Numbers 28

Verses 1-10

1. “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2. Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, My offering, and my bread for my sacrifices made by fire, for a sweet savour unto me, shall ye observe to offer unto me in their due season.
3. And thou shalt say unto them, This is the offering made by fire which ye shall offer unto the LORD; two lambs of the first year without spot day by day, for a continual burnt offering.
4. The one lamb shalt thou offer in the morning, and the other lamb shalt thou offer at even;
5. And a tenth part of an ephah of flour for a meat offering, mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil.
6. It is a continual burnt offering, which was ordained in mount Sinai for a sweet savour, a sacrifice made by fire unto the LORD.”
7. And the drink offering thereof shall be the fourth part of an hin for the one lamb: in the holy place shalt thou cause the strong wine to be poured unto the LORD for a drink offering.
8. And the other lamb shalt thou offer at even: as the meat offering of the morning, and as the drink offering thereof, thou shalt offer it, a sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.
9. And on the sabbath day two lambs of the first year without spot, and two tenth deals of flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, and the drink offering thereof:
10. This is the burnt offering of every sabbath, beside the continual burnt offering, and his drink offering.”

After Moses was shown that his time on earth was almost over, God spoke to him again – the penalty for the ‘rock’ incident had a big effect on Moses’ life, but he continued to lead the people until the end. It reminds me that no matter what sin we commit, even if we have to suffer the consequences after repenting, God can still use us, as He did with Moses. In this case, Moses was to teach the people to continue in their observances, vital for their new life in Canaan. They were to remember and enact everything demanded by God, exactly as commanded and on the right days. By doing this, God made the people sturdy in godliness and therefore resilient in life. It is only when we are internally strong that we can face what the world throws at us.

God speaks of the “offering made by fire” – consisting of two first-year lambs, spotless. This was to be ‘continual’ – perpetual. That is, until Christ made Himself the eternal sacrifice. One lamb was offered in the morning and the second in the evening. One tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a quarter of a hin of ‘beaten oil’, was the meat offering. The olives were pounded until they exuded pure oil. An ephah of flour is equal to about 40 litres, so the amount used was roughly 4 litres. A ‘hin’ of oil is equal to about 6 litres, so the amount used was 1.5 litres. God reminds Moses that this arrangement was already known to him, from his time on Mount Sinai, when God gave him many laws plus the Decalogue.

The drink offering was also 1.5 litres for one lamb in the morning, and was of ‘strong wine’, šēḵār. Jews could drink higher-alcohol strong wine or lesser wine with low alcohol. The stronger type was given to God, but also used to become intoxicated (though, mainly, all wine was usually watered-down). The second lamb was accompanied by the same strong wine in the evening.

On the Sabbath the flour offering was two tenths (one fifth of an ephah), mixed with oil as before and with the same drink offering. The ‘sabbath’ is not defined (there were various sabbaths (which were days or times of rest and/or celebration). However, there is also a weekly sabbath, which we may safely assume is the seventh-day of rest, as it is the first to be instituted by God. It is this kind of detail that shows me that all of scripture is true and of importance. These texts also tell us that we must obey to the letter when God makes a demand. Moses lost his opportunity to enter Canaan by adding a small thing to what God said: likewise, we might suffer privation or penalty for doing something similar. Therefore, we must take heed, even of things now past.

(Note: amounts of flour etc., can have various meanings according to the writer).

Verses 11-15

11. “And in the beginnings of your months ye shall offer a burnt offering unto the LORD; two young bullocks, and one ram, seven lambs of the first year without spot;
12. And three tenth deals of flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, for one bullock; and two tenth deals of flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, for one ram;
13. And a several tenth deal of flour mingled with oil for a meat offering unto one lamb; for a burnt offering of a sweet savour, a sacrifice made by fire unto the LORD.
14. And their drink offerings shall be half an hin of wine unto a bullock, and the third part of an hin unto a ram, and a fourth part of an hin unto a lamb: this is the burnt offering of every month throughout the months of the year.
15. And one kid of the goats for a sin offering unto the LORD shall be offered, beside the continual burnt offering, and his drink offering.”

There was to be a sacrifice at the start of each new month… because every day and every second belongs to God and not us, and every moment is owed to Him, along with our praises and devotion. It was to be a burnt offering of two young bullocks, one ram, and seven one year old spotless lambs. These were accompanied by three-tenth weights of flour mixed with oil for one bullock. These were given along with one ram and one fifth of the mixture. The priests had to be very sure of amounts and animals, with no errors. Today, we tend to treat ‘small’ sins with rare regard for their importance – we must observe what God demands of us, without adding or removing our personal quirks! God is VERY precise.

One lamb had a ‘several tenth deal’ of flour mingled with oil. This appears to say that what was applied to one lamb also applied to them all (several). The drink offering was to be half an hin of (strong?) wine for one bullock, one third of an hin for one ram, a quarter of an hin for a lamb… repeated every start of each month. Besides all this, one kid was also sacrificed as a sin offering.

Verses 16-23

16. “And in the fourteenth day of the first month is the passover of the LORD.
17. And in the fifteenth day of this month is the feast: seven days shall unleavened bread be eaten.
18. In the first day shall be an holy convocation; ye shall do no manner of servile work therein:
19. But ye shall offer a sacrifice made by fire for a burnt offering unto the LORD; two young bullocks, and one ram, and seven lambs of the first year: they shall be unto you without blemish:
20. And their meat offering shall be of flour mingled with oil: three tenth deals shall ye offer for a bullock, and two tenth deals for a ram;
21. A several tenth deal shalt thou offer for every lamb, throughout the seven lambs:
22. And one goat for a sin offering, to make an atonement for you.
23. Ye shall offer these beside the burnt offering in the morning, which is for a continual burnt offering.”

At the beginning of each year a special sabbath took place to remember the Passover in Egypt. This took place on the fourteenth day of the month. Starting the day after the Passover (the fifteenth day) was seven days of eating of unleavened bread. On the first day of unleavened bread, there was a mandatory meeting of all the Israelites (an holy convocation) when a reading was given, probably of the exodus from Egypt. On that day no work could be done. (All similar to the western day of rest, Sunday).

On that first day there was to be a sacrifice of two bullocks, one ram, seven first year spotless lambs, with flour mixed with oil. Three-tenth deals of flour per bullock, one-fifth for a ram, and tenth deals for every lamb. One goat was to be given as a sin offering that would atone for the whole nation… just as, much later, Christ gave us atonement by His sacrifice. All this was beside the continual morning burnt offering.

Verses 24&25

24. “After this manner ye shall offer daily, throughout the seven days, the meat of the sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD: it shall be offered beside the continual burnt offering, and his drink offering.
25. And on the seventh day ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work.”

All the above was to be done each day of the seven days. Then, on the seventh day of unleavened bread, there was another day of rest when all of Israel met together and no work could be done.

Verses 26-31

26. “Also in the day of the firstfruits, when ye bring a new meat offering unto the LORD, after your weeks be out, ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work:
27. But ye shall offer the burnt offering for a sweet savour unto the LORD; two young bullocks, one ram, seven lambs of the first year;
28. And their meat offering of flour mingled with oil, three tenth deals unto one bullock, two tenth deals unto one ram,
29. A several tenth deal unto one lamb, throughout the seven lambs;
30. And one kid of the goats, to make an atonement for you.
31. Ye shall offer them beside the continual burnt offering, and his meat offering, (they shall be unto you without blemish) and their drink offerings.”

Then came instructions for the “day of the firstfruits”. This is still practised in many churches – called the Harvest Festival, but only as a symbol, for today most people do not grow their own food. On that day the first and best fruits were given to God, because it is He Who feeds the world. A new meat offering was to be made and on the seventh day the people were to rest (Sabbath) and to meet together.

A burnt offering was made – two bullocks, one ram and seven lambs. Added was flour mixed with oil: three-tenths deals for one bullock, one fifth for a ram, and deals for each lamb. One goat-kid was taken as an offering of atonement. All these were in addition to the continual offerings. There were twice as many sacrifices on a Sabbath.

© 01 December 2024

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