151 And the Lord said to Moses, 2 Say to the children of Israel, When you have come into the land which I am giving to you for your resting-place, 3 And are going to make an offering by fire to the Lord, a burned offering or an offering in connection with an oath, or an offering freely given, or at your regular feasts, an offering for a sweet smell to the Lord, from the herd or the flock: 4 Then let him who is making his offering, give to the Lord a meal offering of a tenth part of a measure of the best meal mixed with a fourth part of a hin of oil: 5 And for the drink offering, you are to give with the burned offering or other offering, the fourth part of a hin of wine for every lamb. 6 Or for a male sheep, give as a meal offering two tenth parts of a measure of the best meal mixed with a third part of a hin of oil: 7 And for the drink offering give a third part of a hin of wine, for a sweet smell to the Lord. 8 And when you make ready a young ox for a burned or other offering, or for the effecting of an oath, or for peace-offerings to the Lord: 9 Then with the ox give a meal offering of three tenth parts of a measure of the best meal mixed with half a hin of oil. 10 And for the drink offering: give half a hin of wine, for an offering made by fire for a sweet smell to the Lord. 11 This is to be done for every young ox and for every male sheep or he-lamb or young goat. 12 Whatever number you make ready, so you are to do for every one. 13 All those who are Israelites by birth are to do these things in this way, when giving an offering made by fire of a sweet smell to the Lord. 14 And if a man from another country or any other person living among you, through all your generations, has the desire to give an offering made by fire of a sweet smell to the Lord, let him do as you do. 15 There is to be one law for you and for the man of another country living with you, one law for ever from generation to generation; as you are, so is he to be before the Lord. 16 The law and the rule are to be the same for you and for those from other lands living with you. 17 And the Lord said to Moses, 18 Say to the children of Israel, When you come into the land where I am guiding you, 19 Then, when you take for your food the produce of the land, you are to give an offering lifted up before the Lord. 20 Of the first of your rough meal you are to give a cake for a lifted offering, lifting it up before the Lord as the offering of the grain-floor is lifted up. 21 From generation to generation you are to give to the Lord a lifted offering from the first of your rough meal.
22 And if in error you go against any of these laws which the Lord has given to Moses, 23 All the laws which the Lord has given you by the hand of Moses, from the day when the Lord gave them, and ever after from generation to generation; 24 Then, if the wrong is done in error, without the knowledge of the meeting of the people, let all the meeting give a young ox as a burned offering, a sweet smell to the Lord, with its meal offering and its drink offering, as is ordered in the law, together with a he-goat for a sin-offering. 25 So the priest will make the people free from sin, and they will have forgiveness; for it was an error, and they have given their offering made by fire to the Lord, and their sin-offering before the Lord, on account of their error: 26 And all the meeting of the children of Israel, as well as those from other lands living among them, will have forgiveness; for it was an error on the part of the people. 27 And if one person does wrong, without being conscious of it, then let him give a she-goat of the first year for a sin-offering. 28 And the priest will take away the sin of the person who has done wrong, if the wrong was done unconsciously, and he will have forgiveness. 29 The law in connection with wrong done unconsciously is to be the same for him who is an Israelite by birth and for the man from another country who is living among them.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Numbers 15:1-29
Commentary on Numbers 15:1-21
(Read Numbers 15:1-21)
Full instructions are given about the meat-offerings and drink-offerings. The beginning of this law is very encouraging, When ye come into the land of your habitation which I give unto you. This was a plain intimation that God would secure the promised land to their seed. It was requisite, since the sacrifices of acknowledgment were intended as the food of God's table, that there should be a constant supply of bread, oil, and wine, whatever the flesh-meat was. And the intent of this law is to direct the proportions of the meat-offering and drink-offering. Natives and strangers are placed on a level in this as in other like matters. It was a happy forewarning of the calling of the Gentiles, and of their admission into the church. If the law made so little difference between Jew and Gentile, much less would the gospel, which broke down the partition-wall, and reconciled both to God.
Commentary on Numbers 15:22-29
(Read Numbers 15:22-29)
Though ignorance will in a degree excuse, it will not justify those who might have known their Lord's will, yet did it not. David prayed to be cleansed from his secret faults, those sins which he himself was not aware of. Sins committed ignorantly, shall be forgiven through Christ the great Sacrifice, who, when he offered up himself once for all upon the cross, seemed to explain one part of the intention of his offering, in that prayer, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. It looked favourably upon the Gentiles, that this law of atoning for sins of ignorance, is expressly made to extend to those who were strangers to Israel.