Bible Commentaries
Numbers 29

Verses 1-40

1. INTRO:
   1. Bird’s eye view of 28,29(much like Lev.23): Daily Offerings (daily sacrifices); Weekly (Sabbath rest); Monthly (new moon; lunar calendar); Yearly.
   2. Quick recap of what each of these feasts/holy days/offerings were:
      1. Passover - Angel of death flew over homes, left alone those covered by the blood on doorposts. Appl: blood covers.
      2. Unleaven bread - The whole week after Passover. Sweep house clean. Appl: no leaven/no sin.
      3. Feast of Weeks - 50 days(Pentecost) after 1st fruits; 1st fruits was a TY for entire Harvest. Appl: God meets our needs.
      4. Feast of Trumpets - Rosh Hashanah(head of the year). Beginning of Civil year. Convocation=Gathering. Blow shofar/trumpet.
      5. Day of Atonement - Yom Kippur(Day of Atonement). “Make amends; Set things right.” - 2 Key words: Substitution (Jesus didn’t die for Himself, but for us) & Satisfaction (Jesus satisfied God’s holy justice. He received His wrath for us).
      6. Feast of Tabernacles - Sukkot (booths) Thanksgiving feast at end of Harvest.
2. DEITY’S DELIGHT!
   1. Vs2 gives a condensed statement that becomes the key that unlocks the contents of 28,29
      1. My offering - (ןָּבְרֻק)My gift {qorban/corban} (Mark 7:11 Corbon/“it is a gift of God” was spoken over money/offering so they wouldn’t have to help mom or dad…”sorry it’s God’s!”)
      2. My food - (םֶחֶל)My bread.
      3. My offering - (הֶּׁשִא)(esh-shah) My fire offering.
      4. A sweet aroma to me - My sweet odor/fragrance.
   2. 13x’s sin-offering is mentioned (not starting till vs.15) yet this isn’t the great prominent subject
      1. There are 71 verses in these 2 chapters; 13 allude to the sin-offering. The remaining 58 are occupied with a sweet-savor offerings. [30 to burnt offering]
      2. The special theme here is God’s delight in Christ! How? Well Christ became & fulfilled each of these sacrifices/offerings.
         1. Morning & evening, day by day, week by week, from one new moon to another, from the opening to the close of the year; it is Christ in His fragrance & preciousness towards God.
         2. Yes, it is thanks be to God, & to Jesus Christ His Son, our sin is atoned for, judged, put away forever, our trespasses forgiven & guilt cancelled; but above & beyond this, the heart of God is fed, refreshed, & delighted by Christ.
   3. My Food!!!
      1. God’s food here referred to was not that which the priests received as their due, but rather the food that went up in smoke at the fire offerings. The thought is that God eats & drinks with his worshipers, which, far from being a primitive notion, is carried over into the NT in the parallel ordinance of the Lord’s Table, the Communion. (The Wycliffe Bible Commentary; pg.147,148)
      2. My food is to do the will of the Father Jn.4:34 But what about the Father’s Food?
      3. God the Father eats & drinks in your worship, your devotions, your songs, your service, your meditation, your ministry, your living sacrifices.
         1. How fat is your God? I mean, are you contributing to His table? Or are you just showing up to heaven’s potluck & eating w/o bringing anything?
   4. So the burnt offering is Christ towards God(30); the sin offering is Christ towards us(13)
      1. Israel needed God’s forgiveness. Since they sinned regularly, they needed regular sacrifices.
         1. If they left sin unchecked then they couldn’t expect a holy God to honor them.
         2. YES, a 1000 times yes, what Christ did for us, but also what He is to God!
      2. But the leading idea is Christ as a sweet savor. The sin offering is never lacking; but the sweet-savor offerings get the prominent place!
      3. God delights in Christ, & it should be our constant aim to present to God that in which He delights.
   5. Public reunions & private devotions; assemblies & individualities; crowds & closets.
      1. Both are important, both are necessary, for the equipping of the saints.
   6. What do we as Christians celebrate: daily, weekly, monthly, yearly? (ask?)
      1. Daily? - Celebrate our personal relationship with Jesus via our devotions.
      2. Weekly? - Celebrate the Lords Day by gathering/worshiping together. (or Wed)
      3. Monthly? - Celebration of Communion together 1st Sun; Potluck Fellowship. (in our Calv Mur culture)
      4. Yearly? - Celebration of Jesus birth, death, & res.
   7. We don’t bring animal sacrifices anymore, instead we present our bodies to the Lord as living sacrifices. Rom.12:1,2
      1. NKJV - I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
      2. NLT - And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice - the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.
      3. Message - So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life - your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life - and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.
   8. It was easy for these sacrifices to become mere ritual. See Amos 5:21-24 (Is. 1:11-18)
      1. The prophets condemned their misuse.
      2. They give us a clue to there purpose & God’s real requirements.
      3. They were playing Church! [Hypocrites in their finest hour!]
         1. Religious activities + generous gifts to God = A happy God? (Nope!) b) Don’t seek religious services…seek the Lord!
      4. (24) Justice – God wants Justice to flow like a mighty river that cleanses society of evil & refreshes everything it touches! (Like a good rain!)
         1. African Proverb, Corn can't expect justice from a court composed of chickens.
   9. The special annual feasts could not take the place of the regular offerings.
      1. And neither can ours!!!
      2. Example: one whom I’ll call, “Easter man” - only comes on Easter.
      3. The way to become more spiritual is to strengthen the regular worship day after day, & then the special times of worship, will do us more good.
      4. Never neglect the regular burnt offering.
         1. The word regular is use 17 x’s in Numb 28,29. A reminder that the daily routine is important to God & to us. [Are you regular?] :)
         2. It’s His Food!
   10. “Will you please tell me in a word,” said a Christian woman to a minister, “what your idea of consecration is?” Holding out a blank sheet of paper the pastor replied, “It is to sign your name at the bottom of this blank sheet, and to let God fill it in as He will.”
       1. Consecrate = To make sacred; dedicate.
   11. The Scriptures were not given for our information, but for our transformation. (D. L. Moody, Source unknown)
   12. If Thou canst make so wonderful This thrilling thing—a tree, I wonder, Lord, what Thou couldst make If man should yield to Thee;If every time earth-born root Drank from the wells of God, If all day long his every breath Answered Thy slighted not? Bent, twisted, gnarled, time-eaten, But a glorious thing this tree, With hands and heart uplifted Seeking the face of Thee!O Thou who made s wondrous fair This trilling thing, my tree, Because its every hour is livedan offering unto Thee,Oh, take me, root and branch and all - The years go on apace! Grow up in me that radiant life - That shines, Lord, from Thy face! ​​​​​​​