Reconciliation and Atonement

My reading in Numbers today reminded me of something we talked about when we studied Mere Christianity: when we sin against one another, God is the aggrieved party. It’s a reinforcement of the primary idea I’ve gotten out of my two trips through the Bible, that God is most concerned, in practical terms, with relationships and generations. God tells Moses in Numbers 5:5-8 that restitution for wrongs must be made to the person we’ve wronged, and if not to them then there is an implication that restitution should be made to their family or heirs. If not to them, then restitution is made to the church and thus to God.

So if I understand this correctly, God allows Himself to be satisfied when we reconcile with one another, or with the families of one another (though it seems He still requires an atonement in addition to the reconciliation). If there is no one with whom to reconcile, we are to reconcile with the church.

Obviously I’m unclear on how this works out in today’s world, and I’m unsure whether this is part of the Law that was fulfilled by Christ (though I suspect the principles here still apply). It does provide an interesting principle to live by — if I steal or cheat someone out of say, $100 worth of goods or services, God says I owe them $120. If they, for whatever reason, have died in the meantime, God says I owe their family $120. If they had no family to speak of, I owe the church $120. I don’t know how to apply the additional principle of atonement (my church would have little use for a ram, and I have no idea where I’d even get one), but the effort to make the restitution is an interesting exercise.

In my misspent youth, I did some shoplifting, mostly from stores that no longer exist. I don’t know an exact amount of value, but I could estimate it. I don’t know if the Law still applies in this way, but my church could certainly use some extra cash. It could be an utterly pointless exercise — I am forgiven by Christ Himself and atonement has been made in His blood and sacrifice on the cross. My feelings of guilt are assuaged. Even so, I find the idea compelling.

More to the point, I have been trying and failing to fix some relationships that I have either broken or continue to screw up. Even in the rules-oriented rigidity of the Old Testament I find God’s heart for those relationships and am reminded to redouble my efforts at prayer and reconciliation, because God Himself is the aggrieved party, not just those with whom I have friction. It’s yet another passage that provides the backdrop and impetus for the approach of Christ, and provides an interesting mirror to His words in Matthew, about leaving the altar to be reconciled with our brothers. God is the aggrieved party, but He would rather see us get along with one another than receive our offerings. The work of reconciliation must be done, even if it is only with Him standing in as a proxy.