Read Numbers 28
Daily Offerings
28 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Give this command to the Israelites and say to them: ‘Make sure that you present to me at the appointed time my foodofferings, as an aroma pleasing to me.’ 3 Say to them: ‘This is the food offering you are to present to the Lord: two lambs a year old without defect,as a regular burnt offering each day. 4 Offer one lamb in the morning and the other at twilight, 5 together with a grain offering of a tenth of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with a quarter of a hin of oil from pressed olives. 6 This is the regular burnt offering instituted at Mount Sinai as a pleasing aroma, a food offering presented to the Lord. 7 The accompanying drink offering is to be a quarter of a hin of fermented drink with each lamb. Pour out the drink offering to the Lord at the sanctuary. 8 Offer the second lamb at twilight,along with the same kind of grain offering and drink offering that you offer in the morning. This is a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord.
Sabbath Offerings
9 “‘On the Sabbath day, make an offering of two lambs a year old without defect, together with its drink offering and a grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with olive oil. 10 This is the burnt offering for every Sabbath, in addition to the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.
Monthly Offerings
11 “‘On the first of every month, present to the Lord a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram and seven male lambs a year old, all without defect.12 With each bull there is to be a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephahof the finest flour mixed with oil; with the ram, a grain offering of two-tenthsof an ephah of the finest flour mixed with oil; 13 and with each lamb, a grain offering of a tenth of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with oil. This is for a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma, a food offering presented to the Lord.14 With each bull there is to be a drink offering of half a hin of wine; with the ram, a third of a hin; and with each lamb, a quarter of a hin. This is the monthly burnt offering to be made at each new moon during the year.15 Besides the regular burnt offering with its drink offering, one male goat is to be presented to the Lord as a sin offering.
The Passover
16 “‘On the fourteenth day of the first month the Lord’s Passover is to be held. 17 On the fifteenth day of this month there is to be a festival; for seven days eat bread made without yeast. 18 On the first day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. 19 Present to the Lord a food offeringconsisting of a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram and seven male lambs a year old, all without defect. 20 With each bull offer a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with oil; with the ram, two-tenths; 21 and with each of the seven lambs, one-tenth. 22 Include one male goat as a sin offering to make atonement for you. 23 Offer these in addition to the regular morning burnt offering. 24 In this way present the food offering every day for seven days as an aroma pleasing to the Lord; it is to be offered in addition to the regular burnt offering and its drink offering. 25 On the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.
The Festival of Weeks
26 “‘On the day of firstfruits, when you present to the Lord an offering of new grain during the Festival of Weeks, hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. 27 Present a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram and seven male lambs a year old as an aroma pleasing to the Lord. 28 With each bull there is to be a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with oil; with the ram, two-tenths; 29 and with each of the seven lambs, one-tenth. 30 Include one male goat to make atonement for you.31 Offer these together with their drink offerings, in addition to the regular burnt offering and its grain offering. Be sure the animals are without defect.
Go Deeper
In today’s reading Moses receives a clear picture of the consequences of sin. He was commanded by the Lord to carefully and constantly make the proper offering for sin. Picture this for a second: all the Israelites, enduring the heat of the wilderness all while constantly sacrificing animals to atone for their sin. Blood surrounded them and there seemed to be no end to this way of atonement. This was a messy site and God was making it abundantly clear to them that all sin requires blood. Every sin must be atoned for. They are to offer daily, Sabbath, monthly, Passover, and feast of weeks offerings. Yet even with the high demand for offerings being made, there were clear requirements for the lambs. They were all to be male lambs, a year old, and without blemish. Symbolically, the one with no blemish would die to cleanse the blemished.
On the 14th day of the first month, they were to remember the Lord’s deliverance of Passover. In Exodus 12 the Lord struck down all the firstborn of Egypt. However, for those who were marked by the blood, He would pass over and not destroy them. In light of God’s deliverance, they were to remember forever that the Lord saves those who are marked by the blood.
The Israelites longed for a day when the daily sacrifice would end and they could be made right with God forever. Years later, as John the Baptist saw Jesus approaching him, he takes us back to Numbers 28. Upon seeing Jesus, John said, “Behold, the perfect Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Jesus did, once and for all, what the sacrificial system could not. He would be hung on a tree He created to atone for the sins of the world and His blood shed. However, on the 3rd day, He rose to life and defeated death. Would we offer our bodies as a living sacrifice which is our spiritual worship (Romans 12:1) to the One who loves us and frees us from our sins by His blood (Revelation 1:5)?
Questions
- What do you think was the purpose of the different offerings for different occasions?
- How can you make a practice of keeping God’s deliverance at the forefront of your mind today?
- What is a way to offer yourself to God today as a “living sacrifice”?
A Quote
“That’s who Jesus Christ is. He became the final Priest and the final Sacrifice. Sinless, he did not offer sacrifices for himself. Immortal, he never has to be replaced. Human, he could bear human sins. Therefore he did not offer sacrifices for himself; he offered himself as the final sacrifice. There will never be the need for another. There is one mediator between us and God. One priest. We need no other. Oh, how happy are those who draw near to God through Christ alone.” – John Piper
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6 thoughts on “Numbers 28”
2 ‘Make sure that you present to me at the appointed time my food offerings, as an aroma pleasing to me.’
Fascinating all the specific instructions regarding offerings: specific animals, specific times, etc. These days when I think about “offerings”, my thought only goes to the passing of the offering plate in church. It was obviously so much more than that to the Israelites and therefore the need for Christ’s sacrifice was likely even better understood.
Sacrifice
Daily sacrifice should be giving of ourselves completely to God morning through night. (Romans 12:1-2)
Monthly sacrifice was a new sacrifice. Israel was to make a new start with each new month.
Then there are the annual religious events. This goes on into chapter 29.
Passover
This is for us now speaking to the death of Christ on the cross for the sins of the world..
Pentecost
50 days after Passover, is when Holy Spirit came and filled the believers with power for ministry.
Then the other feast next chapter.
We can learn from these feast, but what Jesus Christ did was the ultimate sacrifice. He is now our mediator, our High Priest. Our spiritual worship is to give Him ourselves daily of our bodies, speaking the gospel to reach the unreached, giving Him our “possession” for spiritual service, worship, praise, broken hearts and believing prayers.
God thank You for these minutes of this day. God I pray for all of them to be to your glory and honor. God help me see others through Your love goggles. Thank You for Your sacrifice of Your son and I pray this in the holy name of Jesus amen.
WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We can learn from these feasts, but what Jesus Christ did was the ultimate sacrifice. He is now our mediator, our High Priest. Our spiritual worship is to give Him ourselves daily of our bodies, speaking the gospel to reach the unreached, giving Him our “possession” for spiritual service, worship, praise, broken hearts and believing prayers.
What she said. Woo Hoo!
We read of offerings and festivals the Israelites were to make at God’s appointed times. Behind every ask/requirement of God was a divine purpose to bind the hearts of the people to His. All of these were a foreshadowing of the ultimate sacrifice, the Lamb of God, Jesus, who would die for the sins of all mankind. Through him, believers can become living sanctuaries where the Holy Spirit dwells. “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit” (1 Peter 3:28).
A way I can live like that sacrificially like Jesus did for us is sharing what he did, not fearing how other people might react.
The principles, the heart, the truth, the realities expressed here transfer over to the New Testament in the sense that we offer ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God. May He be glorified in our lives everyday.