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Numbers Chapter
Twenty-eight
Numbers 28
Chapter Contents
Offerings, The daily sacrifice. (1-8) The offering on the
sabbath and new moons. (9-15) Offerings at the passover, and on the day of
first-fruits. (16-31)
Commentary on Numbers 28:1-8
God saw fit now to repeat the law of sacrifices. This was
a new generation of men; and they were concerned to keep their peace with God
when at war with their enemies. The daily sacrifice is called a continual
burnt-offering; when we are bid to pray always, at least every morning and
evening we should offer up solemn prayers and praises to God. Nothing is added
here but that the wine poured out in the drink-offering is to be strong wine,
to teach us to serve God with the best we have. It was a figure of the blood of
Christ, the memorial of which is still left to the church in wine; and of the
blood of the martyrs, which was poured out as a drink-offering on the sacrifice
and service of our faith, Philippians 2:17.
Commentary on Numbers 28:9-15
Every sabbath day, beside the two lambs offered for the
daily burnt-offering, there must be two more offered. This teaches us to double
our devotions on sabbath days, for so the duty of the day requires. The sabbath
rest is to be observed, in order more closely to apply ourselves to the sabbath
work, which ought to fill up the sabbath time. The offerings in the new moons
showed thankfulness for the renewing of earthly blessings: when we rejoice in
the gifts of providence, we must make the sacrifice of Christ, that great gift
of special grace, the fountain and spring-head of our joy. And the worship
performed in the new moons is made typical of gospel solemnities, Isaiah 66:23. As the moon borrows light from the
sun, and is renewed by its influences; so the church borrows her light from
Jesus Christ, who is the Sun of righteousness, renewing the state of the
church, especially under the gospel.
Commentary on Numbers 28:16-31
By the sacrifices enjoined in this chapter, we are
reminded of the continued power of the sacrifice of Christ, and of our
continual need to depend thereon. No hurrying employments, or perilous
situations, or prosperous circumstances, should cause slackness in our
religious exercises; but should rather stir us up to greater diligence in
seeking help from, or giving thanks to the Lord. And all is to be accompanied
with repentance, faith is the Lord Jesus, and love to him, and to produce true
holiness in our conduct towards all men; otherwise God will abhor our most
solemn services and abundant devotions. And Christ is able to supply the wants
of every day, every week, every month, every year, every ordinance, every case.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on
Numbers》
Numbers 28
Verse 2
[2]
Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, My offering, and my bread
for my sacrifices made by fire, for a sweet savour unto me, shall ye observe to
offer unto me in their due season.
Command the children of Israel — God here repeats some of the former laws about sacrifices, not without
great reason, partly because they had been generally discontinued for thirty
eight years together; partly because the generation to which the former laws
had been given about these things was wholly dead, and it was fit the new
generation should be instructed about them, as their parents were; partly to
renew their testimonies of God's grace and mercy, notwithstanding their
frequent forfeitures thereof by their rebellion: and principally because they
were now ready to enter into that land, in which they were obliged to put these
things in practice.
Verse 7
[7] And the drink offering thereof shall be the fourth part of an hin for the
one lamb: in the holy place shalt thou cause the strong wine to be poured unto
the LORD for a drink offering.
In the holy place —
Upon the altar of burnt offerings, which was in the court of the priests, nigh
to the entrance into the sanctuary.
Verse 17
[17] And
in the fifteenth day of this month is the feast: seven days shall unleavened
bread be eaten.
The feast —
Namely, of unleavened bread.
Verse 23
[23] Ye
shall offer these beside the burnt offering in the morning, which is for a
continual burnt offering.
In the morning —
And that in the evening too, as is evident from other scriptures; but the
morning-sacrifice alone is mentioned, because the celebration of the feast
began with it, and principally because this alone was doubtful, whether this
might not be omitted when so many other sacrifices were offered in that
morning, whereas there was no question but the evening sacrifice should be
offered, when there were none other to be offered.
Verse 26
[26] Also in the day of the firstfruits, when ye bring a new meat offering unto
the LORD, after your weeks be out, ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall
do no servile work:
The day of the first fruits — In the feast of pentecost, Acts 2:1.
Your weeks — The
seven weeks which you are to number from the passover.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Numbers》
28 Chapter 28
Verses 1-31
After this manner ye shall offer daily.
Of the daily sacrifices
All these laws were in a manner before handled while the
people abode at Mount Sinai. If any ask the question, why then they are here
repeated? I answer, first, because they were now come to enter into the land,
being in a manner upon the borders thereof (Numbers 27:12). God would therefore put
them in mind of this that, when they should possess the land, they must be
mindful of His worship and their own duty. Secondly, because few at this time
remained alive which had heard, or if they had heard, could remember these laws
that then were published. Thirdly, the ceremonial worship had been intermitted
in the wilderness for many years, as circumcision (Joshua 5:1-15.) and many other like
ordinances by reason of their continual journeys, or at least continual
expectation of them. Lastly, God doth hereby comfort and confirm His people after
their manifold provocations and murmurings, testifying thereby that as a
merciful Father He is reconciled unto them, and the remembrance of their sins
buried, and that He hath determined to do them good all the days of their life.
Now, the first thing to be considered is the daily sacrifice, in which was to
be offered, morning and evening, a lamb, fine flour, wine, and oil; these were
to be offered continually as a burnt offering upon the altar, which law was not
to take place until they came into the land, as we heard before in the like
case (Numbers 15:2), because in the desert they
wanted many things necessary (Deuteronomy 12:8) which was a sufficient
dispensation for the omitting of them; for when God doth require anything He
giveth means to perform it, and did never impute it as a sin unto them when an
inevitable necessity did hinder them, and the desire to obey is no less
accepted than obedience itself. Of this daily sacrifice with the rites thereof
to be performed every morning and evening we read at large (Exodus 29:38), they must do it day by day
continually. So 1 Kings 18:1-46., when Elijah
convinced Baal’s priests, there is mention made of their choosing, dressing,
and offering a bullock in the morning (verse 26), and of his doing the like “at
the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice” (verse 36). Likewise “Peter
and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the
ninth hour” (Acts 3:1). This was the time, being three
of the clock in the afternoon, when the evening sacrifice was wont to be
offered, unto which prayer also was wont to be joined. We see their practice
what it was daily ; now let us come to the uses toward ourselves.
1. First, see from hence by consideration of this daily offering--“a
lamb every morning and a lamb every evening”--a great difference between the
Old and New Testament.
2. Secondly, we must understand from hence, that as all sacrifices under
the law did as it were lead us to Christ, “who is the end of the law of
righteousness to every one that believeth” (Romans 10:4); so did this daily sacrifice
of “the two lambs offered morning and evening” most plainly. He is both the
Altar and the Sacrifice (Hebrews 13:10).
3. Lastly, this daily sacrifice importeth the daily sacrifice of
prayer which we ought to offer to God as our daily service due unto Him (1 Kings 18:36). And thus do the
Hebrew doctors speak, “The continual sacrifice of the morning made atonement
for the iniquities that were done in the night, and the evening sacrifice made
atonement for the iniquities that were by day.” It is therefore required of us
to pray unto God, not once in a month, or once a week, nor only upon the
Sabbath day, or publicly in the assemblies of the faithful, but we must
remember Him daily that remembereth us every hour. (W. Attersoll.)
In the beginnings of your
months.--
The new moon festival
The moon is no unapt emblem of the Church, shining in borrowed
splendour, and deriving all her light, even when clearest and full-orbed, from
the sun, whose glory she reflects as she travels through the night. And very
fitly she represents the economy of the law, at its highest attainments only a
faint resemblance of the glory to come, and from which in reality all its own
splendour was derived, sometimes only but partly shining on the Church, and
often obscured and dim. The beginning of every month bespoke renewal and
increase. Filling her horn night after night, and becoming larger and larger,
she increases in brightness to full-orbed beauty. As the moon increased, so
increased the sacrifices of the economy she was an emblem of. The natural
divisions of time, days multiplying into weeks, weeks into months, and months
into years, became regulating signs to obligation and hope. But progress, as
light increasing more and more, bespoke imperfection, and the repetition of
every new moon,
denoting inefficiency, waited for something to come. “It was not possible that
the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sin.” Had the offerings of
holy times increased to ever such a number, and the cattle upon a thousand
hills been sacrificed, all they could have affected would have been infinitely
short of the results attributable alone to the death of Christ. Rivers of wine
and oil could not be a libation ; neither was “Lebanon sufficient to burn, nor
the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt-offering.” To redeem a soul, to
cleanse from guilt and save from death, more than all the world is required,
infinite excellence, Almighty love. (W. Seaton.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》