What is the meaning of Numbers 28:8? And offer the second lamb at twilight • The LORD’s command for two daily lambs (Exodus 29:38-39; Numbers 28:3-4) framed Israel’s entire day in worship—one lamb when daylight broke, the second “between the evenings” (about 3 p.m.). • Twilight sacrifice reminded the nation that God’s presence and protection stretch from sunrise to sunset (Psalm 113:3). • The pattern foreshadows Christ, “the Lamb of God” (John 1:29), whose death occurred in that afternoon window (Mark 15:34-37). Thus the evening lamb pointed ahead to the once-for-all sacrifice that permanently covers sin (Hebrews 10:10-12). • The instruction is literal: priests actually placed a living lamb on the altar each evening (Leviticus 9:7). Yet it also invites worshipers today to close every day mindful of Christ’s sufficiency (1 Thessalonians 5:17-18). …with the same grain offering and drink offering as in the morning • God required consistency: equal portions of fine flour mixed with oil (about 2 quarts) and a drink offering of wine (about 1 quart) both morning and evening (Exodus 29:40-41). • Grain offering (Leviticus 2:1-3) celebrated His daily provision—bread, life, sustenance. • Drink offering symbolized joy and total consecration (Psalm 104:14-15; Philippians 2:17). • Repeating the exact measures twice a day underscored that God deserves undiminished honor regardless of the hour (Psalm 92:1-2). • In Christ these elements find fuller meaning: He is the “Bread of Life” (John 6:35) and His blood, pictured in wine, was “poured out for many” (Luke 22:20). Our gratitude must remain as steady and wholehearted as the morning-evening rhythm of the temple. It is a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD • “Food offering” (literally “made by fire”) emphasizes that the entire portion rose heavenward, nothing reserved for priest or people (Leviticus 1:9). • The “pleasing aroma” metaphor assures worshipers that obedient sacrifice delights God (Genesis 8:21). Obedience, not volume, produces fragrance (1 Samuel 15:22). • The smoke ascending pointed to fellowship restored; the altar became a meeting place where sin was covered and communion reopened (Hebrews 9:22; 10:19-22). • Ultimately the Father finds His fullest pleasure in the sacrificial love of His Son—“Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering” (Ephesians 5:2). When believers rest in that finished work and live obediently, their lives carry the same sweet aroma (2 Corinthians 2:14-15). summary Numbers 28:8 calls Israel to end every day with the second lamb, the same grain and wine, and smoke that delights the LORD. Literally, it sustained a nonstop flow of worship; prophetically, it spotlighted Jesus, whose afternoon death became the final pleasing aroma. Today the verse invites us to close each day assured of Christ’s complete sacrifice and to offer consistent, wholehearted devotion that still rises as a sweet fragrance to God. |
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