October 29, 2024
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in Numbers and 1 Corinthians? Here’s today’s reading:
Numbers 15 (NIV)
Supplementary Offerings
1 The Lord said to Moses, 2“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘After you enter the land I am giving you as a home 3 and you present to the Lord food offerings from the herd or the flock, as an aroma pleasing to the Lord—whether burnt offerings or sacrifices, for special vows or freewill offerings or festival offerings—……Continue Reading
This chapter seems like a bit of a renewal or reminder for god’s people. After many troubles, complaining, doubt, and disobedience, God shows His love for them with reminders of His mercy and grace through sacrifice and offerings. Many times He mentions a pleasing aroma which the people had not recently been I am sure!
There is also a reminder of his expectation of following these laws when the man working on the sabbath’s punishment was death. God is full of mercy and grace but that also there are consequences for disobedience.
Numbers 14 and 15
Numbers 15.
After the disobedience and grave behavior of the last chapter, God seems to tell the Israelites to carry on as they had been, bringing various offerings and keeping the Lords commandments, He even institutes offerings for unintentional sins. I could see myself becoming paralyzed in fear, “what if I accidentally do something wrong?” God has remedy in place for that. He knows the heart and the intent.
Why did this man gather sticks on the Sabbath? It seems like you wouldn’t forget what day it was. Like in the older times (in my lifetime) when you couldn’t shop, or get gas on Sunday because all the stores were closed. You just preplanned or waited until Monday. But if death was the consequence? Certainly you wouldn’t forget.
I am not sure if there should be a distinction in the words in verse 2 and 17 (the land I am giving as a home (the promised land, presumably) vs the land I am taking you to (the 40 years of wandering), but if there is, it is kind of neat. On one hand God is giving them a vision of the future that their disobedience hasn’t corrupted (at some point, the Jews will enter the land) and on the other maybe creating a little, you could have had it if you just obeyed. And then in verse 17 He is saying your new direction based in the consequence of your disobedience, doesn’t change the fact that you should thank me for the things that I provide, remembering all you have is because of me.
And the sacrifice for unintentional sins is interesting in God recognizing the difference between the intentional and unintentional, and yet wrong is wrong regardless of the intent and needs to be addressed. It does speak to the nature of the human heart as well as the nature of God calling His people to follow His laws to maintain their awareness of Him and connection to Him, as well as the benefits that come with obedience. And that is why the offense of the sabbath breaker is so significant. The punishment is harsh but the command should be easy, to say don’t work..and what deviance is there when you do? But the sabbath was an essential part of the faith that God wanted His people to have and in it to realize that life with God is more about what He provides for you, than what you do for Him. God cares about things that establish essential dynamics about who He is and what life with Him is like. The sabbath was one of them. But this also is reflected in the tassels. God always wanted to be on their mind, mostly because it is far too easy to forget Him, getting caught up in life, work, problems, etc…and then you forget God. Sound familiar? Well the tassels were meant to prevent that….where can I get mine….
Numbers 15