil)
1e1) to cause one to bear (iniquity)
1e2) to cause to bring, have brought
======
I find the basic underlying rooted meaning to be quite clear, the idea of "lifting up and carrying a load", so to speak.
According to Strongs, avon means:
05771 Nwe `avon {aw-vone'} or `avown (2 Ki 7:9, Ps 51:5 [7]) {aw-vone'}
from 05753; TWOT - 1577a; n m
1) perversity, depravity, iniquity, guilt or punishment of iniquity
1a) iniquity
1b) guilt of iniquity, guilt (as great), guilt (of condition)
1c) consequence of or punishment for iniquity
=======
Put together, they suggest the idea of lifting up and carrying perversity/depravity.
So, just what does this mean today, and just what did it mean back when Torah was given? Lets first look at some of the places in the book of Truth, ie, Torah, where it is used. I am going to use the KJV, although I am going to be consistent and change the translation so that nasa is always "bear" and avon is always "iniquity" that way the translation doesn't confuse us anymore than it already has. KJV often mistranslates nasa as "forgive" which is misleading and incorrect, for to bear and to forgive are 2 different things.
Qayn chose not to admit his crime against Hebel, seemingly acting as if he knew nothing about what had happened to Hebel, and now complained he was unable to bear with his iniquity as YHWH cast him from His presence:
Ge 4:13 And Cain said unto YHWH, My iniquity <05771> is greater than I can bear <05375>.
Aaron, being the great kohen, was the representative of YHWH, he and his sons were the ones the people came to to confess their sins, and they would bear the iniquity of the holy things which were the sin zebachs they would eat that were brought by the confessor:
Ex 28:38 And it shall be upon Aaron's forehead, that Aaron may bear <05375> the iniquity<05771> of the holy things, which the children of Y'shral shall hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before YHWH.
YHWH Himself tells us that He Himself can and will bear our iniquity, at His discretion of course:
Ex 34:7 Keeping mercy for thousands, bearing <05375> iniquity <05771> and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity <05771> of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourthgeneration.
If a person witnessed something and refused to tell, he too would bear his iniquity:
Le 5:1 And if a soul sin, and hear the voice of swearing, and is a witness, whether he hath seen or known of it; if he do not utter it, then he shall bear <05375> his iniquity <05771>.
If a person sinned and was not aware of it, he would bear his iniquity, quite possibly due to the fact that if he was ignorant of his sin, he wouldn't have confessed it:
Le 5:17 And if a soul sin, and commit any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of YHWH; though he knew not, yet is he guilty, and shall bear <05375>his iniquity <05771>.
If a person ate 3 day old flesh from a shalom zebach, they themselves would bear their iniquity:
Le 7:18 And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings be eaten at all on the third day, it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be imputed unto him that offereth it: it shall be an abomination, and the soul that eateth of it shall bear <05375> his iniquity <05771>.
Interestingly, when Nadab and Abihu were smitten by the fire of YHWH, Aaron thought it best to not eat the sin zebach, quite possibly due to the fact that YHWH had already made the judgment concerning Nadab and Abihu and Aaron could not bear the iniquity thru eating it if YHWH had already judged the matter:
Le 10:17 Wherefore have ye not eaten the sin offering in the holy place, seeing it is most holy, and hath given it you to bear <05375> the iniquity <05771> of the congregation, to make shelter for them before YHWH?
18 Behold, the blood of it was not brought in within the holy place: ye should indeed have eaten it in the holy place, as I commanded.
19 And Aaron said unto Moshe, Behold, this day have they offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before YHWH; and such things have befallen me: and if I had eaten the sin offering to day, should it have been accepted in the sight of YHWH?
20 And when Moshe heard that, he was content.
Because the children of Y'shral were to go to the kohens to confess their sins, it seems the kohens had no where to go other than to YHWH Himself (or maybe also to each other) to confess their sins, so this may be why they themselves would bear the iniquity of their priesthood and the iniquity of the holy things of the mishkan. This was their "inheritance":
Nu 18:1 And YHWH said unto Aaron, Thou and thy sons and thy father's house with thee shall bear <05375> the iniquity <05771> of the sanctuary: and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear <05375> the iniquity <05771> of your priesthood.
Nu 18:23 But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they shall bear <05375> their iniquity <05771>: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations, that among the children of Y'shral they have no inheritance.
Notice now what Dawid said concerning the issue:
Ps 32:5 I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity <05771> have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto YHWH; and thou have beared <05375> the iniquity<05771> of my sin. Selah.
Selah, think about it, dwell on it.
Hoshea says much the same thing as Dawid:
Ho 14:2 Take with you words, and turn to YHWH: say unto him, Bear <05375> all iniquity<05771>, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.
Notice what Y'shayahu says:
Isa 33:24 And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall bear<05375> their iniquity <05771>.
If one does not admit he is sick, he will bear his own iniquity and continue in his sickness.
Y'shayahu, imo, puts a little twist on it here, saying how the iniquities can bear us if we let them fester too long:
Isa 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities <05771>, like the wind, bear us <05375>.
I could keep quoting, and I highly suggest you do the word search on your own. There is a common theme here though, as I see it. It has much to do with the idea of "coming clean", confessing our sins and transgressions, which has a cleansing effect and tends to "lighten the load" of carrying around all that baggage from our past mistakes. If we don't come clean, we are left to carry the load ourselves which can haunt us, or as some would figuratively call them, the "demons" that haunt us.
Some people make light of the idea of confession. Unfortunately (fortunately?) for me, due to the many transgressions of my youth, I know the value of confession, and the ability of confession to help lighten the load so I wouldn't have to continue carrying the baggage of my past around with me. I am not talking about a ritual of going to the confessional here. I am talking about heartfelt confession accompanied by a heartfelt desire to change ones behaviour, whether it be confession directly to YHWH Himself, or to the one we have harmed, or to a kohen, or all three. Coming clean will help lighten the load, no matter how heinous the crime being confessed might be.
Going back to what Dawid wrote:
Ps 32:1 <<A Psalm of Dawid, Maschil.>> Blessed is he whose transgression is beared<05375>, whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man unto whom YHWH imputeth not iniquity <05771>, and in whose spiritthere is no guile.
3 WHEN I KEPT SILENCE, MY BONES WAXED OLD THROUGH MY ROARING ALL THE DAY LONG.
4 For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah.
5 I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity <05771> have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto YHWH; and thou have beared <05375> the iniquity <05771> of my sin. Selah.
Did you notice that? Keeping silent will eat away at our very bones, wearing away at us night and day. Unfortunately I know this feeling all too well. For many years I bore my iniquities, and they haunted me. I had myself convinced that I was too far gone to ever be set right with Father, so why bother trying? This attitude caused me to go deeper and deeper into sin, to the point of it being far too much for me to bear. I had become crippled under the weight of my own iniquities.
It wasn't until I was ready to take a good hard look at myself, and make a heartfelt commitment to change, that I was capable of asking Father to bear my iniquities. The truly amazing thing is, He did. A tremendous weight was lifted off my shoulders in one night, and I could feel it not only in my mind, but in my heart and even physically. I awoke the next morning a different person with a completely different mindset (ruach). A positive mindset, a mindset that yes, I can overcome and resist sin if I continue to look to Him and ask for His help.
Now, don't get me wrong here. As with pretty much all things, one should not over do it either. There may be situations where we have harmed someone and desire to confess it, although confessing it might bring further harm to the person. In these cases, confessing to YHWH and maybe another individual whom we trust would do well. We should not confess our sins for the selfish reason of simply wanting the baggage to be lifted off our shoulders at the cost of causing further pain. A good example of this is if one has been unfaithful to their spouse and the spouse was unaware. Another might be if you previously stole from your place of employment. Admitting it might get you fired, and if you have a family it may very well cause them unnecessary pain and suffering. Why cause further harm if you don't have too? Confess to YHWH, ask Him to bear with it, and don't do it again!
We are even told that when we find ourselves in a situation where we are receiving the curses of Torah that we should not only confess our own iniquities, but to also confess the iniquities of our forefathers:
Le 26:38 And ye shall perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up.
39 And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them.
40 IF THEY SHALL CONFESS THEIR INIQUITY, AND THE INIQUITY OF THEIR FATHERS, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me;
41 And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, AND THEY THEN ACCEPT OF THE PUNISHMENT OF THEIR INIQUITY:
42 Then will I remember my covenant with Yaqob, and also my covenant with Yitzchaq, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.
Sometimes though, it isn't necessarily a bad thing to bear our own iniquity. It may be a deserved punishment that we must deal with until our death as we see with the first generation of the children of Y'shral who came out of Mitzrym:
Nu 14:32 But as for you, your carcases, they shall fall in this wilderness.
33 And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness.
34 After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear <05375> your iniquities <05771>, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.
35 I YHWH have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.
Sounds terrible, no? They were condemned, right? Well, the interesting thing is, YHWH did forgive them as He had previously stated:
Nu 14:17 And now, I beseech thee, let the power of Adony be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying,
18 YHWH is longsuffering, and of great mercy, bearing iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.
19 Forgive, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast beared this people, from
20 And YHWH said, I HAVE FORGIVEN ACCORDING TO THY WORD:
So, in that situation, YHWH did forgive them due to Moshe's intercession, although they were "condemned" to bear the weight of their own iniquity for 40 years. We see this (or at least I do), in the Yom Kippur ceremony where the azazel goat is a reminder and representation of those who must bear their own iniquity:
Le 16:21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Y'shral, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:
22 And the goat shall bear <05375> upon him all their iniquities <05771> unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.
I can see how this azazel goat pictures both Qayn and the 1st generation, and also those who were later cast out of the land, and find themselves bearing their own iniquity, which by the way includes many of us. Sometimes this is what it takes for us to return to Him. Sometimes we have to bear with the weight of our iniquities until it breaks us down and we find ourselves with no place left to turn but to YHWH.
Here is a good example of one in captivity outside the land, who understands Torah and does what YHWH instructs:
Dan 9:2 In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of came to Yeremyah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Y'rushalem.
3 And I set my face unto the my Master YHWH, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:
4 And I prayed unto YHWH my Ahlahym, and made my confession, and said, O my Master, the great and dreadful Ahlahym, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;
5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:
6 Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
7 O my Master, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Y'hudah, and to the inhabitants of Y'rushalem, and unto all Y'shral, that arenear, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.
8 O my Master, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.
9 To my Master our Ahlahym belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;
10 Neither have we obeyed the voice of YHWH our Ahlahym, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.
11 Yea, all Y'shral have transgressed thy Torah, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the Torah of Moshe the servant of Ahlahym, because we have sinned against him.
12 And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Y'rushalem.
13 As it is written in the Torah of Moshe, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before YHWH our Ahlahym, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.
14 Therefore hath YHWH watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for YHWH our Ahlahym is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.
15 And now, O my Master our Ahlahym, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.
16 O my Master, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Y'rushalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Y'rushalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us.
17 Now therefore, O our Ahlahym, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for my Master's sake.
18 O my Ahlahym, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.
19 O my Master, hear; O my Master, forgive; O my Master, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my Ahlahym: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.
For many years of my life, I was incapable of admitting some of the things I had done, for I was ashamed and didn't want anyone to know. I was also very afraid to admit them to YHWH (as if He didn't already know), I was terribly frightened to approach Him, for I had myself convinced that I was too far gone and that He would not accept my prayers. I had already earned the death penalty, so what is the big deal if I sin again? The only thing this attitude accomplished was to cause me to walk further away from Him, which left me alone, very alone to bear with the weight of my iniquities. As the saying goes, confession is good for the soul.
I would imagine there are probably some here who have a skewed idea of confession, mostly due to what some of us may have witnessed in the Catholic church. This does not invalidate the concept though. So, for this reason, let me share what I believe is a good example of what Torah is saying, which may help in explaining:
A child does something wrong while his father is away at work. His mother (the kohen, see Y'shayahu 50) knows what he did, and confronts him. She trys to get him to admit his mistake, and then has him clean up after himself and promise to not do it again. She is "bearing with his iniquity" and may not have to tell the father (YHWH), kinda like being on probation. If the child continues in this behaviour, she may now threaten him with "wait till your father comes home". So, father comes home and she tells him. What is the best thing for the child to do? Is it better to run and hide? Or, is it better to step forward and "face the music" and admit what you have done?
I think the answer is clear. If we run and hide, it changes nothing. All it does is increase the anger of the father as he seeks after the child to give him the punishment he deserves. The more he has to search, the more his anger grows. Is it not much the same with our Father in Heaven?
We have a choice, do we want to go on bearing our own iniquities, never admitting our sins to anyone, or, do we accept the instructions of YHWH, which are for our own good, and confess our iniquities so that our load may be lightened? The choice is ours.
Ps 32:5 I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity <05771> have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto YHWH; and thou have beared <05375> the iniquity<05771> of my sin. Selah.
Psalm 51 is also an excellent witness to the power of confession. May we all learn to be like Dawid and may YHWH bless us all by lightening our load as we return to Him, one step at a time.
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