Laws for Life | Numbers part 17
This week, we begin the trek away from the Promised Land and into the Wilderness Period. The laws within chapter 15 seem to appear out of context, but we must keep in mind Numbers is a compilation of story, law, and scribal records. If anything, chapter 15 is a reminder to Israel (and us) their lives are not over after a great failure. Yes, they have been judged, and no, they will not enter the Land, but there is still more life to live. “It’s not over til it’s over,” as the saying goes.
In fact, when we read the first few verses, we see a profound truth about God’s grace and mercy.
Even in the midst of their failure, God continues to provide for His people.
The beginning of the chapter gives instructions for sacrifice as they prepare the next generation to inhabit the land. The children will be taken care of in the new land—which speaks directly to their fears in the wilderness and taking the land. They were worried about their wives and children being killed by the inhabitants of the land. Not only will they live, the Lord says, they will have an abundance to allow them to sacrifice as commanded.
Sacrifices in the New Land | Numbers 15:1-21
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land you are to inhabit, which I am giving you, and you offer to the Lord from the herd or from the flock a food offering or a burnt offering or a sacrifice, to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering or at your appointed feasts, to make a pleasing aroma to the Lord, then he who brings his offering shall offer to the Lord a grain offering of a tenth of an ephah of fine flour, mixed with a quarter of a hin of oil; and you shall offer with the burnt offering, or for the sacrifice, a quarter of a hin of wine for the drink offering for each lamb. Or for a ram, you shall offer for a grain offering two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a third of a hin of oil. And for the drink offering you shall offer a third of a hin of wine, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. And when you offer a bull as a burnt offering or sacrifice, to fulfill a vow or for peace offerings to the Lord, then one shall offer with the bull a grain offering of three tenths of an ephah of fine flour, mixed with half a hin of oil. And you shall offer for the drink offering half a hin of wine, as a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
“Thus it shall be done for each bull or ram, or for each lamb or young goat. As many as you offer, so shall you do with each one, as many as there are. Every native Israelite shall do these things in this way, in offering a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the Lord. And if a stranger is sojourning with you, or anyone is living permanently among you, and he wishes to offer a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the Lord, he shall do as you do. For the assembly, there shall be one statute for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you, a statute forever throughout your generations. You and the sojourner shall be alike before the Lord. One law and one rule shall be for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you.”
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land to which I bring you and when you eat of the bread of the land, you shall present a contribution to the Lord. Of the first of your dough you shall present a loaf as a contribution; like a contribution from the threshing floor, so shall you present it. Some of the first of your dough you shall give to the Lord as a contribution throughout your generations.
Numbers 15:1-21
The instructions for these sacrifices assume the people already know what these sacrifices are because they have their origins in Exodus and Leviticus. The importance of verses 1-10, again, is found in the first few verses. The Lord will provide enough for the Israelites to be able to make these sacrifices.
For today, I would like to draw our attention to the next section, verses 11-16. Notice the Israelites and those who are traveling within her borders all share the same command. The sojourner does not have to sacrifice, but if they choose to, they have the same law. We tend to focus on the Israelites’ command to be separated from the world living holy lives—and rightfully so. But, they are also to be hospitable to those traveling in their midsts. So hospitable in fact, the sojourner would feel welcomed to join in worship.
These early instructions for sojourners are the foundation for Christian missions later. The Jewish people were never to be alone in their pursuit of the Lord. The Lord has always desired to bring all nations unto Himself. That is why Abraham is told “all nations will be blessed” through him. That is why even some Egyptians were allowed to come with the Hebrews out of Egypt. And that is why, now in Numbers, the Lord tells Israel to allow the sojourner to sacrifice with them. And ultimately, in Revelation, John’s vision saw a multitude from every nation, language, and tribe worshiping the Lord in heaven.
The Church is in her own wilderness wandering now. Jesus came and brought us out of sin and slavery, just as sin Egypt, but we have not reached our Promised Land just yet. So, how do we treat the sojourner in our midsts? Whether we interpret “sojourner” as immigrant, foreigner, or simply someone outside the faith, the answer is the same—hospitality.
The Church is called to be hospitable for those traveling in our midsts.
This principle permeates the New Testament, also.
But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
Luke 14:13-14
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
Hebrews 13:2
Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.
1 Peter 4:9
Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
Romans 12:13
There are more, but I believe four gets the point across. I don’t have an answer for immigration reform in the US, but this passage is not about national policy. This passage is how God’s people should treat those who travel in their midsts. We are called to hospitality regardless how the sojourner arrived in our midsts. We must always let our theology inform our politics, not allow our politics to inform our theology.
Restoration for the Accidental Sin | Numbers 15:22-31
“But if you sin unintentionally, and do not observe all these commandments that the Lord has spoken to Moses, all that the Lord has commanded you by Moses, from the day that the Lord gave commandment, and onward throughout your generations, then if it was done unintentionally without the knowledge of the congregation, all the congregation shall offer one bull from the herd for a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma to the Lord, with its grain offering and its drink offering, according to the rule, and one male goat for a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement for all the congregation of the people of Israel, and they shall be forgiven, because it was a mistake, and they have brought their offering, a food offering to the Lord, and their sin offering before the Lord for their mistake. And all the congregation of the people of Israel shall be forgiven, and the stranger who sojourns among them, because the whole population was involved in the mistake.
“If one person sins unintentionally, he shall offer a female goat a year old for a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement before the Lord for the person who makes a mistake, when he sins unintentionally, to make atonement for him, and he shall be forgiven. You shall have one law for him who does anything unintentionally, for him who is native among the people of Israel and for the stranger who sojourns among them. But the person who does anything with a high hand, whether he is native or a sojourner, reviles the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from among his people. Because he has despised the word of the Lord and has broken his commandment, that person shall be utterly cut off; his iniquity shall be on him.”
Numbers 15:22-31
Some people have trouble keeping their foot off the gas, especially on the highway. No matter how many times we tell the officer we didn’t know the speed limit, it doesn’t change the fact we are guilty. In this section, the Lord makes a way of restoration for those who break the law unknowingly. This allowance brings us to a general principle regarding the Law of the Lord.
The sacrificial system was the means by which people could restore their relationship with God.
Sometimes we focus on the legal aspects and forget there is a relational aspect to the Torah. God was gathering a people unto Himself, and through the Law, they would be able to hear God’s voice and know His will for them. As mentioned above, the sojourner would have the same statutes and sacrifices which tells us, once again, the Lord welcomed all people to join Israel—but they had to join under the same covenant.
At the end of this section, the person who willingly sins against God should be cut off. This sin is done with “a high hand” meaning they have knowingly worked against God. This is no accident, and so this person must be sent out of the congregation. It reminds me of 1 Corinthians 5 in which Paul tells the Corinthians to cast out the unrepentant adulterer. They are to “deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 5:5).
There comes a point where a person is only in God’s hands. Israel was not to keep the openly rebellious in their midst. The Corinthians were to not keep the unrepentant adulterer in their midst. Likewise, today, when someone has reached a point where they absolutely refuse to repent, or their attitude against God has become vocal willingly acting against God, then it is time for them to go. The point of a local church is to gather people closer to God. If someone is working against that goal, then it is time for them to go.
Excommunication is the final step for those seeking to disrupt people’s relationship with God.
A Sabbathbreaker Executed | Numbers 15:32-36
While the people of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day. And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation. They put him in custody, because it had not been made clear what should be done to him. And the Lord said to Moses, “The man shall be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.” And all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death with stones, as the Lord commanded Moses.
Numbers 15:32-36
In this passage is a case law connected with the previous section—a common structure of Law Codes, especially in Leviticus. This particular man gathered sticks on the Sabbath, and we can assume he knew what he was doing. Had it been a case of just forgetting what day it was, he would have fallen under the commands of accidental sin and sacrificing appropriately. Because he has knowingly and willingly broken the Sabbath law, he is to be put to death.
Once again, as we consider this law, we must also look ahead to Jesus. By the time of the Messiah, Israel has developed a series of laws regarding what can and can’t be done on the Sabbath in order to prevent this type of problem. And we can understand why. The Law of the Sabbath was a capital law.
And yet, when we look at the Gospels, such as Matthew 12, we see the other side. The disciples were hungry and plucked heads of grain to eat on the Sabbath. The Pharisees, rightfully in their eyes, chastise Jesus for letting them do such a thing. They are working on the Sabbath. Jesus’ response is to remind them of David who ate the bread of Presence with his men and how the priests profane the Sabbath by conducting their work on the Sabbath, but are guiltless. He concludes saying,
I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”
Matthew 12:6-8
The Pharisees focused on the letter of the law, while Jesus pointed them to the spirit of the law. Again, the point of the sacrificial system, as well as the whole Torah, was to give people the Way of restoring their relationship with God. It was to draw people into fellowship with the Lord.
The Sabbath is a time of rest and focus on the Lord in order for people to remember Who they belong to.
Rebellion against the Sabbath is rebellion against the Lord because the rebel is purposefully moving away from God. Thus, under the Torah of Ancient Israel, they were condemned. Under the new covenant, they are condemned already by their sin. We are still called to carve out time in our week to focus our hearts on the Lord.
Tassels on Garments | Numbers 15:37-41
The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the people of Israel, and tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner. And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after. So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and be holy to your God. 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.”
Numbers 15:37-41
In this last section, the Lord tells the people to make tassels on their garments as reminders to keep the law. Now, on the surface, these tassels are simple reminders for the people. We often need things to remind us of our vows and responsibilities. Even though most married people do not actually forget they are married, we nonetheless wear rings as a sign of our vows. This sign is a visible reminder for everyone that this person belongs to another already, and so everyone’s ethic should follow this reality. Likewise, these tassels were to remind the people they belonged to Lord, and so they should act like it.
But there is another layer of meaning when we look ahead to Jesus. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record an incident in which Jesus is passing through a town pressed on all sides by the people coming to Him. One particular woman makes her way through the crowd in hopes of touching Jesus’ garment because she has suffered for years of a bleeding disorder. She says, “If I only touch his garment, I will be healed” and the Bible says she touched “the fringe of his garment.” This “fringe” is the same word used by Jesus in chastising the Pharisees for wearing their “fringe” long. He is referring to the tzitzit—the tassels.
Now, why is it this woman believed simply touching these tassels would do the trick? She probably understood Malachi 4:2.
But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.
Malachi 4:2
“Wings” is the same word for where the Israelites were to attach their tassels—the corners or wings of the garment.
There is healing in the Messiah’s wings because He fulfilled the Law and opened the way to healing.
The Torah pointed Israel to the Way in which they should walk, the Truth of Who God is, and the Life that is found in fellowship with the Lord. Jesus, later, says He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. We come to the Father through Jesus because He is the fulfillment of the Torah. Everything required of the Law, including the sacrifice for sin, has been accomplished through Jesus Christ.
Though Numbers 15 seems out of context from the narrative, it points us to the reality that even when we have failed miserably, even while we are still yet sinners, the Lord seeks us out. He makes a way for our restoration and healing. Israel was moving away from God in rebellion, but God once again stepped in and pointed them to the way back to His Kingdom. Later, He would accomplish this task for all nations by sending His Son to fulfill the Law, make the final sacrifice for sin, and raise His Son from the dead giving us all a chance to put our faith in Him and be healed.