What connections exist between Numbers 15:10 and New Testament teachings on offerings? Text Spotlight: Numbers 15:10 “…prepare a hin of wine as a drink offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.” What the Verse Shows • Wine is poured out beside the animal and grain gifts. • The whole bundle rises as a “pleasing aroma,” signaling God’s acceptance. • The drink offering is not optional; it completes the sacrifice. Threads That Reach into the New Testament 1. Christ as the True Pleasing Aroma • Ephesians 5:2—“Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering to God.” • Every OT smell of acceptance points to the perfect fragrance of Jesus’ self-sacrifice. 2. Wine Poured Out → Blood Poured Out • Luke 22:20—“This cup is the new covenant in My blood, poured out for you.” • As wine once accompanied lambs on the altar, so wine in the Supper declares the Lamb’s blood poured out once for all (Hebrews 9:14). 3. “Drink Offering” Language Adopted by the Apostles • Philippians 2:17—“Even if I am being poured out like a drink offering…” • 2 Timothy 4:6—“I am already being poured out as a drink offering…” • Paul sees his life’s surrender as a New-Covenant echo of Numbers 15:10. 4. Continuity of Sacrifice Terminology • Hebrews 13:15—“Through Jesus, let us continually offer God a sacrifice of praise.” • Romans 12:1—“Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.” • The vocabulary of “offering,” “sacrifice,” and “pleasing” remains, but the medium shifts from animals and wine to Christ and the believer’s everyday obedience. Why the Connections Matter • Numbers 15:10 foreshadows a sacrifice that would never need supplement. • The poured-out wine anticipated poured-out blood; the pleasing aroma anticipated God’s full satisfaction in His Son. • New-Testament believers still “pour out” lives and praise—not to earn acceptance, but because acceptance has been won. Living It Out • Remember the cost: every Communion cup recalls the wine beside the altar and the blood of the cross. • Respond with gratitude: like Paul, view daily service as being “poured out” for God’s glory. • Rejoice in assurance: in Christ, the aroma of our worship is already “pleasing” to the LORD. |
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