"So Moses told the children of Israel everything, just as the Lord commanded him" (v.40).
This chapter is a continuation of Numbers 28. Moses was soon to leave the scene and these verses would remind his successors that the religious laws applied to Israel were to continue after he was gone. For Israel to obey what God commanded in Numbers 28-29 meant that every year the priests would sacrifice; 1,086 lambs, 113 bulls, 32 rams, more than a ton of flour, and some 1,000 bottles of oil and wine on behalf of the nation. The most prominent animal of sacrifice was the lamb. This is an obvious prophetic reference to Jesus, who is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29).
All this sacrifice did not include the sacrifices made by individuals or households. The priests and Levites were clearly busy with the job of sacrifice, and it was fulfilled at considerable expense. In the days of Jesus, there is record of 255,600 Passover lambs being sacrificed at one Passover just by individuals and households. Significantly, none of it was enough! Not one of these hundreds of thousands of sacrifices over the centuries could ever take away a person’s sin; that had to wait until a perfect sacrifice was offered – the sacrifice of Jesus.
This section of Scripture is also the continuation of a revelation, a parable showing what we all need: Forgiveness, God's rest, a celebration of the Lord, a Sacrifice acceptable to Him, and His Holy Spirit. In short, this passage of scripture is about the simple act of expressing "YES" to the Lord, abandoning self-trust and instead, trusting in Him.
The Truth: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
