Numbers 29:31

And one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, his meat offering, and his drink offering.

Numbers 29:31 (KJV)

Context

Numbers 29:31 gives the offering list for the sixth day of the Feast of Tabernacles, a seven-day harvest festival in the seventh month. During this feast, Israel lived in temporary shelters to remember the wilderness journey after the Exodus. On this day, the prescribed offerings included eight bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs a year old, all without defect, along with their grain and drink offerings. The verse then adds one male goat as a sin offering, clearly stating that this goat was “beside” the continual burnt offering and its accompanying offerings.

Meaning

The Hebrew word for sin offering is hatta’t, which points to atonement and purification from sin. The goat served as a substitute, bearing the guilt of the people and making expiation for their sins. This pattern of a sin offering alongside other offerings appears throughout the feast days (Numbers 29:11, 16, 22, 28, 34, 38), showing that even during joyful celebration, the need for forgiveness remained constant.

The continual burnt offering was a lamb offered every morning and evening throughout the year (Exodus 29:38-42). It symbolized the people’s ongoing dedication to God. The additional offerings on feast days expressed heightened devotion, but they did not replace the regular daily worship. The grain offering (called “meat offering” in the KJV) and the drink offering, likely wine poured out as a libation, accompanied the burnt offering and represented thanksgiving and joy.

Biblical connections

The requirement that sacrificial animals be without blemish (Numbers 29:12-13) emphasized offering the best to God. This standard prefigured Jesus Christ, described as the unblemished Lamb of God (1 Peter 1:19). The sin offering on this day, as on all feast days, points to the reality that even the most joyful worship must be grounded in atonement for sin. This anticipates the ultimate sin offering of Jesus Christ, who offered Himself once for all (Hebrews 10:10-14).

Application

This verse teaches that regular, consistent worship is not to be neglected even during special seasons of celebration. The continual burnt offering continued daily, reminding believers that faithful devotion is the foundation for any special expression of praise. The inclusion of the goat as a sin offering reminds us that our best efforts and offerings are insufficient without atonement for sin.

Believers today can approach God with confidence, not through repeated animal sacrifices, but through the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ. This should produce humility, gratitude, and wholehearted devotion in worship, recognizing that all we have comes from God and that our worship should be both regular and celebratory.

Reflection

Numbers 29:31 calls us to examine our own worship. Do we maintain daily devotion even when we are celebrating? Do we remember that forgiveness is essential to our relationship with God? The verse encourages a posture of humility and gratitude, knowing that Christ has fulfilled what these offerings could only foreshadow.