← All Chapters The Book of Numbers · Chapter 28

Numbers 28: Offerings in Their Season

God details the daily, Sabbath, monthly, and festival offerings by which Israel is to keep regular fellowship with him.

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Numbers 28 (WEB)

1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

2 “Command the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘See that you present my offering, my food for my offerings made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to me, in their due season.’

3 You shall tell them, ‘This is the offering made by fire which you shall offer to Yahweh: male lambs a year old without defect, two day by day, for a continual burnt offering.

4 You shall offer the one lamb in the morning, and you shall offer the other lamb at evening;

5 with the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for a meal offering, mixed with the fourth part of a hin of beaten oil.

6 It is a continual burnt offering, which was ordained in Mount Sinai for a pleasant aroma, an offering made by fire to Yahweh.

7 Its drink offering shall be the fourth part of a hin for the one lamb. You shall pour out a drink offering of strong drink to Yahweh in the holy place.

8 The other lamb you shall offer at evening. As the meal offering of the morning, and as its drink offering, you shall offer it, an offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to Yahweh.

9 “‘On the Sabbath day, two male lambs a year old without defect, and two tenth parts of an ephah of fine flour for a meal offering, mixed with oil, and its drink offering:

10 this is the burnt offering of every Sabbath, besides the continual burnt offering, and its drink offering.

11 “‘In the beginnings of your months, you shall offer a burnt offering to Yahweh: two young bulls, and one ram, seven male lambs a year old without defect;

12 and three tenth parts of an ephah of fine flour for a meal offering, mixed with oil, for each bull; and two tenth parts of fine flour for a meal offering, mixed with oil, for the one ram;

13 and a tenth part of fine flour mixed with oil for a meal offering to every lamb; for a burnt offering of a pleasant aroma, an offering made by fire to Yahweh.

14 Their drink offerings shall be half a hin of wine for a bull, and the third part of a hin for the ram, and the fourth part of a hin for a lamb. This is the burnt offering of every month throughout the months of the year.

15 One male goat for a sin offering to Yahweh; it shall be offered besides the continual burnt offering, and its drink offering.

16 “‘In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, is Yahweh’s Passover.

17 On the fifteenth day of this month shall be a feast. Unleavened bread shall be eaten be eaten for seven days.

18 In the first day shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work;

19 but you shall offer an offering made by fire, a burnt offering to Yahweh: two young bulls, and one ram, and seven male lambs a year old; they shall be to you without defect;

20 and their meal offering, fine flour mixed with oil. You shall offer three tenth parts for a bull, and two tenth parts for the ram.

21 You shall offer a tenth part for every lamb of the seven lambs;

22 and one male goat for a sin offering, to make atonement for you.

23 You shall offer these besides the burnt offering of the morning, which is for a continual burnt offering.

24 In this way you shall offer daily, for seven days, the food of the offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to Yahweh. It shall be offered in addition to the continual burnt offering, and its drink offering.

25 On the seventh day you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work.

26 “‘Also in the day of the first fruits, when you offer a new meal offering to Yahweh in your feast of weeks, you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work;

27 but you shall offer a burnt offering for a pleasant aroma to Yahweh: two young bulls, one ram, seven male lambs a year old;

28 and their meal offering, fine flour mixed with oil, three tenth parts for each bull, two tenth parts for the one ram,

29 a tenth part for every lamb of the seven lambs;

30 one male goat, to make atonement for you.

31 Besides the continual burnt offering, and its meal offering, you shall offer them and their drink offerings. See that they are without defect.

Summary

Yahweh commands Moses to instruct Israel to present his offerings, his food made by fire of a pleasant aroma, in their due season. The chapter lays out a rhythm of worship that frames Israel's life. Each morning and each evening a year-old lamb is offered as a continual burnt offering, with fine flour, oil, and a drink offering, a ceaseless act of devotion. On the Sabbath the offering doubles, marking the day as holy. At the beginning of each month, the new moon, additional bulls, a ram, lambs, and a sin offering are presented. Then come the great annual feasts: the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month, followed by seven days of unleavened bread with daily offerings and holy convocations at the start and finish; and the Feast of Weeks, the day of firstfruits, when a new meal offering is brought with burnt and sin offerings. Again and again the phrase “besides the continual burnt offering” appears, reminding Israel that the special feasts never replace the steady daily worship that undergirds them all. Though detailed and demanding, these offerings express that fellowship with a holy God must be regular, costly, and offered on his terms—a pattern fulfilled in Christ, who offered himself once for all.

Key Themes

  • The continual burnt offering — The morning and evening lamb that sustains Israel's unbroken daily fellowship with God and undergirds every other offering.
  • The Sabbath and new-moon offerings — The added sacrifices that mark the weekly day of rest and the start of each month as holy to the Lord.
  • The appointed feasts — Passover, the days of Unleavened Bread, and the Feast of Weeks, with their convocations and offerings ordering Israel's year around God.
  • The sin offering — The male goat offered “to make atonement for you,” a reminder woven through the calendar that sinful people need cleansing to draw near.

Key Verse

Numbers 28:2 (WEB)

“Command the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘See that you present my offering, my food for my offerings made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to me, in their due season.’

Lessons Learned

  • Worship is not occasional but a steady rhythm woven into every day, week, month, and year.
  • Drawing near to a holy God is costly and must be done on his terms, not ours.
  • The continual daily offering reminds us that special times of worship rest on a foundation of constant devotion.
  • Atonement runs through every season, for sinful people always need cleansing to approach God.
  • These repeated sacrifices anticipate the one perfect offering of Christ, given once for all.
  • Worship is to be regular. God asks for offerings “in their due season” (Numbers 28:2, WEB). True devotion is not sporadic but a faithful, ordered rhythm of returning to him.
  • The continual offering anchors everything. Morning and evening a lamb is offered as “a continual burnt offering” (Numbers 28:3-4, WEB). Constant daily worship is the foundation beneath every feast.
  • Time itself is consecrated to God. Days, Sabbaths, months, and feasts are each marked with offerings (Numbers 28:9-11, 16-17, WEB). God lays claim to all our time, not merely a fraction of it.
  • Approaching God requires atonement. The recurring sin offering is given “to make atonement for you” (Numbers 28:22, WEB). Even joyful festivals acknowledge our need for cleansing, fulfilled fully in Christ.
  1. Why does God describe the offerings as being presented “in their due season,” and what does this say about the nature of worship?
  2. What is the significance of the morning and evening “continual burnt offering” that frames every day?
  3. Why is the phrase “besides the continual burnt offering” repeated so often through the chapter?
  4. How do these many repeated sacrifices point forward to the once-for-all offering of Jesus (see Hebrews 10:11-14)?
  5. What might a steady daily rhythm of devotion look like in your own life, and what tends to crowd it out?
  1. Worship is meant to follow God's appointed rhythm rather than our moods (28:2). “In their due season” teaches that devotion is patterned and faithful, returning to God at set times so that our whole life is shaped around him rather than fitting him in when convenient.
  2. The twice-daily lamb means Israel's fellowship with God is never interrupted; every day opens and closes in his presence (28:3-8). It pictures a relationship sustained continually, not just at high points, and it grounds the spiritual life in steady faithfulness.
  3. The repetition stresses that the special feasts add to, but never replace, the daily worship (28:10, 15, 23-24). Extraordinary occasions of devotion must rest on the foundation of ordinary, constant faithfulness. Help the group see that consistency matters more than intensity.
  4. Hebrews observes that these priests offered the same sacrifices repeatedly, which could never take away sins, whereas Christ offered one sacrifice forever (Heb. 10:11-14). The endless repetition in Numbers 28 highlights, by contrast, the finished, perfect sufficiency of Christ's single offering.
  5. This is a personal-application question. Invite members to imagine simple, sustainable rhythms—morning and evening prayer, Scripture, thanksgiving—and to name the distractions that erode them. As leader, encourage grace-filled consistency rather than guilt, rooted in Christ's finished work.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB), the King James Version (KJV), and the American Standard Version (ASV), all of which are in the public domain.