When I sit down to write one of these devotionals, here’s my process. First, I read the Text and make any notes I can. Then, I read what other people have written about it. After all that, I sit down to write. Throughout the stream of consciousness writing, I usually find my central point, and rewrite pieces to fit the overall point.
Here’s what I notice during the research phase of this process. Unless I’m just neck-deep in an academic commentary, most people gloss over the detail of these sections. Almost no mention is made of the two-tenths of an ephah of flour, or one-third of a hin of wine. It’s much easier to pontificate about the long-term spiritual “meaning” of these sacrifices though, am I right?
Of course! And I would be a hypocrite if I said I wasn’t guilty of the exact same thing. Difficult area of the Text? No problem! Just talk about the fulfillment in the New Testament!
I don’t want to do that here. These verses are hard, but I want to take a brief minute to actually dig into these sacrifices piece by piece and unravel what’s going on.
First things first: The “offerings by fire” are simply a statement for every type of offering that will be made on the altar, also known as burnt offerings. For a complete list of these, see Leviticus 1. That’s not the only place they’re talked about, but it’s the most comprehensive.
Take a look at the animals that are mentioned specifically in this chapter. In Numbers 15:4-5, it’s a lamb. In verses 6-7, it’s a ram. In verses 8-10, it’s a bull.
We’ve seen this type of progression before. In Leviticus , there are bulls, goats, and birds offered on the altar in relation to that family’s financial status. The poor of the land could give doves, whereas bulls were reserved for the wealthier class.
Additionally, Leviticus 4 talks about bulls and goats in regards to what type of person sinned (priest, community, leader, commoner).
But that’s not the only progression here in Numbers 15. If you look at what is actually offered, the quantity goes up as well.
For the lambs, it’s 1/10th of an ephah of flour, 1/4 a hin of oil, and 1/4 of a hin for wine (Numbers 15:4-5)
For the rams, it’s 2/10th of an ephah of flour, 1/3 a hin of oil, and 1/3 a hin of wine (Numbers 15:6-7).
For bulls, it’s 3/10th an ephah of flour, 1/2 a hin of oil, and 1/2 a hin of wine (Numbers 15:8-10).
Do you see the gradual amplification? As the animal grows, so does the amount of the accompanying grain and drink sacrifice. Notice that it must always be given in these proportions; if you can’t offer the accompanying grain and drink offering, scale back the animal size as well. They must go together.
The last thing to note about this section is that these are all freewill offerings—it says so right before the mention of the lamb and the bull. These burnt offerings are to “fulfill a special vow or as a freewill offering in your appointed times.” That means they weren’t commanded, but freely given to God.
It might seem odd to place a passage about freewill offerings right after the judgment of Israel wandering for forty years, and right before the rebellion of Korah, but here it is. In the midst of the people questioning their relationship with God, Numbers 15 is where He shows what it should look like.
