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The LORD spoke to Moses:
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“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you come into the land that I am giving you as your dwelling place,
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and you wish to present an offering by fire to the LORD, from the herd or from the flock, whether a burnt offering or a sacrifice, whether to fulfill a special vow, or as a freewill offering, or at your appointed feasts, so as to provide a pleasing aroma to the LORD,
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then the one who presents his offering to the LORD shall present as a grain offering one-tenth of an ephah of the finest flour, mixed with one-fourth of a hin of oil.
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And with the burnt offering or the sacrifice you shall also present one-fourth of a hin of wine as a drink offering for each lamb offered.
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But if your offering is a ram, you shall present as a grain offering two-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour, mixed with one-third of a hin of oil,
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and as a drink offering you shall present one-third of a hin of wine, as a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
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And when you prepare a bull, as a burnt offering or as a sacrifice, whether to fulfill a special vow or as a peace offering to the LORD,
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then with the bull there shall be presented as a grain offering three-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour, mixed with half a hin of oil,
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and as a drink offering you shall present half a hin of wine. This is an offering by fire, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
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Thus it shall be done for each bull and for each ram and for each lamb or goat.
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Whatever the number of animals you prepare, so shall you do for each one.
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Every native Israelite shall do this when he presents an offering by fire, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
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And if a foreigner has settled among you, or someone else living among you or among your descendants in the future, wishes to present an offering by fire, a pleasing aroma to the LORD, then as you do, so shall he do.
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As for the assembly, there shall be one statute for you and for the foreigner who lives among you; it is a lasting statute for you throughout your generations: you and the foreigner shall be alike before the LORD.
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One law and one ordinance shall apply to you and to the foreigner who lives among you.”
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Then the LORD spoke to Moses:
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“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you come into the land to which I am bringing you,
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then, when you eat the bread of the land, you shall present a special offering to the LORD.
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From the first of your dough you shall present a special offering, a round loaf; as a special offering from the threshing floor, so shall you present it.
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From the first of your dough you shall give a special offering to the LORD throughout your generations.”
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“If you unintentionally fail to keep any one of all these commandments that the LORD has spoken to Moses,
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that is, all that the LORD has commanded you through Moses, from the day the LORD gave His commandments and onward throughout your generations,
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and if it is done unknowingly by the congregation, without intent, then the whole congregation shall offer one young bull as a burnt offering, for a pleasing aroma to the LORD, together with its grain offering and its drink offering, according to the ordinance; and one male goat as a sin offering.
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Then the priest shall make atonement for the whole congregation of the Israelites, and they shall be forgiven, because it was done unintentionally, and because they have brought their offerings, an offering by fire to the LORD, and their sin offering before the LORD, for this unintentional matter.
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The whole congregation of the Israelites shall be forgiven, and also the stranger who lives among you, because it was done unintentionally by all the people.
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If only one person sins unintentionally, then he shall present a year-old female goat as a sin offering;
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and the priest shall make atonement before the LORD for the person who sinned unintentionally, so that that person may be forgiven, because atonement has been made for him.
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For the native-born Israelite and for the stranger who lives among you, there shall be one law for them concerning the one who sins unintentionally.
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But the person who does anything deliberately, whether native-born or stranger, that person blasphemes the LORD; he shall be cut off from among his people,
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because he has despised the word of the LORD and broken His commandment; that person shall surely be cut off, his guilt shall be upon him.”
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When the Israelites were in the wilderness, a man was found gathering firewood on the Sabbath day.
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Those who found him gathering firewood brought him to Moses and Aaron and to the whole congregation.
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They put him in custody, because it had not yet been determined what should be done to him.
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Then the LORD said to Moses, “The man shall surely be put to death; the whole congregation of Israel shall stone him with stones outside the camp.”
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So the whole congregation brought him outside the camp, and they stoned him with stones, and he died, as the LORD had commanded Moses.
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The LORD said to Moses:
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“Speak to the Israelites and tell them that they are to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and on the tassels of the corners they are to put a cord of blue.
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It shall be for you a tassel, so that when you see it you will remember all the commandments of the LORD and do them, and not follow after your own heart or your own eyes, as you have been accustomed to do in your unfaithfulness to the LORD.
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This is so that you may remember and do all my commandments, and be holy to your God.
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I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God; I am the LORD your God.”
🐑📜🔵 Summary of Numbers 15 – Additional Laws, Forgiveness, and Reminder Tassels
Numbers 15 is given after the severe judgment in chapter 14, where one generation was sentenced not to enter the Promised Land.
Yet, the Lord still showed His mercy by giving instructions for offerings, forgiveness of sin, and a visible sign so that the people would no longer rebel.
📌 1. Offerings When Entering the Land of Canaan (verses 1–21)
- The Lord gave instructions about fire offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings as a form of worship when they entered Canaan.
- This command was for:
Native Israelites
Foreigners living among them
🎯 The Lord still looked ahead, showing that His promise remained in force even though that generation failed.
📌 2. Sin Offering for Unintentional Sin (verses 22–29)
- If the people or an individual sin unintentionally against the command of the Lord, they may offer:
One bull + grain offering + drink offering + male goat
- Both native Israelites and foreigners receive the same rule.
📖 This shows the grace of God for unintentional sin.
📌 3. Punishment for Sin Done Deliberately (verses 30–31)
- Whoever sins with a high hand (deliberately & defiantly),
→ he despises the Lord and must be put to death.
🎯 A clear difference between human weakness and stubborn rebellion.
📌 4. The Man Gathering Wood on the Sabbath Day (verses 32–36)
- A man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day.
- After consulting the Lord, the man was commanded to be stoned to death by the whole congregation.
📖 The Sabbath is a symbol of obedience and the sanctifying of time; breaking it is a form of rejecting the holiness of God.
📌 5. The Command Concerning Tassels on Garments (verses 37–41)
- The Lord commanded the people to make tassels on the corners of their garments, with a blue cord among them.
- Its purpose:
To remember all the commands of the Lord
Not to follow their own heart and eyes, which lead astray
To become a holy people belonging to God
🎯 A visible sign so the people may live each day in awareness of obedience.
📖 Main Lessons
- The Lord still speaks and leads even when the people fail — His promise is not canceled.
- There is forgiveness for sins done in weakness, but not for hard-hearted rebellion.
- God’s law applies equally to all people — native Israelites and foreigners alike.
- A physical sign (tassels) is important for reminding us of faith and obedience in daily life.
- Faithful obedience requires an active remembrance of God’s commands, not only a passing emotion.
✨ Spiritual Meaning (New Testament)
- Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15) — this reflects the spiritual meaning of the tassels.
- In Christ, we do not live under the law of Moses, but under the law of love; yet the principle of obedience still remains.
- Unintentional sin can be forgiven, but a heart that deliberately resists God shuts itself off from His grace (Hebrews 10:26).
- We are called to live with awareness and remember the word, not be carried away by the desires of our own eyes and hearts (1 John 2:16).
