Numbers 29:37, commentary and pictures

The verse directs that during the Feast of Tabernacles, kept from the fifteenth to the twenty-second day of the seventh month, the grain and drink offerings for the bullock, the ram, and the lambs were to be provided in proportion to their number and after the prescribed manner. The feast was the national thanksgiving for the harvest and a memorial of the wilderness wandering when Israel dwelt in booths, whose first day and closing day were annual sabbaths of holy convocation on which servile work was forbidden. The great number of burnt offerings each requiring its drink offering explains why wine is so often named with the sanctuary service, the wine being strong fermented wine poured out upon the burnt offering and not drunk freely, with over a quart required with each lamb. It belongs to the additional public offerings appointed for feasts, annual sabbaths, new moons, and Sabbaths as part of the continual round of service with the daily offerings, distinct from the individual sin offerings brought by conscious sinners for pardon. The daily sacrifices during the feast, like those offered on the Sabbaths, were typical of Christ, and the required observance of the feast ended with the other annual feasts at the crucifixion when the ceremonial law was nailed to the cross. It is one of about sixteen places in Numbers 28 and 29 where the morning and evening sacrifice offered for the whole congregation every day without omission is called the continual burnt offering, which with the continual showbread, lamps, incense, and bearing of judgment shows the services were continual and means the continual in Daniel 8 comprehends the entire service of the earthly sanctuary figuring the heavenly.

Feast Setting and Meaning

Numbers 29:37 belongs to the directions for the Feast of Tabernacles, the third annual feast kept from the fifteenth to the twenty-second day of the seventh month Tisri. Various kinds of offerings were brought on the first day of the feast, the fifteenth day of the seventh month, and on the closing day, the twenty-second day of the same month, as well as on the intervening days. It is part of the instructions for Israel's seven-day feast beginning on the fifteenth day of the seventh month.

The first day, the fifteenth, and the closing day, the twenty-second, were the sixth and seventh annual sabbaths. They were days of holy convocation on which servile work was forbidden.

The feast was the national thanksgiving feast for the harvest. It commemorated Israel's wilderness wanderings and gave thanks to God for the harvest. It was a memorial of the pilgrim life in the wilderness when Israel left their houses to dwell in booths.

The verse prescribes that the grain or meat offering and the drink offerings for the bullock, the ram, and the lambs were to be provided according to their number and after the prescribed manner. The accompanying grain and drink offerings were to correspond to the number of bulls, rams, and lambs and follow the required manner, in proportion to the animals offered. It is cited as part of the calendar of additional offerings appointed for the annual feasts and as part of the additional services appointed for annual Sabbaths, new moons, and feasts in the regular yearly ministration.

The great number of burnt offerings sacrificed with their meat offerings and drink offerings according to their number explains why wine is mentioned so often in connection with the sanctuary service. The wine of the drink offering was strong fermented wine poured out upon the burnt offering and not drunk freely by priests and worshipers. Over a quart was required with each lamb.

Sanctuary Ministration and Doctrine

The verse belongs to the additional or special offerings appointed for the annual feasts, annual sabbaths, new moons, and Sabbaths as part of the regular ministration of the sanctuary in the court and the tabernacle. It stood alongside the daily offerings and the Sabbath services in a continual round of service carried on day after day, week after week, and month after month through the year, as part of the regular work of the priests. It prescribed the grain or meat offering and the drink offerings for the bullock, the ram, and the lambs according to their number and after the prescribed manner, in proportion to the animals offered. It belongs to the general public sacrifices, distinct from the individual sin offerings brought by conscious sinners for pardon, and includes part of the regular morning and evening sacrifice.

The daily sacrifices during the Feast of Tabernacles, like the offerings made on the various Sabbaths, were typical of Christ. Their presence on a Sabbath did not make every day a Sabbath or make the weekly Sabbath a ceremonial shadow. The required observance of the Feast of Tabernacles, the third annual feast kept as a memorial of the pilgrim life in the wilderness when Israel left their houses to dwell in booths, ended with the other annual feasts at the crucifixion of Christ when the ceremonial law was nailed to the cross.

The verse is one of about sixteen places in Numbers 28 and 29 where the morning and evening sacrifices offered for the entire congregation every day of the year and never omitted because of any other offering are called the continual burnt offering. Together with the continual showbread, the lamps to burn continually, the perpetual incense, and the high priest bearing judgment continually, this shows the sanctuary services were continual. Hence the continual in Daniel 8 comprehends the entire service of the earthly sanctuary as ordained by God. That earthly sanctuary being in all its appointments and services a figure of the heavenly sanctuary, the term applies with equal force to the sanctuary above.