The Grammar of the Calendar: Monthly Offerings Text: Numbers 28:11-15
Introduction: God's Rhythmic Grace
We live in a world that has lost its rhythm. Our secular age thinks of time as a flat, meaningless line, a series of disconnected moments stretching from a random beginning to a pointless end. It is a gray, uniform expanse, punctuated only by the frantic pursuit of distraction. But this is not the biblical view of time. For the Christian, time is not a line; it is a symphony. It has meter, it has movements, it has recurring themes, and it is all composed and conducted by God for His glory.
In the book of Numbers, we are given the sheet music for this symphony. God is not just the God of the big moments, the Red Sea crossings and the Sinai revelations. He is the God of the calendar. He is the Lord of Tuesday. He consecrates time, marking it with His presence and filling it with meaning. The modern man feels the oppressive weight of the daily grind, the endless cycle of work and sleep. But for ancient Israel, the calendar was a story, a recurring drama of redemption and grace, marked out by daily, weekly, monthly, and annual sacrifices.
This chapter, Numbers 28, can seem tedious to us. It is a detailed list of offerings, a litany of bulls, rams, and lambs. We are tempted to skim through it, looking for the more "exciting" parts of the Bible. But to do so is to miss the point entirely. This is not just a list; it is a liturgy. It is the grammar of worship. God is teaching His people that a relationship with Him is not a vague, sentimental feeling. It is a structured, disciplined, and constant reality. He is teaching them that every day, every week, and every month is to be sanctified, set apart, and brought under His lordship.
The passage before us details the offerings for the beginning of each month, the Rosh Chodesh, or "head of the month." This was a time to reset, to acknowledge God's faithfulness over the past month and to consecrate the coming month to Him. It was a tangible reminder that their time, their prosperity, and their very lives were a gift from Yahweh. And as we shall see, this intricate system of animal and grain offerings was not arbitrary. It was a rich, multi-layered prophecy, a shadow pointing forward to the substance, who is Christ.
The Text
‘Then at the beginning of each of your months you shall bring near a burnt offering to Yahweh: two bulls from the herd and one ram, seven male lambs one year old without blemish; and three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, for each bull; and two-tenths of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, for the one ram; and a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering for each lamb, for a burnt offering of a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to Yahweh. And their drink offerings shall be half a hin of wine for a bull and a third of a hin for the ram and a fourth of a hin for a lamb; this is the burnt offering of each month throughout the months of the year. And one male goat for a sin offering to Yahweh; it shall be offered with its drink offering in addition to the continual burnt offering.
(Numbers 28:11-15 LSB)
Total Consecration: The Burnt Offering (v. 11)
We begin with the primary sacrifice for the new month.
"‘Then at the beginning of each of your months you shall bring near a burnt offering to Yahweh: two bulls from the herd and one ram, seven male lambs one year old without blemish;" (Numbers 28:11 LSB)
The first thing to notice is the sheer extravagance of this offering. Two bulls, a ram, and seven lambs. This is a significant offering, far more than the daily requirement. The beginning of the month was to be marked by a lavish display of devotion. This was not a grudging tax; it was a joyful tribute. This offering was a burnt offering, or in Hebrew, an olah, which means "that which ascends." The entire animal, except for the hide, was consumed on the altar. The smoke would ascend to God, symbolizing the worshiper's desire to give his all to God, holding nothing back. It was a picture of total consecration.
The animals specified are significant. Bulls represent strength and service. The ram represents leadership and substitution, as it was a ram that God provided to Abraham in place of Isaac. Lambs, of course, represent innocence and meekness. And they must all be "without blemish." This was not merely a concern for quality control. It was a theological statement. God is holy, and He requires perfection. The worshiper, by bringing a perfect animal, was acknowledging his own imperfection and his need for a flawless substitute to stand in his place. Every blemish-free lamb was a prayer for the Lamb of God who would one day take away the sin of the world.
This burnt offering was an act of worship that re-consecrated the entire nation for the month to come. It was a corporate act of saying, "Lord, this next month belongs to You. Our strength, our leadership, our people, we offer it all up to You." It was a declaration of total dependence and allegiance.
Dedicated Labor: The Grain Offering (v. 12-13)
Accompanying the animal sacrifices were offerings of grain and oil.
"and three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, for each bull; and two-tenths of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, for the one ram; and a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering for each lamb, for a burnt offering of a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to Yahweh." (Numbers 28:12-13 LSB)
If the burnt offering represented the consecration of the person, the grain offering, or minchah, represented the consecration of their work. Flour is the product of human labor, it is bread, the staff of life. By bringing the best, "fine flour," the Israelite was acknowledging that his ability to work, to plant, to harvest, and to grind was a gift from God. He was dedicating the fruit of his labor back to the Giver.
The flour was mixed with oil. Oil in Scripture is a consistent symbol of the Holy Spirit, of anointing, gladness, and blessing. This signifies that our work is to be done not in our own strength, but in the power of the Spirit. Labor without the Spirit is just toil. But labor done with the anointing of the Spirit becomes an act of worship, a "soothing aroma" to God. The phrase "soothing aroma" is crucial. It hearkens back to Noah's sacrifice after the flood, an offering that pleased God. It tells us that God takes pleasure in the dedicated work of His people when it is offered in faith.
Notice the precise measurements. Three-tenths for a bull, two-tenths for a ram, one-tenth for a lamb. God is a God of order, not chaos. He cares about the details. This meticulousness was designed to teach Israel that worship is not a haphazard, whatever-you-feel-like affair. It is to be done according to God's Word, with care, precision, and thoughtful obedience. This is the grammar of holiness.
Poured-Out Joy: The Drink Offering (v. 14)
The third element of this monthly liturgy was the drink offering.
"And their drink offerings shall be half a hin of wine for a bull and a third of a hin for the ram and a fourth of a hin for a lamb; this is the burnt offering of each month throughout the months of the year." (Numbers 28:14 LSB)
Wine in the Bible is a symbol of joy and celebration. The drink offering, or nesek, involved pouring out wine at the base of the altar. It was not consumed by the priests but was given entirely to God. This was a picture of poured-out joy. The worshiper was expressing his gladness in God, his delight in the covenant relationship. This offering says, "My joy is found in You, Lord, and I pour it out before You in gratitude."
This act of pouring out finds its ultimate expression in the New Testament. The Lord Jesus, at the Last Supper, took the cup of wine and said, "This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood" (Luke 22:20). His life was the ultimate drink offering, poured out in joyful obedience to the Father for our salvation. The apostle Paul picks up this imagery to describe his own ministry: "But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all" (Philippians 2:17). The Christian life is to be a life of poured-out joy, a glad surrender of ourselves for the sake of the gospel.
The Constant Need for Atonement (v. 15)
Finally, after all the offerings of consecration, labor, and joy, there is one more, and it is essential.
"And one male goat for a sin offering to Yahweh; it shall be offered with its drink offering in addition to the continual burnt offering." (Numbers 28:15 LSB)
A male goat for a sin offering, a chattath. Why is this necessary? After dedicating their lives, their work, and their joy to God, why the need for a sin offering? Because even our best acts of worship are tainted with sin. Our consecration is imperfect. Our work is stained by selfish motives. Our joy is fickle. We are sinners, and we cannot approach a holy God without an atoning sacrifice. The goat, an animal associated with stubbornness and sin, takes the penalty. It dies so the worshiper might live.
This monthly sin offering was a constant, humble reminder that their standing before God was not based on the lavishness of their burnt offerings or the sincerity of their grain offerings. It was based entirely on a substitutionary death. It was a monthly confession that said, "Even in our worship, we sin. We need a sacrifice. We need grace." This offering was made "in addition to the continual burnt offering," the daily sacrifice. This teaches us that the need for atonement is constant. It is the foundation upon which all other worship is built. You cannot consecrate yourself to God until your sin has been dealt with.
The Fulfilled Calendar
For us, living on this side of the cross, this entire chapter reads like a detailed blueprint of the work of Jesus Christ. We no longer haul bulls and goats to a central sanctuary, because the reality has come. Jesus is the substance, and these were the shadows.
He is our great burnt offering. He ascended to the Father, having offered Himself completely, holding nothing back. His entire life was a "soothing aroma" to God. He is our grain offering. He is the Bread of Life, the fruit of His perfect labor, anointed with the Spirit without measure. He is our drink offering, His blood poured out for our joy and for the forgiveness of our sins. And He is our ultimate sin offering. He became sin for us, the spotless Lamb taking the place of the guilty goat, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Does this mean the calendar is now meaningless? Not at all. It means the calendar is now fulfilled. We no longer offer these sacrifices because the one, final, perfect sacrifice has been made. But the rhythm of grace continues. Every Lord's Day is a new beginning, a weekly celebration of the resurrection. We gather not to offer a bloody sacrifice, but to celebrate the one that has been made. We offer up "sacrifices" of praise (Hebrews 13:15). We present our bodies as "living sacrifices" (Romans 12:1). We offer our financial gifts as "a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice" (Philippians 4:18).
The principle of Numbers 28 remains. God is the Lord of our time. He calls us to a rhythmic, ordered life of worship. We are to begin each day, each week, each month with a conscious re-consecration of ourselves to Him. We must constantly remember the foundation of it all: the sin offering of Christ that makes our imperfect worship acceptable. And we do this not as a grim duty, but with the gladness of the drink offering, pouring out our lives in joyful service to the One who bought our time, and our eternity, with His own blood.