Numbers · chapter 15 of 36
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Numbers 15 gathers laws God gives Israel for when it enters the land: offerings of flour, oil and wine that accompany sacrifices, with the same rule for the foreigner; sacrifices for sins committed unintentionally; the sentence for one who sins defiantly; the case of a man who broke the Sabbath; and the command to put tassels on garments as a reminder of the commandments.
After the rebellion of Numbers 14 and the sentence of forty years, this chapter is surprising, because it speaks of what Israel will do when it finally enters the land. It is a sign of hope: God remains faithful to his promise for the new generation. The laws also draw the line between sin committed unintentionally, which can be forgiven, and sin committed in defiance, which breaks the covenant.
The Lord tells Moses to give laws that will apply once Israel has entered the land. Every burnt offering or peace offering must be accompanied by a grain offering of flour and oil and a drink offering of wine, in amounts that depend on the animal. The same rule holds for the Israelite and for the foreigner living among them, because before the Lord there is one law for both. They are also to present to the Lord a cake from the first of their dough.
Then come the laws for unintentional sin. If the whole congregation makes a mistake without knowing it, it offers a bull and a male goat; if one person does, he offers a year-old female goat. There is forgiveness for the Israelite and for the foreigner. But whoever sins defiantly, with a high hand, despises the word of the Lord and will be cut off from his people.
A concrete case follows: a man is found gathering sticks on the Sabbath. They bring him to Moses, Aaron and the congregation, and the Lord commands that he be stoned outside the camp, and it is done. Finally the Lord orders that tassels be made on the corners of their garments, with a blue cord, so that when they see them they will remember all his commandments and do them, rather than follow the desires of their own hearts and eyes. In this way they will be holy to their God, who brought them out of Egypt.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The laws begin with the words when you come into the land I am giving you. After the sentence of the previous chapter, these words are a promise: God will bring Israel into the land, and there they will live with him.
The Lord sets one rule for the congregation and for the foreigner who lives among them. The door of the covenant is open to anyone who joins Israel, and before God all are equal.
Whoever sins with a high hand reviles the Lord and must be cut off from his people, because he has despised the word of God. The difference from unintentional sin is the attitude of the heart: defiance as opposed to weakness.
The tassels are to remind them of the Lord's commandments so that they do not follow the desires of their hearts and eyes. A visible, everyday symbol helps a forgetful people live in obedience.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: When Israel had entered the land God was giving it. — Numbers 15:2
Answer: A grain offering of flour with oil and a drink offering of wine. — Numbers 15:3-5
Answer: The same as for the Israelites: one law and one rule. — Numbers 15:15-16
Answer: A year-old female goat as a sin offering, and he was forgiven. — Numbers 15:27-28
Answer: He was cut off from among his people, because he had despised the word of the Lord. — Numbers 15:30-31
Answer: To remember all the Lord's commandments and do them. — Numbers 15:38-39
Numbers 15 reminds us that obeying God includes small, everyday things. The tassels on the garment were a tiny symbol that helped them remember the law. Today believers can think about the reminders that keep them attentive to God: verses in the home, habits of prayer, meetings with fellow believers. In a small group you can share which practices help you not forget who your God is.
The distinction between unintentional sin and high-handed sin helps us take the attitude of the heart seriously. There is forgiveness for the one who stumbles and admits it, but a conscious defiance of God is more grave. The message of the New Testament invites us to draw near with confidence to the one who forgives, and not to harden our hearts.
Numbers 15 shows that God is still thinking of the land and of his people, and it recalls that obedience is born of memory. Numbers 16 will return to rebellion, now from within the leadership, with the challenge of Korah, Dathan and Abiram to Moses and Aaron.
For the people, the Sabbath was a sign of the covenant, and the case comes right after the description of high-handed sin. The text presents it as a deliberate act, not a mistake, and the Lord himself names the punishment. Readers today find the passage hard, and it is best read within the context of the covenant with Israel.
They were fringes that the Israelites put on the corners of their garments, with a blue cord among them, to remind them of the Lord's commandments. They were not an amulet but a visible reminder. Jewish readers keep them to this day on a prayer garment, and the Gospels mention the edge of Jesus' garment.