22:21-25
We now turn to fellowship offerings, and again the mention of fulfilling a vow or making a freewill offering. The requirement to fulfil a vow, or the desire to make a freewill offering, did not override the need for the offering to be perfect. Having the “right motives” is not enough, something must also be done in the right way. It isn’t clear why 22:23 allows a deformed ox or sheep to be offered as a freewill offering. However, the words used here imply that the animal was either smaller or larger than the norm. So the animal may not have been deformed as such, but just of an unusual size.
22:26-28
We now get some restrictions on the offering of animals, namely that they cannot be offered until the eighth day after their birth, and that the mother animal is not to be slaughtered on the same day as its offspring. Hess says this reflects “compassion for the livestock”. I have to say there doesn’t really seem to be much in the way of compassion for the livestock in them. The animal is going to be slaughtered within a few days anyway. The reason for the rules must either be related to God’s requirements for the sacrifice, and/or concern for the family. Though I have to say I don’t know what the actual reasons are.
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