Numbers 28:16 - Meaning and Application

Here we have the appointed offerings for the Passover season. This does not mean the main Passover lamb, for enough instructions had already been given about that. It refers to the sacrifices offered during the seven days of unleavened bread that came after Passover (Numbers 28:17-25). The first and last of those seven days were to be kept as Sabbaths, with holy rest and a sacred meeting. On each of the seven days, they were to bring generous sacrifices, showing deep and steady thanks for their rescue from Egypt: two bulls, one ram, and seven lambs.

A godly life in gratitude for Christ, our Passover who has been sacrificed, is called keeping this feast (1 Corinthians 5:8). It is not enough to put away the old leaven of malice and wickedness. We must also bring God the sacrifice of praise, and keep doing so until the end.

The sacrifices for Pentecost are also set out here, where it is called the day of the firstfruits (Numbers 28:26). At the feast of unleavened bread, they offered a sheaf of the first barley, which was the first grain to ripen among them, to the priest (Leviticus 23:10). That was like the start of the harvest. Then, about seven weeks later, they were to bring a new grain offering to the Lord at the end of harvest, giving thanks to God who had not only given the crops, but also preserved them for use so that they could enjoy them in season.

It was at this feast that the Holy Spirit was poured out (Acts 2:1 and following), and thousands were brought to faith through the apostles’ preaching. In that way, they were offered to Christ as a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. The offering with the firstfruits loaves had already been set out (Leviticus 23:18). But in addition to that, and in addition to the daily offerings, they were also to bring two bulls, one ram, seven lambs, and a male goat for a sin offering (Numbers 28:27-30).

When God gives us abundantly, he expects a fitting response from us. Bishop Patrick notes that no peace offerings are appointed in this chapter. Those were mainly for the benefit of the worshipers, so they were left more to their own choice. Burnt offerings, by contrast, were wholly for God’s honor. They showed his right to rule and pictured the life of faith, where the soul is fully given to God in the fire of holy love. Sin offerings pointed to Christ’s sacrifice of himself, by which we and our services are made complete and holy.