The Lord said to Moses, “Let one leader bring his gift each day for the dedication of the altar.”
Numbers 7:11
Why did every tribe give the same exact offering?
“While all the story might have been told in a very few sentences, it is set forth with elaborate attention to detail. Every man is named and every gift is recorded. Thus, while the whole reveals unity of purpose and of equality of giving, in the divine recognition there is a remarkable attention to individual devotion.” – G. Campbell Morgan
To us, this may seem like meaningless repetition in this longest of all the chapters in Numbers. Nevertheless, God had several important reasons for this.
To show:
- that each tribe pledged their allegiance to Yahweh; that they each supported the work of the tabernacle and the priesthood, and the system of sacrifice commanded by God and carried out by the priests.
- the importance of each individual tribe, giving each tribe its own day of celebration and attention. These tribes were all related, but different – and each of them was important to God and should be regarded as important among Israel as a whole. Each tribe would receive attention, like each graduate at a commencement ceremony.
- the importance of each individual gift, giving full attention to every tribe’s gift. Every gift mattered.
- that God wanted to be approached with some degree of organization and order. The tribes came in a specific order, the same order that they were organized for marching through the wilderness.
- that at God’s altar, every tribe came as an equal. No tribe was better than the others at the altar for atonement, dedication unto God, and fellowship with the LORD.
Enduringword.com
Numbers 7 is the longest chapter in the book.
Every gift from every person counts.
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