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Dave Burnette's Commentary

Numbers Chapter 15

Written By: God through Inspiration
Penned By: Moses
Date Penned: (1450-1410 BC)
Overview: A Record of Israel's Unbelief (c 1-27)
Theme: Wandering in The Wilderness (c 15-21)
Message: Additional Regulations (v 1-41)

Numbers 15 Commentary

(15:1-31) A Measure of Judgement - God was willing to forgive those who made unintentional errors if they realized their mistakes quickly and corrected them. However, those who defiantly and deliberately sinned received a harsher judgment. Intentional sin grows out of an improper attitude toward God. Children who knowingly disobey their parents challenge their authority and dare them to respond. In situations like this, the act and the attitude have to be dealt with.

(15:32-36) A Just Judgement - Stoning a man for gathering wood on the Sabbath seems like a severe punishment, and it was. The man's act was a deliberate sin, defying God's law against working on the Sabbath. In our day, Jesus has Fulfilled the Sabbath (Matthew 12)  but the principle is still relevant today.  The Sabbath was designed for our good. We all need rest, and sustainable living needs rest built into it. God created us and knows what we need. As a loving God, he has given us a great gift--instructions that allow us to live well in community for a lifetime, plus the helpful push of discipline to motivate us further to embrace the gift. God's laws are an expression of his love for us. Those who are wise will embrace them as a gift of love. Those who reject God's laws bring suffering and adversity to themselves and the people around them

(15:39) The Fringe - The fringe was to remind people not to seek after their own lustful desires but instead to seek the Lord. Idol worship is self-centered, focusing on what a person can get from serving an idol. Good luck, prosperity, long life, and success in battle were expected from the gods. So were power and prestige. The worship of God is the opposite, Believers are to be selfless rather than self-centered. Instead of expecting God to serve us, we are to serve him, expecting nothing in return. We serve God for who he is, not for what we get from him.


Dave Burnette's Life Application

Castaways

Each day we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter making an application of our text to help us grow in the Lord. Many applications can be made from each day's text. Today we continue the book of Numbers with Chapter 15 and in today's text we see the wandering in the wilderness of Israel after their disobedience and unsuccessful attempt to enter the Promise Land, The Israelite's are condemned to wander 40 years in the wilderness until basically a generation of Israel passes. How sad to see a people who saw God perform so many miracles and wonders to then doubt Him and end up being castaways and missing the blessings of the Lord. How about you? Have you lacked faith when making Godly decisions? Let us learn from today's text and obey the Lord lest we too become "castaways" and miss Gods best for our lives.

 

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Numbers 15

Numbers 15

 1And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

 2Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land of your habitations, which I give unto you,

 3And will make an offering by fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering, or a sacrifice in performing a vow, or in a freewill offering, or in your solemn feasts, to make a sweet savour unto the LORD, of the herd or of the flock:

 4Then shall he that offereth his offering unto the LORD bring a meat offering of a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of oil.

 5And the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering shalt thou prepare with the burnt offering or sacrifice, for one lamb.

 6Or for a ram, thou shalt prepare for a meat offering two tenth deals of flour mingled with the third part of an hin of oil.

 7And for a drink offering thou shalt offer the third part of an hin of wine, for a sweet savour unto the LORD.

 8And when thou preparest a bullock for a burnt offering, or for a sacrifice in performing a vow, or peace offerings unto the LORD:

 9Then shall he bring with a bullock a meat offering of three tenth deals of flour mingled with half an hin of oil.

 10And thou shalt bring for a drink offering half an hin of wine, for an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.

 11Thus shall it be done for one bullock, or for one ram, or for a lamb, or a kid.

 12According to the number that ye shall prepare, so shall ye do to every one according to their number.

 13All that are born of the country shall do these things after this manner, in offering an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.

 14And if a stranger sojourn with you, or whosoever be among you in your generations, and will offer an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD; as ye do, so he shall do.

 15One ordinance shall be both for you of the congregation, and also for the stranger that sojourneth with you, an ordinance for ever in your generations: as ye are, so shall the stranger be before the LORD.

 16One law and one manner shall be for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you.

 17And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

 18Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land whither I bring you,

 19Then it shall be, that, when ye eat of the bread of the land, ye shall offer up an heave offering unto the LORD.

 20Ye shall offer up a cake of the first of your dough for an heave offering: as ye do the heave offering of the threshingfloor, so shall ye heave it.

 21Of the first of your dough ye shall give unto the LORD an heave offering in your generations.

 22And if ye have erred, and not observed all these commandments, which the LORD hath spoken unto Moses,

 23Even all that the LORD hath commanded you by the hand of Moses, from the day that the LORD commanded Moses, and henceforward among your generations;

 24Then it shall be, if ought be committed by ignorance without the knowledge of the congregation, that all the congregation shall offer one young bullock for a burnt offering, for a sweet savour unto the LORD, with his meat offering, and his drink offering, according to the manner, and one kid of the goats for a sin offering.

 25And the priest shall make an atonement for all the congregation of the children of Israel, and it shall be forgiven them; for it is ignorance: and they shall bring their offering, a sacrifice made by fire unto the LORD, and their sin offering before the LORD, for their ignorance:

 26And it shall be forgiven all the congregation of the children of Israel, and the stranger that sojourneth among them; seeing all the people were in ignorance.

 27And if any soul sin through ignorance, then he shall bring a she goat of the first year for a sin offering.

 28And the priest shall make an atonement for the soul that sinneth ignorantly, when he sinneth by ignorance before the LORD, to make an atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him.

 29Ye shall have one law for him that sinneth through ignorance, both for him that is born among the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them.

 30But the soul that doeth ought presumptuously, whether he be born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.

 31Because he hath despised the word of the LORD, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him.

 32And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day.

 33And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation.

 34And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him.

 35And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp.

 36And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORD commanded Moses.

 37And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

 38Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue:

 39And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them ; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring:

 40That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God.

 41I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD your God.