Tishrei 17 – Sukkot, Day 3 – The Offerings

Tishrei 17, 5787; from sunset September 27, 2026, to sunset September 28, 2026

(The seventeenth day of the seventh month)

Today in the Bible, we want to remember the animals that were sacrificed to the LORD. Though it may be hard for us to understand in our day, they were an integral part of God’s self-prescribed worship system. Their lives were dedicated to the LORD.

Bring Your Offerings

In the 29th chapter of Numbers, God reveals a listing of sacrifices for observing His Holy Days. The sacrifices for the Feast of Sukkot are, by far, the most extensive. In this series, each day we’ll focus on a different facet of the sacrifices. Today, we’ll take a look at the significance of the number of bulls offered throughout the Feast.

As we’ve already touched upon in our post, “The Prophets and the Feast of Tabernacles,” the number of bulls offered during Sukkot sums to a total of seventy. This is a representation of the 70 nations listed in Genesis 10. It hints at Israel’s identity as a “kingdom of priests” making intercession for all of humanity – not just for Israel, itself.

Bulls are strong, large, and costly – signifying sacrifices on behalf of larger people groups — nations and tribes. On the first day of Sukkot, 13 bulls are offered. The number decreases by one bull for each day of the festival. 13+12+11+10+9+8+7=70. The descending number dramatizes the movement from the ends of the Earth, drawing ever closer toward the covenant God has with Israel, ending with seven — the number of complete wholeness and perfection.

Below are the requirements for the third day of Sukkot.

On the third day present eleven bulls, two rams, fourteen lambs in their first year without blemish, and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by their number, according to the ordinance; also one goat as a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering. – Numbers 29:20-22 (NKJ)

We remembered the sacrifices proscribed by God in both of our articles posted earlier today. We read how King Hezekiah provided the sacrifices for the LORD’s offerings out of his own possessions. We also read how the prophet Ezekiel foretold of future days when the “Prince” will provide them once again.

Sukkot Offering – Day 3

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