(The previous 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.)
Numbers 7
(This chapter recorded the offerings of dedication of the tabernacle, the gifts of the twelve tribes.)
1 And it came to pass on the day that Moses had made an end of setting up the tabernacle, and had anointed it and sanctified it, and all the furniture thereof, and the altar and all the vessels thereof, and had anointed them and sanctified them;
(Moses fully set up the tabernacle.)
2 that the princes of Israel, the heads of their fathers' houses, offered. These were the princes of the tribes, these are they that were over them that were numbered:
3 and they brought their oblation before Jehovah, six covered wagons, and twelve oxen; a wagon for every two of the princes, and for each one an ox: and they presented them before the tabernacle.
(The twelve princes of Israel brought their offering to God that consisted of six wagons and twelve oxen.)
4 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
5 Take it of them, that they may be used in doing the service of the tent of meeting; and thou shalt give them unto the Levites, to every man according to his service.
6 And Moses took the wagons and the oxen, and gave them unto the Levites.
(The wagons and oxen were given to the Levites.)
7 Two wagons and four oxen he gave unto the sons of Gershon, according to their service:
8 and four wagons and eight oxen he gave unto the sons of Merari, according unto their service, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
9 But unto the sons of Kohath he gave none, because the service of the sanctuary belonged unto them; they bare it upon their shoulders.
(The sons of Gershon and Merari (both sons of Levi) were given the wagons and oxen. The sons of Kohath (also a son of Levi) were given none because their work consisted of them carrying items of the tabernacle. They did not need wagons or oxen to do their work.)
10 And the princes offered for the dedication of the altar in the day that it was anointed, even the princes offered their oblation before the altar.
11 And Jehovah said unto Moses, They shall offer their oblation, each prince on his day, for the dedication of the altar.
(Verses 12-88: the giving of the dedication offerings over twelve days. The twelve princes of Israel brought the offerings for the dedication of the altar on separate days.)
12 And he that offered his oblation the first day was Nahshon the son of Amminadab, of the tribe of Judah:
13 and his oblation was one silver platter, the weight whereof was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meal-offering;
14 one golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense;
15 one young bullock, one ram, one he-lamb a year old, for a burnt-offering;
16 one male of the goats for a sin-offering;
17 and for the sacrifice of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five he-lambs a year old: this was the oblation of Nahshon the son of Amminadab.
(The first day’s offering, which was of the tribe of Judah.)
18 On the second day Nethanel the son of Zuar, prince of Issachar, did offer:
19 he offered for his oblation one silver platter, the weight whereof was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meal-offering;
20 one golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense;
21 one young bullock, one ram, one he-lamb a year old, for a burnt-offering;
22 one male of the goats for a sin-offering;
23 and for the sacrifice of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five he-lambs a year old: this was the oblation of Nethanel the son of Zuar.
(The second day’s offering, which was of the tribe of Issachar.)
24 On the third day Eliab the son of Helon, prince of the children of Zebulun.:
25 his oblation was one silver platter, the weight whereof was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meal-offering;
26 one golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense;
27 one young bullock, one ram, one he-lamb a year old, for a burnt-offering;
28 one male of the goats for a sin-offering;
29 and for the sacrifice of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five he-lambs a year old: this was the oblation of Eliab the son of Helon.
(The third day’s offering, which was of the tribe of Zebulun. This followed the order of the tribes during their travels.)
30 On the fourth day Elizur the son of Shedeur, prince of the children of Reuben:
31 his oblation was one silver platter, the weight whereof was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meal-offering;
32 one golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense;
33 one young bullock, one ram, one he-lamb a year old, for a burnt-offering;
34 one male of the goats for a sin-offering;
35 and for the sacrifice of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five he-lambs a year old: this was the oblation of Elizur the son of Shedeur.
(The fourth day’s offering, which was of the tribe of Reuben.)
36 On the fifth day Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai, prince of the children of Simeon:
37 his oblation was one silver platter, the weight whereof was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meal-offering;
38 one golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense;
39 one young bullock, one ram, one he-lamb a year old, for a burnt-offering;
40 one male of the goats for a sin-offering;
41 and for the sacrifice of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five he-lambs a year old: this was the oblation of Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.
(The fifth day’s offering, which was of the tribe of Simeon.)
42 On the sixth day Eliasaph the son of Deuel, prince of the children of Gad:
43 his oblation was one silver platter, the weight whereof was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meal-offering;
44 one golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense;
45 one young bullock, one ram, one he-lamb a year old, for a burnt-offering;
46 one male of the goats for a sin-offering;
47 and for the sacrifice of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five he-lambs a year old: this was the oblation of Eliasaph the son of Deuel.
(The sixth day’s offering, which was of the tribe of Gad. The order of traveling continued to be followed with these southern tribes. With the travels, the Levites would have been next. However, these offerings were given to the Levites.)
48 On the seventh day Elishama the son of Ammihud, prince of the children of Ephraim:
49 his oblation was one silver platter, the weight whereof was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meal-offering;
50 one golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense;
51 one young bullock, one ram, one he-lamb a year old, for a burnt-offering;
52 one male of the goats for a sin-offering;
53 and for the sacrifice of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five he-lambs a year old: this was the oblation of Elishama the son of Ammihud.
(The seventh day’s offering, which was of the tribe of Ephraim (of Joseph).)
54 On the eighth day Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, prince of the children of Manasseh:
55 his oblation was one silver platter, the weight whereof was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meal-offering;
56 one golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense;
57 one young bullock, one ram, one he-lamb a year old, for a burnt-offering;
58 one male of the goats for a sin-offering;
59 and for the sacrifice of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five he-lambs a year old: this was the oblation of Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.
(The eighth day’s offering, which was of the tribe of Manasseh (of Joseph).)
60 On the ninth day Abidan the son of Gideoni, prince of the children of Benjamin:
61 his oblation was one silver platter, the weight whereof was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meal-offering;
62 one golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense;
63 one young bullock, one ram, one he-lamb a year old, for a burnt-offering;
64 one male of the goats for a sin-offering;
65 and for the sacrifice of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five he-lambs a year old: this was the oblation of Abidan the son of Gideoni.
(The ninth day’s offering, which was of the tribe of Benjamin. The order of traveling was followed with these tribes of the west.)
66 On the tenth day Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai, prince of the children of Dan:
67 his oblation was one silver platter, the weight whereof was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meal-offering;
68 one golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense;
69 one young bullock, one ram, one he-lamb a year old, for a burnt-offering;
70 one male of the goats for a sin-offering;
71 and for the sacrifice of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five he-lambs a year old: this was the oblation of Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.
(The tenth day’s offering, which was of the tribe of Dan.)
72 On the eleventh day Pagiel the son of Ochran, prince of the children of Asher:
73 his oblation was one silver platter, the weight whereof was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meal-offering;
74 one golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense;
75 one young bullock, one ram, one he-lamb a year old, for a burnt-offering;
76 one male of the goats for a sin-offering;
77 and for the sacrifice of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five he-lambs a year old: this was the oblation of Pagiel the son of Ochran.
(The eleventh day’s offering, which was of the tribe of Asher.)
78 On the twelfth day Ahira the son of Enan, prince of the children of Naphtali:
79 his oblation was one silver platter, the weight whereof was a hundred a thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meal-offering;
80 one golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense;
81 one young bullock, one ram, one he-lamb a year old, for a burnt-offering;
82 one male of the goats for a sin-offering;
83 and for the sacrifice of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five he-lambs a year old: this was the oblation of Ahira the son of Enan.
(The twelfth day’s offering, which was of the tribe of Naphtali. The order of the offerings followed the order of traveling.)
84 This was the dedication of the altar, in the day when it was anointed, by the princes of Israel: twelve silver platters, twelve silver bowls, twelve golden spoons;
85 each silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and each bowl seventy; all the silver of the vessels two thousand and four hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary;
(Each silver platter weighed about 3¼ pounds and each silver bowl about 1¾ pounds. The total weight of the silver was approximately 60 pounds.)
86 the twelve golden spoons, full of incense, weighing ten shekels apiece, after the shekel of the sanctuary; all the gold of the spoons a hundred and twenty shekels;
(The gold of the spoons was about three pounds worth.)
87 all the oxen for the burnt-offering twelve bullocks, the rams twelve, the he-lambs a year old twelve, and their meal-offering; and the males of the goats for a sin-offering twelve;
88 and all the oxen for the sacrifice of peace-offerings twenty and four bullocks, the rams sixty, the he-goats sixty, the he-lambs a year old sixty. This was the dedication of the altar, after that it was anointed.
89 And when Moses went into the tent of meeting to speak with him, then he heard the Voice speaking unto him from above the mercy-seat that was upon the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim: and he spake unto him.
(God spoke to Moses from above the mercy-seat.)
Numbers 8
(Verses 1-4: the lighting of the lamps.)
1 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Speak unto Aaron, and say unto him, When thou lightest the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front of the candlestick.
3 And Aaron did so; he lighted the lamps thereof so as to give light in front of the candlestick, as Jehovah commanded Moses.
4 And this was the work of the candlestick, beaten work of gold; unto the base thereof, and unto the flowers thereof, it was beaten work: according unto the pattern which Jehovah had showed Moses, so he made the candlestick.
(Verses 5-26: the cleansing and dedication of the Levites.)
5 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
6 Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them.
(The Levites were taken from the Israelites.)
7 And thus shalt thou do unto them, to cleanse them: sprinkle the water of expiation upon them, and let them cause a razor to pass over all their flesh, and let them wash their clothes, and cleanse themselves.
(This had the same symbolism as baptism: death of the old physically unclean and rebirth of the new spiritually clean. The word expiation meant "purify; atone; make amends for.")
8 Then let them take a young bullock, and its meal-offering, fine flour mingled with oil; and another young bullock shalt thou take for a sin-offering.
9 And thou shalt present the Levites before the tent of meeting: and thou shalt assemble the whole congregation of the children of Israel:
10 and thou shalt present the Levites before Jehovah. And the children of Israel shall lay their hands upon the Levites:
(The whole assembly of the children of Israel were gathered and the Israelites laid their hands upon them.)
11 and Aaron shall offer the Levites before Jehovah for a wave-offering, on the behalf of the children of Israel, that it may be theirs to do the service of Jehovah.
12 And the Levites shall lay their hands upon the heads of the bullocks: and offer thou the one for a sin-offering, and the other for a burnt-offering, unto Jehovah, to make atonement for the Levites.
13 And thou shalt set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them for a wave-offering unto Jehovah.
14 Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the children of Israel; and the Levites shall be mine.
(The Levites belonged to God…)
15 And after that shall the Levites go in to do the service of the tent of meeting: and thou shalt cleanse them, and offer them for a wave-offering.
16 For they are wholly given unto me from among the children of Israel; instead of all that openeth the womb, even the first-born of all the children of Israel, have I taken them unto me.
17 For all the first-born among the children of Israel are mine, both man and beast: on the day that I smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for myself.
18 And I have taken the Levites instead of all the first-born among the children of Israel.
(…instead of the firstborn.)
19 And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the tent of meeting, and to make atonement for the children of Israel; that there be no plague among the children of Israel, when the children of Israel come nigh unto the sanctuary.
20 Thus did Moses, and Aaron, and all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the Levites: according unto all that Jehovah commanded Moses touching the Levites, so did the children of Israel unto them.
21 And the Levites purified themselves from sin, and they washed their clothes: and Aaron offered them for a wave-offering before Jehovah; and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them.
22 And after that went the Levites in to do their service in the tent of meeting before Aaron, and before his sons: as Jehovah had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did they unto them.
(The Levites began to do their work.)
23 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
24 This is that which belongeth unto the Levites: from twenty and five years old and upward they shall go in to wait upon the service in the work of the tent of meeting:
25 and from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting upon the work, and shall serve no more,
26 but shall minister with their brethren in the tent of meeting, to keep the charge, and shall do no service. Thus shalt thou do unto the Levites touching their charges.
(God told Moses that the Levites from twenty-five to fifty years old will wait upon the service of the tabernacle. Wait in these verses meant "to go forth." In the KJV, verse 25 used the term "warfare of service." We saw the rest of the tribes were numbered for physical warfare. Here, God said the Levites were His. They were not numbered among those who went to war physically, however, God considered their time serving in the tent of meeting between the ages of twenty-five to fifty years old as "warfare of service." Once they passed the age of fifty years old, they did not participate in the warfare of service, but instead served those who did the warfare of service. Notice, those who were passed fifty years old were no longer in leadership positions, they actually helped develop the leaders. God's way of leadership was the "dad" led the warfare, while the "grandpa" developed the "grandson." However, man's way is for the oldest to continue to lead up until the day of their death, which does not allow for the replacement to be trained by someone with leadership experience.)
Numbers 9
(Verses 1-5: the first Passover in the wilderness.)
1 And Jehovah spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying,
2 Moreover let the children of Israel keep the passover in its appointed season.
(God spoke to Moses about letting the Israelites keep ("to do; accomplish") the Passover.)
3 In the fourteenth day of this month, at even, ye shall keep it in its appointed season: according to all the statutes of it, and according to all the ordinances thereof, shall ye keep it.
4 And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, that they should keep the passover.
5 And they kept the passover in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at even, in the wilderness of Sinai: according to all that Jehovah commanded Moses, so did the children of Israel.
(The people kept the Passover as God commanded.)
(Verses 6-14: the case of the unclean men.)
6 And there were certain men, who were unclean by reason of the dead body of a man, so that they could not keep the passover on that day: and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day:
7 and those men said unto him, We are unclean by reason of the dead body of a man: wherefore are we kept back, that we may not offer the oblation of Jehovah in its appointed season among the children of Israel?
8 And Moses said unto them, Stay ye, that I may hear what Jehovah will command concerning you.
9 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
10 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your generations shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be on a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the passover unto Jehovah.
(Anyone unclean or on a far journey should still keep the Passover.)
11 In the second month on the fourteenth day at even they shall keep it; they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs:
12 they shall leave none of it unto the morning, nor break a bone thereof: according to all the statute of the passover they shall keep it.
13 But the man that is clean, and is not on a journey, and forbeareth to keep the passover, that soul shall be cut off from his people; because he offered not the oblation of Jehovah in its appointed season, that man shall bear his sin.
14 And if a stranger shall sojourn among you, and will keep the passover unto Jehovah; according to the statute of the passover, and according to the ordinance thereof, so shall he do: ye shall have one statute, both for the sojourner, and for him that is born in the land.
(They were supposed to let strangers keep the Passover. Again, the purpose of the Dispensation of the Law was for Israel to be an example to all people. A person did not have to be an Israelite in order to follow the Law, God wanted this for all people during this dispensation.)
(Verses 15-23: God's method of guiding the Israelites.)
15 And on the day that the tabernacle was reared up the cloud covered the tabernacle, even the tent of the testimony: and at even it was upon the tabernacle as it were the appearance of fire, until morning.
(At evening, there appeared fire on the tabernacle.)
16 So it was alway: the cloud covered it, and the appearance of fire by night.
(A cloud covered the tabernacle by day and fire by night. God was very present with them.)
17 And whenever the cloud was taken up from over the Tent, then after that the children of Israel journeyed: and in the place where the cloud abode, there the children of Israel encamped.
18 At the commandment of Jehovah the children of Israel journeyed, and at the commandment of Jehovah they encamped: as long as the cloud abode upon the tabernacle they remained encamped.
(When the cloud was taken up, the Israelites journeyed. When the cloud abode on the tabernacle, the Israelites rested in their tents.)
19 And when the cloud tarried upon the tabernacle many days, then the children of Israel kept the charge of Jehovah, and journeyed not.
20 And sometimes the cloud was a few days upon the tabernacle; then according to the commandment of Jehovah they remained encamped, and according to the commandment of Jehovah they journeyed.
21 And sometimes the cloud was from evening until morning; and when the cloud was taken up in the morning, they journeyed: or if it continued by day and by night, when the cloud was taken up, they journeyed.
22 Whether it were two days, or a month, or a year, that the cloud tarried upon the tabernacle, abiding thereon, the children of Israel remained encamped, and journeyed not; but when it was taken up, they journeyed.
23 At the commandment of Jehovah they encamped, and at the commandment of Jehovah they journeyed: they kept the charge of Jehovah, at the commandment of Jehovah by Moses.
(Regardless of whether the cloud rested a long time or a little time, Israel was supposed to follow the cloud. There was no predictable pattern to the movement of the cloud, which was like the Holy Spirit.)
(This post completed the first part of the Book of Numbers: numbering of Israel and preparations for their journey to the Promised Land. It covered the Israelites beginning to use the tabernacle: offerings of dedication of the tabernacle, preparation of the levitical priests, and God's instructions for the operation of the tabernacle.)
Day 42
It strikes me that just as God sometimes tells us “wait” in response to a request, He was doing the same thing here physically!
ReplyDeleteI doubt if we will ever know the cause of His choice to tarry over the tabernacle, or to journey.
One thing is certain. He can see the causes, so it is possible that there was a band of merry bad guys just ahead of them, whatever nation it may be, and by staying He prevented a confrontation. Or by moving He avoided one!
It is encouraging to know that He always has a solid reason for acting!
Great perspective Andrew!! Even in times when I'm not sure why God is telling me to do something I DO have the faith that His reason (why) is a Right and Just one!!
DeleteThanks for your comment!!
8:23-26
ReplyDeleteI believe this is a foreshadowing of New Jerusalem!
We have God the Father who is the Farmer and the one that Prunes the Vine (Christ).
God is working right now through believers who set aside their right as first cause. When God sets aside His work, and Christ rules as King...God will be working through Christ to make us better!
Thoughts?
Cool perspective. I hadn't tried to apply this to the new Jerusalem! Thanks!
Delete