This verse highlights God’s command to regularly celebrate His deliverance and foreshadows the ultimate sacrifice that brings true freedom.
Then on the fourteenth day of the first month shall be the LORD’s Passover (v.16).
In this verse, the LORD designates the precise date for observing Passover, an annual memorial of Israel’s miraculous rescue from slavery in Egypt. The “first month” in the Hebrew calendar is known as Nisan, and on its fourteenth day the community was commanded to commemorate God’s deliverance by sacrificing a lamb that would remind them of the blood placed on their doorposts at the original Passover (Exodus 12:7). This observance became central to Israel’s identity and worship, forming the foundation for the week-long Feast of Unleavened Bread that follows (Leviticus 23:5-8). Subsequent verses in Numbers outline the offerings by fire that accompany this feast and further structure the nation’s worship (Numbers 28:19-24).Calling it “the LORD’s Passover” underscores that this is God’s appointed celebration, rooted not in human determination but in His redemptive plan. For generations, Jewish families would gather on this date, roast the lamb, remove leaven from their homes, and recall that God redeemed them from Egypt’s oppression. Such remembrance offered a yearly reminder of His covenant faithfulness, inspiring gratitude and obedience. Passover also introduced a pattern of sacrificial atonement that ultimately finds its fulfillment in the Messiah, Jesus Christ, whom the New Testament portrays as the Passover Lamb who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29).Through Numbers 28:16, God provides a tangible marker in time that draws His people into worship and thankful reflection. For them—and for believers now—this day signifies how the LORD’s powerful rescue reshapes identity and reaffirms that salvation comes by His hand alone. Remembering the Passover points backward to the Exodus and also forward to the final redemption fulfilled in Jesus.
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Numbers 28:16 meaning
Then on the fourteenth day of the first month shall be the LORD’s Passover (v.16).
In this verse, the LORD designates the precise date for observing Passover, an annual memorial of Israel’s miraculous rescue from slavery in Egypt. The “first month” in the Hebrew calendar is known as Nisan, and on its fourteenth day the community was commanded to commemorate God’s deliverance by sacrificing a lamb that would remind them of the blood placed on their doorposts at the original Passover (Exodus 12:7). This observance became central to Israel’s identity and worship, forming the foundation for the week-long Feast of Unleavened Bread that follows (Leviticus 23:5-8). Subsequent verses in Numbers outline the offerings by fire that accompany this feast and further structure the nation’s worship (Numbers 28:19-24).Calling it “the LORD’s Passover” underscores that this is God’s appointed celebration, rooted not in human determination but in His redemptive plan. For generations, Jewish families would gather on this date, roast the lamb, remove leaven from their homes, and recall that God redeemed them from Egypt’s oppression. Such remembrance offered a yearly reminder of His covenant faithfulness, inspiring gratitude and obedience. Passover also introduced a pattern of sacrificial atonement that ultimately finds its fulfillment in the Messiah, Jesus Christ, whom the New Testament portrays as the Passover Lamb who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29).Through Numbers 28:16, God provides a tangible marker in time that draws His people into worship and thankful reflection. For them—and for believers now—this day signifies how the LORD’s powerful rescue reshapes identity and reaffirms that salvation comes by His hand alone. Remembering the Passover points backward to the Exodus and also forward to the final redemption fulfilled in Jesus.