b. To Make Propitiation before God,
So That the Person Would Be Forgiven

"The priest shall make propitiation before Jehovah for the person who is in ignorance, when he sins through ignorance, to make propitiation for him; and he shall be forgiven" (Num. 15:28). Without propitiation, even though God has a heart to forgive us, He has no way. Christ's propitiation affords God the way to fulfill the desire of His forgiving heart.

6. The Person Who Did Anything
with a High Hand, Thus Reviling God,
Being Cut Off from among the People

"The person who does anything with a high hand, whether he is born in the land or a sojourner, reviles Jehovah, and that person shall be cut off from among his people" (v. 30). To do things with a high hand is to do as one wishes without caring for others. Those who behave in this way utterly disregard both man and God. They act as if they alone existed in the whole universe. On occasion we have observed such behavior in the church. Certain ones acted as if they were the only ones who mattered; they ignored, neglected, despised, and abandoned everyone else. We should never do things with such an attitude and spirit.

a. Such a Person Having Despised
the Word of God and Having Broken His Commandment

A person who does anything with a high hand "has despised the word of Jehovah and has broken His commandment" (v. 31a). Such a person behaves as if there were no God.

b. His Iniquity Being upon Him

The iniquity of the person who does anything with a high hand will be upon him (v. 31b).

In the New Testament, which we all love, we are charged to enjoy Christ, to seek Christ, and to pursue Christ, but we are not shown the way to enjoy Christ. The road map with all the details for the enjoyment of Christ is found in the Old Testament. The ordinances in Numbers 15 concerning how to offer Christ as the various offerings are not only for the children of Israel; in typology they are also for us. When the Old Testament is applied in the way of typology, it becomes the New Testament to us, for it becomes the map showing us the way to enjoy Christ.

Because of the turmoil among the children of Israel, God was, in a sense, forced to insert the ordinances recorded in chapter fifteen. Especially in times of turmoil we need to remember the ordinances concerning our offerings to God. These will keep us in a proper relationship with God. If we ignore these ordinances, however, we will be condemned and might even become abhorrent to God.