Numbers 15: 1 – 41
Defiance to authority
15 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you have come into the land you are to inhabit, which I am giving to you, 3 and you make an offering by fire to the LORD, a burnt offering or a sacrifice, to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering or in your appointed feasts, to make a sweet aroma to the LORD, from the herd or the flock, 4 then he who presents his offering to the LORD shall bring a grain offering of one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-fourth of a hin of oil; 5 and one-fourth of a hin of wine as a drink offering you shall prepare with the burnt offering or the sacrifice, for each lamb. 6 Or for a ram you shall prepare as a grain offering two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-third of a hin of oil; 7 and as a drink offering you shall offer one-third of a hin of wine as a sweet aroma to the LORD. 8 And when you prepare a young bull as a burnt offering, or as a sacrifice to fulfill a vow, or as a peace offering to the LORD, 9 then shall be offered with the young bull a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with half a hin of oil; 10 and you shall bring as the drink offering half a hin of wine as an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the LORD. 11 ‘Thus it shall be done for each young bull, for each ram, or for each lamb or young goat. 12 According to the number that you prepare, so you shall do with everyone according to their number. 13 All who are native-born shall do these things in this manner, in presenting an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the LORD. 14 And if a stranger dwells with you, or whoever is among you throughout your generations, and would present an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the LORD, just as you do, so shall he do. 15 One ordinance shall be for you of the assembly and for the stranger who dwells with you, an ordinance forever throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the stranger be before the LORD. 16 One law and one custom shall be for you and for the stranger who dwells with you.’ ” 17 Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 18 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come into the land to which I bring you, 19 then it will be, when you eat of the bread of the land, that you shall offer up a heave offering to the LORD. 20 You shall offer up a cake of the first of your ground meal as a heave offering; as a heave offering of the threshing floor, so shall you offer it up. 21 Of the first of your ground meal you shall give to the LORD a heave offering throughout your generations. 22 ‘If you sin unintentionally, and do not observe all these commandments which the LORD has spoken to Moses— 23 all that the LORD has commanded you by the hand of Moses, from the day the LORD gave commandment and onward throughout your generations— 24 then it will be, if it is unintentionally committed, without the knowledge of the congregation, that the whole congregation shall offer one young bull as a burnt offering, as a sweet aroma to the LORD, with its grain offering and its drink offering, according to the ordinance, and one kid of the goats as a sin offering. 25 So the priest shall make atonement for the whole congregation of the children of Israel, and it shall be forgiven them, for it was unintentional; they shall bring their offering, an offering made by fire to the LORD, and their sin offering before the LORD, for their unintended sin. 26 It shall be forgiven the whole congregation of the children of Israel and the stranger who dwells among them, because all the people did it unintentionally. 27 ‘And if a person sins unintentionally, then he shall bring a female goat in its first year as a sin offering. 28 So the priest shall make atonement for the person who sins unintentionally, when he sins unintentionally before the LORD, to make atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him. 29 You shall have one law for him who sins unintentionally, for him who is native-born among the children of Israel and for the stranger who dwells among them. 30 ‘But the person who does anything presumptuously, whether he is native-born or a stranger, that one brings reproach on the LORD, and he shall be cut off from among his people. 31 Because he has despised the word of the LORD, and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt shall be upon him.’ ” 32 Now while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day. 33 And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron, and to all the congregation. 34 They put him under guard, because it had not been explained what should be done to him. 35 Then the LORD said to Moses, “The man must surely be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.” 36 So, as the LORD commanded Moses, all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him with stones, and he died. 37 Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 38 “Speak to the children of Israel: Tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue thread in the tassels of the corners. 39 And you shall have the tassel, that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the LORD and do them, and that you may not follow the harlotry to which your own heart and your own eyes are inclined, 40 and that you may remember and do all My commandments, and be holy for your God. 41 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD your God.”
If you have ever experienced a child having a temper tantrum and as long as it is not your child you tend to smile at the little one’s acting. If you witness an adult do the same thing it is not as enjoying to see.
Children who seem to defy parental authority actually are described with a mental condition which is called ‘ODD’ - Oppositional defiant disorder. ODD is described as an ongoing pattern of disobedient, hostile, and defiant behavior toward authority figures that goes beyond the bounds of normal childhood behavior.
To meet the American Psychological category for ODD, certain factors must be taken into account. First, the defiance must interfere with the child’s ability to function in school, home, or the community. Second, the defiance cannot be the result of another disorder, such as depression, anxiety, or the more serious Conduct Disorder. Third, the child’s problem behaviors have been happening for at least six months. The diagnostic criteria for this disorder are as follows:
Losing temper
Arguing with adults
Refusing to follow the rules
Deliberately annoying people
Blaming others for own mistakes
Easily annoyed
Angry and resentful
Spiteful or even revengeful
If the child meets at least four of these criteria, and they are interfering with the child’s ability to function, then he or she technically meets the definition of Oppositional defiant.
Childhood Oppositional Defiant Disorder is strongly associated with later developing in adults and is called Conduct Disorder. The organization states that if ODD is not treated when discovered in a child then 52% will progress into Conduct Disorder.
Today we are going to read about a man who in today’s world could be listed as having a Conduct Disorder. We will see how our Great and Holy God treats this man’s action.
The change of subject which now follows is so forceful, vivid and emphatic, that it is worth sitting and reading it with that in mind in order to gain its impression. It is awesome. The next thirty eight years is left as a blank. Yahweh is portrayed as simply passing on to speak to the next generation. Calmly He says, “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, When you are come into the land of your habitations, which I am giving to you.” The present generation, which will not be allowed to enter the land, is just to be ignored. There is no room for argument. The matter is seen as settled. And He gives to the new up-and-coming generation instructions for them to observe once they were in the land.
It is as though the present generation did not exist. It was seen as written off. But behind His words was an assurance, an assurance to their children that they as the next generation would enter the land and be established in their habitations, and that they would have plentiful grain and wine to offer. They need not fear for He was still with them, and the land would be theirs.
And His words were the ones that they wanted to hear, for He declared to them that in those days their offerings would be acceptable to Him. They would be His true people once again, as they fulfilled His commandments concerning the offerings and sacrifices, and especially the grain and wine offerings. These would be a sign of the fact that they were Yahweh’s people in Yahweh’s land. They had not been utterly cast off. The restoration of and building up of their faith was now
Our Holy Lord God is going to list in this chapter four points. The first of God’s four provisions for the future lay in a call to walk before Him. This would include
a) Offering to Him offerings and sacrifices of continual dedication to Him for dedication and atonement,
b) Offering continually purification for sin offerings for the removal of sin,
c) Avoiding presumptuous sin, and
d) The wearing of what would be a continual reminder of the need to keep His commandments by having tassels on the fringes of their garments. We will now look at these one by one.
15 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you have come into the land you are to inhabit, which I am giving to you,
Dismissing the wilderness generation and the period in the wilderness almost without a further glance our Holy Creator Yahweh now gave instruction to the future generation for when they entered the land and established their habitations, in the land which He was giving them, thus confirming that they would eventually do so. They were then to offer to Yahweh regular offerings of dedication and atonement, both individually and as a nation. The emphasis here is on the grain and drink offerings which would gain in prominence once they were farming their own land and growing their own vineyards. They would no longer be just ‘shepherds’.
3 and you make an offering by fire to the LORD, a burnt offering or a sacrifice, to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering or in your appointed feasts, to make a sweet aroma to the LORD, from the herd or the flock, 4 then he who presents his offering to the LORD shall bring a grain offering of one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-fourth of a hin of oil;
An offering by fire was one that brought a pleasing odor to Yahweh by being offered up on the altar. In the case of the whole burnt offering it was wholly offered up, an indication of total dedication and desire for atonement, a being made ‘at one’ with Him.
Whole burnt offerings were offered daily in the morning and evening sacrifices and they were offered at set feasts. The most vital one of the year was made at the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16). They could also be offered individually for the whole congregation, for priests and for the different levels of society as an act of free worship (Leviticus 1). They were a continual recommitment to Yahweh; to Him, to His covenant and to His commandments.
The peace offerings were also offered at set feasts. Their main purpose was of thanksgiving, but they could also be either in order to accomplish a vow, or given as a freewill offering of love and worship, although again containing an element of atonement. In all cases they were a bringing to Him of tribute and acknowledgement of His lordship.
Both types of offering, whole burnt offerings and peace offerings, were to be accompanied by a grain offering mingled with oil. This is described in Leviticus 2. While all the animal offerings reflected gratitude for what God had given them, and continued to give them as more and more were born, the grain offering would also include an element of gratitude for the rain and an offering of their labor to Yahweh as revealed in the grain offering. Much work had been necessary in order to produce milled grain.
5 and one-fourth of a hin of wine as a drink offering you shall prepare with the burnt offering or the sacrifice, for each lamb.
With the grain offering should also be offered wine for a drink offering which should accompany each offering or sacrifice. The redness of the wine was probably seen as symbolizing blood, and the wine itself part of that provision by God for which they were showing gratitude.
6 Or for a ram you shall prepare as a grain offering two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-third of a hin of oil; 7 and as a drink offering you shall offer one-third of a hin of wine as a sweet aroma to the LORD.
Where, however, a ram was offered, in the case of set feasts where it was laid down as the requirement, and in the case of the individual offering either as laid down or by choice, then the grain and drink offerings had to be larger as befitted the offering.
8 And when you prepare a young bull as a burnt offering, or as a sacrifice to fulfill a vow, or as a peace offering to the LORD, 9 then shall be offered with the young bull a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with half a hin of oil; 10 and you shall bring as the drink offering half a hin of wine as an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the LORD.
When the offering was an ox bull the grain offering and drink offering had to be twice as large, as befitted such an offering. This multiplication of the grain and drink offering stresses the prosperity that would be theirs in the land.
11 ‘Thus it shall be done for each young bull, for each ram, or for each lamb or young goat. 12 According to the number that you prepare, so you shall do with everyone according to their number.
And these grain and drink offerings as prescribed were to be offered with each animal offering. This would become possible because the land would become theirs.
13 All who are native-born shall do these things in this manner, in presenting an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the LORD.
This practice was to be carried out by all who were home born. They were to make their offerings by fire as a pleasing odor to Yahweh, and with them they were to offer their grain and their wine for they would enjoy prosperity in the land.
14 And if a stranger dwells with you, or whoever is among you throughout your generations, and would present an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the LORD, just as you do, so shall he do.
And any foreigner or resident alien who came among them could also make offerings to Yahweh. And they too would offer in the same way as the home born.
15 One ordinance shall be for you of the assembly and for the stranger who dwells with you, an ordinance forever throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the stranger be before the LORD. 16 One law and one custom shall be for you and for the stranger who dwells with you.’ ”
All were to be equal in their offerings, both home born and foreigner. All would be welcome to worship Him. All were to operate under the same law following the same practice. In the new land worship of Yahweh would be available to all.
The stress continues to be on the fruit of the ground. Hope for the future was being piled up for the younger generation. One day they, unlike their fathers, would enjoy the full blessing of living in the land. But the passage then goes on to deal with the purification from unwitting sin, for that would be necessary if they were to remain in the land.
17 Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 18 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come into the land to which I bring you, 19 then it will be, when you eat of the bread of the land, that you shall offer up a heave offering to the LORD.
Once again the emphasis is on when they would enter the land, and on the fruitfulness that they would then enjoy. When the children of Israel entered the land, when they were enjoying the bread of the land as they abundantly would, then they were to offer up a portion as a contribution or heave-offering (an offering set aside for the priests and presented to Him) to Yahweh as a token of His lordship.
20 You shall offer up a cake of the first of your ground meal as a heave offering; as a heave offering of the threshing floor, so shall you offer it up. 21 Of the first of your ground meal you shall give to the LORD a heave offering throughout your generations.
They were to offer it as first fruits from the first of their dough, by offering a cake for a heave-offering/contribution. And this was to apply into the distant future. But they could not do this if they were guilty of unwitting sin, for that would be to deny His lordship, and that was why the problem of purification of unwitting sin is now dealt with.
The distinction is made between ‘unwitting sin’ and ‘sin with a high hand’. The former which is described as ‘erring’ would therefore seem to include sins done by choice because drawn astray by desire or folly, except when it was in deliberate disobedience to a major commandment (the example of observing the Sabbath is given). We all know what it means to say, ‘I could not help myself’, even when we know we should not have done it. In the end only God can tell whether sin is through weakness or in deliberate defiance against God.
22 ‘If you sin unintentionally, and do not observe all these commandments which the LORD has spoken to Moses— 23 all that the LORD has commanded you by the hand of Moses, from the day the LORD gave commandment and onward throughout your generations—
Please note the emphasis on these instructions being commanded. The commandments were not optional, or acceptable if say 5 out of 10 were kept. They were commanded threefold by Yahweh, and were permanent and to be kept in their totality. Thus to err from them was a grave matter.
24 then it will be, if it is unintentionally committed, without the knowledge of the congregation, that the whole congregation shall offer one young bull as a burnt offering, as a sweet aroma to the LORD, with its grain offering and its drink offering, according to the ordinance, and one kid of the goats as a sin offering.
The first case is an unwitting sin done by the whole congregation. In all these cases it was something that they had not known about. There was no direct involvement. If it was unwitting and without the knowledge of the congregation they still bore guilt, for the whole community were jointly responsible. But it could be atoned for by a whole burnt offering offered on behalf of the whole congregation, consisting of an ox bull for the purpose of atonement and rededication, and by purification for sin offering of a he-goat. The whole burnt offering, accompanied by its grain offerings and drink offering, would rise as a pleasing odor to Yahweh. The sin offering would remove the guilt through the death and offering of the blood of the animal.
25 So the priest shall make atonement for the whole congregation of the children of Israel, and it shall be forgiven them, for it was unintentional; they shall bring their offering, an offering made by fire to the LORD, and their sin offering before the LORD, for their unintended sin.
And the error would then be atoned for and forgiven, because it was an error.
26 It shall be forgiven the whole congregation of the children of Israel and the stranger who dwells among them, because all the people did it unintentionally.
It is again repeated that they would be forgiven. The double emphasis made the fact certain. And the forgiveness would cover the resident alien who dwelt among them. And the reason for this would be that it was done unwittingly.
27 ‘And if a person sins unintentionally, then he shall bring a female goat in its first year as a sin offering.
The same was to apply to a person who sinned unwittingly. But in that case he was simply required to bring a year old she-goat for purification for sin offering.
28 So the priest shall make atonement for the person who sins unintentionally, when he sins unintentionally before the LORD, to make atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him.
Thus would the priest make atonement for the person, because he had sinned unwittingly, and he would be forgiven. It is clear that this could not have been done for every sin of thought, word and deed that came to mind or all the herds and flocks of the population would rapidly have disappeared. It was for definite sins against specific covenant stipulations that were recognized as being so and were not premeditated, or if premeditated not taking on the character of aggression against God and His creation. (Thus the sins included theft from a neighbor, which had however to be dealt with in a special way including compensation, but not murder or adultery, both of which were against the very order of creation).
29 You shall have one law for him who sins unintentionally, for him who is native-born among the children of Israel and for the stranger who dwells among them.
The law was to be the same for all whether home born or foreigners. All who came to dwell among the Israelites entered into a kind of relationship with Yahweh, and were to be treated equally.
30 ‘But the person who does anything presumptuously, whether he is native-born or a stranger, that one brings reproach on the LORD, and he shall be cut off from among his people.
Those, however, who signed with a high hand, would not receive forgiveness. This refers to specific sins against the commandments which were premeditated and deliberately carried through in defiance of God. It applied specifically to sins which directly affected Yahweh’s sovereignty and were against creation, and thus included murder, idolatry, adultery and Sabbath-breaking. Such a person was blaspheming Yahweh and despising His word.
31 Because he has despised the word of the LORD, and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt shall be upon him.’ ”
And because he had despised Yahweh’s word and deliberately with forethought broken His commandment in defiance of Yahweh, that person was to be cut off from among the people. The primary responsibility for carrying out the sentence was Yahweh’s. The person would not escape. But where the congregation was aware of the sin they were to assist in the cutting off. The example that follows demonstrates that that meant the death sentence.
32 Now while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day.
The example is given of a man found gathering sticks on the Sabbath day. Such an act was deliberate, was against what he knew to be God’s requirement, and was done in defiance of the Law and was, as he was aware, a sin against the very basis of creation. No one had ever yet been punished for it and he probably felt that he could get away with it. But it was in open defiance of Yahweh, and a challenge to His name and position. It was high treason. It was a sin against what all knew to be sacred, against what belonged to Yahweh. It could not be allowed to go unpunished, and the punishment had to be severe.
33 And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron, and to all the congregation.
Those who found him committing his sin brought him to Moses and Aaron. They recognized that this was not a local matter but affected the whole camp, for it could bring down Yahweh’s anger on the camp.
34 They put him under guard, because it had not been explained what should be done to him.
But because this was the first case of the kind and not strictly covered by the law they put him under guard so that Yahweh could be consulted. What was forbidden was daily work and lighting a fire on the Sabbath day (Exodus 35.2-3). He could have argued that he was not working, which might have been debatable, but it was quite clear that the man would not have gathered the sticks unless he intended to light a fire. Thus he was in their eyes intending to break the law.
35 Then the LORD said to Moses, “The man must surely be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.”
Yahweh’s verdict was quickly given. He knew the whole truth about the man’s motives. The man was to be put to death. He had openly defied God. The verdict was that all the congregation were to take part for he had sinned against the congregation. They were to stone him with stones. Thus they would not touch him and render themselves unclean by their action. And it was to be done outside the camp so that the camp was not made unclean.
36 So, as the LORD commanded Moses, all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him with stones, and he died.
The whole congregation did as Yahweh commanded. They brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death with stones as Yahweh had commanded Moses. This was the way in which all high handed sin was to be dealt with.
We next come across the requirement that the children of Israel wear special tassels on their clothing. This was stated to be that they might look on them ‘and remember all the commandments of Yahweh and do them’. In other words they were to be an indication that the wearer was one of the covenant people.
This would act as a witness to outsiders, and to each other, that the wearer was one of Yahweh’s people, and would enable every Israelite to recognize a brother when abroad or on the battlefield. In the heat of battle it was important that friend be discernible from foe. It would say, ‘here is one of Yahweh’s holy ones’.
37 Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 38 “Speak to the children of Israel: Tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue thread in the tassels of the corners.
The children of Israel were to place tassels on their outer garment (Deuteronomy 22.12), and these tassels were to contain within them a cord of blue. The cord of blue would be a reminder of the Ark of the Covenant of Yahweh which went before them covered with a blue cloth (4.6), visible for all to see. Such a cloth was also to cover all the furniture of the Holy Place when in transit, although in their cases not visible (4.7, 9, 11). Thus blue was an indication of what was sacred to Yahweh, what was heavenly, and they would see it as connecting them with the Ark (when the Ark was with them) as they went in to battle. It would also in their daily lives remind them of the Ark and the covenant that it contained.
39 And you shall have the tassel, that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the LORD and do them, and that you may not follow the harlotry to which your own heart and your own eyes are inclined,
The tassel would be there as a constant reminder of the covenant. They would look on it and remember all the commandments of Yahweh, and do them. Thus would they not walk after their own hearts and eyes which led them into sin and caused them to be unfaithful to God. To ‘play the harlot’ was to participate in idolatry and what was associated with it.
40 and that you may remember and do all My commandments, and be holy for your God.
They were to follow Yahweh and not their own hearts. Thus would they be holy to their God, distinguished by the purity and obedience of their lives.
41 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD your God.”
For, as their fathers had not done, they were to remember Who Yahweh Is. He Is Yahweh their God, Who delivered them from Egypt that He might be their God. He Is Yahweh their God. Again we have the repetition for emphasis, paralleling the repetition of ‘remember and do all my commandments’. That indeed is why they were to remember and do, because He was Yahweh their God and Deliverer. And they were to remember that to them He had to be all in all. He would allow no other.
