What is the meaning of Numbers 28:4? Offer “Offer one lamb …” (Numbers 28:4) • Sacrifice is God’s idea, not human invention (Exodus 29:38-41). • The word “offer” signals surrender—placing what is valuable in God’s hands. • Hebrews 13:15 reminds us that believers today still “continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise,” echoing the same posture of devotion. • Romans 12:1 draws the line straight to us: “present your bodies as a living sacrifice.” one lamb • A single, unblemished year-old male lamb (Numbers 28:3)—nothing second-rate (Leviticus 1:10). • Each lamb pointed forward to “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). • Paul connects the dots: “Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7). • Revelation 5:6 pictures that Lamb still central in heaven’s worship, underscoring the enduring worth of this daily picture. in the morning • The day began with sacrifice, anchoring Israel’s schedule to God (Psalm 5:3: “In the morning, LORD, You hear my voice”). • Mark 1:35 shows Jesus following the same rhythm: rising “very early” for prayer. • Lamentations 3:22-23 celebrates “new every morning” mercies—exactly what the morning lamb proclaimed. and the other • God ordered two lambs daily (Numbers 28:3). One alone was not enough to portray the continual coverage of sin. • Exodus 29:41 repeats the instruction, stressing constancy. • The pattern whispers a New-Covenant principle: “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Continual fellowship requires continual offering. at twilight • “Twilight” (literally “between the evenings”) framed the close of the day (Exodus 12:6). • Psalm 141:2 likens evening prayer to “the lifting up of my hands as the evening offering.” • Jesus broke bread with the Emmaus disciples “toward evening” (Luke 24:29-30), reaffirming God’s desire to meet us at day’s end. • Ending the day in worship also guards the heart—“do not let the sun go down on your anger” (Ephesians 4:26). summary Numbers 28:4 establishes a rhythm of life centered on God: one spotless lamb offered at dawn, another at dusk. The morning sacrifice dedicates the fresh day to the Lord; the evening sacrifice closes it in gratitude and renewed trust. Together they picture unbroken atonement, constant fellowship, and foreshadow the once-for-all Lamb, Jesus Christ, who perfectly fulfills what two daily lambs could only anticipate. |