What connections exist between Numbers 29:11 and the sacrificial system in Leviticus? Verse in Focus Numbers 29:11: “Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the sin offering of atonement, the regular burnt offering with its grain offering, and their drink offerings.” Levitical Foundations Behind the Verse • Sin offering defined—Leviticus 4–5: a blood sacrifice for unintentional sin, “to make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven” (Leviticus 4:31). • Daily burnt offering (tamid)—Leviticus 6:8-13: two lambs each day, with grain and drink offerings, a perpetual aroma before the LORD. • Day of Atonement core sacrifices—Leviticus 16: a bull for Aaron, two male goats for the people (“one for the LORD and one for Azazel,” v. 8). Shared Elements: Numbers 29:11 Echoes Leviticus • Same sacrifice categories—sin, burnt, grain, drink. • Same animals—male goat for sin offering as in Leviticus 16:15-16 and Leviticus 4:23-24. • Same purpose—“atonement” (Heb. kippur), the covering of sin. • Same sequence—blood first (sin offering), then ascent (burnt offering), then fellowship (grain/drink), exactly the pattern set out in Leviticus 1-6. What Numbers Adds to the Picture • “Include…in addition to” – Numbers emphasizes that the Day of Atonement required: – the standard Leviticus 16 sin-offering package, and – one extra male goat, offered whole on the altar (unlike the scapegoat that was sent away). • By repeating the daily tamid, Numbers shows that extraordinary days never cancel ordinary worship; Leviticus 6’s “perpetual fire” keeps burning. • The list underscores completeness: – Sin addressed (goat). – Whole devotion expressed (burnt offering). – Covenant fellowship celebrated (grain/drink). – Nothing omitted from the Levitical order. Theological Thread: One Continuous Story of Atonement • Leviticus gives the blueprint; Numbers shows the blueprint being lived out in Israel’s calendar. • Every added goat or lamb in Numbers magnifies the truth of Hebrews 10:3—“an annual reminder of sins”—while pointing forward to the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ (Hebrews 10:10). • The unbroken rhythm of daily and special offerings teaches that atonement is both continual and climactic: continual through the tamid (Leviticus 6), climactic in the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16), each strand present in Numbers 29:11. |
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