Numbers 28
II. The Regulations of Offerings and Vows 28:1-30:16
A. The Regulations of Sacrifices 28:1-29:40
The New Unger's Bible Dictionary says about the Jewish festivals: "The date of every Mosaic festival without distinction, no matter what its special object may have been, gave evidence of being connected in some way or other with the number seven. So every seventh day, every seventh month, every seventh year, and last, the year that came after the lapse of seven times seven years, was marked by a festival. Again, the Passover and the feast of Booths (Tabernacles, KJV) extended over seven days; the number of special convocations (which see) during the year was seven-- two at the Passover, one at Pentecost, one at the feast of Trumpets (or New Moon), one on the Day of Atonement, and two at the feast of Booths."
This chapter, and the one following, give a very detailed description of the various sacrifices the people had to bring at precisely prescribed times. Commentators have wondered why this section appears at this point in the book of Numbers. Some think that it may have been inserted later by an editor of the book. One point to ponder is that the sacrifices mentioned required elements that were not available to Israel during their journey through the desert, such as grain and wine, and probably olive oil. This fact seems to justify the placements of these stipulations at the eve of the entrance into the promised land. God wanted to impress upon His people that the most important feature of their possession of the land was fellowship with Him through the ritual of sacrifices that were brought daily, weekly, monthly, and at other specified occasions.
The Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary introduces this chapter by saying: "Dr. Colenso cites this chapter as a proof of the continuous observance of the Mosaic ritual during the protracted sojourn in the wilderness, and then founds upon this alleged fact one of his strongest arguments for the unhistorical character of the Pentateuch, from the impossibility both of obtaining an adequate supply of victims and of three priests discharging all the requirements of so elaborate a service. All unprejudiced readers will deduce, from the renewal of instructions which had been given forty years before, a different conclusion-- namely, that the need of such minute details, and such injunctions as to care and regularity in observing the appointed institutions of religion, affords irresistible evidence that the whole sacrificial ritual had been suspended. In particular, offerings on the altar, and the observance of the stated solemnities, had been allowed so long to fall into desuetude that fresh directions had to be issued respecting both their nature and their obligation; and since these directions embraced such matters of prominence as the morning and the evening sacrifice, the continual burnt offering, and the Passover, the conviction is painfully forced upon us, that at the end of the thirty-eight years' wanderings the religious education of the Israelites had to be begun anew."
Matthew Henry's Commentary remarks about this: "These laws are here given afresh, not because the observance of them was wholly disused during their thirty-eight years' wandering in the wilderness (we cannot think that they were so long without any public worship, but that at least the daily lamb was offered morning and evening, and doubled on the sabbath day; so bishop Patrick conjectures); but that many of the sacrifices were then omitted is plainly intimated, Amos v. 25, quoted by Stephen, [Acts 7:42]. Did you offer unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel? It is implied, 'No, you did not.' But, whether the course of sacrifices had been interrupted or no, God saw fit now to repeat the law of sacrifices…."
There were sacrifices that had to be brought daily, every morning and evening (vs. 1-8). There was a special sacrifice for the Sabbath (vs. 9-10). Another sacrifice marked the beginning of each month (vs. 11-15). The Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread were to be celebrated by special sacrifices for the seven-day duration of the feast (vs. 16-25). This chapter ends with stipulations for the sacrifices for the Feast of First Fruits (vs. 26-31).a- The Daily Sacrifices vs. 1-8
The daily sacrifices were to be burnt offerings, or holocausts, details of which are given in Leviticus, although there it is presented as a personal sacrifice, not as a collective one.[ 1 ] This law had already been given in Exodus,[ 2 ] but it is doubtful that it had been carried out during the desert journey. The Pulpit Commentary remarks that the daily sacrifice "formed the foundation of the whole sacrificial system. Whatever else was offered was in addition to it, not in lieu of it."
The burnt offering made no reference to the sinful condition of man; it represented an act of pure worship which formed the foundation of the relationship between God and His creation. It expressed the love between the Father and the Son in a way that surpasses any earthly association. The holocaust conveyed a heavenly reality. The only indication that sin had come in, and had broken the beauty of the original concept was in the fact that there was death involved: the lamb had to die. The burnt offering portrays a reality that is so profound that it defies analysis. God wanted to imprint upon the minds of His people, through those sacrifices repeated twice daily, that they were dealing with a heavenly reality that surpasses human understanding. The holocaust goes far beyond atonement and restoration; it leads into the depth of God's grace, in that it not only makes man partaker of the divine nature, but it makes him share in the relationship between the Persons of the Godhead. It is a picture of the Son, giving Himself to the Father, not only because of His love for the Father, but because of His love for us. In the burnt offering God shares His deepest intimacy with us. It is a pleasing aroma, the sweetest smell imaginable.
Matthew Henry's Commentary remarks here: "The particular law of the daily sacrifice, a lamb in the morning and a lamb in the evening, which, for the constancy of it as duly as the day came, is called a continual burnt-offering (v. 3), which intimates that when we are bidden to pray always, and to pray without ceasing, it is intended that at least every morning and every evening we offer up our solemn prayers and praises to God."
The morning and evening sacrifice consisted of: a one-year-old lamb without defect, of a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a quarter of a hin of oil from pressed olives. TLB renders this in modern terms with: "three quarts of finely ground flour mixed with three pints of oil." The Good News Bible reads: "2 pounds of flour, mixed with 2 pints of the best olive oil." To this was to be added a quarter hin, or three pints (TLB), (Good News Bible: 2 pints (!)) of wine, to be poured out, probably not at the foot of the altar. The Hebrew word translated in the NIV with fermented drink is shekar, which Strongs' Definitions describes as "an intoxicant, i.e. intensely alcoholic liquor," translated in the KJV with "strong wine." It would strike us as strange that such, obviously potent, liquor would be used in the worship service. The New Unger's Bible Dictionary writes about this kind of "wine": "Heb. shekar (an 'intoxicant'), an inebriating drink, whether the wine prepared or distilled is from barley, honey, or dates, yayin referring more particularly to wine made from grapes. Shekar is usually rendered 'strong drink' [Num. 28:7; cf. Ps. 69:12]. The liquors included under shekar might therefore be pomegranate wine, palm wine, apple wine, honey wine, or perhaps even beer, for some have identified it with the liquor obtained from barley by the Egyptians. The word is used in the following passages in such a manner as to show decisively that it denotes an intoxicating drink: [Lev. 10:9], where the priests are forbidden to drink wine, or shekar, when they go into the Tabernacle; [1 Sam. 1:15], where Hannah, charged with drunkenness by Eli, replies it was not so—'I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink [shekar]'; [Ps. 69:12], where the psalmist complains, 'I am the song of the drunkard'; [Prov. 31:4-5], 'It is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to desire strong drink [shekar], lest they drink and forget what is decreed'; [Isa. 5:22], 'Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine, and valiant men in mixing strong drink [shekar]' (cf. [28:7]; [29:9])." The Adam Clarke Commentary gives the following clarification about the substance: "The word sheekaar …, from shaakar …, 'to inebriate,' signifies any kind of fermented liquors. This is exactly the same prohibition that was given in the case of John Baptist, [Luke 1:15],… 'wine and sikera he shall not drink.' Any inebriating liquor, says Jerome, …, is called sicera, whether made of corn (grain), apples, honey, dates, or other fruit. One of the four prohibited drinks among the Mohammedans in India is called sakar, …, which signifies inebriating drink in general, but especially date wine or arrack." The Pulpit Commentary suggests that after the settlement in Canaan this strong drink was replaced by regular wine, and that, at the time of the giving of this commandment the use of shecar was allowed, because no regular wine was available. The commentary weakens this opinion, however, when it says: "It is certainly remarkable that the mention of shecar should be retained at a time when wine must have been easily obtainable, and was about to become abundant (Deut. Viii. 8)."
It is obvious from the above that the substance used in the drink offering was not the wine that was used commonly among the Jews, but strong intoxicating stuff. It certainly was not the same as what Jesus took during the last Passover celebration, saying: "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." [ 3 ] So, we can hardly see in this ritual an image of the death of Christ. If it is an image of any spiritual reality at all, it could be taken as a symbol of the power of the Holy Spirit, which can be said to have an inebriating effect upon people.
The fact that this kind of strong liquor was used brings us to the question as to how it was poured out? We mentioned above that it was probably not poured out at the foot of the altar. The high alcohol content would make it more likely that it was poured out over the burning embers on the altar, so that the fire would flame up and consume the sacrificial animal more rapidly. This would make the burnt offering a very impressive, and flamboyant display. The Sacrifice on the Sabbath (vs. 9-10)
The sacrifice brought on the Sabbath was the same as the daily sacrifice, but it was doubled. This was brought in addition to the daily sacrifice, so in reality three lambs were sacrificed in the morning and three in the evening, accompanied by the required amount of flour, oil, and wine. It is difficult to probe the depths of meaning of this Sabbath celebration. It may be farfetched to see in the number three a reference to the Trinity. Before the fall, the Sabbath was the day of celebration of creation. After God had pronounced all of creation very good, we read: "And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done." After the entrance of sin, the observance of the Sabbath changed its character. At the giving of the Ten Commandments there is, initially, a reference to the completion of creation. We read in Exodus: "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."[ 4 ] But in Deuteronomy the commemoration of the Sabbath is linked to the deliverance from slavery. We read there: "Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor the alien within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest, as you do. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.[ 5 ] Jesus made it a point to perform His greatest miracles of healing on the Sabbath. He said to the people of His days: "Now if a child can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing the whole man on the Sabbath?"[ 6 ] God meant the Sabbath to be the day of healing of the whole man. We may, therefore, be safer if we consider the sacrifice of the three lambs to refer to the healing of the whole man: body, soul, and spirit. The Sabbath is the day of celebration of deliverance in the widest sense of the word.The New Moon Sacrifice vs. 11-15
This monthly celebration was more elaborate than the previous ones. It consisted of the sacrifice of two young bulls, one ram and seven male lambs a year old, all without defect, each with the accompanying grain offering, consisting of flour, olive oil, and wine. An unusual feature of the celebration was the addition of one male goat as a sin offering (vs. 15). The celebration at the beginning of the seventh month was even more elaborate, as we shall see in the following chapter.
The Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary writes about this observance: "The beginning of the month was known, not by astronomical calculations, but, according to Jewish writers, by the testimony of messengers appointed to watch the first viable appearance of the new moon, and then the fact was announced through the whole country by signal-fires kindled on the mountaintops. The new moon festivals having been common among the pagan, it is probable that an important design of their institution in Israel was to give the minds of that people a better direction; and assuming this to have been one of the objects contemplated, it will account 'for one of the kids being offered unto the Lord' [Num. 28:15], not unto the moon, as the Egyptians and Syrians did. The Sabbath and the new moon are frequently mentioned together."
Matthew Henry's Commentary writes the following about this celebration: "Some suggest that, as the sabbath was kept with an eye to the creation of the world, so the new moons were sanctified with an eye to the divine providence, which appoints the moon for seasons, guiding the revolutions of time by its changes, and governing sublunary bodies (as many think) by its influences. Though we observe not any feast of new moons, yet we must not forget to give God the glory of all the precious things put forth by the moon which he has established for ever, a faithful witness in heaven, [Ps. 89:37]. The offerings in the new moons were very considerable, two bullocks, a ram, and seven lambs, with the meat-offerings and drink-offerings that were to attend them (v. 11, etc.), besides a sin-offering, v. 15. For, when we give glory to God by confessing his mercies, we must give glory to him likewise by confessing our own sins; and, when we rejoice in the gifts of common providence, we must make the sacrifice of Christ, that great gift of special grace, the fountain and spring-head of our joy. Some have questioned whether the new moons were to be reckoned among their feasts; but why should they not, when, besides the special sacrifices which were then to be offered, they rested from servile works [Amos 8:5], blew the trumpets [Num 10:10], and went to the prophets to hear the word? [2 Kin. 4:23]. And the worship performed in the new moons is made typical of gospel solemnities, [Isa. 66:23]."
In a way, all the feasts in this chapter are a celebration of time. The daily sacrifices are governed by the relationship between the earth and the sun. The Sabbath marks the end of the whole of creation of the heavens and the earth. The months are marked by the waxing and waning of the moon, and the beginning of the year was commemorated by the Passover, the deliverance from the bondage of Egypt.
Our understanding of time is rather limited, as is our understanding of its counterpart: eternity. Albert Einstein enlarged the horizon of human understanding somewhat by adding time as a fourth dimension. Obviously, God wants us to have some understanding of time as we experience it, since it is linked to the transient character of our existence on earth, as opposed to eternity beyond. Death may have cast its shadow upon time, but it remains true that God created time to mark our life on earth, and consequently we are called upon to celebrate it.
The addition of the sin offering of a male goat sets this celebration apart from the previous ones. This is the first direct reference to man's fallen condition in this series of feasts. The suggestion seems to be that the fall has not changed God's desire for man to celebrate, or, as Matthew Henry's Commentary puts it: "When we give glory to God by confessing his mercies, we must give glory to him likewise by confessing our own sins; and, when we rejoice in the gifts of common providence, we must make the sacrifice of Christ, that great gift of special grace, the fountain and spring-head of our joy." d. The Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread vs. 16-25
The Passover, which was celebrated on the fourteenth day of the month Abib, or Nisan, marked the beginning of the New Year. The first day of the month was, of course, commemorated with the feast of the New Moon. The Lord had said to Moses in Egypt about the month in which the Exodus took place: "This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year."[ 7 ]
The fourteenth day was the actual Passover celebration. At this point no reference is made to the details of the Passover celebration. It was usually observed later in the afternoon. According to The New Unger's Bible Dictionary, the Pharisees and rabbis understood that the time for the killing of the lamb should be "when the sun begins to descend to its real setting (from 3:00 to 6:00 P.M.)." Since at 6 PM the date changed from the 14th to the 15th, the Passover blended naturally into the Feast of Unleavened Bread. On this 15th day the special sacrifice of two young bulls, one ram and seven male lambs a year old, and one male goat as a sin offering was to be brought. The difference between the sacrifice of the first seven animals and the last one is that the first sacrifice, again, made no reference to the sinful condition of man. It was a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. The first and the last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread were to be observed in the same way as the regular Sabbath, in abstaining from regular work. It was a week-long celebration, not only of redemption from the slavery of Egypt, but of the yeast of sin; a celebration of the purity of the new life. The Apostle Paul refers to this when he says: "Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast-- as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth."[ 8 ] The Feast of First Fruits vs. 26-31
This chapter ends with an enumeration of the sacrifices to be brought at the Feast of First Fruits. The sacrifice is identical to the one that had to be brought the day of the New Moon and the Passover.
One of the problems in the text as it reads in the NIV is that the Feast of First Fruits seems to be blended together with the Feast of Pentecost, or the Feast of Weeks. The Hebrew, apparently, does not have the word "feast" at this place. The KJV, therefore, reads: "after your weeks [be out]." This reading does not make the text any clearer, but it does alleviate a discrepancy between these verses and the ones in Leviticus, that deal with these celebrations.[ 9 ] The sacrifice prescribed here, may be only the one for the day the first fruits were presented before the Lord, and not for the feast of Pentecost.
If the Passover was a celebration of the death of Christ, the Feast of the First Fruits, pointed in the direction of His resurrection. As the Apostle Paul says: "But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep."[ 10 ] The full harvest, exemplified in the Feast of Pentecost, is the birth of the Church.
[ 1 ]
See Lev. ch. 1
[ 2 ]
Ex. 29:38-42
[ 3 ]
Matt. 26:28
[ 4 ]
Ex. 20:8-11
[ 5 ]
Deut. 5:13-15
[ 6 ]
John 7:23
[ 7 ]
Ex. 12:2
[ 8 ]
I Cor. 5:7-8
[ 9 ]
See Lev. 23:9-22
[ 10 ]
I Cor. 15:20
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