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Numbers 29:19 meaning

This verse highlights God’s desire for constant acknowledgment of sin and reliance on Him for atonement.

“You shall present one male goat for a sin offering, besides the sin offering of atonement and the continual burnt offering and its grain offering, and their drink offerings.” (v.19) This command, given by the LORD, focuses on the required sacrifices during a holy season, which included special offerings designated for atonement. The people of Israel were instructed to add “one male goat for a sin offering” (v.19) to their standard offerings. By doing so, they maintained a symbolic posture of repentance and constant fellowship with the LORD, underscoring that sin needed to be addressed continually, not just once. This instruction flows from a broader context in Numbers 29, where the LORD provided a detailed schedule of offerings for various days of celebration and worship, exemplifying that devotion to God encompassed every aspect of Israelite life.

In the wider narrative, Moses—who received these instructions—lived approximately from 1526 BC to 1406 BC, leading the Israelites out of Egypt and through their wilderness journey by God’s direction. The events in Numbers likely took place on the plains of Moab to the east of the Jordan River, just before Israel entered the Promised Land. The requirement for “besides the sin offering of atonement and the continual burnt offering and its grain offering, and their drink offerings” (v.19) indicates that this goat sacrifice was an additional sin offering on top of the usual daily worship. Such additional sacrifices served as a concentrated reminder that unintentional sins or impurities still needed atonement, pointing forward to the ultimate atoning work of Jesus (Hebrews 9:14).

Connected to the Old Testament’s sacrificial system, the call for a “sin offering” (v.19) helped prepare the Israelites’ hearts for the complete forgiveness God would later provide through Christ. As the New Testament reveals, Jesus stands as the perfect, once-for-all sacrifice (John 1:29). The repeated mention of offerings in Numbers 29 emphasizes a continual, day-after-day dependence on God’s mercy. This daily trust built faithful obedience and sacred reverence for the holiness of the LORD, who provided both the means of offering and the grace of atonement.

Numbers 29:19