AM Bible Study Group; June 23, 2010

Numbers 15:1-41

Theme: This passage describes God’s call to the people—while beginning their forty-year wandering—to faithfully remember and faithfully do His commandments.

With this chapter, the sad forty-years of wandering in the desert begins—until that whole generation of the Exodus Israelites died out in the wilderness. The portion of the book of Numbers that deals with this tragic portion of Israel’s history is chapters 15-25; but beyond that, remarkably little is said to us about it. Brief reference is made to it in such passages as Deuteronomy 29:5-6; Joshua 5:4-8; Ezekiel 20:10-26; Amos 5:25-26; and Acts 7:42-43. But one of the most illuminating passage about it is Deuteronomy 8:2-6. There, we see that the wilderness wandering—though the result of the people’s rebellion—was nevertheless used by God to humble them and test them. And the intended lesson of it all was told to us in Deuteronomy 8:6; “Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him.”

That statement of purpose helps us to appreciate this chapter of the book of Numbers. At first glance, it seems out of place—giving instructions about offerings which make it seem more like something that should be found in the book of Leviticus than here. And yet, through giving these commands at the very beginning of the wanderings, God was both communicating to His disobedient people that He still intended to keep His promise to bring them to the land He was giving to them, and that He expected them to remember His commandments and be obedient to Him along the way.

God, in this chapter, commanded His people . . .

I. TO REMEMBER THE REGULATIONS FOR THE GRAIN OFFERINGS (vv. 1-21).

A. One of the first things that God commanded Moses to tell the people, after their sad wilderness wanderings began, was to make sure that they supplemented the regular offerings with grain offerings once they arrived in the land (vv. 1-12). Note how, at the beginning, God speaks what must have been a great word of encouragement to the people—”When you have come into the land you are to inhabit, which I am giving to you . . .” (v. 2). Praise Him! They disobeyed Him; but He had not abandoned them! They had refused to enter the land, but it will still become theirs! The types of offerings being described are told to us in verse 3; but with each, a grain offering, an offering of oil, and an offering of wine was to be included—symbolic portions of the fruitfulness of the land they were going to enter. Note that the amount of each was to increase with the greater offering—that is, 2 quarts of grain, one quart of oil, and one quart of wine with the offering of a lamb; four quarts of grain, 1.25 quarts of oil, and 1.25 quarts of wine for the ram; and 6 quarts of grain, 2 quarts of oil, and a 2 quarts of wine for the bull. The wine was probably poured out on the offering—sizzling and steaming upon it while it was burned. This was to be done with each individual offering.

B. This was to be a uniform regulation to be followed by everyone without exception (vv. 13-16). The rules were to be the same for those who were Israelites as for those who were resident aliens. This kept anyone from bringing the unholy pagan practices of the foreign people groups into the worship of the holy God of Israel.

C. In addition, they were to be sure—when they arrived in the land—to offer up a “heave” offering of the first of the grain of the land (vv. 17-21). The heave offering was one in which the offering was raised up to God symbolically. As soon as they arrived in the land to which they were going, and begin to receive the fruit of the land, they were to remember God with the first of it. This helped the people to always remember that He was the Provider of all the richness of the land that they would enjoy.

II. TO REMEMBER THE OFFERINGS FOR SIN (vv. 22-36).

A. God then commanded Moses to tell the people of Israel to make an offering for the congregation whenever they discover that they had failed to observe any of His commands (vv. 22-26). The second person plural is used in verse 22—that is, “you all”; so this had to do with the congregation as a whole, rather than an individual. Whatever the reason for the negligence of the details of the law, ignorance was not accepted as an excuse. Once it was discovered that the negligence had occurred, it was to be atoned for according to the ordinances of God.

B. Similarly, an offering was to be made for the individual Israelite, or the stranger living among them, who sinned unintentionally (vv. 27-29). This is distinct from the sins committed by the congregation as a whole. Even the individual that discovered his neglect of God’s law was to seek atonement for it.

C. This was not to be the case, however, for someone who sins against God with a hard and defiant heart (vv. 30-31). In the two cases above, the concern was over unintentional neglect. But here, the concern was over a sin with a defiant “high hand” against God. We can assume that there would be an atoning sacrifice accepted for a man who realized his sin and repented. But for the man who sinned with a hard heart and who would not repent, there was to be no atonement. Similarly, Jesus’ death atones for those who turn to God in repentance; but there is no atonement for those who keep their hearts hard toward God’s grace.

D. Sadly, the people’s obedience to this last command was put to a practical test (vv. 32-36). A man gathered sticks on the Sabbath, in what was clearly a defiant act with the intention of burning a fire in violation of God’s law (see Exodus 35:2-3). The people kept him in confinement until God made clear to them what was to be done; and God told them through Moses that he must be stoned to death by them. Thus, early on, God established the fact that hard-hearted sin has its consequences!

III. TO BEAR REMINDERS OF THE COMMANDMENTS (vv. 37-41).

A. Perhaps in part because of that last tragic event, the people were commanded by God to make tassels on the corners of their garments as reminders of the commandments of God (vv. 37-40). As Deuteronomy 22:12 says, this was to be done “on the four corners” of the clothing. The blue cord in relation to the tassel was similar to the color of the veil and the covering of the tabernacle (see Exodus 26:31, 36; Numbers 4:6) and of the high priest’s garments (Exodus 28:31, 37); and thus reminded the people of both the majesty holiness of God who dwelt in heaven, and of the fact that they themselves were a people set-apart unto Him—even as they wandered in the desert.

B. As if to impact the people with the seriousness of this need to remind the people of the commandments constantly—and to truly “be holy” for their God—He affirms to them, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD your God” (v. 41).

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What a reminder this passage is to us today—who travel through this fallen world on our way to our eternal home in Christ—of the kind of holiness that ought to characterize us in our journey! May keep Paul’s words to heart; “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:8-10).