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Friday, 27 January 2023

Numbers 15:1-21 - After you enter the land

15:1-16

“When you come into the land I am giving you ...”  Although the people have rebelled and God has punished them, the plan remains the same. So we see two things. First, sin matters and has consequences; secondly, man’s sin cannot thwart God’s plans. So here we see God continuing to prepare Israel for entering the Promised Land, giving more instructions on sacrifices. Some of the commands would have been irrelevant if they had stayed in the wilderness forever, such as the treatment of strangers or sojourners. The instructions for sojourners are very important, if they wanted to offer a sacrifice they were to be allowed to do so. And there was one rule for all, whether Hebrew or stranger. This is all very relevant for the gospel bringing Jews and Gentiles into the kingdom on exactly the same basis.


15:17-21

There is another instruction about offering the first fruits to the Lord, in this case applied to bread and dough. This principle is still important today. It is the Lord who supplies all our needs. This does not mean that we do not have to work, but the fruitfulness of our work depends upon the Lord (Ps 127:1). Our giving the firstfruits to the Lord is a reminder and a demonstration of this fact.


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