Numbers 28:1-31

The Old Testament Book of Numbers

In the Desert

Numbers

Marion Adams

Chapter 28

Daily *offerings – Numbers 28:1-8

v1 The *LORD spoke to Moses. The *LORD said, v2 ‘Give these instructions to the *Israelites. Tell them to offer *sacrifices to me at the correct times, when they are *worshipping me. I will smell the smoke from these *offerings and it will please me.

v3 Each day, offer two male sheep that are one year old. These are the daily *burnt offerings.

These male sheep must not have anything wrong with them. v4 *Sacrifice one male sheep in the morning and the other one in the evening. v5 Mix together one *kilogram of the best flour with one litre of *olive oil. Offer this to me with the male sheep. This is a *grain offering. v6 This is the daily *offering that you burn completely. You offered it to me first at Sinai mountain as an *offering of food. The smell pleases me. v7 As you *sacrifice the first male sheep, you must pour one litre of wine on the *altar. This is a *wine offering. v8 Do the same things when you *sacrifice the second male sheep that evening. The smell of the smoke from these *sacrifices will please me.’

The next three Chapter s in the Book of Numbers contain various rules and instructions, especially about *offerings (also see Numbers 15:1-31). This may surprise us. The *Israelites were preparing to enter the *Promised Land. Perhaps, next we would expect to read about how they did this. But instead, the author of the Book of Numbers included this long description of rules and instructions.

Probably, the reason for this was to remind the new *generation that they must *worship God daily. It was very important to remember everything that God had done on their behalf. They had to thank him for all his good gifts, especially for the *Promised Land. They had to continue to *worship him together, even after they had *settled in the *Promised Land. They were God’s people. They should never forget this.

Verses 1-8 This first passage describes the daily *offerings that God wanted. God did not want the people to *worship him only on special occasions. He wanted them to *worship him every day. They would do this by means of daily *sacrifices.

God does not change. He is the same now. He wants us to *worship him every day, not only on Sunday, or special occasions. We do not need to *sacrifice animals. Jesus died on the *cross to be a *sacrifice on behalf of all people. But we need to please God. And to please God, we must believe that Jesus died as a *sacrifice on our behalf. We must accept him as our *Lord. We must love him and obey him. And we must become more like Jesus. We cannot do this without God’s help. We can do this only when we allow his *Holy Spirit to control us.

The *sacrifice during the *Sabbath – Numbers 28:9-10

v9 The *LORD said, ‘During the *Sabbath, you must *sacrifice two male sheep. The male sheep must be one year old. They must not have anything wrong with them. Give the *wine offering with them. And give a *grain offering of 2 *kilograms of the best flour with *olive oil. v10 This is the *burnt offering that you must offer every *Sabbath. You must offer it in addition to the usual *burnt offering and its *wine offering.’

Verses 9-10 These were the instructions for the *offerings that people had to make on every *Sabbath. The *Sabbath was the special day each week when the people had to rest from work (Exodus 20:8-11).

The monthly *offerings – Numbers 28:11-15

v11 ‘During the first day of every month, you must offer to the *LORD a *burnt offering. The *burnt offering must be two young *bulls, one adult male sheep and 7 young male sheep. The young male sheep must be one year old. They must not have anything wrong with them.

v12 Also offer a *grain offering with the *sacrifices. Mix together three *kilograms of the best flour with *olive oil. Offer it to me with each of the *bulls. Mix together two *kilograms of the best flour with *olive oil. Offer it to me with the adult male sheep. v13 Mix together one *kilogram of the best flour with *olive oil. Offer it to me with each young male sheep. The smell of the smoke from these *sacrifices will please me.

v14 Offer two litres of wine with each *bull. Offer one and a half litres of wine with the adult male sheep. Offer one litre of wine with each young male sheep. These are the *wine offerings.

These are the instructions for the *burnt offerings that you must offer every month. You must offer them on the first day of each month.

v15 Also, you must offer one male goat as a *sin offering. This is in addition to the usual daily *sacrifices.’

Verses 11-15 The *Israelites divided their calendar into months. A new month began on the day that the new moon appeared in the sky (Leviticus chapter 23). This was a happy occasion. On this day, the priests had to offer extra *sacrifices and *offerings. These *sacrifices and *offerings were in addition to the usual daily *offerings (see Numbers 28:1-8). They included a *sin offering of a male goat. This *offering was for *uncleanness (see Numbers 15:22-26).

The *sacrifices during the *Passover and the *Festival of Bread without *Yeast – Numbers 28:16-25

v16 The *LORD said, ‘You must *celebrate my *Passover on the 14^th day of the first month. v17 Then on the 15^th day of this month, a *festival will begin. It will last for 7 days. During the 7 days, you must eat bread that people have made without *yeast. v18 On the first day of the *festival, you must meet together to *worship me. You must not do any work. v19 *Sacrifice two young *bulls, one adult male sheep and 7 young male sheep that are one year old. These animals must not have anything wrong with them. Offer them to me, as *burnt offerings. v20 Offer to me the proper *grain offering with each animal. Mix together three *kilograms of the best flour and *olive oil. Offer it to me with each *bull. Offer two *kilograms of flour with the adult male sheep. v21 And offer one *kilogram of flour with each young sheep. v22 Also, *sacrifice one male goat as a *sin offering, so that I will forgive the people’s *sins. v23-24 Offer all these *sacrifices in addition to the daily *burnt offerings and *wine offerings during 7 days. The smoke from these *sacrifices will please me.

v25 On the last day of the *festival, again you must not do any work. You must meet together to *worship me.’

Verse 16 The *Passover was very important to the *Israelites. It reminded them that God rescued them from the country called Egypt. They were *slaves there, but God freed them. It happened during the first month of the *Israelites’ calendar. This month is during March and April in a modern calendar.

Verses 17-25 The *Festival of Bread without *Yeast lasted for 7 days. The *Israelites ate bread that had no *yeast in it. This reminded them about the time when they left Egypt. They left in a hurry. So there was no time to make bread with *yeast in it.

The priests offered the same *sacrifices that they offered at the beginning of every month. They offered these *sacrifices daily during the 7 days of the *festival. During the first and the last day of the *festival, the people met together to *worship God.

The *sacrifices during the *Harvest Festival – Numbers 28:26-31

v26 The *LORD said, ‘On the day of the *Harvest Festival, you must not do any work. You must meet together to *worship me. You must bring to me an *offering of new grain. v27 You must *sacrifice two young *bulls, one adult male sheep and 7 young male sheep that are one year old. These are *burnt offerings. The smell of the smoke will please me.

v28 Offer to me the proper *grain offering with each animal. Mix together three *kilograms of the best flour with *olive oil. Offer this to me with each *bull. Offer two *kilograms of flour with the adult male sheep. v29 Offer one *kilogram of flour with each of the young male sheep. v30 Also offer one male goat (as a *sin offering), so that I will forgive the people’s *sins. v31 Offer all these *sacrifices and the *wine offering in addition to the daily *burnt offerings and *grain offerings. Make sure that all the animals have nothing wrong with them.’

Verses 26-31 The people *celebrated the *Harvest Festival 50 days after the *Passover. God told the people to give to him the first of everything that they harvested. Levi’s *tribe could eat this (Numbers 18:12). Also, they offered extra *sacrifices to thank God for the harvest. In the *New Testament, this *festival is called ‘Pentecost’. God gave the *Holy Spirit to the *church at this *festival (Acts 2:1-13).

This *Harvest Festival was an opportunity to thank God for the grain harvest. However, this *festival happened before the fruit harvest began. So there was another *festival at the end of the harvest. You can read about that *festival (called the *Festival of Shelters) in Numbers 29:12-39. LORD ~ a special name for God that his people use. In Hebrew, it is Yahweh. This name means something like ‘I am’ or ‘always alive’.

Lord ~ one who rules. God is the Lord who rules everyone.

Hebrew ~ the language of the *Jews.
Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.
worship ~ to give honour to God and to thank him. Sometimes, people worship false gods.
kilogram ~ 1000 grams.

gram ~ a measurement of weight today. 28 grams make one ounce. 1000 grams make one kilogram.

'olive oil ~ oil that people make from fruit called *olives. They use the oil to cook food. Also, they put it on their hair and their bodies.'grain offering ~ an *offering of something that people made from grain.
altar ~ a special table where the priests burned animals or other gifts as a *sacrifice to God (or, to a false god).'wine offering ~ an *offering of wine that the priests poured on the altar.

altar ~ a special table where the priests burned animals or other gifts as a *sacrifice to God (or, to a false god).

'Promised Land ~ the country that God promised to give to Abraham and his *descendants.
settle ~ to decide to stay in a place and to make a home there.
cross ~ two pieces of wood that someone has fixed together. The Romans fixed people to a cross in order to execute them. (The Romans were people from the city called Rome. They ruled many countries during Jesus’ life on the earth.) Jesus died on a cross. The cross is now the sign of the *Christian *church.

execute ~ to kill a person legally because they are guilty of a crime.
LORD ~ a special name for God that his people use. In Hebrew, it is Yahweh. This name means something like ‘I am’ or ‘always alive’.

Lord ~ one who rules. God is the Lord who rules everyone.

Hebrew ~ the language of the *Jews.
holy ~ what God is like. God’s character: perfect, completely good with nothing bad in it. Separate from sin.

sin ~ the nature of all people since Adam chose not to obey God. People’s lives are not acceptable to God because of sin. ‘Sins’ are states, attitudes and acts that are not acceptable to God. A person sins whenever that person is guilty of a sin.
Sabbath ~ the Sabbath was the 7th day of the week (Saturday) which was special to the *Jews. It was the day on which the people had to rest from work (Exodus 20:8-11).'burnt offering ~ an animal that the priests burnt on the altar as a *sacrifice.

altar ~ a special table where the priests burned animals or other gifts as a *sacrifice to God (or, to a false god).
sin ~ the nature of all people since Adam chose not to obey God. People’s lives are not acceptable to God because of sin. ‘Sins’ are states, attitudes and acts that are not acceptable to God. A person sins whenever that person is guilty of a sin.
uncleanness ~ the state of something that is unclean.

unclean ~ in the Jewish religion, an unclean person could not go near to *God’s Tent or into the Israelites’ camp, depending on the type of uncleanness. There is no human way to explain what was clean or unclean. We know only because God has shown us, in the Bible.

Jewish ~ the word that describes a *Jew or anything that belongs to the *Jews.

Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.

clean ~ in the Jewish religion, this means something or someone that God accepts. People had to be clean in order to approach *God’s Tent. People had to be clean to be in the Israelites’ camp. There is no human way to explain what was clean or unclean. We know only because God has shown us, in the Bible.
Passover ~ an important holy day for the *Jews. They ate a special meal on this day every year. This was to remember that their families were *slaves in the country called Egypt. And, that God had freed them.
yeast ~ a substance that people use to make bread. It makes the bread rise.
celebrate ~ to do something special or to have a party on an important day or days.
yeast ~ a substance that people use to make bread. It makes the bread rise.'Harvest Festival ~ a *festival when the Israelites thanked God for the grain harvest. In the New Testament, this *festival is called ‘Pentecost’. (The *Festival of Shelters was a different *festival, when the Israelites thanked God for the fruit harvest.)

Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.

New Testament ~ the last part of the Bible, which the writers wrote after the life of Jesus on the earth. It is about the things that Jesus did. And it is about the things that he taught. It is also about the *church and what *Christians should believe.

'New Testament ~ the last part of the Bible, which the writers wrote after the life of Jesus on the earth. It is about the things that Jesus did. And it is about the things that he taught. It is also about the *church and what *Christians should believe.