Pray Thru the Bible

God Speaks

28 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Give these instructions to the people of Israel: The offerings you present as special gifts are a pleasing aroma to me; they are my food. See to it that they are brought at the appointed times and offered according to my instructions.

³ “Say to the people: This is the special gift you must present to the Lord as your daily burnt offering. You must offer two one-year-old male lambs with no defects. ⁴ Sacrifice one lamb in the morning and the other in the evening. ⁵ With each lamb you must offer a grain offering of two quarts of choice flour mixed with one quart of pure oil of pressed olives. ⁶ This is the regular burnt offering instituted at Mount Sinai as a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. ⁷ Along with it you must present the proper liquid offering of one quart of alcoholic drink with each lamb, poured out in the Holy Place as an offering to the Lord. ⁸ Offer the second lamb in the evening with the same grain offering and liquid offering. It, too, is a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

⁹ “On the Sabbath day, sacrifice two one-year-old male lambs with no defects. They must be accompanied by a grain offering of four quarts of choice flour moistened with olive oil, and a liquid offering. ¹⁰ This is the burnt offering to be presented each Sabbath day, in addition to the regular burnt offering and its accompanying liquid offering.

¹¹ “On the first day of each month, present an extra burnt offering to the Lord of two young bulls, one ram, and seven one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. ¹² These must be accompanied by grain offerings of choice flour moistened with olive oil—six quarts with each bull, four quarts with the ram, ¹³ and two quarts with each lamb. This burnt offering will be a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. ¹⁴ You must also present a liquid offering with each sacrifice: two quarts of wine for each bull, a third of a gallon for the ram, and one quart for each lamb. Present this monthly burnt offering on the first day of each month throughout the year.

¹⁵ “On the first day of each month, you must also offer one male goat for a sin offering to the Lord. This is in addition to the regular burnt offering and its accompanying liquid offering.

¹⁶ “On the fourteenth day of the first month, you must celebrate the Lord’s Passover. ¹⁷ On the following day—the fifteenth day of the month—a joyous, seven-day festival will begin, but no bread made with yeast may be eaten. ¹⁸ The first day of the festival will be an official day for holy assembly, and no ordinary work may be done on that day. ¹⁹ As a special gift you must present a burnt offering to the Lord—two young bulls, one ram, and seven one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. ²⁰ These will be accompanied by grain offerings of choice flour moistened with olive oil—six quarts with each bull, four quarts with the ram, ²¹ and two quarts with each of the seven lambs. ²² You must also offer a male goat as a sin offering to purify yourselves and make yourselves right with the Lord. ²³ Present these offerings in addition to your regular morning burnt offering. ²⁴ On each of the seven days of the festival, this is how you must prepare the food offering that is presented as a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. These will be offered in addition to the regular burnt offerings and liquid offerings. ²⁵ The seventh day of the festival will be another official day for holy assembly, and no ordinary work may be done on that day.

²⁶ “At the Festival of Harvest, when you present the first of your new grain to the Lord, you must call an official day for holy assembly, and you may do no ordinary work on that day. ²⁷ Present a special burnt offering on that day as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. It will consist of two young bulls, one ram, and seven one-year-old male lambs. ²⁸ These will be accompanied by grain offerings of choice flour moistened with olive oil—six quarts with each bull, four quarts with the ram, ²⁹ and two quarts with each of the seven lambs. ³⁰ Also, offer one male goat to purify yourselves and make yourselves right with the Lord. ³¹ Prepare these special burnt offerings, along with their liquid offerings, in addition to the regular burnt offering and its accompanying grain offering. Be sure that all the animals you sacrifice have no defects.

29 “Celebrate the Festival of Trumpets each year on the first day of the appointed month in early autumn. You must call an official day for holy assembly, and you may do no ordinary work. ² On that day you must present a burnt offering as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. It will consist of one young bull, one ram, and seven one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. ³ These must be accompanied by grain offerings of choice flour moistened with olive oil—six quarts with the bull, four quarts with the ram, ⁴ and two quarts with each of the seven lambs. ⁵ In addition, you must sacrifice a male goat as a sin offering to purify yourselves and make yourselves right with the Lord. ⁶ These special sacrifices are in addition to your regular monthly and daily burnt offerings, and they must be given with their prescribed grain offerings and liquid offerings. These offerings are given as a special gift to the Lord, a pleasing aroma to him.

⁷ “Ten days later, on the tenth day of the same month, you must call another holy assembly. On that day, the Day of Atonement, the people must go without food and must do no ordinary work. ⁸ You must present a burnt offering as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. It will consist of one young bull, one ram, and seven one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. ⁹ These offerings must be accompanied by the prescribed grain offerings of choice flour moistened with olive oil—six quarts of choice flour with the bull, four quarts of choice flour with the ram, ¹⁰ and two quarts of choice flour with each of the seven lambs. ¹¹ You must also sacrifice one male goat for a sin offering. This is in addition to the sin offering of atonement and the regular daily burnt offering with its grain offering, and their accompanying liquid offerings.

¹² “Five days later, on the fifteenth day of the same month, you must call another holy assembly of all the people, and you may do no ordinary work on that day. It is the beginning of the Festival of Shelters, a seven-day festival to the Lord. ¹³ On the first day of the festival, you must present a burnt offering as a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. It will consist of thirteen young bulls, two rams, and fourteen one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. ¹⁴ Each of these offerings must be accompanied by a grain offering of choice flour moistened with olive oil—six quarts for each of the thirteen bulls, four quarts for each of the two rams, ¹⁵ and two quarts for each of the fourteen lambs. ¹⁶ You must also sacrifice a male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its accompanying grain offering and liquid offering.

¹⁷ “On the second day of this seven-day festival, sacrifice twelve young bulls, two rams, and fourteen one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. ¹⁸ Each of these offerings of bulls, rams, and lambs must be accompanied by its prescribed grain offering and liquid offering. ¹⁹ You must also sacrifice a male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its accompanying grain offering and liquid offering.

²⁰ “On the third day of the festival, sacrifice eleven young bulls, two rams, and fourteen one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. ²¹ Each of these offerings of bulls, rams, and lambs must be accompanied by its prescribed grain offering and liquid offering. ²² You must also sacrifice a male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its accompanying grain offering and liquid offering.

²³ “On the fourth day of the festival, sacrifice ten young bulls, two rams, and fourteen one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. ²⁴ Each of these offerings of bulls, rams, and lambs must be accompanied by its prescribed grain offering and liquid offering. ²⁵ You must also sacrifice a male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its accompanying grain offering and liquid offering.

²⁶ “On the fifth day of the festival, sacrifice nine young bulls, two rams, and fourteen one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. ²⁷ Each of these offerings of bulls, rams, and lambs must be accompanied by its prescribed grain offering and liquid offering. ²⁸ You must also sacrifice a male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its accompanying grain offering and liquid offering.

²⁹ “On the sixth day of the festival, sacrifice eight young bulls, two rams, and fourteen one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. ³⁰ Each of these offerings of bulls, rams, and lambs must be accompanied by its prescribed grain offering and liquid offering. ³¹ You must also sacrifice a male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its accompanying grain offering and liquid offering.

³² “On the seventh day of the festival, sacrifice seven young bulls, two rams, and fourteen one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. ³³ Each of these offerings of bulls, rams, and lambs must be accompanied by its prescribed grain offering and liquid offering. ³⁴ You must also sacrifice one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its accompanying grain offering and liquid offering.

³⁵ “On the eighth day of the festival, proclaim another holy day. You must do no ordinary work on that day. ³⁶ You must present a burnt offering as a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. It will consist of one young bull, one ram, and seven one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. ³⁷ Each of these offerings must be accompanied by its prescribed grain offering and liquid offering. ³⁸ You must also sacrifice one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its accompanying grain offering and liquid offering.

³⁹ “You must present these offerings to the Lord at your annual festivals. These are in addition to the sacrifices and offerings you present in connection with vows, or as voluntary offerings, burnt offerings, grain offerings, liquid offerings, or peace offerings.”

⁴⁰ So Moses gave all of these instructions to the people of Israel as the Lord had commanded him.

30 Then Moses summoned the leaders of the tribes of Israel and told them, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ² A man who makes a vow to the Lord or makes a pledge under oath must never break it. He must do exactly what he said he would do.

³ “If a young woman makes a vow to the Lord or a pledge under oath while she is still living at her father’s home, ⁴ and her father hears of the vow or pledge and does not object to it, then all her vows and pledges will stand. ⁵ But if her father refuses to let her fulfill the vow or pledge on the day he hears of it, then all her vows and pledges will become invalid. The Lord will forgive her because her father would not let her fulfill them.

⁶ “Now suppose a young woman makes a vow or binds herself with an impulsive pledge and later marries. ⁷ If her husband learns of her vow or pledge and does not object on the day he hears of it, her vows and pledges will stand. ⁸ But if her husband refuses to accept her vow or impulsive pledge on the day he hears of it, he nullifies her commitments, and the Lord will forgive her. ⁹ If, however, a woman is a widow or is divorced, she must fulfill all her vows and pledges.

¹⁰ “But suppose a woman is married and living in her husband’s home when she makes a vow or binds herself with a pledge. ¹¹ If her husband hears of it and does not object to it, her vow or pledge will stand. ¹² But if her husband refuses to accept it on the day he hears of it, her vow or pledge will be nullified, and the Lord will forgive her. ¹³ So her husband may either confirm or nullify any vows or pledges she makes to deny herself. ¹⁴ But if he does not object on the day he hears of it, then he is agreeing to all her vows and pledges. ¹⁵ If he waits more than a day and then tries to nullify a vow or pledge, he will be punished for her guilt.”

¹⁶ These are the regulations the Lord gave Moses concerning relationships between a man and his wife, and between a father and a young daughter who still lives at home.

Source: New Living Translation: BibleGateway.com

We Respond

[TBR-160: Proverbs 19-21 (June 9, 2023) Since these proverbs are covered in the PTTB archives, we will go back and cover Numbers 28-30, TBR-066.]

Reflection: Consider the following questions regarding Numbers 28-30:

1. What does this chapter tell me about God?

2. What does this chapter tell me about the human beings He created?    

Here is one possible answer to each of these questions. Ask the Holy Spirit if there are any others for you personally to ponder.  

Numbers 28-29 [Since these chapters cover various details of the same subject (God’s prescribed sacrifices), they will be treated as a unit.]

1. The LORD God expects His people to worship Him in specific ways and at specific times daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly. 

2. People are to worship the LORD God in the ways He specifies. No human sacrifices are acceptable except the sacrifice of the Son of Man (Jesus the Messiah) to which all of the animal sacrifices point.

Numbers 30

1. God holds His people accountable for their vows, pledges, or rash promises. Young women still under their father’s authority or a wife under her husband’s authority are released if the father or husband objects. 

2. People should be cautious and careful about the vows, pledges, or rash promises they make.

Prayer:

3. How might I pray regarding Numbers 28-30?  

Dear LORD God, thank You for being so gracious and loving and worthy of all the praise or any sacrifice we could ever offer. You not only deserve our worship, but You also initiated a love relationship with You that goes far beyond these ceremonies You prescribed. All the sacrifices listed here point to Jesus’ sacrifice and how You have made a way for us to commune with You both individually and corporately daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, and for all eternity. May my sacrifices of praise be pleasing to You. Help me to bring them at the appointed times and offer them according to Your instructions. May my offerings be given gladly and not grudgingly. May I understand and remember the true meaning of each sacrifice or ceremony so that I can explain it to strangers or to upcoming generations. As believers meet together, please manifest Your presence among us. Then, as we go about our daily lives, may we manifest Your character: for example, keeping our word whenever we make vows, pledges, or promises because that is what You do, our Father. This behavior on our part will bring You glory, LORD. AMEN

Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)

4. What action does the LORD want me to take in response to Numbers 28-30? With the help of God’s Holy Spirit:

• I will pray and examine the Scriptures to see how the LORD wants me to worship Him daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly as an individual.
• I will pray and examine the Scriptures to see how the LORD wants me to worship Him daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly as part of a group or congregation.
• I will join a local congregation in worship, mutual encouragement, and celebration weekly, monthly, and yearly.
• I will keep my word in this situation (be specific) even if it hurts or is inconvenient for me.

Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.