“You shall offer the one lamb in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight.” Numbers 28:4
In one of the Bible Helps I use, mainly for copying the Text for use in my Posts, it says at the top of this Chapter, “Laws for Offerings”. This Chapter in Numbers, and the next, detail to the Children of Israel all the Required Offerings they would bring during the Year. These included the Daily, the Weekly, the Monthly, and all those during the Feast Days. It can be a bit mundane and boring as you read through, especially with the Feast of Booths daily Offerings as they changed each day. But there are several fascinating aspects of these Offerings. I was struck by 2 which I will comment on.
The 1st was the sheer number. I considered totaling them in a spreadsheet, but not sure how valuable it would be to know that. But consider this: Two lambs “every” day, two additional lambs “every” Sabbath, two bulls, one ram, seven male lambs, at the beginning of “every” month. Add to that the 3 Major Feast Days, with multiple numbers for each day, along with the Grain Offerings, all mixed with oil, and the Drink Libations, and you have a Gigantic amount of Livestock, Grain, Oil, and Drink that would be offered up “every” year. This in and of itself would keep shepherds, cowboys, and farmers busy during the year just to supply what was required by God. Read through these 2 Chapters with this in mind and you’ll see my point!
The 2nd was the Daily Offering; One in the Morning and One in the Evening. This established a pattern for the People of God for their Times of Worship each Day. There would “always” be a Lamb offered each Morning, as well as each Evening. It wasn’t necessarily for Sin, but they were Offered up to God mainly as a form of Worship. If you’ve ever read Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening Devotional, it was this Aspect that inspired him.
Just 2 Final Thoughts: What a Great Blessing for Christians that Christ “was” the Lamb of God, and that One Offering of Himself on the Cross finished the need for “any” further Animal Sacrifices. In Him is “everything” that these Animals pointed to. Also, that pattern set by the Daily Morning and Evening Offerings is no Accident. I firmly believe it is a Pattern of Worship for God’s People today. May God use these thoughts to be a blessing and encouragement in our worship habits for each of you!