Week 7 Numbers 3-17
Numbers 7 is one of the longest chapters in the OT. It lists the offerings the twelve tribal leaders were supposed to bring after the tabernacle was set up.
The first time I read it I got down to the third or fourth leader – Eliab, or maybe Elizur – before I stopped and asked myself what’s going on here?
The offerings were very similar.
My first thought was that there might be subtle differences among them. Maybe the first leader – Nahshon – had to bring one goat for a sin offering, and then Nathanel two goats, Eliab three, etc.
But there were no subtle differences. I cross-checked each list and only found unsubtle samenesses.
All the offerings were exactly the same: a silver dish and a silver bowl, both full of flour, a gold pan of incense, a bull, a ram, and a lamb for a burnt offering; a goat for a sin offering, and a pair of oxen, plus 5 more rams, 5 more goats, and 5 more lambs for peace offerings.
I wondered why the author thought it was necessary to keep repeating the same thing?
I wonder now: since I know this is a ‘repeater’ chapter is it okay for me to just read the first set of offerings then gloss over the rest? I could read an 89-verse chapter in a minute or two. It’s a thought.
But I’m reading through so I read them all. Fairly quickly.