Reflections on Numbers 29

Numbers 29 (Contemporary English Version)

1. On the first day of the seventh month, you must rest from your work and come together to celebrate at the sound of the trumpets.
   
2. Bring to the altar one bull, one full-grown ram, and seven rams a year old that have nothing wrong with them. And then offer these as sacrifices to please me.
   
3. Six pounds of your finest flour mixed with olive oil must be offered with the bull as a grain sacrifice. Four pounds of flour mixed with oil must be offered with the ram,
   
4. and two pounds of flour mixed with oil must be offered with each of the young rams.
   
5. You must also offer a goat as a sacrifice for sin.
   
6. These sacrifices will be made in addition to the regular daily sacrifices and the sacrifices for the first day of the month. The smoke from these sacrifices will please me.
   
7. The tenth day of the seventh month is the Great Day of Forgiveness. On that day you must rest from all work and come together for worship. Show sorrow for your sins by going without food,
   
8. and bring to the altar one young bull, one full-grown ram, and seven rams a year old that have nothing wrong with them. Then offer these as sacrifices to please me.
   
9. Six pounds of your finest flour mixed with olive oil must be offered with the bull as a grain sacrifice. Four pounds of flour mixed with oil must be offered with the ram,
   
10. and two pounds of flour mixed with oil must be offered with each of the young rams.
    
11. A goat must also be sacrificed for the sins of the people. You will offer these sacrifices in addition to the sacrifice to ask forgiveness and the regular daily sacrifices.
    
12. Beginning on the fifteenth day of the seventh month and continuing for seven days, everyone must celebrate the Festival of Shelters in honor of me.
    
13. On the first day, you must rest from your work and come together for worship. Bring to the altar thirteen bulls, two full-grown rams, and fourteen rams a year old that have nothing wrong with them. Then offer these as sacrifices to please me.
    
14. Six pounds of your finest flour mixed with olive oil must be offered with each bull as a grain sacrifice. Four pounds of flour mixed with oil must be offered with each of the rams,
    
15. and two pounds of flour mixed with oil must be offered with each of the young rams.
    
16. You must also offer a goat as a sacrifice for sin. These are to be offered in addition to the regular daily sacrifices.
    
17. For the next six days of the festival, you will sacrifice one less bull than the day before, so that on the seventh day, seven bulls will be sacrificed. The other sacrifices and offerings must remain the same for each of these days.
    
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35. On the eighth day, you must once again rest from your work and come together for worship.
    
36. Bring to the altar one bull, one full-grown ram, and seven rams a year old that have nothing wrong with them. Then offer these as sacrifices to please me.
    
37. You must also offer the proper grain sacrifices and drink offerings of wine with each animal.
    
38. And offer a goat as the sacrifice to ask forgiveness for the people. These sacrifices are made in addition to the regular daily sacrifices.
    
39. You must offer all these sacrifices to me at the appointed times of worship, together with any offerings that are voluntarily given or given because of a promise.
    
40. Moses told the people of Israel everything the LORD had told him about the sacrifices.
    
    

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    Chapters 28 and 29 remind the Israelites of the offerings and feasts they were to observe in the new land. Chapter 28 addressed the daily, weekly, and monthly offerings plus the Passover and Day of Firstfruits among the feasts. Chapter 29 continues the reminder concerning the feasts and addresses the Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Feast of Tabernacles.
    
    All three of these feasts were observed in the seventh month each year. The first day of the seventh month was New Year's Day and the Feast of Trumpets was observed on this day. Keep in mind that as the feasts were observed they were in addition to the daily, weekly, and monthly offerings.  So, in addition to the Feast of Trumpets on this day, there were also the daily morning and evening offerings, and, since this was the first day of the month, there was also the observance of the New Moon festival.
    
    On the tenth day of this seventh month was observed the Day of Atonement. It was a Sabbath and involved a sacred assembly. There was to be no work on this day. Then, on the 15th day of this month began the Feast of Tabernacles which lasted through the 22nd day of the month. It began with a Sabbath on the 15th day, which included a sacred assembly, and ended with a Sabbath on the 22nd day, which included a solemn assembly. Each day during this feast they were to offer young bulls, rams, and male lambs and include a grain offering with each of the animals that was offered. On the first day this amounted to 13 young bulls along with two rams and 14 male lambs. On each successive day, the number of young bulls was reduced by one. Each day they were also to include a sin offering.
    
    These instructions are concluded in verse 39 with the reminder that all of these offerings were in "addition to your vow and freewill offerings, whether burnt, grain, drink, or fellowship offerings." Moses relayed everything to the Israelites as the "Lord had commanded him." (29:39, 40)