Numbers 29:12

The Bible says in Numbers 29:12-40, “And on the fifteenth day of the seventh month ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work, and ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days:[13] And ye shall offer a burnt offering, a sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD; thirteen young bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year; they shall be without blemish:[14] And their meat offering shall be of flour mingled with oil, three tenth deals unto every bullock of the thirteen bullocks, two tenth deals to each ram of the two rams,[15] And a several tenth deal to each lamb of the fourteen lambs:[16] And one kid of the goats for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, his meat offering, and his drink offering.[17] And on the second day ye shall offer twelve young bullocks, two rams, fourteen lambs of the first year without spot:[18] And their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:[19] And one kid of the goats for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, and the meat offering thereof, and their drink offerings.[20] And on the third day eleven bullocks, two rams, fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish;[21] And their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:[22] And one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, and his meat offering, and his drink offering.[23] And on the fourth day ten bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish:[24] Their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:[25] And one kid of the goats for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, his meat offering, and his drink offering.[26] And on the fifth day nine bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year without spot:[27] And their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:[28] And one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, and his meat offering, and his drink offering.[29] And on the sixth day eight bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish:[30] And their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:[31] And one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, his meat offering, and his drink offering.[32] And on the seventh day seven bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish:[33] And their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:[34] And one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, his meat offering, and his drink offering.[35] On the eighth day ye shall have a solemn assembly: ye shall do no servile work therein:[36] But ye shall offer a burnt offering, a sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD: one bullock, one ram, seven lambs of the first year without blemish:[37] Their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullock, for the ram, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:[38] And one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, and his meat offering, and his drink offering.[39] These things ye shall do unto the LORD in your set feasts, beside your vows, and your freewill offerings, for your burnt offerings, and for your meat offerings, and for your drink offerings, and for your peace offerings.[40] And Moses told the children of Israel according to all that the LORD commanded Moses.” Verse twelve tells us that God told the Israelites to have a seven day feast after the Day of Atonement. There was no work done in those seven days, and there were a lot of sacrifices made. No work symbolizes the fact that we are not saved by our own works. We cease from our labors and we rest in Christ. The massive number of sacrifices was to remind them over and over that they had a sin problem that needed to be atoned for that only the sacrifice of an innocent one could do. Of course, these sacrifices were done over and over because the sacrifices of animals could not get the job done. The sacrifice of Jesus was once forever. Jesus is our sacrifice.

Numbers 29:40 reminds us of where all these requirements of the Old Testament came from. It says, “And Moses told the children of Israel according to all that the LORD commanded Moses.” The law came from God. Every word of the Old Testament came from God just like every other word of the New Testament. But Jesus brought the New Testament in His blood. As God revealed to Moses, another prophet would eventually come, in some ways on the same level as Moses, but in other ways much greater than Moses, and that prophet should be heard and obeyed. It says in Deuteronomy 18:15-19, “The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;[16] According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not.[17] And the LORD said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken.[18] I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.[19] And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.” In verse sixteen the children of Israel said, “Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God.” This meant that they did not want to hear anything else from God through Moses. The Israelite people would continue to make that decision, and so God had planned for that all along. Moses brought the law. The law does not work for man because man fails in regards to law. In the case of the Israelites, they did not want to even hear more of it. It did not matter that it came from God. They did not want it. God knew that would happen, and God had a plan: another prophet with a very different message would come. That prophet was Jesus. Instead of law, Jesus brought grace: the message of grace. Instead of the message about what you must do, we now have the message through Christ that this is what Jesus has done for you. It is just as it says in John 1:17, “The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” It is an offer of grace, but that offer can be rejected. Just as the Israelites rejected the law, some people will reject grace. And then Jesus will become their Judge. That is why it says in Deuteronomy 18:19, “whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.”

The Bible says in Numbers 30:1-8, “And Moses spake unto the heads of the tribes concerning the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded.[2] If a man vow a vow unto the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.[3] If a woman also vow a vow unto the LORD, and bind herself by a bond, being in her father's house in her youth;[4] And her father hear her vow, and her bond wherewith she hath bound her soul, and her father shall hold his peace at her: then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she hath bound her soul shall stand.[5] But if her father disallow her in the day that he heareth; not any of her vows, or of her bonds wherewith she hath bound her soul, shall stand: and the LORD shall forgive her, because her father disallowed her.[6] And if she had at all an husband, when she vowed, or uttered ought out of her lips, wherewith she bound her soul;[7] And her husband heard it, and held his peace at her in the day that he heard it: then her vows shall stand, and her bonds wherewith she bound her soul shall stand.[8] But if her husband disallowed her on the day that he heard it; then he shall make her vow which she vowed, and that which she uttered with her lips, wherewith she bound her soul, of none effect: and the LORD shall forgive her.” This passage is about one simple and yet very important truth: keep your word. If you tell someone that you are going to do something, then do it. You are only as good as your word. As it says in verse three, “he shall not break his word.” If some unforeseen circumstance prevents you from keeping your word or fulfilling a promise, then you go to that person and you explain what happened, and you come up with an acceptable alternative. And one other thing: if you promise to do something that you should never do anyway, such as something illegal and something really stupid, then it is good to go to that person and tell them that you came to your senses and you cannot do what you should never have promised to do. Children who dare one another to do something ridiculous or dangerous falls into this category. The point of the scripture is this: be a person of your word.

Verses three through eight talk about women also and the vows that they make. The teaching for the women in the Old Testament was that they also were required to keep their vows with the understanding that in certain circumstances they would not be required if their father or husband had spoken up against that particular vow. In other words, women were given an extra protection from promising something that they should not have promised. The lesson is this: you might want to get someone else’s opinion before obligating yourself with some huge commitment.

Are there any vows that people make in today’s world that some have not done too well at keeping? How about one that goes something like this: “I promise to love, honor, and cherish until death do us part.”

The Bible says in Numbers 30:9-16, “But every vow of a widow, and of her that is divorced, wherewith they have bound their souls, shall stand against her.[10] And if she vowed in her husband's house, or bound her soul by a bond with an oath;[11] And her husband heard it, and held his peace at her, and disallowed her not: then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she bound her soul shall stand.[12] But if her husband hath utterly made them void on the day he heard them; then whatsoever proceeded out of her lips concerning her vows, or concerning the bond of her soul, shall not stand: her husband hath made them void; and the LORD shall forgive her.[13] Every vow, and every binding oath to afflict the soul, her husband may establish it, or her husband may make it void.[14] But if her husband altogether hold his peace at her from day to day; then he establisheth all her vows, or all her bonds, which are upon her: he confirmeth them, because he held his peace at her in the day that he heard them.[15] But if he shall any ways make them void after that he hath heard them; then he shall bear her iniquity.[16] These are the statutes, which the LORD commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, between the father and his daughter, being yet in her youth in her father's house.” In addition to re-stating the protections given to women concerning the making of vows and the keeping of vows, notice verse nine. It speaks of a “widow” and “her that is divorced” in the same way. They are both in the same situation. They are equal. There are two ways for a marriage to end: death or divorce. Once it is over, it is over. A woman who has been widowed is in the same status as a woman who has been divorced. There is no difference. It takes two people to make a marriage work by the grace of God, and only one person to destroy a marriage. If you are single, then you are in that state for one of three reasons: you have never been married, your spouse has passed away, or you are divorced. Death means the end of a marriage. Divorce means the end of a marriage. Marriage was designed by God to be temporary. Jesus told us clearly that there is no marriage in heaven. Your marriage will end in one of two ways: death or divorce. If you are single, then pray that the Lord will guide you in this phase of your life. Do not judge someone who has been divorced. You should view them no differently than someone what has been widowed.

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