Numbers 7-10
Offerings
The Tabernacle has been set up and the various camps have been arranged around the tabernacle starting with the four Levite camps and then the twelve tribes. The Tabernacle represents God being in the midst of His people and is a visual picture to us of the Holy Spirit dwelling in the heart of each member of the Church and how God wants to relate to us. Chapter seven is a picture of how we are to relate to God.
The carts and the oxen represent the commitment and support of the people represented by the leaders of each tribe for the work of the ministry. God instructed Moses to receive these gifts and give them to the Levites to help them in their ministry to the Lord and the people.
Following these gifts each leader was to present offerings to dedicate the altar. It is the altar where man meets with God. Each leader brought a silver plate and bowl filled with flour mixed with oil. Silver speaks of redemption. The flour mixed with oil speaks of the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. This is the grain offering which is an offering of thanksgiving for what God has done. The Word of God speaks to us and the Holy Spirit convicts us in our heart of our sin and need of salvation. So this first offering is an offering of thanksgiving for the forgiveness of sin. Only a portion of this offering is burned on the altar. The remaining part is given to the Priests. Jesus said there was great rejoicing in Heaven when a sinner gives his life to God. Luke 15
The golden pan full of incense represents prayer to God. Gold represents God. Incense represents our prayers. Our prayers are an offering, a sweet aroma pleasing to the Lord.
The next offering was the burnt offering. It is an offering that speaks of committing oneself to the Lord. The person making the offering would place their hands on the animal to be sacrificed. This represented placing his sins on the animal which would be slain and totally consumed on the altar. Paul writes in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” NASB
John the Baptist identified Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. When we ask Jesus to forgive us of our sin we are recognizing that He gave His life to pay for our sins.
The next offering is the peace offering. As a result of what God has done for us to secure our salvation through His Son and our acceptance of God’s free gift of salvation, we can now have communion with God which is what this offering speaks of. A portion of this offering is consumed on the altar. This is God’s portion. The priest also ate a portion as did the person and his family who brought the offering. This is a picture of communion.
At the Last Supper our Lord took the bread and broke it, saying the bread represented His body broken for us. Then He took the cup and said it was the blood of the covenant. His blood was the payment for forgiveness of sin. He ate and drank a portion and offered these to the disciples to partake as well. Today, when we partake of the Lord’s Table, we are partaking of, and with, the Lord. The only way we can ever have peace within starts with a right relationship with our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. Apart from Him there is no peace no matter how hard we try or how far we search.
If we are to have peace with God we must have a relationship with God. The Chapters that follow will build on this relationship so it is important to start with a right relationship with God.
Do you have peace? True peace is only found in Christ Jesus. There are many verses in the Bible that speak of peace. I urge you to take some time and look them up. In the back of most bibles is a concordance where you can find these verses. Of course you can also do a search on the internet but make sure you have a good source. Here are a few verses to get started with.
Isaiah 26:3, Chapter 57; Colossians 1:19-20, 3:15-17; Numbers 6:24-26 & 2 Thessalonians 3:16.
Grace and peace be unto you in our Lord Jesus.
Pastor Dave