In preparation for entering Canaan, God wanted to remind His people of their relationship with Him. This was done through daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly offerings in worship to God. God tells Moses, to command to make sure that they present to God at the appointed time His food offerings, as an aroma pleasing to Him, Numbers 28:1-2. They are to present to the LORD two lambs a year old without defect, as a regular burnt offering each day, Numbers 28:3.
And notice they commanded to bring this lamb, every morning, and every evening, Numbers 28:4 / Exodus 29:38. There’s no better way to remember their relationship with God than by beginning and ending each day with the reminder of the need for atonement by sacrifice and expression of devotion to Him.
Whitelaw, in his commentary, says the following.
‘A great variety of observances which were zealously followed by the Jews of later ages find no place here. This offering of the lamb morning and evening was called the ‘daily sacrifice’ and was continued right up until the destruction of Jerusalem. This offering was basic to all the others, and was not to be omitted, no matter what other sacrifices were to be made on any given day or days. All such sacrifices were offered additionally, Exodus 29:38-45.’
Together with a grain offering of a tenth of an ephah of the finest flour, that is, three and a half pounds, mixed with a quarter of a hin of oil from pressed olives, that is around one litre, Numbers 28:5. The grain offering didn’t involve the taking of a life, instead, it was made up of the finest flour, Leviticus 2:1 / Genesis 4:3 / Genesis 3:10 / Judges 3:15-18, oil, and incense, Leviticus 2:1.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘This meat-offering connected itself, from its very nature, with the life of the Israelites in Canaan, not with their life in the wilderness; and it was annexed to the animal sacrifices as a token that the people must dedicate to God their property and the fruits of their labour as well as their own persons, Numbers 15:2 / Leviticus 21:6.’
This is the regular burnt offering instituted at Mount Sinai as a pleasing aroma, a food offering presented to the LORD, Numbers 28:6. The accompanying drink offering is to be a quarter of a hin of fermented drink with each lamb and then they are to pour out the drink offering to the LORD at the sanctuary, Numbers 28:7 / Exodus 29:40-46.
Because the drink offering is ‘poured out’ upon the existing offering, there is a thought of ‘wasting’ or ‘being wasted’, Matthew 26:6-8. In Genesis 35:14, Jacob pours out a drink offering to signify he is giving his life back to God, consecrating himself for the house of God, ‘Beth-El’.
They to offer the second lamb at twilight, along with the same kind of grain offering and drink offering that they offer in the morning, Numbers 28:8. This is a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the LORD, Numbers 28:8.
Notice that on every Sabbath day, an additional lamb was sacrificed every morning and every evening, Numbers 28:9. Together with its drink offering and a grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour, which is around seven pounds, mixed with olive oil, Numbers 28:9. This is the burnt offering for every Sabbath, in addition to the regular burnt offering and its drink offering, Numbers 28:10.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The key words here are, ‘besides the continual burnt-offering’. It was not enough merely to double the offering of sabbath days; it was to be doubled and added to the continual burnt-offering.’
At the beginning of every month, Israel were to bring a burnt offering to the LORD, Numbers 28:11 / 1 Samuel 20:5.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Although it is true that the Jewish lunar months called special attention to ‘feasts of the new moons’ which were prevalent among the pagans, they were specifically commanded not to worship the moon, Deuteronomy 17:3, but it would seem from Paul’s words in Colossians 2:16 that the Jews continued to participate in ‘new moon’ festivals, whether or not this was the original intention. Under Judaism, they served a different purpose from the customs of pagans.’
The burnt offering was to be two young bulls, one ram and seven male lambs a year old, all without defect, Numbers 28:11. With each bull there is to be a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with oil and with the ram, a grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with oil and with each lamb, a grain offering of a tenth of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with oil, Numbers 28:12-13. This is for a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma, a food offering presented to the LORD, Numbers 28:13.
With each bull there is to be a drink offering of half a hin of wine and with the ram, a third of a hin and with each lamb, a quarter of a hin, Numbers 28:14. This is the monthly burnt offering to be made at each new moon during the year, Numbers 28:14.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The New-moon offering is here also commanded for the first time. The goat as a sin-offering, though mentioned last, would seem in fact to have been offered first, compare the precedents in Exodus 29:1-10 / Leviticus 5:1-10 / Leviticus 8:1-10 / Leviticus 9:1-10 / Leviticus 14:1-10 / Leviticus 16:1-10. The sin-offering, which Numbers 15:22-26 had been contemplated in cases where a sin had been committed ignorantly without the knowledge of the congregation, was henceforth not to be offered merely at discretion, as circumstances might seem to require, but to be regularly repeated, not less frequently than once a month.’
Besides the regular burnt offering with its drink offering, one male goat is to be presented to the LORD as a sin offering, Numbers 28:15 / Exodus 29:10-14. The priests are to offer sin offerings for the people but they first had to sacrifice for their own sins, Leviticus 4:1-35 / Leviticus 6:24-30 / Hebrews 5:3.
Remember the Passover hadn’t been observed throughout the wilderness wanderings. Now it was time to rehearse the laws concerning the time and event of the Passover, Numbers 28:16-17 / Exodus 12:16 / Leviticus 23:7-8. For seven days Israel are to eat bread made without yeast, Numbers 28:17. On the first day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work, Numbers 28:18.
They are to present to the LORD a food offering consisting of a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram and seven male lambs a year old, all without defect, Numbers 28:19. With each bull offer a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with oil and with the ram, two-tenths and with each of the seven lambs, one-tenth, Numbers 28:20-21. They are to include one male goat as a sin offering to make atonement for them, Numbers 28:22, and they are to offer these in addition to the regular morning burnt offering, Numbers 28:23.
In this way present the food offering every day for seven days as an aroma pleasing to the LORD and it is to be offered in addition to the regular burnt offering and its drink offering, Numbers 28:24. Once again they are told on the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work, Numbers 28:25 / Numbers 28:26.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘It is clear that all of these sacrifices were supplementary to the ones already prescribed for Passover in Exodus 12 and Leviticus 23:4-8. Of particular interest is the fact that the seven days feast of Unleavened Bread that always began on the day after Passover required the observance of ‘a holy convocation’ with abstinence from all ‘servile’ work. In fact, these were simply additional sabbaths (rests) and were different from the weekly sabbaths in that they could come on any day of the week. This phenomenon resulted in the back-to-back sabbaths on Friday and Saturday the week our Lord was crucified. The Greek text of Matthew 28:1 refers to these back-to-back ‘sabbaths’ (plural). Servile work here prohibited primarily meant that all ‘occupational’ work, or work done for making a living was prohibited.’
Straight after the Passover, the feast of unleavened bread was to begin, Leviticus 23:5-6. This feast lasted for seven days and was the offering of the first fruits of the harvest, Exodus 34:22. The main reason for the Festival of Weeks or the Feast of Pentecost wasn’t about atonement, it was about thanksgiving for the harvest. Yet every feast of Israel was to carry with it the idea of atonement.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘This great feast day was honoured by God in the sending of the Holy Spirit and the beginning of the Church of Christ on earth, Acts 2. Through the ages, several names have been attached to this festival, First-fruits, Feast of Weeks, Pentecost, Whitsunday, etc. Leviticus 23:9-23.’
On the day of firstfruits, when Israel presents an offering of new grain during the Festival of Weeks, they are to hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work, Numbers 28:26 / Numbers 28:25. They are to present a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram and seven male lambs a year old as an aroma pleasing to the LORD, Numbers 28:27.
With each bull there is to be a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with oil and with the ram, two-tenths and with each of the seven lambs, one-tenth, Numbers 28:28-29. They are to include one male goat to make atonement for them, Numbers 28:30. They are to offer these together with their drink offerings, in addition to the regular burnt offering and its grain offering and make sure the animals are without defect, Numbers 28:31.