And thou shalt say unto them, This is the offering made by fire which ye shall offer unto the Lord; two lambs of the first year without spot day by day, for a continual burnt offering. The one lamb shalt thou offer in the morning, and the other lamb shalt thou offer at even. Numbers 28: 2,3
We all know the parable that the Lord Jesus told regarding two men who went to the temple to pray (Luke 18:9-14), a Pharisee and a publican. Within the publican’s short but sincere prayer – God be merciful to me a sinner – is a reference to today’s text, although it is not apparent in our King James Version. Almost all Bible versions render as ‘be merciful’ the Greek word ‘hilastheti’, but a more accurate rendering of this word would be ‘be propitious’. We have the same word used in Romans 3:25 in reference to Jesus Christ – Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood. A propitiation is a full payment or complete satisfaction. The publican was in the temple at the time of the evening (3 p.m.) sacrifice, and the lamb referred to in our text was burning on the altar. It was the value of that sacrifice that the publican was asking God to apply to his sinful soul.
The instructions for the two daily offerings were specific. Foremost, the lambs had to be without spot, a lovely picture to us of the perfections of the Lord Jesus. They were also to be offered every day, every morning and evening. This reminds us of the perpetual value of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus. 1 John 1:7 tells us that ‘ the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin’. His blood cleansed us from our sin on salvation’s day, freeing us from the penalty of our sin, and it also cleanses us from all sin every day since, freeing us from the power of sin in our daily lives. Thirdly, the lambs were to be burnt; nothing would remain of them but their ashes. This reminds us that God has totally accepted the sacrifice of His Son, and there remains for us only the remembrance of that sacrifice.
The publican’s appeal for God to accept the evening sacrifice as the payment for his sins was successful; we are told that he went home justified. You and I appeal today to the same God to accept the sacrifice of His Son, the One of whom the morning and evening offerings spoke, as the cleansing of the sin that we encounter today. The words of a lovely old hymn come to mind: O Joy of the justified, Joy of the free! I’m washed in that crimson tide opened for me; In Christ, my Redeemer, rejoicing I stand, And point to the print of the nails in His hand.
Do we remember, every morning and every evening, the great propitiation that God has provided for us? – Jim MacIntosh