My apologies that there has been such a long break in the Verse
for the Day, life has been rather busy of late and I had to give priority to
some more important matters. Thank you for being so
understanding.
Numbers 7:10-17, “(10)
And the chiefs offered offerings for the dedication of the altar on the day it
was anointed; and the chiefs offered their offering before the altar. (11)
And the LORD said to Moses, "They shall offer their offerings, one
chief each day, for the dedication of the altar." (12)
He who offered his offering the first day was Nahshon the son of
Amminadab, of the tribe of Judah. (13) And his offering was one silver plate whose
weight was 130 shekels, one silver basin of 70 shekels, according to the shekel
of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain
offering; (14) one golden dish of 10 shekels, full of
incense; (15) one bull from the herd, one ram, one male
lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; (16) one male goat for a sin offering; (17)
and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male
goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Nahshon the son
of Amminadab.”
In Numbers
7, we have recorded for us the offering of gifts to the work of the tabernacle,
in particular the offerings given when the altar was consecrated. Each of the
tribes, with the exception of the Levites, come over 12 consecutive days to
bring their gifts and offerings for the altar. Every tribe brings the same
gifts and the same amount, it is not as though one tribe out does the other.
The
questions that we ask are; why do they bring gifts and offerings for the altar,
what is so special and significant about the altar? Why is it necessary for all
of the tribes to bring gifts and to bring the same gifts?
Without
trying to over-symbolise and allegorise this passage, I believe that we can
answer these questions in a manner that is Biblically accurate and honourable.
The altar
was one of the most significant objects within the tabernacle. In fact it was
one of the few objects in the tabernacle that the people could see and have
some access to. Furthermore the altar was the means through which, by which
they were able to have a relationship with God. If they desired to come to God,
they had to go via the altar, they had to offer up a sacrifice for sin, and
then approach God. The altar reminded them of their sinfulness, the
consequences of their sin, the holiness of God and also the grace and mercy of
God. It was through the altar and the intercession made for them by the priests
that the people of Israel could find favour in God’s sight. Thus the altar was
the centre piece of their individual and national relationship with God.
Why do they
all bring the same gifts? There is great wisdom in the fact that all the tribes
bring the exact same gifts, of identical value and quantity. It is human nature
to think that those who give more, should receive more. In the case of
something like the altar, those who give more, should have greater access to
the altar, they have more right to the altar than those who gave less, the
altar is more theirs than anybody else’s. Yet by bringing the same gifts, of
the same value, it means that the altar is of equal importance to them, and
they all have the same right and access to the altar. After-all, all of us are
in need of God’s grace, mercy and salvation, no one can say that their need of
God is greater than another’s, nor could we say we have more right or access to
God than any other. All men alike are in need of God.
The gifts
that are given would have been of great value to the people, it would be a
sacrifice to give them to the tabernacle. We need to remember that Israel at
this point in time had limited resources, they only had that which they had
brought with them out of Egypt. Thus as the work of constructing the temple and
the giving of the various gifts to Aaron and his sons, as well as to the
Levites, and now the giving of these gifts for the consecration of the altar,
would have greatly depleted their resources. Their giving is sacrificial, it
would have been hard and would have required them to trust in the Lord. They
were on route to the Promised Land, a land in which they would have to almost
start from scratch, thus they would have wanted to be as wise and frugal as
possible with what they had, so as to ensure that they could set up their homes
in their new land. Therefore as their resources are being depleted all the
more, and their trust in God to provide for them needed to increase. As we
shall see on numerous occasions in the book of Numbers, whilst they may have
given sacrificially, they failed to trust in God to faithfully provide for
them, instead they complained frequently and bitterly against God.
They also
equally failed to learn from the point and purpose of the tabernacle and the
altar. The tabernacle and altar were there to be constant teachers and
reminders, about the nature, character and works of God, and their own nature,
character and works. They were designed to constantly point to the holiness of
God, and the need for God’s people to display that same holiness. The altar
specifically taught and reminded them of sin and its consequences, thus it sought
to encourage them to live and walk in righteousness and obedience. Every time
they saw the tabernacle, or the altar, it was to remind them that God was in
their presence, He was amongst them, He witnessed all that which they did, and
He required holiness, obedience and faithfulness. In addition to this it
reminded them that God was gracious, He was willing to forgive those who came
to Him in humble repentance and that God desired for them to know Him and to
have a real relationship with Him.
The
tabernacle, the altar and the services that took place at the tabernacle, where
rich in what they sought to remind, teach and represent to the people of
Israel. To them it should have been a constant joy and delight to have the
tabernacle, and the altar, to be able to look to them, stand before them and
enjoy the unique access to God it provided from them.
The
challenge that comes to us who are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ is that
we have something far greater than an altar or tabernacle. We have the finished
work of Christ, we have the established Church, we have the complete Word of
God, and greatest of all we have the presence and indwelling of the Holy
Spirit. What was signs and symbols for the Israelites are realities for us. We
have a far greater privilege than they, for what they had to believe in faith
would happen in the future, we can look back at and see its complete fulfilment.
We don’t have to look far to see and know the presence of God, His nature,
character and works and how we might live as His children. Yet we can so easily
fall into the very same error that the Israelites fell into. We can take all
these wonderful and unique gifts for granted, we can fail to look at them, or
learn from them as we should. We can be guilty of wanting something more or
greater, and we can be guilty of forgetting all that which God is and has done
for us and instead complain against Him.
For us it
should be daily delight and joy, a cause for us to worship and praise God, that
we do not need the tabernacle or the altar anymore, because Christ’s work is
complete, and God’s Spirit now dwells within us each and every day. Every day
God seeks to teach us by His Spirit and by His Word more and more of who He is,
and more and more of who He would have us be. Every day God seeks to draw us
into a closer and deeper relationship with Himself, and allow us to know the
ever increasing blessings of our salvation. How tragic it is that we give so
little time, thought or attention to that which God has done for us and given
to us. How tragic it is that we are so quick to forget and count it a hardship
to serve God, never mind having to make a sacrifice. Let us strive to do what
the people of Israel should have done, and that is to look to God every day,
look to the tabernacle, look to the altar, so we should be looking to Christ,
looking to God’s Spirit, so that our lives might be looking in the right
direction at the start of the day, until the end of the day.
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