Numbers 15:7-417And for a drink offering thou shalt offer the third part of an hin of wine, for a sweet savor unto the Lord. 8And when thou preparest a bullock for a burnt offering, or for a sacrifice in performing a vow, or peace offerings unto the Lord: 9Then shall he bring with a bullock a meat offering of three tenth deals of flour mingled with half an hin of oil. 10And thou shalt bring for a drink offering half an hin of wine, for an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the Lord. 11Thus shall it be done for one bullock, or for one ram, or for a lamb, or a kid. 12According to the number that ye shall prepare, so shall ye do to every one according to their number. 13All that are born of the country shall do these things after this manner, in offering an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the Lord. 14And if a stranger sojourn with you, or whosoever be among you in your generations, and will offer an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the Lord; as ye do, so he shall do. 15One ordinance shall be both for you of the congregation, and also for the stranger that sojourneth with you, an ordinance for ever in your generations: as ye are, so shall the stranger be before the Lord. 16One law and one manner shall be for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you. 17And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 18Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land whither I bring you, 19Then it shall be, that, when ye eat of the bread of the land, ye shall offer up an heave offering unto the Lord. 20Ye shall offer up a cake of the first of your dough for an heave offering: as ye do the heave offering of the threshingfloor, so shall ye heave it. 21Of the first of your dough ye shall give unto the Lord an heave offering in your generations. 22And if ye have erred, and not observed all these commandments, which the Lord hath spoken unto Moses, 23Even all that the Lord hath commanded you by the hand of Moses, from the day that the Lord commanded Moses, and henceforward among your generations; 24Then it shall be, if ought be committed by ignorance without the knowledge of the congregation, that all the congregation shall offer one young bullock for a burnt offering, for a sweet savor unto the Lord, with his meat offering, and his drink offering, according to the manner, and one kid of the goats for a sin offering. 25And the priest shall make an atonement for all the congregation of the children of Israel, and it shall be forgiven them; for it is ignorance: and they shall bring their offering, a sacrifice made by fire unto the Lord, and their sin offering before the Lord, for their ignorance: 26And it shall be forgiven all the congregation of the children of Israel, and the stranger that sojourneth among them; seeing all the people were in ignorance. 27And if any soul sin through ignorance, then he shall bring a she goat of the first year for a sin offering. 28And the priest shall make an atonement for the soul that sinneth ignorantly, when he sinneth by ignorance before the Lord, to make an atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him. 29Ye shall have one law for him that sinneth through ignorance, both for him that is born among the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them. 30But the soul that doeth ought presumptuously, whether he be born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth the Lord; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 31Because he hath despised the word of the Lord, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him. 32And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day. 33And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation. 34And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him. 35And the Lord said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp. 36And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the Lord commanded Moses. 37And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 38Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue: 39And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring: 40That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God. 41I am the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the Lord your God. (Numbers 15:7‑41)
The children of Israel are again reminded here about offering the firs tfruits to the Lord. Their first dough was to be offered as a heave offering to Him. It is a joy to give the Lord first place, is it not? When we think of it, all that we have really belongs to Him, for He is the Giver of everything that is good. Let us always remember His claims.
Next we are told of the gracious provision the Lord made for sins of ignorance. This was the only way He could go on with an erring people, for God is holy and cannot pass over sin—it must be judged, even sins of ignorance. We remark again, as we have often done before, that all these sacrifices pointed on to the one perfect sacrifice of Christ which alone can put away sin. There was, however, no provision made for presumptuous sins under the law—such sins brought only the judgment of God.
At this time one of the children of Israel was found picking up sticks on the sabbath day, and they brought him to Moses. The Lord told Moses that they were to stone him to death for what he had done. Now it is well to remember that God shows His thoughts about a thing when He sets it up, and though, undoubtedly, many broke the Sabbath after this, in Israel, and were not stoned, God’s thoughts about it for those under law did not change. In this day, of course, we are not under law, but under grace, and the Chriian’s day is the first day of the week—a day of liberty to please the Lord, and not the bondage of law. We see, however, a similar case at the beginning of the Christian dispensation when Ananias and Sapphira were smitten dead for telling a lie. Alas, many Christians have told lies since then, and were not smitten dead. Why? Is it not just as serious to tell a lie today as it was then? Yes, it is just as serious, but God is forbearing in grace now (though He still deals in government with His own). He will, however, show His thoughts about sin in the believer’s life when all is manifested at the judgment seat of Christ, for loss or reward. At the great white throne the lost, too, will learn God’s estimate of sin, before they are sent to the lake of fire forever. Out thoughts about sin may change, as the days grow darker (though they should not!), but let us always remember that the holiness of God’s throne, and what is suited to the light of His presence, never changes.
We notice in our chapter that the whole assembly were called upon to stone this sabbath breaker with stones. It was not just a few of the people who acted. When sin manifests itself in an assembly, all are responsible, and so “all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died.”
The children of Israel were told in to put a ribbon of blue on the border of their garments. Blue is the heavenly color, like the blue sky, and the border, of their garment would be the park closest to the ground. It would tell us all, young and old, that when in company with people of this world, should remember that we are a heavenly people, so that they see in us “a ribbon of blue.” Between us and the world, just as between the Israelite’s garment and the ground, there should be that which lets them know we are not of the world, but belong to heaven. Even boys and girls can wear this “ribbon” and show to whom they belong. It is better than any school ribbon!
ML 10/21/1951