Numbers 28:1-15--Required Daily, Weekly, and Monthly Sacrifices

Numbers 28:1-15
English Standard Version

Daily Offerings
28 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Command the people of Israel and say to them, ‘My offering, my food for my food offerings, my pleasing aroma, you shall be careful to offer to me at its appointed time.’ 3 And you shall say to them, This is the food offering that you shall offer to the LORD: two male lambs a year old without blemish, day by day, as a regular offering. 4 The one lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight; 5 also a tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with a quarter of a hin of beaten oil. 6 It is a regular burnt offering, which was ordained at Mount Sinai for a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the LORD. 7 Its drink offering shall be a quarter of a hin for each lamb. In the Holy Place you shall pour out a drink offering of strong drink to the LORD. 8 The other lamb you shall offer at twilight. Like the grain offering of the morning, and like its drink offering, you shall offer it as a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

Sabbath Offerings
9 “On the Sabbath day, two male lambs a year old without blemish, and two tenths of an ephah of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with oil, and its drink offering: 10 this is the burnt offering of every Sabbath, besides the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.

Monthly Offerings
11 “At the beginnings of your months, you shall offer a burnt offering to the LORD: two bulls from the herd, one ram, seven male lambs a year old without blemish; 12 also three tenths of an ephah of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with oil, for each bull, and two tenths of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with oil, for the one ram; 13 and a tenth of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering for every lamb; for a burnt offering with a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the LORD. 14 Their drink offerings shall be half a hin of wine for a bull, a third of a hin for a ram, and a quarter of a hin for a lamb. This is the burnt offering of each month throughout the months of the year. 15 Also one male goat for a sin offering to the LORD; it shall be offered besides the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.

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We see here in these passages and the coming passages the size and weight of the sacrificial system that we may not have understood since the portions of the books of Exodus and Leviticus that specifically covered how these sacrifices were to be offered, but now the people are commanded about how often they are to be sure to make these sacrifices.  They should know the Law to know that they need to make certain sacrifices every time they sin, but all of these are on top of that.

They are to offer two male lambs every day--one in the morning and the other at twilight so that atonement could be made as the first and last thing every day (typically all work stopped at twilight).  Their relationship with God was to be the first thing and the last thing on their minds every day and how they were constantly in need of atonement and forgiveness.  They were also to offer a grain offering (a food offering) and a drink offering was to be offered with each of these lambs.

​In addition to the daily offerings, a weekly offering of two additional male lambs with a grain offering twice the normal size (and presumably a drink offering along with it twice the normal size) was offered on the Sabbath Day every week.  This is in addition to the daily offering that was to be made for that day along with their regular grain and drink offerings.

In addition to these, they were offer a special burnt offering of two bulls at the beginning of every month (the first day of every month), one ram, and seven male lambs all without blemish.  This is quite costly for any normal person or even a wealthy person, but this is what the LORD required of everyone.  There was also a grain offering and drink offering prescribed for each bull, ram and lamb.

Separate from all these one of the other offerings required each month was a male goat that would be offered as a sin offering each month.  It was to be offered in addition to all the regular burnt offerings and drink offerings.

None of these sacrifices included those that were made on the holy days (Sabbaths), where we get the word "holiday" from.  Those sacrifices will be covered in Numbers 28:16 through Numbers 29:40 (I'll probably take that as a larger group of passages next time like I grouped these three passages together today).