Numbers 15, offerings, death, tassels

Here again the NIV Study notes are excellent:

Chapter 15 is divided into three units, each introduced by the phrase, "The Lord said to Moses" (verses 1, 17, and 37). The people were under terrible judgment because they had disobeyed the specific commands of the Lord and had despised his character.

verse 2: After you enter the land -- The juxtaposition of this clause with the sad ending of chapter 14 is dramatic. The sins of the people were manifold; they would be judged. The grace and mercy of the Lord are magnified as he points to the ultimate realization of his ancient promise to Abraham (Genesis 12:7), as well as to his continuing promise to the nation that they would indeed enter the land.

verses 3-12: Grain and wine offerings were to accompany the offerings by fire; the grain was to be mixed with oil. The offerings increased in amounts with the increase of size of the sacrificial animal. These passages are the first to indicate that wine offerings must accompany all burnt and fellowship offerings.

[from the Setterfields: this would also be looking forward to the fulfillment of God's promise of them entering the land, for grapes cannot be grown by wandering nomadic tribes. This requires a permanent place to live.]

verse 14: alien -- As in the case of the celebration of the Passover, the alien had the same regulations as the native-born Israelite. The commonwealth of Israel would always be open to proselytes. Indeed, the charter of Israel's faith embraces all peoples of the earth (Genesis 12:3).

verse 20: Present a cake from the first... -- This law also looks forward to the time when the Israelites would be in the land. The first of the threshed grain was to be made into a cake and presented ot the Lord. This concept of the firstfruits is a symbol that all blessing is from the Lord and all produce belongs to Him..

verse 22: unintentionally fail -- Sins may be unintentional, but they still need to be dealt with. Such uinintentional sins may be committed by the people as a whole (verses 22-26) or by an individual (verses 27-29).

verse 30: defiantly -- literally "with a high hand." Unlike unintentional sins, for which there are provisions of God's mercy, one who sets his hand defiantly to despise the word of God and to blaspheme his name [character included in the term 'name'] must be punished. This was the experience of the nation in chapter 14, and it is described in the case of an individual here in verses 32-36.

verse 32: gathering wood on the Sabbath day -- The penalty for breaking the Sabbath was death. As in the case of the willful blasphemer, the Sabbath-breaker was guilty of high-handed rebellion and was judged with death. By the time of Christ, Sabbath-keeping had become distorted to the point that its regulations were regarded as more important than the needs of the people. Jesus confronted the Pharisees on this issue on several occasions (see, for example, Matthew 12:1-14). From the point of view of the Pharisees, however, the regulations and the result of breaking them, as seen in this chapter of Numbers, gave the Pharisees reason to seek Jesus' death.

verse 38: tassels on the corners of your garments. -- As one would walk along, the tassels would swirl about at the edge of his garment, serving as an excellent memory prods to obey God's commands.

verse 41: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out -- The demands that God made upon his people were grounded in his act of redemption.