This chapter continues describing the offerings/sacrifices that coincide with more Hebrew high holidays and feasts, including the Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Feast of Booths.
“On the fifteenth day of the seventh month you shall have a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work, and you shall keep a feast to the Lord seven days [Feast of Booths]. And you shall offer a burnt offering, a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the Lord, thirteen bulls from the herd, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old; they shall be without blemish; and their grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, three tenths of an ephah for each of the thirteen bulls, two tenths for each of the two rams, and a tenth for each of the fourteen lambs; also one male goat for a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering, its grain offering and its drink offering.” (v12-16)
The remaining six days of the feast read a bit like the Twelve Days of Christmas, with the offerings scaling each day [except these scale down instead of up]: “On the second day twelve bulls from the herd… On the third day eleven bulls… On the fourth day ten bulls…” (v17a,20a,23a) I think you get the idea.
This was truly a feast. Let’s remember that the priests, and Israel themselves, were allowed to eat portions of the animal, food and drink offerings made unto the Lord, and the food wasn’t allowed to be saved until the next day (they had to eat it on the spot). Now that’s a family barbecue.
Despite the sin offerings to be for atonement of Israel’s sin, pretty much all of the other offerings were celebratory in nature. They were a tithe to God, giving a portion back to God out of thankfulness for His blessings of provision for them, their crops and livestock. Keep in mind they are still in a desert land – the fact they have thousands of animals and tonnes of crops (enough to feed 2.4 million people and have some left over) is nothing short of a divine miracle (can you image how much water they would need for the crops, livestock and people? I’m estimating 3.5-5 million gallons per day :O). This is definitely reason to celebrate God and His provision.
My mind was just blown a little bit when I stopped to estimate Israel’s water consumption – that is an amount of water beyond my level of comprehension. The average kitchen faucet spews roughly 2.2 gallons per minute (without an aerator). To produce enough water for Israel for one day, you would have to let the tap run 442 – 631 hours (18 – 26 days). That’s incredible.
My challenge for today is not to let the tap run for 26 days (that would be incredibly wasteful and costly), but it is to honor and praise God for His abundant provision in our lives. Maybe we’re not receiving as much provision as we would like, however, God never fails to give us what we need – this is true both physically and spiritually. Truth be told, God supports us far better than we deserve (like Israel, we too have failed Him on more than one occasion). Let’s be grateful to God for who He is and His role of provider.
Father God, Almighty God of Israel, we are humbled by Your presence. You are too awesome for words. We cannot fully comprehend You, for Your infinite nature is beyond our finite understanding. Father You are abundant beyond our imaginations. We cannot fathom the breadth of Your provision, for all things come from You (including this entire universe). Each piece of knowledge, each bite of food, each drop of water, each wound healed are all forms of provision from You. We cannot praise or honor You enough. We also express gratitude for Your provision of Jesus on the cross, the greatest gift of all. Please accept our insufficient thankfulness, and our willingness to serve You, our Great and Mighty King. All honor, glory and praise be to You, our provider and redeemer. Amen.
~ Conqueror in Training