Num 15:30-36 | KingComments | STEP | There is another aspect in connection with the land the LORD confronts His people here with. This concerns the offences which the people will also be able to do in the land. The LORD not only presents blessing, He also presents failure. We see this in the letters that speak about the heavenly blessings. There is also spoken about failure in them. This happens if we do not walk with dignity, that is, not in accordance with our position. It is about inattention, a sin without noticing it. God does not assume that we intentionally sin. A sinner often knows this, but he does not have the strength to resist sin. Yet while he is sinning, he will at the same time hate the sin that has regained power over him. How the believer stands against this unintentional sin hidden from him is well illustrated by David: “Who can discern [his] errors? Acquit me of hidden [faults]“ ( ). In Leviticus there is also talk of unintentional sinning by the whole church of Israel and the offering to be brought for it ( ). There it is about doing something that according to the commandments of the LORD should not be done, while here it is about not doing something that according to the commandments of the LORD should be done. The starting point remains that it happens unintentionally. Peter’s denial of the Lord is an example of unintentional sin. Peter has come through his self-confidence to a place where he has lost control of himself. Through fear of man he comes to statements concerning his relationship with the Lord Jesus in which he denies the Lord. But he has not become an adversary of the Lord. A little later he comes to deep repentance ( ; cf. ). Deliberately sinning, that is sinning “defiantly” ( ), means rebellion against God, consciously going against God, knowingly. There is no forgiveness for this: “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins” ( ). A person who takes such a similar attitude to God is not too weak to resist sin, but consciously gives in to sin. He realizes what he is doing, knows the consequences, but there is nothing that can stop him. In Leviticus 4, where unintentional sin is discussed in detail, only a sin offering is mentioned. But here, in Numbers 15, also is talk of a burnt offering, which also is greater than the sin offering. That is because this is about a sin in the land. Being there gives a greater responsibility. If we sin there, we have also endangered the blessings. That is why this is a burnt offering, to remind us once again, as it were, that our blessings are the consequences of the work of the Lord Jesus for God. Two cases of sinning are presented in this section: by the church ( ) and by the individual ( ). We can connect this with the blessings, for there are also blessings in these two forms: there are collective blessings for the church as a whole ( ) and there are personal blessings for each individual believer ( ). When sin enters, the enjoyment of the blessing disappears, both for the whole and for the individual.

‏ Numbers 15:30-36

Sinning Unintentionally and Defiantly

There is another aspect in connection with the land the LORD confronts His people here with. This concerns the offences which the people will also be able to do in the land. The LORD not only presents blessing, He also presents failure. We see this in the letters that speak about the heavenly blessings. There is also spoken about failure in them. This happens if we do not walk with dignity, that is, not in accordance with our position.

It is about inattention, a sin without noticing it. God does not assume that we intentionally sin. A sinner often knows this, but he does not have the strength to resist sin. Yet while he is sinning, he will at the same time hate the sin that has regained power over him. How the believer stands against this unintentional sin hidden from him is well illustrated by David: “Who can discern [his] errors? Acquit me of hidden [faults]“ (Psa 19:12).

In Leviticus there is also talk of unintentional sinning by the whole church of Israel and the offering to be brought for it (Lev 4:13-21). There it is about doing something that according to the commandments of the LORD should not be done, while here it is about not doing something that according to the commandments of the LORD should be done. The starting point remains that it happens unintentionally.

Peter’s denial of the Lord is an example of unintentional sin. Peter has come through his self-confidence to a place where he has lost control of himself. Through fear of man he comes to statements concerning his relationship with the Lord Jesus in which he denies the Lord. But he has not become an adversary of the Lord. A little later he comes to deep repentance (Lk 22:56-62; cf. 1Tim 1:13).

Deliberately sinning, that is sinning “defiantly” (Num 15:30-31), means rebellion against God, consciously going against God, knowingly. There is no forgiveness for this: “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins” (Heb 10:26). A person who takes such a similar attitude to God is not too weak to resist sin, but consciously gives in to sin. He realizes what he is doing, knows the consequences, but there is nothing that can stop him.

In Leviticus 4, where unintentional sin is discussed in detail, only a sin offering is mentioned. But here, in Numbers 15, also is talk of a burnt offering, which also is greater than the sin offering. That is because this is about a sin in the land. Being there gives a greater responsibility. If we sin there, we have also endangered the blessings. That is why this is a burnt offering, to remind us once again, as it were, that our blessings are the consequences of the work of the Lord Jesus for God.

Two cases of sinning are presented in this section: by the church (Num 15:22-26) and by the individual (Num 15:27-29). We can connect this with the blessings, for there are also blessings in these two forms: there are collective blessings for the church as a whole (Eph 3:1-10) and there are personal blessings for each individual believer (Eph 1:3-8). When sin enters, the enjoyment of the blessing disappears, both for the whole and for the individual.

The Sabbath Violator

In these verses we receive an example of a willful sin (Num 15:30) by someone who despises the word of the LORD (Num 15:31). To violate the Sabbath means to violate the peace of God. The sabbath is given by God to man as a blessing. By the sin of man it has become a commandment. Yet God’s purpose with the sabbath remains that on that day man may share in His rest, that he then does not have to work.

The sabbath belongs to the first creation. Later God included the sabbath in His law which He gives to His people. Believers of the church are “a new creation” (Gal 6:15) and “not under law, but under grace” (Rom 6:14). In a literal sense, the sabbath does not apply to them. What they can enjoy is the sabbath rest in a spiritual sense. They may enjoy the sabbath rest of God that He found in the finished work of His Son. God rests in His Son. That peace is trampled underfoot when we still produce works of the flesh.

Sunday is not the sabbath. By making Sunday a disguised sabbath, that day became a day of commandments and prohibitions in professing Christianity. It is precisely the people who keep the first day of the week as sabbath who are sabbath violators, for they believe that through works of the law, such as keeping the ‘sabbath’, they are pleasing to God. Then you are not on the basis of grace. Resting in the rest of God means standing in grace. Keeping Sunday as a sabbath is for many not a joy, but a burden, because nothing is allowed. Then the disguised sabbath becomes a yoke.

The sabbath violator collects dead branches. That is a picture of the performance of the works, i.e. works in which there is no life from God. Dead works are works that come forth from our religious flesh (Heb 9:14). Evil works or deeds come forth from our corrupted flesh (Col 1:21). Dead works do not have to be evil, but if they come from an unregenerate heart or are done in the context of a carnal religion, they are dead. In contrast to the dead works is the serving of the living God.

Dead works are works that are the product of a creature that in God’s eye is “dead” in “trespasses and sins” (Eph 2:1). They do not originate from the source of all true life, that is God Himself. Such works are firewood, only good for the fire. We recognize this in all who put themselves on the basis of works of the law. They put themselves under the curse, “for as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them.”” (Gal 3:10).

The man is not allowed to make fire on the sabbath (Exo 35:3). Fire gives light and warmth. God wants us to remember that these can only be found in Jesus Christ and not in something a person performs. The face of Moses, shining of the glory of God (Exo 34:35), is reminiscent of the light to be seen in Christ (2Cor 4:4-6). This is the only light that may be seen, and not the fire that is made by humans. The face of Jesus Christ shines, not what we accomplish.

The sabbath speaks of God’s peace. In this He wants to let man share. This man is not bothered by this. He gathers wood, he works, to warm himself by its fire. It is a picture of walking in the light of your own fire, your own experience, your own opinions, your own results. It points to collecting religious operations, but it is dead wood, it is dead works. He who willingly and knowingly surrenders to it dies without mercy.

The man is put in custody. Then God is consulted. That is important. The church may only exercise a punishment that is consistent with the offence. God determines the punishment. There are cases of discipline where the church does not know what to do. Then it may be necessary for someone to be “put in custody,” which we can apply by saying to someone that they will not partake of the Lord’s Supper for the time being, until the Lord makes clear what must happen. It is better in such cases to wait and take the place of an ignorant, while in that time of ignorance we trust that the Lord hears and takes care of us.

In this case, God’s judgment is: stone him with stones. The stones are thrown by all the congregation. The application for the church of God in this time is to remove the evil from the church (1Cor 5:13b). That is also a matter of all.