Numbers 28
A Life Offered Daily as a Living Sacrifice (Numbers 28:1-15 )
Verse 3: “Say to them: ‘This is the food offering you are to present to the LORD: two lambs a year old without defect,
as a regular burnt offering each day.’” (NIV)
For the Israelites, made up of the second generation of the Exodus, the wilderness journey was drawing to a close, and at last they were
on the verge of entering Canaan. After their first victory at Hormah, they conquered the land of the Amorites and of Bashan
on the east side of the Jordan and came to stay on the plains of Moab. At that time, deceived by the wicked schemes of Balak and Balaam,
they fell into immorality and idolatry and were plunged into a great crisis through a plague. Then, through the righteous zeal of Phinehas,
the crisis was overcome, a census of the whole army was taken, and their battle lines were reorganized. As they looked toward the land of Canaan
and stood just before the conquest, God proclaimed to them the secret by which they could always be victorious. That secret was precisely
related to the daily regular burnt offering and to the various festival sacrifices, including those of the Sabbath.
1. The Word about the daily regular burnt offering (vv. 1–8)
1) Worship is the beginning, the center, and the end of a believer’s life.
2) On the Sabbath, the daily burnt offering was given as usual, plus the Sabbath burnt offering.
3) Verses 11–15 give the Word about the sacrifices for the first day of every month.
4) Verses 16–31 give the Word about the sacrifices for Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Ingathering.
2. In our relationship with God, the most important thing is worship.
1) On the eve of the conquest of Canaan, the most important thing is a right relationship with God.
2) God desires that we walk with Him daily, weekly, and monthly.
3) The first day of every month is for standing before God, reviewing the last month, and beginning anew month.
4) If you have neglected the life of Romans 12:1, may you again hold to the Word and be restored.
3. We worship God through Jesus Christ.
1) All the sacrifices of the Old Testament era were fulfilled by Jesus Christ.
2) All the offerings brought in Old Testament worship were confessions of faith in Christ.
3) We in the New Testament era are likewise obliged to devote ourselves to God daily.
4) We too must offer sacrifices every day—but we must offer our lives as a living sacrifice.
Conclusion: Worshiping God is the most blessed life.
1) The most basic sacrifice in the sacrificial system was the offering given every morning and evening.
2) Thus, the regular burnt offering is the basic principle that we must live each day devoted to Christ.
3) Sabbath worship means entering into Matthew 11:28.
4) The way to always be with God, who is invisible to our physical eyes, is worship.
God’s command to offer the regular burnt offering was His call for the Israelites to meditate on God every morning and evening and
to have deep fellowship with Him, and to teach them that even if they live only one day, they must live it centered on God.
We who live today also need a time, every morning and evening, to offer ourselves to God by relying only on the Lord Jesus Christ.
In the early morning we should go to God in prayer, entrust the day’s life to Him, and long for the Lord’s rule; in the evening
we should look back over the day and offer praise and thanksgiving to God. This is the regular burnt offering that we are to offer today—
the daily worship that God receives as a pleasing aroma. Contained behind this is God’s promise of the conquest of Canaan.
Holding on to the 3 todays, may you enjoy daily worship and fellowship with God every morning and evening.
Through this, God’s will is fulfilled through us. I bless you in the name of the Lord to be victorious in the life of worship.