As long as sin is discussed generally, we’re fine with it. But get specific? Ouch, that hurts!
In the beginning of Leviticus 5, the Lord gets specific about particular sins. These are samples, not the whole list. The first and last are sins of the tongue; the middle two are sins of defilement. They might not seem to be serious to us, but God thinks so. First on the list? “If a person sins in hearing the utterance of an oath, and is a witness, whether he has seen or known of the matter—if he does not tell it, he bears guilt” (v 1). The sin of silence? The lists of sins in the New Testament seem to mix heinous with harmless. Here’s a famous one: “adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like” (Gal 5:19-21). If you were making a list, would you put sorcery and hatred together, or envy beside murders? But God knows the sad story well. Sorcery is hatred of God by another name, and envy is the poisonous bud of which murder is the fruit. Now back to the sin of silence. Do you recall Jesus being silent in His own defense? That is, until the high priest said, “‘I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘It is as you said’” (Mt 26:63-64). Justice could only be done in Israel if law-abiding citizens did their part in providing dependable witness. But other unintentional sins are mentioned. The next: “if a person touches any unclean thing” (v 2). Imagine a shepherd bending down to care for one of his sheep—and finds out it has died. “Or if he touches human uncleanness” (v 3). The kind of care required by the Jews in a physical way should be matched by us in a spiritual way. It’s a dirty world out there. Watch your tongue and your touch!