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In our first session, we thought about the first part of these particular chapters, namely the fourth rebellion, and tried to apply its lessons, the practical and solemn lessons, to ourselves. But as with the other passages, so with this, the second half of the narrative is given largely over to sacrifices, and it's on those sacrifices that I suggest we concentrate for the next fifteen, fifteen minutes.
They are listed in chapters twenty eight and twenty nine of the Book of Numbers. And I am about to suggest to you that this is God's provision for the nation, in the light of their tendency to be unfaithful to him. God's provision for producing and maintaining in his people a sense of devotion and loyalty to the Lord. For the, the tendency to be unfaithful to him has to be rebuked by strong language, of course, but that doesn't of itself cure that tendency.
To overcome the tendency to be unfaithful and disloyal to the Lord, we need to, uh, uh, practice positively, positive devotion to the Lord, and to make it a practice in life to be devoted to him. So look how chapter twenty eight begins. And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, Command the children of Israel and say unto them, My oblation, my food for my offerings made by fire, of a sweet savor unto me, shall you observe to offer unto me in their due season.
Notice, will you, this phrase, my food for my offerings made by fire. That is such an unusual phrase in that context, as many of the experts tell us that, well, here perhaps the word doesn't mean food, it means something else. But to my simple mind, it is not only right, it is highly appropriate. My food, says God. What do you think all those sacrifices were that are now listed in great detail, offered to God? Well, he didn't eat them physically, but they were his food.
You say, did Israel have to feed God? Well, don't you? What about our Lord a- and what he said to the church at Laodicea? He said, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and I will... Yes, I will dine with him, and he with me. That must have been a marvelous experience, one, don't you think, for Martha and Mary? When the Lord took time off, perhaps it was too big time to come and stay with them, and they were allowed to feed the Lord.
Oh, you lady folks, well, you feed the preachers more than they deserve, but if you got a chance to have the Lord at your table, call the beef steaks and all the whole way, the pavlovas would be marvelous, wouldn't they? The very best you could put on. Feeding the Lord. It's not just with physical food, is it? So here, the food of my sacrifices. And, uh, he begins to list the sacrifices that he asked them, uh, to offer to him.
Uh, uh, look at verse three. and thou shall say unto them, this is the offering made by fire, which you'll offer unto the Lord, he lambs of the first year without blemish, two day by day for a continual burnt offering. The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning, and the other lamb shalt thou offer at even, and the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for a meal offering, mingled with the fourth part of a hin of beaten oil. It is a continual burnt offering which was ordained in Mount Sinai for a sweet savor, an offering made by fire unto the Lord.
You'll see. Verse eight: and the other lamb shalt thou offer it even as the meal offering of the morning, and as the drink offering thereof, thou shalt offer it an offering made by fire of a sweet savor unto the Lord. This is one of the basic elements in ancient Israel's worship of God. It was the daily continual sacrifice. One sacrifice in the morning, another in the evening. The nation itself had to go about its business, but while they went about its business, they could rely on this, that in the morning the smoke of their burnt offering offered in their name would go up to God for a sweet savor, a good smell, a fragrant smell.
And then again at evening. Without interruption, every day of every week, of every month, of every year, of every century. It is called the Tarmiz in Hebrew. It was one of the terrible wickedness of that villain Antiochus Epiphanes that when he got control of Jerusalem, he took away the continual burnt offering, the Tarmid. So it was a sacrifice. You know, Christianity, or Christendom, shall I say, took over the idea. And so in the cathedrals of the land, I can't speak for Ireland, but I worked in one, uh, in England anyway, but not as a choir boy.
I was a member of a university department that inhabited some part of the cathedral. But you see, uh, uh, in the cathedrals, mat- matins and evensong every day didn't matter whether anybody attended or not. That was not the point. Morning and evening, the praise of God should ascend. It's good for us too, isn't it? We want to be faithful to the Lord. A regular devotion to the Lord, the presenting of ourselves a living sacrifice to the Lord, to abound in thanksgiving, to be pleasing to him, not just when we feel like it, but regularly each day, positively devoted to the Lord.
It's a good habit to get into, isn't it? So I set you a little exercise. To say, allowed me, my elders allowed me to do this. Ye- yes, William says I can do it, you see. To go through these two chapters, twenty eight and twenty nine, because in addition to this daily sacrifice one morning and in the evening, in addition to it, they had special days when they had to offer a lot of sacrifices and special feast days and so forth and so on. And all the detailed sacrifices are listed, what they had to offer on these special days, and then at the end it says, in addition to the daily one.
However exciting the special meetings are, so to speak, don't let them take away from the daily offering ourselves to the Lord. Yes? Making a habit of it. A habit of devotion to him. Then, of course, there were the special days. They were the feast days, and again, I must leave you to, um, work them out yourself. You'll see, starting at, uh, chapter twenty eight and verse sixteen, there was a Passover, and later on verse, uh, uh, do you see the, uh, verse six, of first fruits, and then in chapter twenty nine you'll see there were the trumpets, the feast of trumpets, and then there was the Day of Atonement, and then there was the Feast of Tabernacles.
There they are, the special feast days, and they were remembrances of what God had done for them. Passover, they remembered what God had done for them in Egypt, yes? And then when they got into the land, the first fruits had to be offered green in the ear, and then later the first fruits of what is called the Feast of Weeks, that is Pentecost. Do you see? And then, uh, the later on there was the Feast of Trumpets, the feast of, uh, uh, the Tabernacles, uh, sorry, the Day of Atonement, and then finally the Feast of Tabernacles, you see.
On each of these occasions, sometimes they lasted a week or more, sacrifices, you see, keeping God entertained. Do you have to entertain God? Well, of course you have to entertain God. I've often wondered to myself, when the Lord came to Martha and Mary, and of course he would congratulate them on the soup and the, and the, and the main dish and all the others, and how are you, Martha, and how are you, Mary, and uh, so on. What did you talk to Christ about? Suppose Christ came to your place and wanted to stay the night.
I go into a lot of homes, as you know, and when you first go, conversation is easy. How are you, and do you live here, and and where were you born, and uh, do you have any children? Oh, America, you're marvelous, and what are they doing? And if they've got a half a dozen children, all the better because let's make more conversation, you see. After about the third day, it's a bit difficult to think of something to say, isn't it? Well, perhaps you don't pay about one, you easy conversationalists, you see. Suppose the Lord came to stay. What would you talk about? Um, the Lord, hmm, nice day today, Lord, yes, mm-hmm. Well, it wasn't so good yesterday, no.
Um, uh, did, where did you go on ho- oh, perhaps you didn't go on holiday. I see. Yes, well, yeah. Read any good books recently? Well, I wrote one. What would you talk to the Lord about? God taught Israel, talk to me about the Passover, when I redeemed you. Go over the details in the symbol. Talk to me about it. Do you see?
Talk to me about when you used to live in tents. Feast of Tabernacles. Do you see? Talk to me about the first fruits and the feast of weeks and the Day of Atonement. I, I think if I had the chance and the Lord came to me, I, I would say, Lord, if you don't mind my reminding you, on the road to Emmaus, you, you gave the, uh, two people, whoever they were, um, a, a exposition of Old Testament, uh, typology, we call it, Lord.
What do you call it? We call it typology. You know, all the things in the Old Testament about yourself. Yes, I did, yes. You wouldn't mind doing that for me just now? I got a bit of a bother. Uh, what was that bit about the tabernacle, uh, you know, and the Passover about? And please could you tell me, um, why the Feast of Atonement came so late in the year? I thought you'd have begun with that. Do you think we'd be allowed to discuss with the Lord? The old, well, you'd need to know a bit about the Old Testament to discuss it, wouldn't you? You see, but anyway, uh, these lovely things that, of course, the New Testament expounds to us, doesn't it, as referring to Christ.
To be able to talk to the Lord intelligently about those feasts and how they were prophecies of him and help our understanding of him. What a thing that would be to do, wouldn't it? What do you think you're going to talk to him in heaven about? Well, that will make a start, won't it? Of course, he'll have ten thousand new things to tell you, but still. Yes, God's wisdom in training his people to be loyal to him, to concentrate on him, to be devoted, and to be remembering what he has done for them in the past, and the wonders of redemption and the implications of it, and the future things of it.
Do you see? I think I'm going to check up one thing with the Lord if I can, do you see? I think those feasts of the Lord, uh, Reggie ought to give you a lecture on them, did he not? The feasts of the Lord, and how each one starts with Calvary, you see, first one, Passover, and goes on to the Feast of Tabernacles, which is, is among other things, a prophecy of God's future restoration of Israel, you see. But if you take that view, some people will say, no, it's not, it's not right because the second last one is the Day of Atonement. And what's that got to do with the future coming of the Lord?
And the trumpets shall sound, and what's a Day of Atonement got to do with that? It's out of place, you see. But I'm going to try my theory on the Lord, do you see? I say, no, but Lord, I have a notion about that, Lord. Am I anywhere near right that though it was the Day of Atonement, it was a one of the feasts that symbolized the second coming of Christ? Yes? Was, wasn't it? You see, because, you see, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest came out of the tem- tabernacle and came down to the big altar, and there they offered the ram, uh, sorry, the goat for the sins of the people. So he appeared in the presence of everybody to put away sin by that sacrifice.
Then he took the blood, and he went back into the holiest of all, for the first time in, uh, the only time in the year, and sprinkled the blood upon the mercy seat and before the mercy seat. He appeared in the presence of God for Israel. So he had appeared out here in the presence of the nation outside in the big world to put away sin by this sacrifice. Then he went back and appeared in the presence of God for the people. And then, lo behold, he appeared, came out again the second time and appeared to the people. And when he appeared the second time, he had, they had to offer this other sin offering, the scapegoat thing, you see, and confess their sins on it, it was taken away to oblivion, you'll see.
A second time. And the New Testament, uh, says similarly, doesn't it? Hebrews chapter nine. Once in the end of the ages has he, consummation of the ages, has he appeared, that is in our world, to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Now he's gone back. What for? He appears in the presence of God for us. And says Hebrews, presently he shall appear the second time. He's coming again, you'll see. And when he comes, he won't have to offer another sin offering. When he appears the second time, it's without a sin offering, unto salvation, meaning he comes to take us home to the Father's home on high.
That's my private, you know, I hold to that, but I go, what I'm going to, you know, that was a thing to discuss with the Lord, wouldn't it, if he came to tea one day. And why shouldn't we? Because the Lord indicted it and prophesied it. This is his inspired word. And what could we do better than discuss with the Lord what he himself has written about what he has done for us, what he will yet do for us, that that might stimulate our love and affection for him and admire his wisdom in Holy Scripture and his love for us, and inspire us to go out and work for him loyally, that others might come to know him.
Yes? The warning then against disloyalty to the Lord, and here, among other things, positive training, regular training in being devoted to God. So may the Lord bless our study. Shall we pray? Lord, thou knowest our hearts. We would not pretend anything in thy presence. Thou knowest our failings and our inconsistencies.
We are unprofitable servants. At best, we have done merely what is our duty to do. We rely on thee, Lord, for thy forgiveness as we confess our sins. But Lord, we dare falteringly to say with Peter, thou knowest, Lord, that we love thee. By thy grace, we pray, help us to practice our devotion to thee, that we might entertain thee, that thou mayest dine with us, and we with thee. That as the days of our temporary life go by, we may come to know thee and enjoy fellowship with the Father and with the Holy Spirit on the glories of the Son of God, that we may become, Lord, not only devoted in our hearts to thee, but devoted likewise in our systematic work for thee, until the great day when thou shalt come again and we shall see thee face to face.
Bless us now, we pray, and bless the testimony at the talk shop, we ask, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
