EasyEnglish Bible Commentaries
Numbers 29:1-40
The Old Testament Book of Numbers
In the Desert
Numbers
Marion Adams
Chapter 29
The *sacrifices during the *Festival of the *Trumpets – Numbers 29:1-6
v1 ‘On the first day of the 7th month, meet together to *worship me. You must not do any work. You must sound the *trumpets on that day. v2 Offer to me a *burnt offering of one young *bull and one adult male sheep. Also offer 7 male sheep that are one year old. These animals must not have anything wrong with them. The smell of the smoke from these *sacrifices will please me.
v3 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 the young *bull. Offer two *kilograms of flour with the adult male sheep. v4 Offer one *kilogram of flour with each young male sheep.
v5 Also offer one male goat as a *sin offering, so that I will forgive the people’s *sins. v6 Offer these *sacrifices in addition to the regular monthly *burnt offerings, *grain offerings and *wine offerings. Offer these *sacrifices in addition to the daily *burnt offerings, *grain offerings and *wine offerings. The smell of the smoke from these *sacrifices will please me.’
Verses 1-6 Although this was the 7th month in the calendar, the *Israelites considered it the beginning of their new year. And during the same month, there was the special day when the *Israelites asked God to forgive their *sins (Numbers 29:7).
The *Israelites sounded the *trumpets on this special day at the start of the new year. They did not work. They met together to *worship God and to offer extra *sacrifices to him.
The special day when you remember that God forgives *sin – Numbers 29:7-11
v7 The *LORD said, ‘During the 10th day of the 7th month, you must gather for a *sacred meeting. During that day, you must not eat. And you must not carry on your work. v8 Offer a *burnt offering to me. The smell of the smoke pleases me. Offer to me one young *bull, one adult male sheep and 7 male sheep that are one year old. These animals must not have anything wrong with them.
v9 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 the young *bull. Offer two *kilograms of flour with the adult male sheep. v10 Offer one *kilogram of flour with each young male sheep. v11 Also offer one male goat as a *sin offering. Offer this goat in addition to the other goat that you will offer on that day. You will offer that other goat so that I will forgive the people’s *sins. Offer these *sacrifices in addition to the usual daily *sacrifices and *offerings.
Verses 7-11 During this very special and important day, people did not eat anything. They did this to show that they were sorry because of their *sins. They showed that they were truly humble. They did not do anything in order to please themselves. Also, the people did not do any work. Everyone met together to *worship God.
This passage tells us about the extra *sacrifices that they offered. But also it refers to the special ceremony for that day. This ceremony happened yearly, on this one day only. The *High Priest would enter the *Most Holy Place alone. He splashed blood from the *sacrifices there. Also, he splashed the blood outside in *God’s Tent and on the *altar. Then, he took a *live goat and he laid his hands on its head. He told God all the *sins that the people had done that year. This meant that the goat was carrying the people’s *sins. A man took the goat away into the *desert and he left it there. By means of these *sacrifices and the *live goat, God could forgive people’s *sins and *uncleanness. Leviticus chapter 16 describes this ceremony.
Still, *Jews consider this *festival to be very important. Also, it reminds *Christians that Jesus died as a *sacrifice on behalf of all people. He offered his own blood in front of God, his Father, in the real *Most Holy Place in heaven. We do not need any other *sacrifices (Hebrews Chapter s 9 and 10). His death paid for the *sins of us all. We must sincerely confess our *sins to God, and we must trust him. If we do these things, God forgives us completely.
The *sacrifices during the *Festival of Shelters – Numbers 29:12-40
v12 The *LORD said, ‘Meet together to *worship me on the 15th day of the 7th month. You must not do any work. *Celebrate this *festival for 7 days to show that you respect me. v13 During the first day, offer to me a *burnt offering. The smell of the smoke from this *sacrifice will please me. Offer to me 13 young *bulls, two adult male sheep and 14 young male sheep that are one year old. These animals must not have anything wrong with them. v14 Offer to me the proper *grain offerings 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 each adult male sheep. v15 Offer one *kilogram of flour with each young male sheep. v16 Also offer a male goat as a *sin offering. Offer these *sacrifices in addition to the daily *sacrifices and *offerings.
v17-34 During each day of the next 6 days, *sacrifice one less *bull than you *sacrificed during the day before. So during the 7th day, you will *sacrifice 7 *bulls. All the other *sacrifices and *offerings remain the same during each of the 7 days.
v35 On the 8th day, meet together to *worship me. You must not do any work. v36 Offer to me a *burnt offering. The smell of the smoke will please me. Offer to me one *bull, one male sheep and 7 male sheep that are one year old. These animals must not have anything wrong with them. v37 Also offer to me the proper *grain offerings and *wine offerings with each animal. v38 And *sacrifice a male goat as a *sin offering. Offer these *sacrifices in addition to the daily *sacrifices and *offerings.
v39 These are the rules about *sacrifices and *offerings at *festivals. During your *festivals, offer to me *burnt offerings, *grain offerings, *wine offerings and *peace offerings. In addition, offer the *sacrifices that you give to me as a gift, or because of a promise.’
v40 Moses told the people all the commands that the *LORD had given to him.
Verses 12-38 Probably, the *Festival of Shelters was a *festival to *celebrate the harvest of *grapes and *olives. It was the greatest of the *Jewish *festivals. It was called ‘the *festival of the *LORD’ (Leviticus 23:41). Leviticus 23:39-43 records God’s instructions that the *Israelites had to live in shelters during the 7 days. This reminded them about their journey to the *Promised Land. In the *desert, they had not built proper houses. They had lived in tents or shelters so that they could travel easily.
During the *Festival of Shelters, the priests *sacrificed more *bulls and male sheep than during all other occasions. *Bulls and male sheep were the most valuable animals. The large number of very expensive *sacrifices and *offerings emphasised that the people were very happy. They wanted to thank God for all that he had done on their behalf. They wanted to show that they were grateful.
Verses 39-40 In addition to these *offerings, the people could give their own private *offerings. These included *offerings that they had promised to give for a particular reason. Also, it included *offerings to thank God for something that he had done for them personally.
worship ~ to give honour to God and to thank him. Sometimes, people worship false gods.'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).
'grain offering ~ an *offering of something that people made from grain.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.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.
Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.
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.
sacred ~ special for God. ‘Sacred’ means that something is separate from other things, for God’s purposes only.'High Priest ~ the most important priest.'Most Holy Place ~ the smaller room in *God’s Tent. The Ark was in that room.
Ark ~ a wooden box that contained things that were special to the Israelites. God said that he would meet his people at the Ark. It was a *symbol that God was there in a special way.
Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.
altar ~ a special table where the priests burned animals or other gifts as a *sacrifice to God (or, to a false god).
live ~ alive.
desert ~ a dry region, or a region where there is just a little water. A few wild plants are able to grow in some deserts. So people who are travelling can live in these deserts in their tents. And they can lead animals through the desert. The Israelites lived in a desert for nearly 40 years.
Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.
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.
celebrate ~ to do something special or to have a party on an important day or days.
peace ~ a calm and content attitude, even when there are problems.
celebrate ~ to do something special or to have a party on an important day or days.
Jewish ~ the word that describes a *Jew or anything that belongs to the *Jews.'Promised Land ~ the country that God promised to give to Abraham and his *descendants.