151 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying, 2 'Speak unto the sons of Israel, and thou hast said unto them, When ye come in unto the land of your dwellings, which I am giving to you, 3 then ye have prepared a fire-offering to Jehovah, a burnt-offering, or a sacrifice, at separating a vow or free-will-offering, or in your appointed things, to make a sweet fragrance to Jehovah, out of the herd, or out of the flock. 4 'And he who is bringing near his offering to Jehovah hath brought near a present of flour, a tenth deal, mixed with a fourth of the hin of oil; 5 and wine for a libation, a fourth of the hin thou dost prepare for the burnt-offering or for a sacrifice, for the one lamb; 6 or for a ram thou dost prepare a present of flour, two-tenth deals, mixed with oil, a third of the hin; 7 and wine for a libation, a third part of the hin, thou dost bring near—a sweet fragrance to Jehovah. 8 'And when thou makest a son of the herd a burnt-offering or a sacrifice, at separating a vow or peace-offerings to Jehovah, 9 then he hath brought near for the son of the herd a present of flour, three-tenth deals, mixed with oil, a half of the hin; 10 and wine thou bringest near for a libation, a half of the hin—a fire-offering of sweet fragrance to Jehovah; 11 thus it is done for the one ox, or for the one ram, or for a lamb of the sheep or of the goats. 12 'According to the number that ye prepare, so ye do to each, according to their number; 13 every native doth thus with these, at bringing near a fire-offering of sweet fragrance to Jehovah; 14 and when a sojourner sojourneth with you, or whoso 'is' in your midst to your generations, and he hath made a fire-offering of sweet fragrance to Jehovah, as ye do so he doth. 15 'One statute is for you of the congregation and for the sojourner who is sojourning, a statute age-during to your generations: as ye 'are' so is the sojourner before Jehovah; 16 one law and one ordinance is to you and to the sojourner who is sojourning with you.' 17 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying, 18 'Speak unto the sons of Israel, and thou hast said unto them, In your coming in unto the land whither I am bringing you in, 19 then it hath been, in your eating of the bread of the land, ye heave up a heave-offering to Jehovah; 20 the beginning of your dough a cake ye heave up—a heave-offering; as the heave-offering of a threshing-floor, so ye do heave it. 21 Of the beginning of your dough ye do give to Jehovah a heave-offering—to your generations.
22 'And when ye err, and do not all these commands which Jehovah hath spoken unto Moses, 23 the whole that Jehovah hath charged upon you by the hand of Moses, from the day that Jehovah hath commanded, and henceforth, to your generations, 24 then it hath been, if from the eyes of the company it hath been done in ignorance, that all the company have prepared one bullock, a son of the herd, for a burnt-offering, for sweet fragrance to Jehovah, and its present, and its libation, according to the ordinance, and one kid of the goats for a sin-offering. 25 'And the priest hath made atonement for all the company of the sons of Israel, and it hath been forgiven them, for it 'is' ignorance, and they—they have brought in their offering, a fire-offering to Jehovah, even their sin-offering before Jehovah for their ignorance; 26 and it hath been forgiven to all the company of the sons of Israel, and to the sojourner who is sojourning in their midst; for to all the company 'it is done' in ignorance. 27 'And if one person sin in ignorance, then he hath brought near a she-goat, daughter of a year, for a sin-offering; 28 and the priest hath made atonement for the person who is erring, in his sinning in ignorance before Jehovah, by making atonement for him, and it hath been forgiven him; 29 for the native among the sons of Israel, and for the sojourner who is sojourning in their midst—one law is to you, for him who is doing 'anything' through ignorance.
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.