Bird's-eye view
In this brief passage, we are given the specific regulations for the Sabbath offerings. This is not some dusty corner of the ceremonial law, fit only for antiquarians. Rather, this is part of the rhythm of worship that God established for His people, a rhythm that finds its ultimate crescendo and fulfillment in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. The daily offerings, described just before this, established a baseline of continual worship. But the Sabbath was to be a day of special feasting and joy, a day marked out and made holy. And how did God mark it? By layering on more grace, more sacrifice, more food, more joy. The Sabbath offering was not an additional burden, but an additional blessing, a doubling down on the reminder that fellowship with God is established and maintained through substitutionary sacrifice.
What we see here is a principle of addition, not replacement. The regular, continual burnt offering was the foundation, the constant reminder of sin and the need for atonement. The Sabbath offering was built on top of that, a weekly festival pointing to the rest that was to come. For the Christian, this points to the finished work of Christ. He is our continual offering, and He is our Sabbath rest. This passage, therefore, instructs us in the grammar of worship, teaching us that our rest in God is not a cessation of activity, but a joyful participation in the abundance He provides through sacrifice.
Outline
- 1. The Sabbath's Special Provision (v. 9)
- a. The Prescribed Animals (v. 9a)
- b. The Accompanying Offerings (v. 9b)
- 2. The Principle of Addition (v. 10)
- a. A Weekly Ordinance (v. 10a)
- b. Built Upon the Foundation (v. 10b)
Clause-by-Clause Commentary
v. 9 ‘Then on the sabbath day two male lambs one year old without blemish, and two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, and its drink offering:
The Sabbath is to be a day of feasting. We should get it straight in our heads that God's laws, and particularly His laws for worship, are not about making life dreary. They are about structuring our lives around the central realities of His grace. So, on the Sabbath day, the regular daily offering of one lamb in the morning and one in the evening is supplemented. It is doubled. Two more male lambs are to be brought. Why two? Because the Sabbath is a day of heightened joy and celebration. It is a foretaste of the marriage supper of the Lamb.
And notice the character of these lambs. They are to be "one year old without blemish." This is a constant refrain in the sacrificial system. The offering must be perfect. It must be valuable. This is not a place for cutting corners or offering God your leftovers. This requirement points relentlessly forward to the one truly unblemished Lamb, Jesus Christ, who was perfect in every respect. His was a costly sacrifice, and the Israelites were taught to anticipate this by bringing the best of their flock.
Alongside the lambs, we have the grain and drink offerings. This is not just a barbecue; it is a full meal. The "two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil" is bread for the feast. The "drink offering" is the wine. This is celebratory. This is fellowship. The entire sacrificial system was a grand object lesson, teaching Israel that sin is deadly serious, requiring the shedding of blood, but also that atonement leads to feasting and fellowship with the God who provides it. The Sabbath was the weekly pinnacle of this lesson.
v. 10 This is the burnt offering of every sabbath in addition to the continual burnt offering and its drink offering.
Here we get to the central principle, which is addition. This Sabbath offering is not a substitute for the daily offering; it is "in addition to" it. The foundation of daily worship and atonement must not be removed. The continual burnt offering was the backdrop against which all other sacrifices were to be understood. It was the constant, low hum of "unworthy, unworthy," and "blood must be shed."
So, the Sabbath doesn't do away with the need for a constant acknowledgment of sin. Rather, it builds upon that foundation. Because the daily sacrifice has been offered, we can now add to it the special joy of the Sabbath feast. Grace is layered upon grace. For the Christian, this is profoundly significant. Christ's sacrifice is our continual burnt offering. It is the once-for-all foundation that is never to be revisited or replaced. But on the Lord's Day, our Christian Sabbath, we add to this our special, corporate celebration. We gather to feast on the Word, to sing God's praises, to come to the Table. Our worship is "in addition to" the finished work of Christ, not as something that improves upon it, but as a joyful response to it. The foundation is secure, therefore, let us build a cathedral of praise upon it.
This is "the burnt offering of every sabbath." This was a perpetual ordinance. Week in and week out, this rhythm was to shape the life of Israel. It was to teach them that God's grace is not a one-time event, but a constant stream, with special wellsprings of joy along the way. The Sabbath was the chief of these. It was a weekly reminder that our God is a God of abundance, a God of feasting, and that all our feasting is made possible by the sacrifice He Himself has provided.
Application
The modern Christian, particularly the modern evangelical, is often tempted to view the Old Testament sacrificial laws as little more than a historical curiosity. But that is a profound mistake. These laws are dripping with gospel truth, and they teach us the very structure of true worship. First, we must recognize that our access to God is always and only through a perfect, substitutionary sacrifice. The lambs "without blemish" shouted this from every altar in Israel. We have no standing before God in ourselves. We must come through Christ, our perfect Lamb.
Second, this passage teaches us the nature of the Lord's Day. It is not a day for spiritual starvation, but for feasting. The Sabbath offering was an addition, a doubling of the provision. Our Sundays should be the high point of our week, a day of joyful, celebratory worship. We should come to church hungry, expecting to be fed by the Word and the Table. It is a day to remember that the foundation of Christ's work is utterly secure, and because it is, we are free to build upon it with joyful praise and fellowship.
Finally, we see the principle of gracious addition. The Sabbath offering did not replace the daily one. Our festive worship on Sunday does not replace our daily walk with God; it grows out of it. The Christian life is one of continual dependence on the grace of God, a grace that is sufficient for every day. But on the Lord's Day, we are given a special, super-abundant measure of that grace in the corporate gathering of the saints. Let us not neglect it, but rather see it as God's good and gracious provision for His people, a weekly foretaste of the eternal Sabbath rest to come.