Offerings and Tassels

Numbers Chapter 15

Some of the next chapters seem to be written out of sequence. This one because it lists the rules that God wants followed during the journey and when they people reach the promised land. And in Chapter 14 we know that the people are not going to be allowed in the new land.

The Lord gave Moses instructions for the people that when they finally settled in the new land, they would please the Lord by giving burnt offerings or other offerings by fire with the sacrifices being animals from their flocks and herds. And whoever brought it must also give the Lord a grain offering of two quarts of choice flour mixed with one quart of olive oil. And for each lamb offered as a burnt offering, they must give one quart of wine. The Lord gave more instructions for offerings found in verses 6 -16.

When the people arrived at the promised land, the Lord asked that they eat from the crops that grew there, but they must set aside some as a gift for the Lord. Present a cake from the first flour ground and each year throughout the generations, the people would present this cake to the Lord.

The Lord knew that some people would unintentionally fail to carry out some of the commands he gave them, as well as some of their descendants. And if future generations fail to do things unintentionally, and the community was unaware, the whole community may present a young bull for a burnt offering, along with the prescribed grain offering and one male goat for a sin offering. The priest will then make atonement and the whole community of Israel, including foreigners, would be forgiven, because it was unintentional.

Those who brazenly violate the Lord’s will must be cut off from the community. Since they treated the Lord’s word with contempt, they would be cut off and suffer the consequences.

One day while the Israelites were in the wilderness, they caught a man gathering wood on the Sabbath day. They took him before Moses, Aaron and the community. The Lord told Moses the man should be taken outside the camp and stoned to death. And it was done.

The Lord told Moses to have the people throughout the generations, tie tassels on the hems of their clothing and attach the tassels at each corner with a blue cord. The tassels were to remind them of the commands of the Lord and to always obey his commands and not follow their own desires as they were prone to do.

BIBLE NOTES show that God fairly forgave those who make unintentional errors. But he was harsh on those who did not have a proper attitude toward God. He considered them his children who challenged his authority, but both the act and the attitude had to be dealt with.

How does this chapter relate to us today? Stoning a man for gathering wood on the Sabbath might seem severe, but his was a deliberate sin. God’s commandment was clear in stating that there would be no work on the Sabbath. I hope my readers are seeing how much our world has changed. Today the Sabbath is barely kept holy by most humans. It bothers me that God took such pains to pound this commandment into the heads of the people of that age long ago and yet nowadays we have twisted and forgotten it. I am on my soapbox again. Here’s praying that you can do your part to honor the Sabbath.

Tassels on our clothing? How do you feel about that? Kind of a good idea, right? Except in those days, they probably had one change of clothes. Where we have a change for each day of the week. Do we need a reminder to remember the commandments of the Lord? YES! Some of our “tassels” come in the form of daily prayer, or daily conversations with our God. What are your “tassels”? I sometimes enjoy wearing my cross. People ask me why. And I say it is a reminder that Christ gave his life for me and for all of us. And sometimes it gives me a chance to say that I wear it because it reminds me of what being a Christian is all about. And often it gives me another chance to witness. Hallelujah!

Yours in Christ,
Mary