February 29, 2020: Day 28 – Numbers 28

So here is a chapter that you are probably wondering what does this have to do with anything in my life?  I don’t take part in any sacrifices and these types of animal offerings are not a part of my religious life or my faith in any way, shape, or form.  You would be correct in making all of those statements.  This is a chapter that teaches the people of Israel how important it was to be disciplined in the offerings which were given to the Lord and that these offerings needed to be consistent and needed to be taken seriously.  Each one was different as each season and each festival of the year was considered unique and had its own offering.

Christians have never taken part in animal, much less human, sacrifices.  We believe, as Hebrews 10:1-18 states clearly that “we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all (vs.10).”  We do not have to offer any other sacrifices in order to satisfy God or in order to purify ourselves because the single sacrifice of Christ was sufficient to redeem us from our sins and to cleanse us from our unrighteousness.  Those are powerful and heady theological truths that we have received as children of God.  

So what we have before us is a reminder of the way that things used to be.  What we have in front of us in Hebrews and all of the New Testament, is the new covenant which no longer requires those sacrifices which are described.  But it is good to know our past in order to understand how we have arrived at where we are today.