Numbers 15
BBCNumbers 15:1
E. Various Legislation (Chap. 15)15:1, 2 We don’t know how much time elapsed between chapters 14 and 15, but the contrast is striking. “. . . they certainly shall not see the land” (Num_14:23). “When you have come into the land” (15:2). God’s purposes, though sometimes hindered by sin, are never thwarted. He promised the land of Canaan to Abraham, and if one generation of his descendants was too faithless to receive it, He would give it to the next. 15:3-29 The first 29 verses of this chapter describe offerings which were to be brought by the children of Israel when they were settled in the land. Most of these offerings have already been described in minute detail. Special emphasis is given here to unintentional sins committed by the congregation (vv. 22-26) or by an individual (vv. 27-29). Verse 24 mentions two offerings for the congregation, a bull and a goat. However, Leviticus 4 states that the congregation was only to bring a bullock. But Leviticus 4 also says that a leader, when he sinned, was to bring a goat.
Possibly the account here in Numbers mentions these offerings together, whereas in Leviticus they are mentioned separately. In verses 20 and 21 we find an oft-repeated command in Scripture: “Of the first . . . to the LORD.” Whether the firstborn or the firstfruits, the Lord was to have the best of everything. This also served as a reminder to the people that everything they possessed came from, and ultimately belonged to, Jehovah. 15:30-36 There was no offering for the sin of presumptionthat is, for willful, defiant rebellion against the word of the Lord. All who committed such a sin were to be cut off (vv. 30, 31). An example of presumptuous sin is given in verses 32-36. A man was found . . . gathering sticks on the Sabbath in clear violation of the Law. It was known that he should be put to death (Exo_31:15), but the mode of execution had never been stated. The Lord now declared that he should be stoned . . . to death outside the camp. 15:37-41 The Jews were commanded to make tassels on the corners of their garments and to put a blue thread in the tassels of the corners. Blue is the heavenly color, and it was intended to speak to them of the holiness and obedience which suited them as children of God.