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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》