The Lord is speaking about how the Israelites are to bring offerings to Him when they reach the promised land. Any non-Israelite who believes in and worships the Lord is to bring their offerings in the same manner.
"Everyone who is native-born must do these things in this way when they present a food offering as an aroma pleasing to the Lord. For the generations to come, whenever a foreigner or anyone else living among you presents a food offering as an aroma pleasing to the Lord, they must do exactly as you do. The community is to have the same rules for you and for the foreigner residing among you; this is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. You and the foreigner shall be the same before the Lord: the same laws and regulations will apply both to you and to the foreigner residing among you." (Numbers 15:13-16) A Gentile who converted to the God of Israel was to observe the same religious customs as a native-born Israelite. The same faith that saved the Israelite saved the Gentile; therefore the Bible says, "You and the foreigner shall be the same before the Lord."
There is equality here. The Lord accepts the faith of one person in the same way He accepts the faith of another person. He doesn't count one nationality or race "better than" or "less than" another. In the New Testament we find both Jews and Gentiles joining the Christian church and the Apostle Paul urged the members not to discriminate against each other for being from different backgrounds. He appealed to them to love one another and maintain a spirit of unity since they were all of one family in the Lord. "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." (Ephesians 4:2-6)
We have to be careful in our congregations never to discriminate against each other. The same faith that saves one saves another. In the Lord's eyes we are the same, no matter where we came from or what we've done in the past. The faith of the person who grew up in church and who has always been a law-abiding citizen is not more valuable than the faith of the person who gave their heart to the Lord while incarcerated in prison. The faith of the poor is as valuable as the faith of the wealthy. The faith of the one who came to the Lord late in life is as valuable as the faith of the person who has served the Lord for many decades. The faith of the person of one race is as valuable as the faith of the person from any other race. The faith of the female is as valuable as the faith of the male. We are "the same before the Lord". (Numbers 15:15b)
"Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you enter the land to which I am taking you and you eat the food of the land, present a portion as an offering to the Lord. Present a loaf from the first of your ground meal and present it as an offering from the threshing floor. Throughout the generations to come you are to give this offering to the Lord from the first of your ground meal." (Numbers 15:17-21) We noted yesterday, when we began Chapter 15, that the Lord is careful to begin each set of the instructions in this chapter by saying, "When you enter the land". Instead of entering the land in the very near future, there is now going to be a forty-year delay due to the rebellion which occurred upon the return of the twelve spies from the land of Canaan. The Israelites' entry into the promised land has been delayed but not cancelled. The Lord keeps reminding them of this over and over as He provides instructions for going about their religious lives in the promised land.
Can we cause a delay in blessings the Lord wants to give us? We certainly can. Our disobedience and doubt can delay or even divert blessings from us. Failure to trust the Lord can keep us from moving ahead when He says to move ahead. Failure to seek the Lord's will before making a decision can cause us to make the wrong decision. I am sure I have delayed blessings or missed out on blessings altogether because my faith was too weak to move boldly ahead in the direction the Lord said, or because I didn't seek His will in an important decision and went the wrong way, or because I was in a rebellious spirit and deliberately chose to do the opposite of what He instructed me to do. This is why it's so important that we daily remain in close contact with our Lord through the study of His word and through prayer. We can't really know Him if we don't study His words. We can't build a solid foundation of faith unless we are familiar with the most important guidebook of all: the Holy Bible. This book should be consulted for encouragement and guidance on a regular basis. Time should be spent in prayer on a regular basis, talking to and listening to the Lord. This is how we build relationships with our fellow human beings; this is how we build our relationship with the Lord: by spending time with Him. If we build upon this foundation of faith, day after day after day, we'll be less likely to suffer a crisis of faith when the Lord tells us to move ahead toward some great blessing. We'll be less likely to make a big decision that goes against Biblical principles. We'll be less likely to want to be disobedient and do the opposite of what the Lord tells us to do. This means we'll be less likely to miss out on beautiful blessings the Lord wants to give us.
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