(The previous post covered the initial numbering of Israel when they came out of Egypt, the situation and responsibilities of each tribe of Israel, and the numbering of the Levites.)
Numbers 4
(Verses 1-20: the duty of the Kohathites.)
1 And Jehovah spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
2 Take the sum of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their families, by their fathers' houses,
3 from thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all that enter upon the service, to do the work in the tent of meeting.
(The sons of Kohath (from Levi) from thirty to fifty years old were counted to do the work in the tent of meeting/tabernacle. Notice, fifty years old was the "retirement age" for God's priests.)
4 This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting, about the most holy things:
5 when the camp setteth forward, Aaron shall go in, and his sons, and they shall take down the veil of the screen, and cover the ark of the testimony with it,
6 and shall put thereon a covering of sealskin, and shall spread over it a cloth all of blue, and shall put in the staves thereof.
7 And upon the table of showbread they shall spread a cloth of blue, and put thereon the dishes, and the spoons, and the bowls and the cups wherewith to pour out; and the continual bread shall be thereon:
8 and they shall spread upon them a cloth of scarlet, and cover the same with a covering of sealskin, and shall put in the staves thereof.
9 And they shall take a cloth of blue, and cover the candlestick of the light, and its lamps, and its snuffers, and its snuffdishes, and all the oil vessels thereof, wherewith they minister unto it:
10 and they shall put it and all the vessels thereof within a covering of sealskin, and shall put it upon the frame.
11 And upon the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with a covering of sealskin, and shall put in the staves thereof:
12 and they shall take all the vessels of ministry, wherewith they minister in the sanctuary, and put them in a cloth of blue, and cover them with a covering of sealskin, and shall put them on the frame.
13 And they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth thereon:
14 and they shall put upon it all the vessels thereof, wherewith they minister about it, the firepans, the flesh-hooks, and the shovels, and the basins, all the vessels of the altar; and they shall spread upon it a covering of sealskin, and put in the staves thereof.
15 And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the furniture of the sanctuary, as the camp is set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it: but they shall not touch the sanctuary, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting.
(The sons of Kohath were responsible for carrying the items of the sanctuary from one destination to another. Aaron and his sons covered the items so that they would not be touched by the sons of Kohath. If the items were touched, they would die.)
16 And the charge of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be the oil for the light, and the sweet incense, and the continual meal-offering, and the anointing oil, the charge of all the tabernacle, and of all that therein is, the sanctuary, and the furniture thereof.
17 And Jehovah spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
18 Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites;
19 but thus do unto them, that they may live, and not die, when they approach unto the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in, and appoint them every one to his service and to his burden;
20 but they shall not go in to see the sanctuary even for a moment, lest they die.
(Aaron and his sons would go in the sanctuary for the Kohathites and then appoint each man his burden/load to carry.)
(Verses 21-28: the duty of the Gershonites.)
21 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
22 Take the sum of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers' houses, by their families;
23 from thirty years old and upward until fifty years old shalt thou number them; all that enter in to wait upon the service, to do the work in the tent of meeting.
(The sons of Gershon (from Levi) from thirty to fifty years old were counted to do the work in the tent of meeting/tabernacle.)
24 This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, in serving and in bearing burdens:
25 they shall bear the curtains of the tabernacle, and the tent of meeting, its covering, and the covering of sealskin that is above upon it, and the screen for the door of the tent of meeting,
26 and the hangings of the court, and the screen for the door of the gate of the court, which is by the tabernacle and by the altar round about, and their cords, and all the instruments of their service, and whatsoever shall be done with them: therein shall they serve.
(The sons of Gershon were responsible for the curtains, coverings, etc. of the tabernacle.)
27 At the commandment of Aaron and his sons shall be all the service of the sons of the Gershonites, in all their burden, and in all their service; and ye shall appoint unto them in charge all their burden.
28 This is the service of the families of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting: and their charge shall be under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
(The sons of Gershon were directed by Aaron and his sons, specifically Aaron’s son Ithamar.)
(Verses 29-33: the duty of the family of Merari.)
29 As for the sons of Merari, thou shalt number them by their families, by their fathers' houses;
30 from thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old shalt thou number them, every one that entereth upon the service, to do the work of the tent of meeting.
(The sons of Merari (from Levi) from thirty to fifty years old were counted to do the work in the tent of meeting/tabernacle.)
31 And this is the charge of their burden, according to all their service in the tent of meeting: the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and the sockets thereof,
32 and the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords, with all their instruments, and with all their service: and by name ye shall appoint the instruments of the charge of their burden.
(The sons of Merari were responsible for the boards, bars, pillars, etc. of the tabernacle.)
33 This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service, in the tent of meeting, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
(The sons of Merari were also directed by Aaron’s son Ithamar.)
(Verses 34-49: Summary of the census of the Levites.)
34 And Moses and Aaron and the princes of the congregation numbered the sons of the Kohathites by their families, and by their fathers' houses,
35 from thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entered upon the service, for work in the tent of meeting:
36 and those that were numbered of them by their families were two thousand seven hundred and fifty.
37 These are they that were numbered of the families of the Kohathites, all that did serve in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of Jehovah by Moses.
(The number of the Kohathites from thirty to fifty years old who served in the tabernacle was 2,750.)
38 And those that were numbered of the sons of Gershon, their families, and by their fathers' houses,
39 from thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entered upon the service, for work in the tent of meeting,
40 even those that were numbered of them, by their families, by their fathers' houses, were two thousand and six hundred and thirty.
41 These are they that were numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, all that did serve in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of Jehovah.
(The number of the Gershonites from thirty to fifty years old who served in the tabernacle was 2,630.)
42 And those that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, by their families, by their fathers' houses,
43 from thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entered upon the service, for work in the tent of meeting,
44 even those that were numbered of them by their families, were three thousand and two hundred.
45 These are they that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of Jehovah by Moses.
(The number of the sons of Merari from thirty to fifty years old who served in the tabernacle was 3,200.)
46 All those that were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the princes of Israel numbered, by their families, and by their fathers' houses,
47 from thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entered in to do the work of service, and the work of bearing burdens in the tent of meeting,
48 even those that were numbered of them, were eight thousand and five hundred and fourscore.
(All of the men counted eligible for work in the tabernacle were 8,580.)
49 According to the commandment of Jehovah they were numbered by Moses, every one according to his service, and according to his burden: thus were they numbered of him, as Jehovah commanded Moses.
Numbers 5
1 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Command the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whosoever is unclean by the dead:
3 both male and female shall ye put out, without the camp shall ye put them; that they defile not their camp, in the midst whereof I dwell.
(God commanded they put out of the camp all lepers, everyone with an issue, and everyone defiled by the dead.)
4 And the children of Israel did so, and put them out without the camp; as Jehovah spake unto Moses, so did the children of Israel.
5 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
6 Speak unto the children of Israel, When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, so as to trespass against Jehovah, and that soul shall be guilty;
7 then he shall confess his sin which he hath done: and he shall make restitution for his guilt in full, and add unto it the fifth part thereof, and give it unto him in respect of whom he hath been guilty.
(Restitution for the sin was made in full plus an additional 20%. Notice, confession was made and then restitution (repentance); not only making up for the sin (restoration) but bringing more (repair) than what was there before the sin. Repentance ought to result in repair: something more or stronger. Restoration is only bringing the poor condition back to its original state, which is not more.)
8 But if the man have no kinsman to whom restitution may be made for the guilt, the restitution for guilt which is made unto Jehovah shall be the priest's; besides the ram of the atonement, whereby atonement shall be made for him.
9 And every heave-offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they present unto the priest, shall be his.
10 And every man's hallowed things shall be his: whatsoever any man giveth the priest, it shall be his.
(Verses 11-31: the Trial of Jealousy. Some people feel this section is controversial. Read this section carefully.)
11 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
12 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man's wife go aside, and commit a trespass against him,
13 and a man lie with her carnally, and it be hid from the eyes of her husband, and be kept close, and she be defiled, and there be no witness against her, and she be not taken in the act;
(God presented an IF/THEN to Moses. The "IF" was a woman that trespassed against her husband by committing adultery and hid it from him. Notice, the woman was guilty...)
14 and the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be not defiled:
15 then shall the man bring his wife unto the priest, and shall bring her oblation for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil upon it, nor put frankincense thereon; for it is a meal-offering of jealousy, a meal-offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance.
(The "THEN" was the husband had the "spirit of jealousy" and his response was to bring his wife to the priest with an offering. Notice, in verse 14, the "IF" was opened up to cases where she was not defiled. After all, how would the husband know for sure she had been defiled if it was hid from him? From this point on, the "IF" was if the husband had a spirit of jealousy, regardless if his wife had been defiled or not.)
16 And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before Jehovah:
17 and the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; and of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle the priest shall take, and put it into the water.
18 And the priest shall set the woman before Jehovah, and let the hair of the woman's head go loose, and put the meal-offering of memorial in her hands, which is the meal-offering of jealousy: and the priest shall have in his hand the water of bitterness that causeth the curse.
19 And the priest shall cause her to swear, and shall say unto the woman, If no man have lain with thee, and if thou have not gone aside to uncleanness, being under thy husband, be thou free from this water of bitterness that causeth the curse.
(The priest caused her to swear, she had to state her will. Remember this point: words were stated. The woman knew if she had been defiled and she made a statement of innocence out-loud. This was like a lie detector test. We know that our bodies exhibit an unconscious response to conscious lies: increased heart rate, change in breathing, adrenaline secreted, etc. We also know that God was in their midst, so stating the acceptance of a curse if one was lying would also have involved a very present God.)
20 But if thou have gone aside, being under thy husband, and if thou be defiled, and some man have lain with thee besides thy husband:
21 then the priest shall cause the woman to swear with the oath of cursing, and the priest shall say unto the woman, Jehovah make thee a curse and an oath among thy people, when Jehovah doth make thy thigh to fall away, and thy body to swell;
22 and this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy bowels, and make thy body to swell, and thy thigh to fall away. And the woman shall say, Amen, Amen.
(The woman would say "Amen" twice after specifically stating the physical effects of the curse. Amen literally meant "so be it" and was considered a statement of agreement.)
23 And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out into the water of bitterness:
24 and he shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that causeth the curse; and the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her and become bitter.
(The woman would drink the water of bitterness after seeing the curses were physically present in the water by mixing the water with the written curse.)
25 And the priest shall take the meal-offering of jealousy out of the woman's hand, and shall wave the meal-offering before Jehovah, and bring it unto the altar:
26 and the priest shall take a handful of the meal-offering, as the memorial thereof, and burn it upon the altar, and afterward shall make the woman drink the water.
27 And when he hath made her drink the water, then it shall come to pass, if she be defiled, and have committed a trespass against her husband, that the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her and become bitter, and her body shall swell, and her thigh shall fall away: and the woman shall be a curse among her people.
(There seems to be at least two explanations for why this would work. First, a very present God responded to the statement of the will of the individual. Second, the individual's unconscious would carry out the individual's conscious request.)
28 And if the woman be not defiled, but be clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive seed.
29 This is the law of jealousy, when a wife, being under her husband, goeth aside, and is defiled;
30 or when the spirit of jealousy cometh upon a man, and he is jealous of his wife; then shall he set the woman before Jehovah, and the priest shall execute upon her all this law.
31 And the man shall be free from iniquity, and that woman shall bear her iniquity.
Numbers 6
(Verses 1-12: the Nazirite Vow.)
1 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall make a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself unto Jehovah,
(Nazirite came from the Hebrew word naziyr which meant "set apart, consecrated or devoted one." Remember this during Judges 13 when we read about Samson. He was a "Nazirite" from birth to death. Also, in Luke 1 John the Baptist took the same vow.)
3 he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink; he shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any juice of grapes, nor eat fresh grapes or dried.
4 All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the grape-vine, from the kernels even to the husk.
5 All the days of his vow of separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in which he separateth himself unto Jehovah, he shall be holy; he shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow long.
6 All the days that he separateth himself unto Jehovah he shall not come near to a dead body.
(The Nazirite vow had three guidelines:
1) No strong drink including wine; no eating fruit from a vine,
2) No razor shall come upon his head,
3) shall not go near a dead body which included man or beast.)
7 He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die; because his separation unto God is upon his head.
8 All the days of his separation he is holy unto Jehovah.
(Even if a family member died, the man under the Nazirite vow could become unclean by the dead body. Notice, the Nazirite was holy unto God all the days of the vow.)
9 And if any man die very suddenly beside him, and he defile the head of his separation; then he shall shave his head in the day of his cleansing, on the seventh day shall he shave it.
10 And on the eighth day he shall bring two turtle-doves, or two young pigeons, to the priest, to the door of the tent of meeting:
11 and the priest shall offer one for a sin-offering, and the other for a burnt-offering, and make atonement for him, for that he sinned by reason of the dead, and shall hallow his head that same day.
12 And he shall separate unto Jehovah the days of his separation, and shall bring a he-lamb a year old for a trespass-offering; but the former days shall be void, because his separation was defiled.
(Verses 13-21: Concluding the Nazarite Vow.)
13 And this is the law of the Nazirite, when the days of his separation are fulfilled: he shall be brought unto the door of the tent of meeting:
(This vow was offered voluntarily and the Nazirite himself determined the length of the vow, although thirty days was common. Therefore, he decided how much he was willing to sacrifice. Yet, after the vow was made, its requirements were very strict.)
14 and he shall offer his oblation unto Jehovah, one he-lamb a year old without blemish for a burnt-offering, and one ewe-lamb a year old without blemish for a sin-offering, and one ram without blemish for peace-offerings,
15 and a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and their meal-offering, and their drink-offerings.
(After the days of the vow were fulfilled, the man would bring an offering to the tabernacle.)
16 And the priest shall present them before Jehovah, and shall offer his sin-offering, and his burnt-offering:
17 and he shall offer the ram for a sacrifice of peace-offerings unto Jehovah, with the basket of unleavened bread: the priest shall offer also the meal-offering thereof, and the drink-offering thereof.
18 And the Nazirite shall shave the head of his separation at the door of the tent of meeting, and shall take the hair of the head of his separation, and put it on the fire which is under the sacrifice of peace-offerings.
(After the vow was fulfilled, his hair was cut and it was burnt on the fire.)
19 And the priest shall take the boiled shoulder of the ram, and one unleavened cake out of the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them upon the hands of the Nazirite, after he hath shaven the head of his separation;
20 and the priest shall wave them for a wave-offering before Jehovah; this is holy for the priest, together with the wave-breast and heave-thigh: and after that the Nazirite may drink wine.
21 This is the law of the Nazirite who voweth, and of his oblation unto Jehovah for his separation, besides that which he is able to get: according to his vow which he voweth, so he must do after the law of his separation.
(The Nazarite vow was used as a way for the person to draw closer to God by separating himself from the comforts of this world. This vow was a way to intentionally kill the "flesh.")
22 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
23 Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel: ye shall say unto them,
24 Jehovah bless thee, and keep thee:
25 Jehovah make his face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
26 Jehovah lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
27 So shall they put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.
(This post documented the roles and responsibilities for the sons of Aaron. Also, the procedure for dealing with lepers, the "trial of jealousy," and the Nazirite vows were covered.)
Day 41
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