# Numbers 15 📖: Laws for Offerings and Sabbath [[📚 Explore the Bible Books]] [[-Numbers Overview]] | [[Numbers 14]] | [[Numbers 16]] > [!info] Table of Contents > [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]] > [[#📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary]] > [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]] > [[#🧠 Chapter Summary]] > [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]] > [[#🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application]] > [[#💬 Discussion Questions]] > [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]] > [[#🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference]] > [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]] > [[#📂 Internal Notes]] ## 📜 Scripture Text (NET) (The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005) ### Sacrificial Rulings (The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005) [[#Verse 01.]] The Lord spoke to Moses: [[#Verse 02.]] “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘When you enter the land where you are to live, which I am giving you,  [[#Verse 03.]] and you make an offering by fire to the Lord from the herd or from the flock (whether a burnt offering or a sacrifice for discharging a vow or as a freewill offering or in your solemn feasts) to create a pleasing aroma to the Lord,  [[#Verse 04.]] then the one who presents his offering to the Lord must bring a grain offering of one-tenth of an ephah of finely ground flour mixed with one-fourth of a hin of olive oil.  [[#Verse 05.]] You must also prepare one-fourth of a hin of wine for a drink offering with the burnt offering or the sacrifice for each lamb.  [[#Verse 06.]] Or for a ram, you must prepare as a grain offering two-tenths of an ephah of finely ground flour mixed with one-third of a hin of olive oil, [[#Verse 07.]] and for a drink offering you must offer one-third of a hin of wine as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. [[#Verse 08.]] And when you prepare a young bull as a burnt offering or a sacrifice for discharging a vow or as a peace offering to the Lord, [[#Verse 09.]] then a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of finely ground flour mixed with half a hin of olive oil must be presented with the young bull,  [[#Verse 10.]] and you must present as the drink offering half a hin of wine with the fire offering as a pleasing aroma to the Lord.  [[#Verse 11.]] This is what is to be done for each ox, or each ram, or each of the male lambs or the goats. [[#Verse 11]] This is what is to be done for each ox, or each ram, or each of the male lambs or the goats.  [[#Verse 12.]] You must do so for each one according to the number that you prepare. [[#Verse 13.]] “‘Every native-born person must do these things in this way to present an offering made by fire as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. [[#Verse 14.]] If a resident foreigner is living with you—or whoever is among you in future generations—and prepares an offering made by fire as a pleasing aroma to the Lord, he must do it the same way you are to do it.  [[#Verse 15.]] One statute must apply to you who belong to the congregation and to the resident foreigner who is living among you, as a permanent statute for your future generations. You and the resident foreigner will be alike before the Lord.  [[#Verse 16.]] One law and one custom must apply to you and to the resident foreigner who lives alongside you.’” ### Rules for Firstfruits [[#Verse 17.]] The Lord spoke to Moses:  [[#Verse 18.]] “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘When you enter the land to which I am bringing you  [[#Verse 19.]] and you eat some of the food of the land, you must offer up a raised offering to the Lord.  [[#Verse 20.]] You must offer up a cake of the first of your finely ground flour as a raised offering; as you offer the raised offering of the threshing floor, so you must offer it up.  [[#Verse 21.]] You must give to the Lord some of the first of your finely ground flour as a raised offering in your future generations. ### Rules for Unintentional Offenses [[#Verse 22.]] “‘If you sin unintentionally and do not observe all these commandments that the Lord has spoken to Moses— [[#Verse 23.]] all that the Lord has commanded you by the authority of Moses, from the day that the Lord commanded Moses and continuing through your future generations—  [[#Verse 24.]] then if anything is done unintentionally without the knowledge of the community, the whole community must prepare one young bull for a burnt offering—for a pleasing aroma to the Lord—along with its grain offering and its customary drink offering, and one male goat for a purification offering.  [[#Verse 25.]] And the priest is to make atonement for the whole community of the Israelites, and they will be forgiven, because it was unintentional and they have brought their offering, an offering made by fire to the Lord, and their purification offering before the Lord, for their unintentional offense.  [[#Verse 26.]] And the whole community of the Israelites and the resident foreigner who lives among them will be forgiven, since all the people were involved in the unintentional offense. [[#Verse 27.]] “‘If any person sins unintentionally, then he must bring a yearling female goat for a purification offering.  [[#Verse 28.]] And the priest must make atonement for the person who sins unintentionally—when he sins unintentionally before the Lord—to make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven.  [[#Verse 29.]] You must have one law for the person who sins unintentionally, both for the native-born among the Israelites and for the resident foreigner who lives among them. ### Deliberate Sin [[#Verse 30.]] “‘But the person who acts defiantly, whether native-born or a resident foreigner, insults the Lord. That person must be cut off from among his people.  [[#Verse 31.]] Because he has despised the Lord’s message and has broken his commandment, that person must be completely cut off. His iniquity will be on him.’” [[#Verse 32.]] When the Israelites were in the wilderness they found a man gathering wood on the Sabbath day.  [[#Verse 33.]] Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and to the whole community.  [[#Verse 34.]] They put him in custody, because there was no clear instruction about what should be done to him.  [[#Verse 35.]] Then the Lord said to Moses, “The man must surely be put to death; the whole community must stone him with stones outside the camp.”  [[#Verse 36.]] So the whole community took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, just as the Lord commanded Moses. ### Rules for Tassels [[#Verse 37.]] The Lord spoke to Moses:  [[#Verse 38.]] “Speak to the Israelites and tell them to make tassels for themselves on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and put a blue thread on the tassel of the corners.  [[#Verse 39.]] You must have this tassel so that you may look at it and remember all the commandments of the Lord and obey them and so that you do not follow after your own heart and your own eyes that lead you to unfaithfulness.  [[#Verse 40.]] Thus you will remember and obey all my commandments and be holy to your God.  [[#Verse 41.]] I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord your God.” ## 📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary ###### Overall. ###### Verse 01. ###### Verse 02. ###### Verse 03. ###### Verse 04. ###### Verse 05. ###### Verse 06. ###### Verse 07. ###### Verse 08. ###### Verse 09. ###### Verse 10. ###### Verse 11. ###### Verse 12. ###### Verse 13. ###### Verse 14. ###### Verse 15. ###### Verse 16. ###### Verse 17. ###### Verse 18. ###### Verse 19. ###### Verse 20. ###### Verse 21. ###### Verse 22. ###### Verse 23. ###### Verse 24. ###### Verse 25. ###### Verse 26. ###### Verse 27. ###### Verse 28. ###### Verse 29. ###### Verse 30. ###### Verse 31. ###### Verse 32. ###### Verse 33. ###### Verse 34. ###### Verse 35. ###### Verse 36. ###### Verse 37. ###### Verse 38. ###### Verse 39. ###### Verse 40. ###### Verse 41. ## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights 1. The chapter begins with "When you enter the land" (15:2), a promise right after the failure at Kadesh. 2. Grain and drink offerings were added to sacrifices, scaled to the size of the animal (15:4-10). 3. The same law applied to native Israelites and foreigners living with them (15:15-16). 4. Israel was to offer a cake from the first of their dough (15:20-21). 5. Defiant sin is literally sinning "with a high hand" in Hebrew (15:30), like shaking a fist at God. 6. A man gathering wood on the Sabbath was put to death after Moses asked the Lord (15:32-36). 7. Israelites were to wear tassels on the corners of their garments with a blue cord (15:38). 8. Jewish men still wear these tassels, called *tzitzit*, on the prayer shawl. 9. Jesus criticized some Pharisees for making their tassels long to be seen (Matthew 23:5). 10. The Greek word for the "edge" of Jesus' cloak (Matthew 9:20) is the same word the Septuagint uses for these tassels. ## 🧠 Chapter Summary > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter Christ is the sacrifice for both unintentional sins and willful rebels. The Law gave atonement for unintentional sins (15:27-28), but Jesus' blood cleanses all who come to Him (Hebrews 9:14; 1 John 1:7). The tassel's hem is the very edge a sick woman touched to be healed (Matthew 9:20). ## 🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## 💬 Discussion Questions 1. Right after the judgment of chapter 14, God gives laws for when they enter the land (15:2). What does that say about God's faithfulness? 2. The Law treated unintentional sins differently from defiant sins (15:27-31). Why does the attitude of the heart matter so much? 3. The tassels helped Israel remember God's commands instead of following their own hearts and eyes (15:39). What reminders help you stay faithful? ## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember - 📖 verse 2: When you enter the land I am giving you. - 📖 verses 15-16: There is one law for Israel and for the foreigner living among them. - 📖 verses 38-39: Tassels on the corners of garments remind Israel to obey the Lord. ## 🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference - 🔗 [[Deuteronomy 22#Verse 12.|Deuteronomy 22:12]] - Make tassels on the four corners of your cloak. - 🔗 [[Matthew 09#Verse 20.|Matthew 9:20-22]] - A woman touches the edge of Jesus' cloak. - 🔗 [[Hebrews 10#Verse 26.|Hebrews 10:26-29]] - A warning against deliberate sin. - 🔗 [[Leviticus 04#Verse 02.|Leviticus 4:2-3]] - Offerings for unintentional sins. - 🔗 [[1 John 01#Verse 07.|1 John 1:7]] - The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. ## 🙏 Devotional Reflection > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## 📂 Internal Notes