The Glorious Monotony of Obedience
Introduction: The War on Sameness
Our modern world has a terminal allergy to repetition. We have been catechized to believe that the highest virtues are novelty, spontaneity, and self-expression. To do the same thing twice is boring. To do it twelve times is, to the modern mind, an inspired argument for atheism. We want worship that is authentic, which is to say, worship that is tailored to my unique and special feelings at this particular moment. The idea of a set liturgy, a prescribed form, or an objective standard that is the same for everyone strikes us as dead ritualism.
And so we come to a passage like Numbers 7, and the temptation for the modern reader is to let his eyes glaze over. After the second tribe brings the exact same offering as the first, we get the point and want to skip to the end to see the grand total. But the Holy Spirit does not stutter, and He is not paid by the word. This inspired repetition is not a failure of literary imagination. It is a thunderous theological declaration. It is a polemic fired directly into the heart of our expressive individualism.
This chapter is the detailed account of the dedication of the newly constructed altar. For twelve consecutive days, the leader of each of the twelve tribes of Israel comes forward and presents an offering to the Lord. And here is the point that our novelty-addicted age cannot stand: every single offering is identical. Down to the last shekel, down to the last lamb. God is teaching His people, and us, a foundational lesson about the nature of true worship. Worship is not about our creativity; it is about our conformity to God's standard. It is not about showcasing our diversity; it is about our unity in obedience. This glorious monotony is the grammar of a covenant people being formed into one nation under God.
The Text
Now the one who brought his offering near on the first day was Nahshon the son of Amminadab, of the tribe of Judah; and his offering was one silver dish whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver bowl of 70 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; one gold pan of 10 shekels, full of incense; one bull from the herd, one ram, one male lamb one year old, for a burnt offering; one male goat for a sin offering; and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Nahshon the son of Amminadab. On the second day Nethanel the son of Zuar, leader of Issachar, brought an offering near...
(Numbers 7:12-18 LSB)
The Level Ground of the Altar
The first thing this inspired repetition teaches us is that there is an absolute equality among the tribes before the altar of God.
"This was the offering of Nahshon the son of Amminadab." (Numbers 7:17)
"This was the offering of Nethanel the son of Zuar." (Numbers 7:23)
"This was the offering of Eliab the son of Helon." (Numbers 7:29)
And so it goes, twelve times. Judah goes first. This is the royal tribe, the tribe of David, the tribe from which the Messiah will come. But Nahshon's offering is not one shekel more valuable than the offering of Ahira from the tribe of Naphtali, who comes last. The largest tribe brings the same as the smallest. The most prominent leader brings the same as the least known. Before God, at the place of worship, all human distinctions, rivalries, and hierarchies are flattened.
This is a direct assault on the human temptation to turn worship into a platform for self-aggrandizement. We are not to come to God displaying our superior piety, our greater wealth, or our more creative flair. The standard for approaching God is objective, and it is set by God Himself. He is the one who determines what is acceptable, and that standard is the same for every single one of His people. The ground is level at the foot of the cross, and the ground was level at the foot of this altar. We do not approach God on the basis of our performance, but on the basis of His provision. This chapter is a twelve-fold declaration that there is one way to come to God, and it is the same way for all.
A Comprehensive Gospel
While the offerings are identical, they are also incredibly specific and lavish. This is not a minimalist faith. This is a rich, full, comprehensive picture of what it means to be reconciled to God.
"...one silver dish... one silver bowl... full of fine flour mixed with oil... one gold pan... full of incense; one bull... one ram, one male lamb... for a burnt offering; one male goat for a sin offering; and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs..." (Numbers 7:13-17)
Every element here preaches the gospel. The silver speaks of redemption; it was the metal used for the atonement money. We are a purchased people. The fine flour and oil, the grain offering, represents the dedication of our substance, our daily work and bread, to God. The gold pan of incense speaks of prayer, precious and fragrant, rising before the throne of God.
Then you have the animals, a whole portrait of atonement. The burnt offering signifies total consecration, the entire animal going up in smoke, a picture of complete surrender. The sin offering deals with the guilt and pollution of sin, making purification possible. And after redemption, consecration, prayer, and atonement, what do you have? You have the peace offerings. Notice the sheer number of animals for this sacrifice: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five lambs. The peace offering was a communion meal. Part was burned on the altar for God, part was given to the priests, and the rest was eaten by the worshiper and his family in a great, joyous feast. This is not a somber, grudging duty. This is a celebration. The end goal of our redemption is not just fire insurance; it is joyful table fellowship with the living God.
This is the full package. You cannot have the feast of the peace offering without the blood of the sin offering. You cannot dedicate your life in the burnt offering without being bought with the silver of redemption. Each tribe brings the whole gospel, because there is no other kind.
The Rhythm of a Holy Nation
Finally, the structure of this event teaches us about the rhythm of a covenant community. This is not a chaotic, spontaneous outpouring. It is a deliberate, ordered, twelve-day affair.
"On the first day... On the second day... On the third day..." (Numbers 7:12, 18, 24)
This is liturgy. This is the ordered life of the people of God. God is building a nation, and nations are built on shared rituals, on a common calendar, on a steady rhythm of life. The order in which the tribes present their offerings is the same as their marching order in the wilderness. Their worship life and their civic life are one and the same. The way they approach the altar is the way they are to approach the world: in disciplined, God-given order.
This is how a culture is built. Not through one-off emotional highs, but through the patient, day-in, day-out, week-in, week-out repetition of faithful obedience. This is why we gather every Lord's Day. This is why we confess the same creed, sing the same psalms, and hear the same gospel preached. This is why we come to the same table for the same bread and the same wine. It is in this "glorious monotony" that God dismantles our pride, forges our unity, and shapes us into a holy nation, a people for His own possession.
The One Offering for All Nations
As with all things in the Old Testament, this points us to Christ. This long, repetitive list of sacrifices finds its ultimate fulfillment in the one, perfect, and final sacrifice of the Lord Jesus.
He is the fulfillment of every item brought to the altar. He is the silver of our redemption, who bought us with His own blood. He is the Bread of Life, the true grain offering. His intercession for us is the incense in the golden pan. He is our burnt offering, who held nothing back but gave Himself completely to the Father's will. He is our sin offering, who became sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God. And He is our peace offering, the one through whom we have peace with God and joyful fellowship at His table.
And the equality of the tribes is now magnified in the great congregation of the redeemed. For twelve days, twelve tribes brought twelve identical offerings. This was a picture of the end, when a great multitude that no one can number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, will stand before the throne and before the Lamb (Rev. 7:9). And how do they all get there? They all come the same way. Not by their own unique offerings, but because they "have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Rev. 7:14).
There is one offering that makes us acceptable to God, and it is the same for all of us. It is the offering of His Son. Therefore, let us not grow weary of the beautiful, glorious, life-giving repetition of the gospel. Let us not despise the simple, profound, and identical means of grace God has given us. For in this sameness, we find our unity. In this repetition, we find our strength. And in this one offering, we find our salvation.