1And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, 2Command the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them, My offering, My bread for My fire offerings, My soothing fragrance, you shall take heed to offer to Me in its appointed season. 3And you shall say to them, This is the fire offering which you shall offer to Jehovah, two yearling lambs without blemish, day by day, as a continual burnt offering. 4You shall offer the one lamb in the morning, and you shall offer the other lamb between the two evenings; 5and a tenth of an ephah of flour for a food offering mixed with beaten oil, a fourth of a hin; 6a continual burnt offering which was performed in Mount Sinai for a soothing fragrance, a fire offering to Jehovah; 7and its drink offering, a fourth of a hin for the one lamb; pour a drink offering of strong drink to Jehovah in the sanctuary. 8And you shall offer the other lamb between the evenings, even as the food offering of the morning, and as its drink offering, you shall offer as a sacrifice made by fire, a soothing fragrance to Jehovah. 9And on the sabbath day, two lambs, sons of a year, ones without blemish, and two tenth parts of flour, a food offering mixed with oil, and its drink offering; 10the burnt offering of the sabbath on its sabbath, besides the continual burnt offering and its drink offering. 11And in the beginning of your months you shall bring near a burnt offering to Jehovah: two bulls, sons of the herd, and one ram, seven lambs, sons of a year, ones without blemish. 12and three tenth parts of flour, a food offering mixed with oil for the one bull; and two tenths parts of flour as a food offering mixed with oil for the one ram; 13and a tenth part of flour mixed with oil as a food offering for the one lamb; a burnt offering, a soothing fragrance, a fire offering to Jehovah; 14and their drink offerings shall be a half of a hin to a bull, and a third of a hin to a ram, and a fourth of a hin to a lamb, of wine. This shall be the burnt offering of every month for the months of the year. 15And one kid of the goats for a sin offering to Jehovah; it shall be prepared besides the continual burnt offering, and its drink offering. 16And in the fourteenth day of the first month is the Passover of Jehovah. 17And in the fifteenth day of this month a feast: unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days. 18In the first day shall be a holy convocation; you shall do no work of service. 19And you shall offer a fire offering, a burnt offering to Jehovah: two bulls, sons of the herd, and one ram, and seven lambs, sons of a year; they shall be ones without blemish for you; 20and their food offering, flour mixed with oil. You shall prepare three tenths parts for a bull, and two tenths parts for a ram. 21You shall prepare one tenth part for the one lamb, and for the seven lambs; 22and one goat, a sin offering to atone for you, 23besides the burnt offering of the morning, the continual burnt offering, you shall prepare these. 24In this way you shall prepare daily, seven days, bread for a fire offering, a soothing fragrance to Jehovah. It shall be prepared besides the continual burnt offering and its drink offering. 25And on the seventh day you shall have a holy gathering; you shall do no work of service. 26And in the day of the firstfruits, as you offer a new food offering to Jehovah in your Feast of Weeks, you shall have a holy gathering; you shall do no work of service; 27and you shall offer a burnt offering for a soothing fragrance to Jehovah: two bulls, sons of the herd, one ram, seven lambs, sons of a year 28and their food offering, flour mixed with oil, three tenth parts to the one bull, two tenth parts to the one ram, 29one tenth part to the one lamb, for the seven lambs; 30one kid of the goats to atone for you. 31You shall offer them besides the continual burnt offering and its food offering and drink offerings; they shall be ones without blemish for you.
Matthew Henry - Complete Commentary 1 Here is, I. A general order given concerning the offerings of the Lord, which were to be brought in their season,
Num 28:2. These laws are here given afresh, not because the observance of them was wholly disused during their thirty-eight years' wandering in the wilderness (we cannot think that they were so long without any public worship, but that at least the daily lamb was offered morning and evening, and doubled on the sabbath day; so bishop Patrick conjectures); but that many of the sacrifices were then omitted is plainly intimated,
Amos 5:25, quoted by Stephen,
Acts 7:42.
Did you offer unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel? It is implied, No, you did not. But, whether the course of sacrifices had been interrupted or no, God saw fit now to repeat the law of sacrifices, 1. Because this was a new generation of men, that were most of them unborn when the former laws were given; therefore, that they might be left without excuse, they have not only these laws written, to be read to them, but again repeated from God himself, and put into a less compass and a plainer method. 2. Because they were now entering upon war, and might be tempted to think that while they were engaged in that they should be excused from offering sacrifices.
Inter arma silent leges -
law is little regarded amidst the clash of arms. No, says God,
my bread for my sacrifices even now
shall you observe to offer, and that
in the due season. They were peculiarly concerned to keep their peace with God when they were at war with their enemies. In the wilderness they were solitary, and quite separate from all other people, and therefore there they needed not so much their distinguishing badges, nor would their omission of sacrifices be so scandalous as when they came into Canaan, when they mingled with other people. 3. Because possession was now to be given them of the land of promise, that land flowing with milk and honey, where they would have plenty of all good things. Now (says God), When you are feasting yourselves, forget not to offer the bread of your God. Canaan was given to them upon this condition, that they should
observe God's statutes, Pss 105:44,
Pss 105:45.
II. The particular law of the daily sacrifice, a lamb in the morning and a lamb in the evening, which, for the constancy of it as duly as the day came, is called a
continual burnt-offering (
Num 28:3), which intimates that when we are bidden to
pray always, and to pray without ceasing, it is intended that at least every morning and every evening we offer up our solemn prayers and praises to God. This is said to be
ordained in Mount Sinai (
Num 28:6), when the other laws were given. The institution of it we have,
Exod 29:38. Nothing is here added in the repetition of the law, but that the wine to be poured out in the drink-offering is ordered to be
strong wine (
Num 28:7), the riches and most generous and best-bodied wine they could get. Though it was to be poured out upon the altar, and not drunk (they therefore might be ready to think the worst would serve to be so thrown away), yet God requires the strongest, to teach us to serve God with the best we have. The wine must be strong (says Ainsworth) because 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 upon the
sacrifice and service of our faith, Phili 2:17.
9 The new moons and the sabbaths are often spoken of together, as great solemnities in the Jewish church, very comfortable to the saints then, and typical of gospel grace. Now we have here the sacrifices appointed, 1. For the sabbaths. Every sabbath day the offering must be doubled; besides the two lambs offered for the daily burnt-offering, there must be two more offered, one (it is probable) added to the morning sacrifice, and the other to the evening,
Num 28:9,
Num 28:10. 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 to a more close application to the sabbath work, which ought to fill up sabbath time. In Ezekiel's temple-service, which points at gospel times, the sabbath offerings were to be six lambs and a ram, with their meat-offerings, and drink-offerings (
Ezek 46:4,
Ezek 46:5), to intimate not only the continuance, but the advancement, of sabbath sanctification in the days of the Messiah. This is
the burnt-offering of the sabbath in his sabbath, so it is in the original, v. 10. We must do every sabbath day's work in its day, studying to redeem every minute of sabbath time as those that believe it precious; and not thinking to put off one sabbath's work to another, for sufficient to every sabbath is the service thereof. 2. For the new moons. Some suggest that, as the sabbath was kept with an eye to the creation of the world, so the new moons were sanctified with an eye to the divine providence, which
appoints the moon for seasons, guiding the revolutions of time by its changes, and governing sublunary bodies (as many think) by its influences. Though we observe not any feast of new moons, yet we must not forget to give God the glory of all the precious things put forth by the moon which he has
established for ever, a faithful witness in heaven, Pss 89:37. The offerings in the new moons were very considerable, two bullocks, a ram, and seven lambs, with the meat-offerings and drink-offerings that were to attend them (
Num 28:11, etc.), besides a sin-offering,
Num 28:15. For, when we give glory to God by confessing his mercies, we must give glory to him likewise by confessing our own sins; and, when we rejoice in the gifts of common providence, we must make the sacrifice of Christ, that great gift of special grace, the fountain and spring-head of our joy. Some have questioned whether the new moons were to be reckoned among their feasts; but why should they not, when, besides the special sacrifices which were then to be offered, they rested from servile works (
Amos 8:5),
blew the trumpets (
Num 10:10), and went to the prophets
to hear the word? 2Kgs 4:23. And the worship performed in the new moons is made typical of gospel solemnities,
Isa 66:23.
16 Here is, I. The appointment of the pass-over sacrifices; not that which was the chief, the paschal lamb (sufficient instructions had formerly been given concerning that), but those which were to be offered upon the seven days of unleavened bread, which followed it,
Num 28:17-
Num 28:25. The first and last of those seven days were to be sanctified as sabbaths, by a holy rest and a holy convocation, and on each of the seven days they were to be liberal in their sacrifices, in token of their great and constant thankfulness for their deliverance out of Egypt:
Two bullocks, a ram, and seven lambs. A gospel conversation, in gratitude for
Christ our passover who was sacrificed, is called the
keeping of this feast (
1Cor 5:8); for it is not enough that we purge out the
leavened bread of malice and wickedness, but we must
offer the bread of our God, even the sacrifice of praise, continually, and continue herein unto the end. 2. The sacrifices are likewise appointed which were to be offered at the feast of pentecost, here called the
day of the first-fruits, Num 28:26. In the feast of unleavened bread they offered a
sheaf of their first-fruits of barley (which with them was first ripe) to the priest (
Lev 23:10), as an introduction to the harvest; but now, about seven weeks after, they were to bring a
new meat-offering to the Lord, at the end of harvest, in thankfulness to God, who had not only given,
but preserved to their use, the kindly fruits of the earth, so as that in due time they did enjoy them. It was at this feast that
the Spirit was poured out (
Acts 2:1, etc.), and thousands were converted by the preaching of the apostles, and were presented to Christ, to be
a kind of first-fruits of his creatures. The sacrifice that was to be offered with the loaves of the first-fruits was appointed,
Lev 23:18. But over and above, besides that and besides the daily offerings, they were to offer
two bullocks, one ram, and seven lambs, with a kid for a sin-offering, Num 28:27-
Num 28:30. When God sows plentifully upon us he expects to reap accordingly from us. Bishop Patrick observes that no
peace-offerings are appointed in this chapter, which were chiefly for the benefit of the offerers, and therefore in them they were left more to themselves; but
burnt-offerings were purely for the honour of God, were confessions of his dominion, and typified evangelical piety and devotion, by which the soul is wholly offered up to God in the flames of holy love; and
sin-offerings were typical of Christ's sacrifice of himself,
by which we and our services are perfected and sanctified.