(2) My offering, and my bread . . . —Better, My oblation (even) my bread, &c. The offering, though presented by the hands of men, was God’s, not theirs. “The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts” (Haggai 2:8). “Every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills” (Ps. 1.10). The word korban is a general term for an oblation. It may denote in this place the minchah, or meal offering, or the shew-bread, offerings which were directly connected with a settled life in Canaan rather than with a nomadic life in the wilderness. Or the word lehem (bread) may be used to denote food generally, the sacrificial offerings being symbolically regarded as the Lord’s food. (Comp. Leviticus 3:11; Leviticus 3:16, where the same word is rendered food, and where the reference is to a portion of the flesh of the lamb and of the goat of the peace offering. See also Malachi 3:7.)

Numbers 28:2. Command the children of Israel — God here repeats some of the former laws about sacrifices, not without great reason; 1st, Because they had been generally discontinued for thirty-eight years together. 2d, Because the generation to which the former laws had been given about these things was wholly dead, and it was fit the new generation should be instructed about them, as their parents were. 3d, To renew the testimonies of God’s grace and mercy, notwithstanding their frequent forfeitures thereof by their rebellion. And, 4th, and principally, Because they were now ready to enter into that land, in which they were obliged to put these things in practice. It is observable that God commands Moses to repeat them in the following order of daily, weekly, monthly, and anniversary sacrifices.

28:1-8 God saw fit now to repeat the law of sacrifices. This was a new generation of men; and they were concerned to keep their peace with God when at war with their enemies. The daily sacrifice is called a continual burnt-offering; when we are bid to pray always, at least every morning and evening we should offer up solemn prayers and praises to God. Nothing is added here but that the wine poured out in the drink-offering is to be strong wine, to teach us to serve God with the best we have. It was a figure of the blood of Christ, the memorial of which is still left to the church in wine; and of the blood of the martyrs, which was poured out as a drink-offering on the sacrifice and service of our faith, Php 2:17.My offering, and my bread ... - Or, my offering, even my bread, etc. Offering is here קרבן qorbân (compare Leviticus 1:2; Mark 7:11), a term in itself of quite general import, but often especially applied, as apparently in this instance, to the meat-offering which accompanied the sacrifices. This meat-offering connected itself, from its very nature, with the life of the Israelites in Canaan, not with their life in the wilderness; and it was annexed to the animal sacrifices as a token that the people must dedicate to God their property and the fruits of their labor as well as their own persons. See Numbers 15:2 note and Leviticus 21:6. 2. Command the children of Israel, and say unto them—The repetition of several laws formerly enacted, which is made in this chapter, was seasonable and necessary, not only on account of their importance and the frequent neglect of them, but because a new generation had sprung up since their first institution and because the Israelites were about to be settled in the land where those ordinances were to be observed.

My offering, and my bread—used generally for the appointed offerings, and the import of the prescription is to enforce regularity and care in their observance.

God here repeats some of the former laws about sacrifices, not without great reason, partly, because they had been generally discontinued for thirty-eight years together; partly, because the generation to which the former laws had been given about these things was wholly dead, and it was fit the new generation should be instructed about them, as their parents were; partly, to renew the testimonies of God’s grace and mercy, notwithstanding their frequent forfeitures thereof by their horrid apostacies and rebellions; and principally, because they were now ready to enter into that land, in which they were obliged to put these things in practice, Deu 12:8, &c.

Made by fire. According to this translation the sense is, My offering, i.e. my offering or sacrifices, and my bread, i.e. either my shew-bread, or rather my meat-offering made of bread or meal, for my sacrifices made by fire, i.e. which is to accompany my burnt-offerings. Or thus, My offering, to wit, my bread, i. e. my meat-offering, which was made of bread or meal, which is oft expressed by this very name of corban or offering, as Leviticus 2:1 6:20; but because corban signifies not only a meatoffering, but other offerings also, as Leviticus 7:37,38, therefore he limits that general word by adding my bread with (so the Hebrew lamed is oft used, as Genesis 46:26 Ezra 1:5 2:63, &c.) my sacrifices made by fire, which may be understood either,

1. Generally for all the sacrifices, as that phrase is sometimes taken, as 1 Samuel 2:28, where it must needs be so meant, because the burntofferings properly so called were not given to the priest, but reserved to God himself, and the priest’s portion lay in the other sacrifices only; or,

2. Specially and properly for burnt-offerings; and so under them, as the most eminent kind, are contained all other sacrifices; as under the meat-offering here is contained the drink-offering. And according to this translation and explication these words contain a full and general rule, comprehending all the particulars following in this chapter, as in reason they ought to do, and which otherwise they do not.

Command the children of Israel, and say unto them,.... For what follows concerned them all; namely, the offering of their daily, weekly, monthly, and anniversary sacrifices, which were not for private persons, but for the whole congregation; and these might be considered by them not merely as commands and duties to be observed, but as tokens of the divine favour to them, that notwithstanding all their rebellions and provocations in the wilderness, sacrifices for sin were ordered, continued, and accepted of by the Lord; and his acceptance of them, and well pleasedness in them, may easily be observed in the expressions used concerning them:

my offering, and my bread; by "offering" may be meant in general all sacrifices which were offered to the Lord, and by his command; and more especially the burnt offering, which was wholly and peculiarly his, and is after explained by sacrifices made by fire, and it is chiefly of burnt offerings this chapter treats; and by "bread" may be meant either the shewbread, which was set upon a table before the Lord continually, as his bread; so the Targum of Jonathan,"my oblation, the bread of the order of my table, shall the priests eat, but what ye offer on the altar no man has power to eat;''or else the meat offering, or rather, as it may be called, the bread offering, which always went along with burnt offerings; though the copulative "and", which is not in the text, may be omitted, and both may signify the same, "my offering", that is, "my bread"; for the sacrifices were the food of God, the provisions of his house, of which there were all sorts in the sacrifices, flesh, bread, and wine; particularly the daily sacrifice was his food every day, and the fat of sacrifices burnt is called the food of the offering made by fire, Leviticus 3:16, so Jarchi interprets it, "my offering", this is the blood; "my bread", the "amurim", or fat that covereth the inward parts, which were burnt on the altar:

for my sacrifices made by fire for a sweet savour unto me; which respects burnt offerings, wholly consumed by fire, and were entirely the Lord's, and which he smelled a sweet savour in, or were acceptable to him: these the children of Israel were

to observe to offer unto him in their due season; the daily sacrifice, morning and evening; not before morning, nor after evening, as Aben Ezra observes; and so all the rest at the proper time fixed, whether weekly, monthly, or yearly. The Jews, from this phrase, "observe to offer unto me", conclude the necessity of fixing stations, or stationary men, as Jarchi notes; so the tradition is,"these are the stations, as it is said, "command the children of Israel, &c." but how can the offering of a man be offered, and he not stand by it? wherefore the former prophets appointed twenty four courses, and to every course there was a station at Jerusalem of priests, Levites, and Israelites; and when the time of each course came to go up, the priests and Levites went up to Jerusalem, and the Israelites who belonged to that course went into their cities, and read the history of the creation (d):''now these stations, or stationary men, were substitutes for, or representatives of all Israel, and stood by the sacrifices when they were offered, in which all Israel were concerned, as particularly in the daily sacrifice, which is here first taken notice of.

(d) Taanith, c. 4. sect. 2.

Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, My offering, and {a} my bread for my sacrifices made by fire, for a sweet savour unto me, shall ye observe to offer unto me in their due season.

(a) By bread he means all manner of sacrifice.