Deeper Commentary
This was the first day of their civil year; the religious year began
with Passover. Neh. 8:2 records that this feast was used in order to teach the law
to the assembled people. It was a lead up to the affliction of
souls on the tenth day of that month at the day of atonement. There is repeated emphasis upon not working whilst remembering God's
saving work. Throughout the Mosaic law, there was the clear teaching that
it was God's work and not that of man which was to be celebrated and was
to be the basis of relationship with God.
Num. 25:18 commands Israel to attack the Midianites for what they
did to them in seducing them to idolatry. But we have to apparently wait
until Num. 31 to read of Israel actually going to war with Midian. But the
intervening chapters cover events which happened perhaps only within days
after the point in Num. 25:18 where Yahweh tells Israel to attack Midian.
In Num. 26 they are to take a military census in preparation for the
battle. Then chapter 27 records the issue of Zelophehad's daughters, who
present as faithful to Yahweh and unlike their unbelieving father who died
in the desert for his sin of not believing he could enter the land.
Remember Israel are now 40 years after leaving Egypt, and about to enter
Canaan despite their last minute apostacy and lack of faith. Those
daughters are presented as examples of the faithful remnant within Israel.
Numbers 28 commands that various daily sacrifices be offered once Israel
are in the land. Numbers 29 then calls for a day of atonement to be held,
followed by the feast of booths five days after the atonement feast
finished. This would be an apparently needless repetition of previously
given legislation- unless we understand that it was a specific call to
keep the feast of atonement at that time. This would have been in our
September / October. A few months later, Israel entered the land around
Passover time, with Moses dying about 30 days before that [seeing they
mourned 30 days for him]. This would also explain why Num. 29 doesn't
describe the other feasts but only the day of Atonement and the related
feast of booths [tabernacles]. The language of "a" rather than "the"
holy gathering could suggest that a specific event is being commanded
rather than simply repeating the legislation about the intended annual day
of atonement ["In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you
shall have a holy gathering", Num. 29:1]. This would also make sense of
the word "this" in Num. 29:7: "On the tenth day of this seventh month you
shall have a holy gathering". That sounds as if the audience were at that
point in the seventh month.
As discussed above, the material in Num. 26-30 is all relevant to the historical situation described in Num. 25. Moab took Balaam's advice and encouraged the men of Israel to sleep with Moabite prostitutes, and to make a religious covenant with Baal. This was at the end of the 40 year wandering, with Israel about to enter the Kingdom of God, the promised land. Num. 28 is not just a random repetition of the law about the day of Atonement. Rather was it a specific appeal for Israel to then keep it- hence the language in this chapter of keeping it "this month", and a calling of "a holy gathering" rather than "the holy gathering". It's why the other feasts aren't mentioned- only the Day of Atonement and the connected feast, of Tabernacles, which began a week later. And this explains some of the differences we will note between the commandments about the Yom Kippur rituals in Num. 28 and the more generic ones in Lev. 16.
Num 29:2 You shall offer a burnt offering for a pleasant aroma to Yahweh:
one young bull, one ram, seven male lambs a year old without blemish-
The laws of Lev. 16:32,33 required that the atonement was made by
a consecrated High Priest: "The priest who is anointed and who is
consecrated to be priest in his father’s place shall make the atonement,
and shall put on the linen garments, even the holy garments.
Then he shall make atonement for the Holy Sanctuary; and he shall make
atonement for the Tent of Meeting and for the altar; and he shall make
atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly". There
is no mention of Eleazar nor Phinehas being consecrated after the death of
Aaron. We wonder whether this is why there is no repetition of those
commands at this time. God wanted the people to do their best to keep
their own day of Atonement; which is why we read that "you" are to make
the offerings including the atonement sacrifice. This is the same "you"
who are told in :1 to "do no servile work".
Num 29:3 and their grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil, three tenth
parts for the bull, two tenth parts for the ram-
The continual stress upon the usage of oil [shehmen] may
look ahead to the meshiach, the Christ, the anointed one. All
aspects of the offerings looked ahead to the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is fair to enquire whether the wheat / flour and oil were not
in fact offered separately, but rather the idea is that a cake was to be
baked. Because that is the idea of oil and flour being together. In this
case we have the common idea of bread accompanying a meal. The sacrifice
was a meal between the invisible God and His people. And thus they all
looked forward in essence to the breaking of bread meeting, where the
bread and wine [the side dishes to a meal] are present, and so is the meat
/ lamb / sacrifice- in the invisible but present Lord Jesus.
Num 29:4 and one tenth part for every lamb of the seven lambs-
Num 29:5 and one male goat for a sin offering, to make atonement for you-
This was to prepare them for the upcoming day of atonement.
Num 29:6 besides the burnt offering of the new moon, and the grain
offering of it, and the continual burnt offering and the grain offering of
it, and their drink offerings, according to their ordinance, for a
pleasant aroma, an offering made by fire to Yahweh-
The day of Atonement likewise cleansed the Most Holy place and the
tabernacle. This was relevant to the fact that Zimri and Cozbi had defiled
the tabernacle by their sex act there, and Phinehas had charged in there
to murder them.
Num 29:7 On the tenth day of this seventh month you shall have a holy
gathering; and you shall afflict your souls. You shall do no kind of work-
This was the day of atonement.
Num 29:8 but you shall offer a burnt offering to Yahweh for a pleasant
aroma: one young bull, one ram, seven male lambs a year old (they shall be
to you without blemish)-
Num 29:9 and their grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil, three tenth
parts for the bull, two tenth parts for the one ram-
Ez. 16:13,19 speak of how God fed Israel with fine flour and oil.
These things are only mentioned together
(43 times!) with reference to the sacrifices which Israel were to
offer to God. But God says that He had given these things to Israel, and
even fed them with them. The idea therefore was that they were giving back
to God what He had first given them. And this must be remembered in all
our sacrificing.
Num 29:10 a tenth part for every lamb of the seven lambs-
We note the lack of mention of the drink offering, of wine, which
usually accompanied all sacrifices. Unless it is mentioned in :11. I
suggest this omission may have been to signpost attention towards the huge
significance of the blood of the day of atonement sacrifice.
Num 29:11 one male goat for a sin offering; besides the sin offering of
atonement, and the continual burnt offering, and the grain offering of it,
and their drink offerings-
Num 29:12 On the fifteenth day of the seventh month you shall have a holy
gathering. You shall do no servile work, and you shall keep a feast to
Yahweh seven days-
The feast of Tabernacles or booths now described only mentions the offerings to be made. Yet elsewhere it is described as a feast of joy, rejoicing in the ingathered harvest and dwelling in tents looking back to the wilderness years, reminding them that even in a settled prosperous life, they were still pilgrims. Dt. 16:14 Heb. says that they were to be made glad, and this was the result of the Yom Kippur experience. We enquire why the sense of joy, and the command to dwell in tents, is not here recorded. It could be that this was a specific command for the feast of Tabernacles to now be kept after the day of Atonement- to Israel at that point in the desert. They had no harvest to gather, and they were still living in tents anyway. But the idea was that after the sober facing up to sin of the Day of Atonement, the people were now to rejoice in God's grace.
But in the immediate context of Israel at the point of Num. 29, they were to remember that their joy still involved sacrifice, their joy in God's grace couldn't be real without some sense of sacrifice- and a sin offering was still required, to ever remind them of the price paid for human redemption. In fact there were more offerings made in the feast of Booths than in any other feast. They had to give something in response to His grace, not 'appear empty handed', and this should be our sense too. In all this we see taught our response to the Lord's achievement of atonement for us.
Elsewhere we read the command to rejoice, or [Heb.] to be made to rejoice. This meant that they were not to fast nor hold funerals during this feast. The achievement of the day of Atonement was to be understood in terms of not only forgiveness, but the ultimate conquest of death. They were also to present the fruits of the harvest before God and to make booths to live in. The feast of Tabernacles is called the feast of ingathering in Exodus- it celebrated the gathering in of the harvest. This is all alluded to in the visions of Rev. 7:9-17; 14:1-5: "A great crowd, which no one could number, out of every nation, comprised of all tribes, peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, arrayed in white robes and with palms in their hands". The palm fronds suggest the feast of tabernacles; and we see the connection with the 70 bullocks offered during the feast, representing the 70 Gentile nations of Gen. 10. The feast spoke of the climax of God's harvest of people- and His joy in us. Revelation often uses Feast of Tabernacles language, especially playing on the word skene, which the LXX uses for the booths of the feast of booths / Tabernacles. Thus Rev. 21:3,4: "The home [skene] of God is among mortals. He will dwell [skenoo] with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away". All this alludes to the joy which was to characterize the feast.
"Servile work" specifically means 'work as a slave'; the term is
used multiple times in describing Israel's servitude in Egypt, and for the
"service" of the tabernacle and of Yahweh generally. They changed masters
but their servitude remained. So slaves were given a holiday at this
feast. The people together were to remember that they had all been freed
from Egypt by grace, and freed from the servitude to sin by the Day of
Atonement which preceded this feast. We live in a world where people rich
and poor are alike in slavery to the flesh. We are freed from this
"servile" life and are to rejoice in it. The Truth has made us free- the
truth of sin forgiven and dealt with, and calm assurance of eternal
salvation.
Num 29:13 You shall offer a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, of a
pleasant aroma to Yahweh: thirteen young bulls, two rams, fourteen male
lambs a year old; they shall be without blemish-
Num 29:14 and their grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil, three tenth
parts for every bull of the thirteen bulls, two tenth parts for each ram
of the two rams-
Num 29:15 and a tenth part for every lamb of the fourteen lambs-
The handful of flour was to be given for every individual lamb, and
not as some blanket amount to cover all 14 lambs. God wanted them to
realize that their joy and celebration was to always have embedded within
it an awareness of their forgiveness and Passover deliverance. And to this
day, this is to be the basis for our joy.
Num 29:16 and one male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual
burnt offering, the grain offering of it, and the drink offering of it-
Num 29:17 On the second day you shall offer twelve young bulls, two rams,
fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish-
Num 29:18 and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the
bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number, after
the ordinance-
The continual offering of bread [flour] and wine with each animal
looked ahead to the breaking of bread meeting. The sacrificed animal is
present in the form of the now living Lord Jesus.
Num 29:19 and one male goat for a sin offering; besides the continual
burnt offering, and the grain offering of it, and their drink offerings-
Num 29:20 On the third day eleven bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a
year old without blemish-
The decreasing number of bullocks may have been in order to highlight
the final offering, of the significant number of seven bullocks.
Num 29:21 and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the
bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number, after
the ordinance-
All the sacrifices were to be made upon the basis that the offerer
was giving back to God what God had given him. That included the grain
["meal"] and drink offerings. Thus the same words are found in Joel 2:14:
"Who knows? He may turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, even
a meal offering and a drink offering to Yahweh, your God". The sense
may therefore be: "The one who experiences this, will experience a God who
turns and relents, and goes even further- He will restore you grain and
wine. But you are to use that blessing of grace by offering it to Yahweh,
your God".
Num 29:22 and one male goat for a sin offering; besides the continual
burnt offering, and the grain offering of it, and the drink offering of
it-
Num 29:23 On the fourth day ten bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a
year old without blemish-
The decreasing number of bullocks was perhaps related to the
symbolism of the bullock for strong, powerful labour. This was to
decrease, until the final sacrifice of seven bullocks was understood as
the power of the work of the future Messiah, the Lord Jesus.
Num 29:24 their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls,
for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number, after the
ordinance-
Num 29:25 and one male goat for a sin offering; besides the continual
burnt offering, the grain offering of it, and the drink offering of it-
Female animals were also accepted for sacrifice. The male animals
however were worth more than female ones on the secular market, and so the
insistence upon male offerings was not because God favours males over
females; but simply because He was asking for the most valuable to be
given to Him.
Num 29:26 On the fifth day nine bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a
year old without blemish-
Num 29:27 and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the
bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number, after
the ordinance-
Grain and wine offerings were used in pagan worship (s.w. Is. 57:6),
just as feasts were kept to celebrate the new moon. The nature of the law
of Moses was designed by God to accept the people's religious need to make
such offerings and celebrate such regular events- but it was turned
towards the worship of Yahweh rather than idols and gods. We marvel at
God's sensitivity to the psychological needs of His people, according to
the time and culture in which they live.
Num 29:28 and one male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual
burnt offering, and the grain offering of it, and the drink offering of
it-
Num 29:29 On the sixth day eight bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a
year old without blemish-
Num 29:30 and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the
bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number, after
the ordinance-
Part of the grain / flour / cake was typically burnt upon the altar
and the wine poured out upon it (Gen. 35:14; Ex. 30:9; 2 Kings 16:13,15);
and part of it was eaten by the priests, representing God's acceptance of
it, and how He was dining with the offerers at His table, represented by
the altar.
Num 29:31 and one male goat for a sin offering; besides the continual
burnt offering, the grain offering of it, and the drink offerings of it-
This laboured, repeated reminder is required in essence today- we are
never to think that our daily, morning and evening personal devotions to
God are overridden by some special project or obviated by the fact we are
e.g. going to church or a church function that day.
Num 29:32 On the seventh day seven bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a
year old without blemish-
Num 29:33 and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the
bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number, after
the ordinance-
The idea may be that each animal was to be individually accompanied
by the flour and wine. Each animal was to be seen as an individual meal
offered to God and shared with Him. There was to be no blanket offering of
flour and wine in one go, lest this wonderful reality be somehow obscured.
Num 29:34 and one male goat for a sin offering; besides the continual
burnt offering, the grain offering of it, and the drink offering of it-
All these "continual" offerings were designed to provoke the question
in the heart of all thoughtful believers: 'Does God really want all these
animals?'. David at the time of his sin with Bathsheba was taught that God
didn't actually want them so much as He wanted a contrite heart which
throws itself upon Him. He did not so much require the continual burnt
offerings, but rather "Offer to God the sacrifice of thanksgiving, pay your vows to the
Most High" (Ps. 50:8,15). Heartfelt praise was what God hungered for, not
ritualistic sacrifice. To this day, He is thrilled by from the heart
thanksgiving, and actions of gratitude for what He has done ["pay your
vows"].
Num 29:35 On the eighth day you shall have a solemn assembly: you shall do
no servile work-
Work was obviously required in order to keep the Passover; the "work"
in view is therefore secular work. But the Hebrew phrase "regular work" is
that repeatedly used for "the work of the service" of the tabernacle,
performed by the Levites (Ex. 35:21,24; 36:1,3,5; 1 Chron. 9:13,19; 23:24;
25:1 etc.). Perhaps this command in Leviticus was specifically addressed
to the Levites, and the idea was that at the times of the festivals, the
Levites were to focus upon keeping them in their own families and not be
unduly taken up with the work of the sanctuary beyond what was required by
the Mosaic law. The principle is that we must not be so taken up with
religious duty that we neglect our own personal worship, especially in our
own families.
Num 29:36 but you shall offer a burnt offering, an offering made by fire,
of a pleasant aroma to Yahweh: one bull, one ram, seven male lambs a year
old without blemish-
Perhaps the whole purpose of the decreasing number of bullocks over
the previous days was to teach that there was only one bull ultimately
required by God- pointing forward to the future perfect sacrifice of the
Lord Jesus.
Num 29:37 their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bull, for
the ram, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the
ordinance-
As the numbers of bullocks decreased, so did the number of the grain
and drink offerings. A human religious system would likely have increased
the numbers of sacrifices each day, leading up to a crescendo of mass
offerings. But Israel were taught by the decreasing number of sacrifices
that God didn't actually require sacrifices, but rather one specific
sacrifice- which was to be the Lord Jesus.
Num 29:38 and one male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual
burnt offering, and the grain offering of it, and the drink offering of
it-
Revelation 5 Passover Rev. 5:x6,9 = Ex. 12:13
Revelation 7 Tabernacles Rev. 7:9,15,16 RV = Ex. 23:16; 34:22; Zech.
14:16-20
Revelation 8,9 Day Of Atonement Lev. 16:31; more detailed links in Harry
Whittaker, Revelation: A Biblical Approach pp. 104,105.
Revelation 11 Dedication & Purim The Torah readings for these feasts were
Num. 7 and Zech. 2- 4 about the dedication of the temple; Rev. 11:10 =
Esther 9:19,22. The period from Tabernacles to Purim is exactly 5 months-
as mentioned in Rev. 9:5
Revelation 12 Pentecost & Passover The Jews traditionally ask: "On this
Sabbath, shall I reap?"
Revelation 14 Tabernacles
Revelation 15 + 16 Atonement & Passover Lev. 16; Ps. 118 the Hallel Psalm
Revelation 19 Passover Ps. 113,114 Passover Psalms
Revelation 21,22 Tabernacles
Laying out the material chronologically, we have:
Chapter 5: Passover
6 months
Chapter 7: Tabernacles
Chapters 8 & 9: Atonement and Tabernacles
1 year
Chapter 11: Dedication 5 months (Rev 9:5)
Chapter 11: Purim
Chapter 12: Passover and Pentecost
Chapter 14: Tabernacles
1 year
Chapter 15: Atonement
Chapter 16 & 19: Passover
Chapter 21 & 22: Tabernacles
1 year
The conclusion would therefore be that we have in the book of Revelation a
literal account of the three and a half years tribulation, with the Jewish
feasts being the key marker points. And it would appear there will be an
especial period of five months tribulation as described between Revelation
chapters 9 and 11.
Num 29:39 You shall offer these to Yahweh in your set feasts, besides your
vows, and your freewill offerings, for your burnt offerings, and for your
grain offerings, and for your drink offerings, and for your peace
offerings’-
Num 29:40 Moses told the children of Israel according to all that Yahweh
commanded Moses-
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