Numbers 28-30
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PLEASE accept my apologies for being late. Dr. appointments and fevers are getting me off schedule …. I deeply apologize and ask for your forgiveness.
Chapter 28 & 29 – YOU ARE CORRECT … YOU HAVE READ THIS BEFORE!!! BUT… remember WHO God is speaking to. THIS is the NEW generation who GOD KNOWS needs to be reminded of their promises to HIM. Back “in the day” a man’s word (A VOW) was his bond (and it was even that way when my parents were coming up, and that is the way I was taught.) Joshua is going to be their new Shepherd. Eleazar is the new Priest (son of Aaron). These are ALL new generation people. They were not at the base of Mt. Sinai to learn about this the first time. It also appears as if their parents did do a good job training them up in how to be holy or live a holy life.
There were 5 types of offerings (Burnt, Grain, Fellowship, Sin, and Guilt) — 3 were voluntary 2 were mandatory. Each one had a reason. SO as you read it try to pick out why these sacrifices were to be made. Following these rituals took time and this gave the people the opportunity to prepare their hearts for worship. If their (and our) hearts are not prepared and ready to worship God totally and completely … worship is meaningless!!! THINK about this a you approach Easter Sunday … or any holiday for the Lord. 🙂
Not only were their 5 types of offerings there were special feasts to make these offering. Daily Offering (Voluntary). The Day of Atonement occurred only ONCE a year. The offering for the Day of Atonement was MANDATORY when and it was specifically a SIN OFFERING. The ONLY way to have sins covered “atoned” is from a Sin Offering. BLOOD had to be shed. As we are approaching our celebration of the RESURRECTION of our Lord Jesus Christ (which the DAY OF ATONEMENT was a foreshadow .. a precursor .. to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ!!) WHY did God allow Jesus to be sacrificed for our sin??? …It was because he had to be. It was not a choice. In order for us to be set free from sin, a Sin Offering had to be made, life blood had to be shed. Jesus’s death was our day of Atonement. It was FINISHED!! HE was the FINAL sin offering. HE IS our HIGH PRIEST who we can have a personal relationship with and not have to go through a human priest. There were Sabbath offerings (one a week). The PASSOVER was an annual feast to commemorate the day the LORD had saved all the Israelite babies, by placing the BLOOD of the LAMB over the doors of their dwellings so the angel of death would PASS OVER them and not take their first sons!! The Jewish Passover is being celebrated NOW, always around the same time that we celebrate Easter 🙂
Feast of Weeks, Feast of Trumpets, Feast of Tabernacles (lasted 7 days). These holidays provided a time to refresh the mind and body and to renew one’s commitment to God. When was the last time you took a spiritual holiday?? A time that you devoted specifically to the Lord…. To read HIS Word, REST in HIM, praise HIM, LISTEN to HIM, give up something for HIM.. Making your body a living sacrifice, holy, and pleasing to HIM? God expected the Israelites to do this WEEKY.. on the Sabbath…. HE still teaches us today … even from the old testament.
The thing that stands out the most to me in these scriptures is the Lord encouraging them and us by providing them a full day of rest and part of that rest was remembering who He was/is. This “small” detail resonates within me. It is so easy in our world to use our appointed day of rest as a day to play “catch up”. We DO live in a busy world where both parents are often working, single parents pushing themselves to get “it all done,” children with so many obligations, parents stretching themselves further and further, that time with God gets “put on the back burner.” I’ve learned the hard way that when I do not rest, truly rest, physically and Spiritually, according to what our body needs, and what God knew we needed, we can push ourselves to a point of total exhaustion. When we become totally exhausted and our bodies can no longer mend on their own then we are forced to rest. I remember a sermon that Billy Graham gave in which he said when he didn’t rest as he should then his body would become sick which in his life was God’s way of “pulling Him back in” and getting back on track.
Powerful lesson for me!! RESTING in HIM allows us to do and be our best the other 6 days of the week.
Chapter 30 – This goes into detail about how serious vows were and when they could be broken. To make a vow even more binding, an offering was given along with it. No one was FORCED to make a VOW. BUT… once it was made, vows had to be fulfilled. Breaking a vow meant a broken TRUST and broken RELATIONSHIP. (Makes you think doesn’t it??) Of course there were exceptions….a parent could stop a child from going through with their vow and a husband could stop his wife … but the parents and/or the husband had to act quickly or else the vows were binding.
Sharing HIS love,
Reading the Bible Chronologically in 365 days 