Numbers 28:9 - Meaning and Application

The new moons and the sabbaths are often mentioned together as special holy times in the Jewish church. They were a comfort to God’s people then, and they also pointed ahead to the grace of the gospel. Here we are told what sacrifices were required for them.

For the sabbath, the offering had to be doubled. In addition to the two lambs offered as the daily burnt offering, two more lambs were to be offered on the sabbath, probably one with the morning sacrifice and one with the evening sacrifice (Num. 28:9, Num. 28:10). This teaches us to give fuller attention to devotion on the Lord’s day, because that is what the day calls for. The sabbath rest is meant to help us give ourselves more fully to sabbath work, and that work should fill the day.

In Ezekiel’s temple service, which points to gospel times, the sabbath offerings were even greater, six lambs and a ram, along with grain offerings and drink offerings (Eze. 46:4, Eze. 46:5). This shows not only that sabbath holiness would continue, but that it would grow in the days of the Messiah. The text calls this “the burnt offering of the sabbath in its sabbath” (v. 10), meaning each sabbath’s work was to be done in its own day. We should use every sabbath well, treating each hour as precious, and not think we can make up one sabbath’s duty on another, for each sabbath has enough work of its own.

For the new moons, some have suggested a special meaning. The sabbath was kept with an eye to creation, while the new moons may have been sanctified with an eye to God’s providence, which has fixed the moon for seasons and orders the passage of time by its changes. We do not keep a feast of new moons now, but we should still give God glory for all the good things that come through the moon, which he has established forever as a faithful witness in heaven (Psa. 89:37).

The offerings for the new moons were large, two bulls, one ram, and seven lambs, along with the grain offerings and drink offerings that went with them (Num. 28:11, etc.), and also a sin offering (Num. 28:15). When we praise God for his gifts, we must also confess our sins. And when we rejoice in the blessings of common providence, we must remember the sacrifice of Christ, that great gift of special grace, the source and beginning of all our joy.

Some have wondered whether the new moons should count as feast days. Yet they did have the marks of a holy day. They included special sacrifices, rest from ordinary work (Amo. 8:5), trumpet blowing (Num. 10:10), and going to the prophets to hear God’s word (2 Ki. 4:23). The worship connected with the new moons also pointed ahead to the gospel’s holy gatherings (Isa. 66:23).