Numbers 29

Numbers 29:1

The Old Testament Book of Numbers In the Desert An EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary (2800 word vocabulary) on the Book of Numbers www.easyenglish.info Marion Adams This commentary has been through Advanced Checking.

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Chapter 29 The *sacrifices during the *Festival of the *Trumpets – Numbers 29:1-6

v1 ‘On the first day of the 7th month, meet together to *worship me. You must not do any work. You must sound the *trumpets on that day. v2 Offer to me a *burnt offering of one young *bull and one adult male sheep. Also offer 7 male sheep that are one year old. These animals must not have anything wrong with them. The smell of the smoke from these *sacrifices will please me.

v3 Offer to me the proper *grain offering with each animal. Mix together three *kilograms of the best flour with *olive oil. Offer this to me with the young *bull. Offer two *kilograms of flour with the adult male sheep. v4 Offer one *kilogram of flour with each young male sheep.

v5 Also offer one male goat as a *sin offering, so that I will forgive the people’s *sins. v6 Offer these *sacrifices in addition to the regular monthly *burnt offerings, *grain offerings and *wine offerings. Offer these *sacrifices in addition to the daily *burnt offerings, *grain offerings and *wine offerings. The smell of the smoke from these *sacrifices will please me.’ Verses 1-6 Although this was the 7th month in the calendar, the *Israelites considered it the beginning of their new year. And during the same month, there was the special day when the *Israelites asked God to forgive their *sins (Numbers 29:7).

The *Israelites sounded the *trumpets on this special day at the start of the new year. They did not work. They met together to *worship God and to offer extra *sacrifices to him. The special day when you remember that God forgives *sin – Numbers 29:7-11 v7 The *LORD said, ‘During the 10th day of the 7th month, you must gather for a *sacred meeting. During that day, you must not eat. And you must not carry on your work. v8 Offer a *burnt offering to me. The smell of the smoke pleases me. Offer to me one young *bull, one adult male sheep and 7 male sheep that are one year old. These animals must not have anything wrong with them.

v9 Offer to me the proper *grain offering with each animal. Mix together three *kilograms of the best flour with *olive oil. Offer this to me with the young *bull. Offer two *kilograms of flour with the adult male sheep. v10 Offer one *kilogram of flour with each young male sheep. v11 Also offer one male goat as a *sin offering. Offer this goat in addition to the other goat that you will offer on that day. You will offer that other goat so that I will forgive the people’s *sins. Offer these *sacrifices in addition to the usual daily *sacrifices and *offerings.

Verses 7-11 During this very special and important day, people did not eat anything. They did this to show that they were sorry because of their *sins. They showed that they were truly humble. They did not do anything in order to please themselves. Also, the people did not do any work. Everyone met together to *worship God.

This passage tells us about the extra *sacrifices that they offered. But also it refers to the special ceremony for that day. This ceremony happened yearly, on this one day only. The *High Priest would enter the *Most Holy Place alone. He splashed blood from the *sacrifices there. Also, he splashed the blood outside in *God’s Tent and on the *altar. Then, he took a *live goat and he laid his hands on its head. He told God all the *sins that the people had done that year. This meant that the goat was carrying the people’s *sins. A man took the goat away into the *desert and he left it there. By means of these *sacrifices and the *live goat, God could forgive people’s *sins and *uncleanness. Leviticus chapter 16 describes this ceremony.

Still, *Jews consider this *festival to be very important. Also, it reminds *Christians that Jesus died as a *sacrifice on behalf of all people. He offered his own blood in front of God, his Father, in the real *Most Holy Place in heaven. We do not need any other *sacrifices (Hebrews chapters 9 and 10). His death paid for the *sins of us all. We must sincerely confess our *sins to God, and we must trust him. If we do these things, God forgives us completely. The *sacrifices during the *Festival of Shelters – Numbers 29:12-40 v12 The *LORD said, ‘Meet together to *worship me on the 15th day of the 7th month. You must not do any work. *Celebrate this *festival for 7 days to show that you respect me. v13 During the first day, offer to me a *burnt offering. The smell of the smoke from this *sacrifice will please me. Offer to me 13 young *bulls, two adult male sheep and 14 young male sheep that are one year old. These animals must not have anything wrong with them. v14 Offer to me the proper *grain offerings with each animal. Mix together three *kilograms of the best flour with *olive oil.

Offer this to me with each *bull. Offer two *kilograms of flour with each adult male sheep. v15 Offer one *kilogram of flour with each young male sheep. v16 Also offer a male goat as a *sin offering. Offer these *sacrifices in addition to the daily *sacrifices and *offerings.

v17-34 During each day of the next 6 days, *sacrifice one less *bull than you *sacrificed during the day before. So during the 7th day, you will *sacrifice 7 *bulls. All the other *sacrifices and *offerings remain the same during each of the 7 days.

v35 On the 8th day, meet together to *worship me. You must not do any work. v36 Offer to me a *burnt offering. The smell of the smoke will please me. Offer to me one *bull, one male sheep and 7 male sheep that are one year old. These animals must not have anything wrong with them. v37 Also offer to me the proper *grain offerings and *wine offerings with each animal. v38 And *sacrifice a male goat as a *sin offering. Offer these *sacrifices in addition to the daily *sacrifices and *offerings.

v39 These are the rules about *sacrifices and *offerings at *festivals. During your *festivals, offer to me *burnt offerings, *grain offerings, *wine offerings and *peace offerings. In addition, offer the *sacrifices that you give to me as a gift, or because of a promise.’

v40 Moses told the people all the commands that the *LORD had given to him.

Verses 12-38 Probably, the *Festival of Shelters was a *festival to *celebrate the harvest of *grapes and *olives. It was the greatest of the *Jewish *festivals. It was called ‘the *festival of the *LORD’ (Leviticus 23:41). Leviticus 23:39-43 records God’s instructions that the *Israelites had to live in shelters during the 7 days. This reminded them about their journey to the *Promised Land. In the *desert, they had not built proper houses. They had lived in tents or shelters so that they could travel easily.

During the *Festival of Shelters, the priests *sacrificed more *bulls and male sheep than during all other occasions. *Bulls and male sheep were the most valuable animals. The large number of very expensive *sacrifices and *offerings emphasised that the people were very happy. They wanted to thank God for all that he had done on their behalf. They wanted to show that they were grateful.

Verses 39-40 In addition to these *offerings, the people could give their own private *offerings. These included *offerings that they had promised to give for a particular reason. Also, it included *offerings to thank God for something that he had done for them personally.

© 2009, Wycliffe Associates (UK)

This publication is written in EasyEnglish Level B (2800 words).

February 2009

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var w0 = new Array;w0[0]=’<b%3Eworship</b%3E ~ to give honour to God and to thank him. Sometimes, people worship false gods.’;w0[1]=’<b%3Eburnt offering</b%3E ~ an animal that the priests burnt on the altar as a *sacrifice.