Saturday, July 28, 2012

The Jewish State Fair is a Great State Fair
Numbers 28:16-25

So we've gone through the daily, weekly, and monthly sacrificial requirements- and Moses, all too predictably, next enters into requirements for an annual offering.  January 14th is Passover Day, no school, no mail, and the post office will be closed.  The 15th marks the beginning of a seven day festival.  No yeast may be eaten during this period.  Day one is a sacred assembly with no regular work being done except perhaps by the Israelite carnies.  A food offering is to be given consisting of two young bulls, a ram and seven one-year-old male lambs.   These will be burnt offerings.

With each animal offered they are to also present a grain offering which varies depending on which animal it accompanies.  In addition, a goat is to be offered as a sin offering.  These offerings are to be made in addition to the daily offerings.  

The seventh day mirrors the first - a sacred assembly with no regular work.  I see no mention of roasted lamb on a stick or booths to play Whack an Egyptian.  In fact this word "festival" seems kind of strange. While they may get a couple of days off of regular work- they seem to have responsibilities packed on.  This seems to be a festival for God- not a ride the rides see the shows kind of outing. 

However, this festival gives them the opportunity to be forgiven for sins- something that life without Jesus wouldn't have offered an a regular basis.  So perhaps it was indeed a party.  Even without those leaven filled funnel cakes.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Please Don't Let the 1st be on a Saturday
Numbers 28: 11-15


In addition to the daily and weekly offerings, they also had monthly sacrifices to make:  two young bulls, one ram, and seven one year old male lambs- and these were to be fine specimens- not the gimpy ones.  With each bull there's an accompanying grain offering of a flour/oil mixture.  There is also one with the ram with a different ratio of flour to oil.  Each lamb also has a more diluted mixture required as a grain offering.  Each sacrifice also has a requirement of a drink offering (the amount of wine varying with which animal is being sacrificed).  In addition, a male goat is to be made as a sin offering.

So, if the first falls on a sabbath, I guess they would have to sacrifice their daily, weekly, and monthly sacrifice on that day.  So much for the day of rest.

As with the other sacrifice specification sections, the specifics seem a bit worrisome to me.  As someone who doesn't deal well with detail, this kind of requirement would have been disastrous.  I would think that the priests would handle all of the particulars, but even so, God's demand of precision here from sacrifice to sacrifice is a little puzzling.

Perhaps there's a profound reason for all of the differences in amounts, but at a cursory glance it seems to be hoops to jump through.  But even if it is simply an act of power, it's certainly an appropriate one.