The Rhythm of Life | Numbers part 31
Scripture Reading: Hebrews 10:19-25
There is a certain rhythm to life that works. From the beginning, God created the world with a 6:1 rhythm—6 days of work and 1 day of rest. This rhythm reflects His act of Creation, and the Lord built this rhythm into the week. The Sabbath, or 7th Day, is carried further into the calendar with the Torah describing a Sabbath month, year, and beyond. The symbolism and meaning behind each Sabbath is plentiful, but for today, as we look at Numbers 28, I would like us to focus on the general rhythm these Sabbath days create in our calendars and how they help us—beyond having a good excuse for a barbecue.
Rather than the Sabbath laws being restrictive—taking our time away from “important work”—they offer us times of rest and celebration. After all, what’s the point in a hard day’s work (or week, month, or year), if we don’t take the time to enjoy it? Likewise, they also keep a strong check against our human tendencies to believe the hard work we have done actually dictates the outcome of our life. Much of life, no matter how hard we try, is simply out of our control.
There is a psalm that is something of an antidote to the workaholic.
Unless the LORD builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain.
It is in vain that you rise up early
and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
for he gives to his beloved sleep.Psalm 127:1-2
When we continue to work and toil taking no time for the important things in life, we “labor in vain” as the psalmist says. The last line of verse 2 is the theme behind these Sabbath laws. “He gives to his beloved sleep.” As Jesus said,
The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
Mark 2:27
The Sabbath reminds us it is vanity to work hard, if we do not rest in the Lord.
Daily Offerings | Numbers 28:1-8
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Command the people of Israel and say to them, ‘My offering, my food for my food offerings, my pleasing aroma, you shall be careful to offer to me at its appointed time.’ And you shall say to them, This is the food offering that you shall offer to the Lord: two male lambs a year old without blemish, day by day, as a regular offering. The one lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight; also a tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with a quarter of a hin of beaten oil. It is a regular burnt offering, which was ordained at Mount Sinai for a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the Lord. Its drink offering shall be a quarter of a hin for each lamb. In the Holy Place you shall pour out a drink offering of strong drink to the Lord. The other lamb you shall offer at twilight. Like the grain offering of the morning, and like its drink offering, you shall offer it as a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
Numbers 28:1-8
One of the fascinating ideas behind this daily sacrifice is that many rabbis taught the daily sacrifice, in a sense, was even more important than the annual ones. It was a daily ritual that brought Israel into communion with God. For them, it represented a few things.
First, it represented the ongoing sanctification of the nation. Each morning and evening, the priests stood before the Lord to offer a lamb as a sin offering. The relationship between God and humanity is a daily relationship. The high holy days were certainly important, but it was the daily sacrifice that reminded Israel of her daily need for the Lord.
As we consider our own daily walk with Christ, we know we need not burn lambs or anything else for that matter. Jesus completed the work of sacrifice on the cross. But we should consider our daily habits and whether it includes worship.
Take a look at your Monday or Thursday. How does the day start? On your phone? Music playing? Kids hollering about being hungry? Morning news?
In a typical Monday or Thursday, when do you have an offering to the Lord? Many Christians observe what has become known as “Quiet Time.” If you do not have a daily habit of quiet Bible reading and prayer, not only would this be your daily sacrifice to God, it also is one of (if not the) best tools for spiritual growth.
Second, it upheld the Order of Creation. We must not forget the tabernacle (and later Temple) were built to reflect the Cosmic Order. Heaven and Earth met in the Holy Place. There is a saying in the Jewish Mishnah that states, “The world stands on three things: Torah, Worship, and Deeds of Lovingkindness.” You may be familiar with another psalm,
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.Psalm 19:1-2
If Creation itself is built to praise God and declare His glory, how much more are we who are made in His Image?
It is also worth noting no one, the people or the priests, would eat the daily burnt offering. It was consumed in the fire. When the offering was made, it had no physical benefits to the nation except for obedience itself. In fact, from an outside perspective, it probably looked like a giant waste of food.
Bible study and prayer can seem like a giant waste to the unbeliever, but for those of us in Christ who have tasted and seen the Lord is good, it is worship.
A daily offering of prayer and Bible reading builds consistent growth in the life of the believer.
Sabbath Offerings | Numbers 28:9-10
“On the Sabbath day, two male lambs a year old without blemish, and two tenths of an ephah of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with oil, and its drink offering: this is the burnt offering of every Sabbath, besides the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.
Numbers 28:9-10
On the 7th day, the Sabbath law requires a double dose of offerings. Notice the two lambs and two tenths of ephah of flour is in addition to the regular day’s offering. Again, the rhythm of resting on the 7th is not a day of laziness. It is a restful day because there is no labor, but the additional time is meant for additional reflection and worship.
Now, Christians do not normally take their Sabbath on Saturday because the Lord was raised on a Sunday. The first day of the week inaugurated a new era for humanity when Jesus rose from the grave. Even so, the Sabbath Day still holds meaning and purpose in the Christian walk. We offer more time to the Lord remembering the price of our salvation and focusing even more attention on hearing from the Lord.
The Sabbath Sunday refocuses our attention and priority for the week on God’s purpose for our work.
Two things to note in light of this truth. First, the notion “I can worship God outside of church” may be true, but this attitude loses sight of why we gather together. Christians were never designed to live solo lives in Christ. By definition Christians are communal people. We are one in Christ. You (singular) are not.
Second, because the Sabbath Sunday requires an extra offering of attention, it is worth asking what kind of preparation we are doing prior to Sunday. In Israel’s day, families knew no work could be done. This prohibition included cooking and other daily chores. Meals, house cleaning, and other daily tasks all had to be before the sun set on Friday.
Now, I do not hold to the same strict legalism for Sunday, but we should note the preparation necessary for Sunday begins on Saturday. The choice to go to church is made on Saturday. Whatever breakfast will be and lunch can be decided the day before. But more importantly, as we prepare for Sunday, are we preparing ourselves to hear from God?
Church attendance should be a habit, but it is also a spiritual discipline, not a habit for habit’s sake.
Sometimes getting the kids together, getting the family dressed, fed, and ready for church seems like more work than it’s worth. Also, there are chores to do, animals to feed, dishes left from the weekend, and a myriad of other excuses on why it would be easier to skip this Sunday. The Sabbath Sunday is about remembering the Lord who blesses you with the work you have. But what is more important—to do the work He gives or to gather in worship? It just so happens, Jesus has the answer:
Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
Luke 10:38-42
Martha’s problem wasn’t that she was working. The problem was when she was working. The household chores will be there after worship and resting in the Lord. They’ll be there Monday to Saturday too! There will always be “one more thing to do.” The Rhythm of Life isn’t about completing your checklists. It’s about enjoying the moments God gives you and communing with Him.
Monthly Offerings | Numbers 28:11-15
“At the beginnings of your months, you shall offer a burnt offering to the Lord: two bulls from the herd, one ram, seven male lambs a year old without blemish; also three tenths of an ephah of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with oil, for each bull, and two tenths of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with oil, for the one ram; and a tenth of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering for every lamb; for a burnt offering with a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the Lord. Their drink offerings shall be half a hin of wine for a bull, a third of a hin for a ram, and a quarter of a hin for a lamb. This is the burnt offering of each month throughout the months of the year. Also one male goat for a sin offering to the Lord; it shall be offered besides the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.
Numbers 28:11-15
Again, the Sabbath offering grows with the measure of time. The monthly offering is much more, now including bulls. We don’t have a Christian parallel per se, but there are some modern practices that operate on a monthly basis.
First, many churches observe the Lord’s Supper monthly. There is an ongoing debate among pastors whether we should observe the Supper monthly, weekly, or quarterly. The Bible does not give a specific time requirement, but for the sake of our topic today, let’s go with monthly. It becomes another act of worship, but we should not look at it as “tacked on” to the service. It is part of our regular worship. And because it is something out of the weekly norm, it should be something we take extra time for preparation. Paul says just as much in his directions for the Lord’s Supper.
Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
1 Corinthians 11:27-32
The Corinthians were facing the judgement of God for their ongoing sin and their flippant attitude towards the Lord’s Supper. Consider what the Lord’s Supper means. When we take the bread and the juice, we are saying that we take in Christ. Jesus said that if we desired to be saved, we would have to eat of his flesh.
So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
John 6:53-54
On the surface, it is a bizarre statement, and it is the reason the earliest Christians were accused of cannibalism. But Jesus was pointing us toward the truth of what it means to partake in union with Him. The statement follows the explanation of the manna in the wilderness. Just as Israel fed on manna from heaven in order to survive their wilderness journey, so now, if we desire to live, we must receive Christ. We do not receive Christ through the bread and juice, though. Jesus was clear in the next verse, “For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.” It is not the monthly bread and juice that gives life, it is His body and blood that was put on the cross. We receive this true bread through faith. That’s why Paul would write,
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
Ephesians 2:8
We are saved through faith—not bread.
And so, when we approach the time of the month to observe the Lord’s Supper, it is also time to take extra stock of our lives. Are we truly saved? Are we truly living as saved people? If we are united in Christ, are we living as people united with Christ?
There’s no need to guilt ourselves. If we are in Christ, there is no condemnation, but there is discipline. In that discipline, whether it be discipline from our Heavenly Father, or discipline we put upon ourselves, it is discipline to grow us into maturity.
Now, what are some other monthly acts of worship that require extra attention?
Do you have a monthly act of service? Many small groups and Sunday School classes will conduct some service project or community ministry during the year—some, yes, even once a month. Again, I would not be legalistic in such matters, but it absolutely would be beneficial to your spiritual growth if each month you took time to minister in the Name of Jesus. It can look like a number of things, but I think the best place to start is to simply take time to tell someone about Jesus.
We should always be ready to give a defense of our faith (1 Peter 3:15), but how often do we purposefully set out to witness? Statistically speaking, witnessing is the one spiritual discipline that Christians fail to do the most. They possibly even witness less than they fast. And so, as we reflect on what our monthly offering can be to the Lord, let me give you this challenge:
Once a month, give time to the Lord to exercise your faith in a new way.
It’s a simple exercise. Ask yourself what spiritual habit or discipline you know you need to grow in your life. Then, set the date. Put it in your calendar. Don’t say “one day” or “I should be able to”. Set the date and prioritize it over everything else.
When the Israelite brought their lamb to the altar, they knew they would not be getting that lamb back. It was given to God and committed to the act of worship. When you set the day, don’t try to grab the day back from the altar. Give it wholly and serve whole-heartedly.