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Nu 28-29 constitutes a code of sacrifices for the various sacred occasions of the year. There was to be at least one sacrifice every day of the year. That in itself serves as an indication of how critical a role sacrifice played in community worship in the OT.
In all, offerings for eight separate occasions are listed, according to the frequency of that occasion. These are (1) the daily offerings (28:2-8), (2) weekly Sabbath offerings (vv.9-10), (3) monthly offerings (vv.11-15), (4) Passover offering and Unleavened Bread offering (vv.16-25), (5) Feast of Weeks offering (vv.26-31), (6) Feast of Trumpets offering (29:1-6), (7) Day of Atonement offering (vv.7-11), and (8) Feast of Tabernacles offering (vv.12-38). Of course numbers 4-8 are once-yearly offerings. Thus the offerings ranged from daily, to weekly, to monthly, to annual.
If one sets out in tabular form all the requirements of this cultic calendar, it will appear as shown as in figure 2.
In addition to burnt and sin offerings, two other offerings are also prescribed—the drink and grain offerings. The first two are of animals. The third is of wine. The fourth is of flour mixed with olive oil. Absent from this list is any reference to either the peace offering or the guilt offering. This may be because these two offerings were voluntary and thus were not a part of the prescribed order of public ritual (see my discussion at 7:1-89).
Several facts emerge from these two chapters. First, these were directives not for private worship but for communal worship. There is no concept here of “only God and me.” Second, these were commands, not suggestions. For that reason, of the forty verses in this chapter, thirty-eight constitute a divine speech. There is an introductory verse (v.1), and one final verse indicating that Moses transmitted God’s speech (v.40).
Third, the number of animals offered as burnt offerings (1,243) outnumbered those offered as sin offerings (30) in approximately a 40:1 ratio. The burnt offering was not primarily expiatory in purpose; rather, it was a spontaneous expression of praise and gratitude. It is clear from these lists that in public worship praise outdistanced contrition.
Fourth, far and away the most frequently offered animal was the lamb. Think of the impact on the community beholding every single day the offering of a lamb. Certainly the groundwork is laid here for John the Baptist’s “Behold the Lamb of God” (Jn 1:29 kjv).
Last, the immediately preceding chapters had established policies for Israel to follow once she is settled in Palestine. The second generation will persist (ch. 26). Nobody will be denied an inheritance (27:1-11). Joshua will follow Moses (vv.12-23). And here Israel’s life is to be permeated by public worship. But such worship must be neither purely formal nor primarily aesthetic nor cerebral. At the heart of worship is offering.