Numbers 29:1 - Meaning and Application

The seventh month had more sacred festivals than any other month of the year. That was partly because it had once been the first month before Israel was delivered from Egypt. When Israel came out of Egypt in the month Abib, God made that month the beginning of the sacred calendar. It was also still the first month in civil matters, for jubilees and years of release. Another reason was practical, this was the season between harvest and seedtime, when people had the most free time to attend the sanctuary.

This reminds us that, while God allows sacrifices to be set aside for works of necessity and mercy, we should use our free time well. The more time we have away from the pressures of daily life, the more of it we should give to God’s direct service.

Here the law gives the sacrifices for the first day of the month, the day of trumpet blowing, which prepared the people for two great holy days, the day of atonement and the feast of tabernacles. One act of worship should fit us for another, and all of them should prepare us for heaven. The blowing of the trumpets had already been appointed (Leviticus 23:24). Now the people are told what sacrifices to offer that day, since that had not been mentioned earlier.

This is a good reminder that anyone who wants to understand God’s mind in Scripture must compare one part with another. Later passages often explain what earlier ones left unclear and supply what was still missing. In that way, God’s servant can be made complete.

The sacrifices for that day are set out in detail here (Numbers 29:2-6). Care is also taken to show that these offerings did not replace the daily burnt offering or the offering for the new moon. We should not look for ways to reduce our zeal in God’s service, or welcome excuses to leave a good duty undone. Instead, we should be glad for chances to do more than usual in religion.

So, if we have family worship, we should not think that excuses us from private prayer. And if we go to church, we should not imagine that we no longer need to worship God alone or with our families. We should always keep working in the Lord’s service.

On the day of atonement, besides all the worship already appointed for that day in Leviticus 16, there were also burnt offerings to be made (Numbers 29:8-10). Faith and repentance, the two great gospel graces shown by that day’s ceremonies, should also keep God’s glory in view. That is what the burnt offerings taught.

There was also to be a male goat for a sin offering, in addition to the great sin offering of atonement (Numbers 29:11). This shows that even our repentance is imperfect. There are so many faults and shortfalls in the way we repent that we still need a sacrifice to cover the guilt even of our holy things. We should not regret that we repented, but we should regret that we did not repent better.

This also showed the weakness of the law’s sacrifices and their inability to remove sin fully. Even on the very day when the great sin offering of atonement was offered, another sin offering was still needed. But what the law could not do, because it was weak, Christ has done.