How does Numbers 28:30 connect with Christ's ultimate sacrifice in the New Testament? Setting the Scene in Israel’s Worship Numbers 28:30: “Include one male goat to make atonement for you.” • This instruction is part of the offerings for the Feast of Weeks (later called Pentecost). • The male goat is designated “to make atonement,” underscoring Israel’s need for sin to be covered before fellowship with God could continue. The Male Goat: A Picture of Atonement • Throughout the Law, a goat is often used as a sin offering (Leviticus 4:24; 16:15). • The worshiper would lay hands on the animal, symbolically transferring guilt. • Its blood was then presented before God, portraying substitution—innocent life for guilty life. From Goat to God-Incarnate: Tracing the Scarlet Thread • Hebrews 10:4: “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” • The repetitive goat offerings pointed beyond themselves to a perfect substitute who could truly remove sin. • John 1:29: “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” • 1 Peter 1:18-19: We are redeemed “with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot.” • The male goat in Numbers 28:30 prefigures the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ (Hebrews 9:12). Christ Fulfills the Sacrifice • Substitution: 2 Corinthians 5:21—He became sin for us that we might become God’s righteousness. • Atonement Achieved: Hebrews 9:26—“He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself.” • Finality: Hebrews 10:12—“But when this Priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God.” Feast of Weeks and Pentecost: Completion in Christ • The goat offering closed the spring feasts with atonement. • After Jesus’ death and resurrection, Pentecost (Acts 2) arrives not with another goat but with the Holy Spirit—proof that atonement is complete and relationship restored. Living in the Fulfillment Today • Confidence: Hebrews 4:16—We draw near with boldness because the true atonement has been made. • Gratitude: Ephesians 5:2—Christ “gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God”; our lives echo that aroma. • Proclamation: Colossians 1:28—We announce the sufficiency of the One foreshadowed by every goat laid on the altar. |
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