Numbers 15
TSK
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

It is very probable, that the transactions recorded in this and the four following chapters took place during the time the Israelites abode in Kadesh.

Deuteronomy 1:46 So you stayed in Kadesh many days, according to the days that you stayed there.

Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land of your habitations, which I give unto you,
And will make an offering by fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering, or a sacrifice in performing a vow, or in a freewill offering, or in your solemn feasts, to make a sweet savour unto the LORD, of the herd, or of the flock:

will make

Exodus 29:18,25,41 And you shall burn the whole ram on the altar: it is a burnt offering …

Leviticus 1:2,3,9,13,17 Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, If any man of you …

Leviticus 10:13 And you shall eat it in the holy place, because it is your due, and …

a burnt

Leviticus 1:1 And the LORD called to Moses, and spoke to him out of the tabernacle …

a sacrifice

Leviticus 7:16 But if the sacrifice of his offering be a vow, or a voluntary offering, …

Leviticus 22:18-23 Speak to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all the children of Israel, …

Deuteronomy 12:11 Then there shall be a place which the LORD your God shall choose …

performing. Heb. separating

Leviticus 27:2 Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, When a man shall …

or in a free-will

Leviticus 22:21,23 And whoever offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to the LORD to …

Deuteronomy 12:6,17 And thither you shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, …

Deuteronomy 16:10 And you shall keep the feast of weeks to the LORD your God with a …

in your

Numbers 28:16-19,27 And in the fourteenth day of the first month is the passover of the LORD…

Numbers 29:1,2,8,13 And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall …

Leviticus 23:8,12,36 But you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD seven days: …

Deuteronomy 16:1-17 Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover to the LORD your God…

a sweet

Genesis 8:21 And the LORD smelled a sweet smell; and the LORD said in his heart, …

Exodus 29:18 And you shall burn the whole ram on the altar: it is a burnt offering …

Matthew 3:17 And see a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom …

Ephesians 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us…

Philippians 4:18 But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus …

the herd. Under the term bakar, are comprehended the ox, heifer, etc; and under tzon are included sheep and goats. The animals enjoined in the Levitical law are the very same which commanded Abraham to offer. Hence it is evident, that God delivered to the patriarchs an epitome of that law which was afterwards given in detail to Moses, the essence of which consisted in its sacrifices; and these sacrifices were of clean animals, the most perfect, useful, and healthy of all that are brought under the immediate government of man. Gross feeding and ferocious animals were all excluded, as well as all birds of prey.

Then shall he that offereth his offering unto the LORD bring a meat offering of a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of oil.
And the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering shalt thou prepare with the burnt offering or sacrifice, for one lamb.
Or for a ram, thou shalt prepare for a meat offering two tenth deals of flour mingled with the third part of an hin of oil.
And for a drink offering thou shalt offer the third part of an hin of wine, for a sweet savour unto the LORD.
And when thou preparest a bullock for a burnt offering, or for a sacrifice in performing a vow, or peace offerings unto the LORD:
Then shall he bring with a bullock a meat offering of three tenth deals of flour mingled with half an hin of oil.
And thou shalt bring for a drink offering half an hin of wine, for an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.
Thus shall it be done for one bullock, or for one ram, or for a lamb, or a kid.
According to the number that ye shall prepare, so shall ye do to every one according to their number.
All that are born of the country shall do these things after this manner, in offering an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.
And if a stranger sojourn with you, or whosoever be among you in your generations, and will offer an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD; as ye do, so he shall do.
One ordinance shall be both for you of the congregation, and also for the stranger that sojourneth with you, an ordinance for ever in your generations: as ye are, so shall the stranger be before the LORD.
One law and one manner shall be for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you.
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land whither I bring you,
Then it shall be, that, when ye eat of the bread of the land, ye shall offer up an heave offering unto the LORD.

The oblation before prescribed seems to have been a general acknowledgment from the people at large; but this was an oblation from every one that reaped a harvest; who was required, previously to tasting it himself, to offer a portion of dough as a heave-offering to the Lord. This is supposed to have been given to the priests in their several cities, and not carried to the tabernacle.

Joshua 5:11,12 And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after …

Ye shall offer up a cake of the first of your dough for an heave offering: as ye do the heave offering of the threshingfloor, so shall ye heave it.
Of the first of your dough ye shall give unto the LORD an heave offering in your generations.
And if ye have erred, and not observed all these commandments, which the LORD hath spoken unto Moses,

This law concerning sins of ignorance, being entirely diverse from one before considered, occasions considerable difficulty. Some explain that law as relating to sins of commission, this to sins of omission; others explain the one of inadvertent violations of the moral law, and the other of the transgressions of the ceremonial law; and some think that related to the whole nation, this to anyone tribe; or that to the bulk of the nation, this to the rulers and elders. The Jews say, that the former law referred to such national transgressions through heedlessness, as consisted with the maintenance of the prescribed worship in the main; but that this especially respected the case of the nation, when through inattention, and the example and authority of wicked rulers, they had turned aside and committed idolatry, or conducted their worship directly contrary to law; yet through a culpable ignorance, and not in presumption. This was evidently the case under several of their kings; and the explanation seems well grounded.

Leviticus 4:2,13,14,22,27 Speak to the children of Israel, saying…

Leviticus 5:13,15-17 And the priest shall make an atonement for him as touching his sin …

Psalm 19:12 Who can understand his errors? cleanse you me from secret faults.

Luke 12:48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall …

Even all that the LORD hath commanded you by the hand of Moses, from the day that the LORD commanded Moses, and henceforward among your generations;
Then it shall be, if ought be committed by ignorance without the knowledge of the congregation, that all the congregation shall offer one young bullock for a burnt offering, for a sweet savour unto the LORD, with his meat offering, and his drink offering, according to the manner, and one kid of the goats for a sin offering.
And the priest shall make an atonement for all the congregation of the children of Israel, and it shall be forgiven them; for it is ignorance: and they shall bring their offering, a sacrifice made by fire unto the LORD, and their sin offering before the LORD, for their ignorance:
And it shall be forgiven all the congregation of the children of Israel, and the stranger that sojourneth among them; seeing all the people were in ignorance.
And if any soul sin through ignorance, then he shall bring a she goat of the first year for a sin offering.
And the priest shall make an atonement for the soul that sinneth ignorantly, when he sinneth by ignorance before the LORD, to make an atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him.
Ye shall have one law for him that sinneth through ignorance, both for him that is born among the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them.
But the soul that doeth ought presumptuously, whether he be born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.

doeth ought

Numbers 9:13 But the man that is clean, and is not in a journey, and declines …

Numbers 14:44 But they presumed to go up to the hill top: nevertheless the ark …

Genesis 17:14 And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not …

Exodus 21:14 But if a man come presumptuously on his neighbor, to slay him with …

Leviticus 20:3,6,10 And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from …

Deuteronomy 1:43 So I spoke to you; and you would not hear, but rebelled against the …

Deuteronomy 17:12 And the man that will do presumptuously, and will not listen to the …

Deuteronomy 29:19,20 And it come to pass, when he hears the words of this curse, that …

Psalm 19:13 Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not …

Matthew 12:32 And whoever speaks a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven …

Hebrews 10:26,29 For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge …

2 Peter 2:10 But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, …

presumptuously. Heb. with an high hand. That is, bold, daring, deliberate acts of transgression against the fullest evidence, and in despite of the Divine authority. Such conduct 'reproacheth the Lord,' as if his commands were needless, unreasonable, and inimical to the happiness of man; his favour were not desirable, or his wrath not to be feared; in short, as if it were more advantageous to rebel against him than to serve him. Such acts admitted of no atonement; the person was condemned to bear his own iniquity, and to be cut off. reproacheth.

Psalm 69:9 For the zeal of your house has eaten me up; and the reproaches of …

Psalm 74:18,22 Remember this, that the enemy has reproached, O LORD, and that the …

Psalm 79:12 And render to our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom their reproach, …

Psalm 89:51 With which your enemies have reproached, O LORD; with which they …

Proverbs 14:31 He that oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker: but he that honors …

Isaiah 37:23,24 Whom have you reproached and blasphemed? and against whom have you …

Because he hath despised the word of the LORD, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him.
And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day.

they found a man. This example seems to have been evidently introduced to illustrate the foregoing law. The man despised the word of the Lord, presumptuously broke his commandment, and on this ground was punished with death.

Exodus 16:23,27,28 And he said to them, This is that which the LORD has said, To morrow …

Exodus 20:8-10 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy…

Exodus 35:2,3 Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be …

And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation.
And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him.
And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp.
And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORD commanded Moses.
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue:
And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring:
That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God.
I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD your God.
Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge by R. A. Torrey [ca. 1880]
Expanded version courtesy INT Bible ©2013, Used by permission

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