ADULTS STS LESSON 97 SUNDRY OFFERINGS AND PRESUMPTUOUS SIN
MEMORY VERSE: “And 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: That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God” (Numbers 15:39,40).
TEXT: Numbers 15:1-41
This study comes after the utterly unpleasant incident of rebellion, unbelief and murmuring of the children of Israel against God and Moses His servant. God, who is both tender in mercy and of a purer eyes than to behold iniquity, instituted these laws of sacrifices for their full restoration and reassurance of entry into the Promised Land, on condition that they were willing and obedient. Although their unbelief provoked God to pronounce destruction on them, when Moses interceded, “…the LORD said, I have pardoned according to thy word” (Numbers 14:20). Again, as a token of the truth that there can be no remission of sin without the shedding of blood (Hebrews 9:22), He gave commandments concerning the offerings.
It is important to note that the provision for sin offerings for those who sin ignorantly is in contrast to those who indulge in presumptuous sins: “For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries (Hebrews :26-27).
REGULATIONS FOR SUNDRY OFFERINGS. Numbers 15:1-21; Ezekiel 44:30; Malachi 3:10-12.
“... When ye be come into the land of your habitations, which I give unto you” (Numbers 15:2) is the children of Israel the land of Canaan. As He gave the reassurance, it was His expectation that the children of Israel will make offerings to Him; hence, He gave the guidelines that they must follow. The offerings they could make include burnt offering (verse 3), freewill offering (verse 3), meat offering (verse 4), drink offering (verse 5) and peace offering (verse 8). The meat offerings were of two sorts: some were offered alone (Leviticus 2:1), others were added to the burnt offerings and peace offerings.
The importance of this law is to determine what proportion the meat offering, and drink offering should bear to the type of animal sacrifice they were to accompany.
One, a lamb or a kid goes with meat offering of tenth-deal of flour, mingled with oil and the drink offering of the same quantity of wine.
Two, for a ram, the meat offering was doubled to two tenth-deals of flour and the same quantity of wine for a drink offering.
Three, a bullock sacrifice was to attract three tenth- deals of flour and the same quantity of wine for a drink offering. Thus, the sacrifices were regulated by the rule of proportion. …As ye are, so shall the stranger be before the LORD. One law and one manner shall be for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you” (Numbers 15:15,16). Here, the Lord made it very clear that there is no inequality in His demands from the Jews and the Gentiles. From this declaration, we learn that:
one, God is no respecter of persons. No matter our social, educational, religious or tribal status, His demands remain the same.
Two, He expects the Jews to be kind to strangers and not to oppress them.
Three, it puts to rest the pride of the Jews, who felt that as Abraham’s seed, they were more accepted before the Lord than the Gentiles. No man’s ancestral lineage shall turn either to his advantage or prejudice before God.
Four, Gentiles are part of God’s redemptive plan from the beginning (Genesis 22:18; Galatians 3:8).
“And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land whither I bring you, Then it shall be, that, when ye eat of the bread of the land, ye shall offer up an heave offering unto the LORD. Of the first of your dough ye shall give unto the LORD an heave offering in your generations” (Numbers 15:17-19,21). This law of offering the first of their dough to the Lord was meant to be observed in the Promised Land because their meal in the wilderness was manna. But in Canaan, where they should eat the fruit of their labour, God required that He should be honoured as their great Benefactor. They were to offer, not only the first fruits and tenths of the corn in their fields (these had already been reserved), but when they had it in their houses, in their kneading trough, when it was almost ready to be set upon their tables, God must have a further tribute of acknowledgment, hence, part of their dough must be heaved or offered to Him (verses 20,21). This means that we must show appreciation to God for our daily provisions and give Him first place in our lives. The vision of prophet Ezekiel that “…ye shall also give unto the priest the first of your dough, that he may cause the blessing to rest in thine house“ (Ezekiel 44:30) further reminds us that as New Testament believers, we must pay our tithes, which is ten percent, and give freewill offerings from the remaining ninety percent in appreciation to God as our great Benefactor.
REQUIREMENTS FOR SIN OFFERING. Numbers 15:22-29; Leviticus 4:13,14,21; 2 Chronicles 29:21; Ezra 8:35; Acts 17:30.
Under the law, fulfilling all righteousness in keeping all the requirements of the law is a necessity. However because of the number of regulations that require Jewish faithfulness and the tendency to err by forgetfulness, the Lord gave the requirements concerning sacrifices to atone for sins of ignorance or omission. Sacrifice for sins of ignorance was a remedial law. There is a requirement for national sin committed through ignorance and for an individual. For the congregation, the Lord requires one young bullock for a burnt offering, with the meat offering and drink offering, and one kid of the goats for a sin offering. With these, the priest shall make atonement for the congregation and the Lord will forgive them.
For an individual, the requirement is slightly different. A she-goat of the first year brought for a sin offering is used by the priest to atone for the sin and it shall be forgiven. Sins committed ignorantly therefore, need to have atonement made for them. Ignorance will not excuse those that might have known their Lord’s will and did not do it. David prayed to be cleansed from his secret faults (Psalm 19:12,13). In any case, we must note that there must be a sacrifice for sin to be atoned for. “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many… unto salvation” (Hebrews 9:22,28).
In the present dispensation, sins committed ignorantly shall be forgiven after acknowledgment, repentance and faith in Christ, the Pascal Lamb, who was offered for the sins of the whole world. All categories of ignorant sinners therefore, can be forgiven if they humbly approach Calvary to obtain mercy. “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent“ (Acts 17:30).
RETRIBUTION FOR PRESUMPTUOUS SINNERS. Numbers 15:30-41; Exodus 31:14; 35:2; Nehemiah 13:17-18; Hebrews 10:26,27; Matthew 12:31,32; 2 Peter 2:20-22; Jeremiah 31:33; 2 Peter 3:1; Matthew 14:36; John 14:26; 16:13.
“But 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” (Numbers 15:30). Presumptuous sinners are those with a high hand lifted against Jehovah, openly confronting His authority by setting up their own desire in competition with His injunctions. They sin just for sinning sake, in contradiction to the precept of the law and in defiance of the penalty. Presumptuous sin is like fighting against God and daring Him to do His worst. “For he stretcheth out his hand against God, and strengtheneth himself against the Almighty” (Job 15:25). Anyone, irrespective of social, religious or secular status, who infracts on His commandments, reproaches the Lord (Numbers 15:30). Presumptuous sin is imputing folly or iniquity to the righteous Judge of heaven and earth. Such is the malignity of wilful sin. The gravity of presumptuous sin is summed up in the fact that “…if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins” (Hebrews 10:26). The Scripture declares that: “...that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Because 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” (Numbers 15:30,31).
A typical instance of presumptuous sin in this text was in the sin of breaking the Sabbath. The offence was of a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day. This seemingly small offence was a violation of the command to keep the Sabbath day holy and to do no servile work therein and thus dishonours the Institutor of the Sabbath. The offender was brought before Moses, Aaron and the entire congregation, while God was consulted. A sentence was passed on him and he was stoned to death by the congregation to serve as a deterrent to all Israel not to sin presumptuously.
Following the giving of the various laws, especially the law for atonement of the sin of ignorance, there was the need to provide a way of preventing Israel from repeatedly falling into sin. The measure was an instruction to make signs upon the borders of their garments to remind them of the commandments of the Lord so that they would not sin as a result of forgetfulness. “And 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: That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God” (Numbers 15:39,40). The sign appointed was a fringe of silk or thread, the garment itself ravelled at the bottom and a blue ribbon bound on the top of it to keep it tight. The Jews were in this way different from other people of the earth in their dressing. The ribbons on fringes at the hem of their garment marked them out in the public. This law on their dress code was to persist throughout their generations.
The Pharisees made their own fringes broader so as to appear more righteous than all. “But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries and enlarge the borders of their garments” (Matthew 23:5). The phylacteries were different things. They were their own invention. The fringes were divinely instituted. In this dispensation of grace, Christ has abolished all these ceremonies of fringes and ribband. He has given us the Holy Spirit to remind us always, of the way and will of the Father for His saint and the Church. Under the new covenant, it is written: “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them” (Hebrews 10:16). However, believers are required to maintain a constant reading of the Scriptures to stir up their pure minds by way of remembrance (2 Peter 3:1).
Note that the giving of the law is not an end in itself, but a means to an end. The Lord once again reemphasised His original intension: “That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God“ (Numbers 15:40). The essence for which we are commanded to obey the word of God is so that we would be holy and pleasing in His sight all the days of our lives.
Questions for review:
- What awaits those who indulge in presumptuous sin?
- What can we learn from God placing the same demand on the Jews and the strangers?
- How can a sinner be cleansed from the error of his way?
- What is presumptuous sin, and what punishment does it carry under the law?
- What is the significance of the fringes of ribband in the dressing of the children of Israel?
- What are the ways of bringing believers to remembrance of the will of God in this dispensation?
- Why was the law given to the children of Israel?