THE CALENDAR & THE OFFERINGS

Posted by Angella Diehl, Webmaster on September 29, 2010 under AM Bible Study |

AM Bible Study Group; September 29, 2010

Numbers 28:1-29:40

Theme: This chapter describes the offerings that the Jewish people were to make throughout their calendar year in the promised land.

As the people of Israel prepared to enter the promised land, God gives them several instructions for life and worship. Among the instructions He gives are those regarding the regular feasts they were to observe—and the offerings that were to accompany those feasts.

In these two chapters, nothing new is told to us. All the feasts had already been prescribed in previous words of instruction; along with the offerings that were to accompany them. But here, they are all put together in concise form. These words of instruction primarily related to the work of the priests with respect to these feast days; but hearing the instructions concerning them would have certainly had an impact on the whole nation.

I. THE COMMAND (28:1-2).

A. The passage begins with God giving the command to Moses to command the children of Israel to observe these feasts and offerings. A significant point about their purpose is shown to us in that God calls them “My offering, My food for My offerings made by fire as a sweet aroma to Me”, which “you shall be careful to offer to Me at their appointed time”. The entire focus of these feasts and offerings was that the people were to render back to God the things that were His. They were to constantly—throughout the whole year—act in such a way as to devote all of life to Him (see Romans 12:1-2).

B. Why did God give this instruction now—before the people entered the land? It may have been because, as they entered the land, they were then able to fulfill them. But it may also have spoken of the great abundance they would enjoy in the land. As Gordon Wenham notes, tallying up the offerings throughout the year results in this figure: “Every year in future the priests will have to sacrifice 113 bulls, 32 rams and 1,086 lambs and offer more than a ton of flour and a thousand bottles of oil and wine” (Numbers [Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1981] p. 197). The closer they drew to the promised land, the more triumphantly God displayed their victorious future to them!

II. THE OFFERINGS (28:3-29:38).

It’s important to note that the offerings (see DIAGRAM 1, Offerings in Numbers 28-29) are all accompanied by the requisite grain, oil and wine offerings already ordained in Numbers 15:1-16 (See DIAGRAM 2, Grain, Oil and Wine Offerings). Note also that the offerings are described in a descending order of amounts in respect to the whole year (i.e., the daily offerings being mentioned first); and in a descending order of frequency (i.e., the daily offerings first, the weekly offerings next, the monthly offerings third, and then the annual offerings last).

A. The Daily (Morning and Evening) Offerings (28:3-8). Note here that the offering came in two stages—the morning offering and the evening offering. Both offerings were made in the same manner; but they speak of a devotion to God at the beginning and end of every day (see also Exodus 29:38-41).

B. The Weekly (Sabbath) Offerings (28:9-10). Every Sabbath was to involve its own offering in addition to the morning and evening offering. God thus reminded Israel weekly of their call to rest in Him.

C. The New Moon (Monthly) Offerings (28:11-15) Many pagan religions had “new moon” festivals. But this was not a matter of pagan ritual for Israel. It simply marked the beginning of each new month as belonging to the Lord; and was tied to the calendar as marked by the regular lunar cycle. It helped the people of Israel remember their obligations to God throughout the year and to keep their dependency upon Him before them constantly. Note that there was thus a reminder of their obligations to God in every regular cycle of the calendar—daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly.

D. The Yearly Offerings (28:16-29:38). These offerings were centered around the three great annual feasts that all males in Israel were required to return to Jerusalem to observe (see Exodus 23:14-19; also DIAGRAM 3, Calendar of Feasts in Numbers 28-29).

1. At the Feast of Unleavened Bread (28:16-25). This set of observances began with a remembrance of Passover (see Exodus 12:1-20), in which the people of Israel were spared while the Lord slew the firstborn of Egypt. They were required to remove all leaven from their homes during this time; and eat only unleavened bread throughout the seven days after Passover. This was a constant reminder of their holiness to the Lord (see also 1 Corinthians 5:7-8).

2. At Pentecost / the Feast of Weeks (28:26-31). After the first of the harvest had been collected, the people were to count out seven Sabbaths and observe the Feast of Weeks. This was a constant reminder to them of God’s gracious provision throughout the year (see Leviticus 23:15-21).

3. At the Feast of Trumpets (29:1-6). This marks the first observation of the seventh month—which is the most significant of the months of the Jewish calendar. By this time (September / October), harvest time has been largely completed. The people now have time to give themselves to the Lord in a significant way. This significant month was to begin with the blowing of trumpets—heralding the coming day of Atonement (see Leviticus 23:23-25).

4. At the Day of Atonement (29:7-11). The Day of Atonement, on the tenth day of the seventh month, was the day in which the high priest went into the Holy of holies alone to atone for the sins for the sins the people of Israel. (see Leviticus 16:29-34; 23:26-32).

5. At the Feast of Tabernacles (29:12-38). After the Day of Atonement, the people of Israel were called upon to live in shelters for a week. This was a reminder of their rest in the land of promise (see Leviticus 23:33-38). Note that the first feast cycle reminded them of God’s provision, the second of God’s atonement, and the third of God’s gracious rest.

III. CLOSING INSTRUCTIONS (29:39-40).

In closing, God reminded Moses that these were a matter of the people presenting themselves to the Lord. Moses was to pass these instructions on to the people as from the Lord Himself. They, together, speak to us today of our own walk with Jesus; “Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him” (1 John 3:24).

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