Old Testament

Numbers 9:15-23
Keeping the Charge of the Lord

There is seemingly a lot of repetition in today’s verses, but each thought complements the previous thought, building upon it and providing a bit more insight into what the life of Israel in the wilderness was like. When you come to repetitive passages like this, you can almost bet they form a chiastic structure.

About halfway through the sermon, I was convinced this was so, and though I didn’t want to take the time out to look for a chiasm, I also thought it would be the best time to do so. I may never take the time again. And so I laid it out as I normally would, and sure enough, there is a chiasm there. Before we look at it, I will tell you that I then copied it to my regular folder where I keep them and, surprisingly, someone named Vince already found one in these same verses.

Vince has to be a friend of mine, because 1) it is in my folder and 2) I simply said, “found by Vince.” For the life of me, I cannot remember who Vince is or when he sent it to me. However, though the chiasm he found is in the same verses, and though it is laid out in basically the same manner as the one we’ll now look at, he cut his off shorter than it actually should be. So I don’t feel bad about both giving him credit for the chiasm, and for now presenting it as one I found on 17 September as well. All that does, is confirm that it was meant to be found twice.

I only wish I’d checked the folder before spending the time to look for it. It would have made my day a bit easier. But I also may not have noticed the full scope of it. So nothing is lost and something is gained.

Text Verse: “When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the blood of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning, ⁵ then the Lord will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and above her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory there will be a covering. ⁶ And there will be a tabernacle for shade in the daytime from the heat, for a place of refuge, and for a shelter from storm and rain.” Isaiah 4:4-6

Israel had a tabernacle in their midst. They encamped around it, and they moved at the command of the Lord to their next appointed stop on their journey towards Canaan. Above the tabernacle, there was a cloud visible by day, and within it, fire visible by night. In the future, not just a tabernacle, but all of Jerusalem will be covered with a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night. And there too will be a tabernacle.

The difference is that this one will not move. There will be no speculation as to when the Lord will pick up stakes and move on. What Israel in the wilderness hoped for, meaning attaining the promised rest of the Lord, Israel of the future will have realized. Each step of Scripture leads us a little further along the path to final glory. Along the way, the glory of the Lord is revealed, but it is also concealed. Until the coming of Christ, the reason for all of these things was completely unclear. But in Christ, every picture finds its fulfillment, and every shadow finds its substance. This is what is so wonderful about studying the Old Testament in Sunday sermons. When we come to our weekly Bible study where we are in the New Testament, which you all surely come to or listen to later, those things we talk about there make so much more sense. The two halves make a complete whole.

For now, let’s once again get into the first half. Great treasures are to be found in it. Yes, it’s all to be found in His superior word. And so let’s turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. Moving as the Lord Moves (verses 15-19)

¹⁵ Now on the day that the tabernacle was raised up,

These words now take us all the way back to Exodus 40. Right at the end of the book, we read the following words –

“Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. ³⁵ And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. ³⁶ Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would go onward in all their journeys. ³⁷ But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken up. ³⁸ For the cloud of the Lord was above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.” Exodus 40:34-38

This thought will be restated and expanded upon in our few short verses today. However, it is showing that the presence of the Lord is what remained with Israel, and it is what directed them throughout their journeys.

The account here is not chronological, but it expressive of what occurred from the time when the tabernacle was erected, through the departure from Sinai, which happened after the Second Passover, and which will continue all the way through the time in the wilderness. As Israel has been given the instructions on the Second Passover, and as they will depart shortly after that, this is the logical place to put this section. This presence was first noted in Exodus 13 at the time of Israel’s departure from Egypt –

“So they took their journey from Succoth and camped in Etham at the edge of the wilderness. ²¹ And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. ²² He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.” Exodus 13:20-22

Upon arrival at Sinai, the cloud rested upon the mountain. However, it would move to Moses’ tent at times in order to summon him –

“So it was, whenever Moses went out to the tabernacle, that all the people rose, and each man stood at his tent door and watched Moses until he had gone into the tabernacle. ⁹ And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses. ¹⁰ All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and worshiped, each man in his tent door. ¹¹ So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.” Exodus 33:8-11

At various other times, this visible manifestation of the Lord has been, or will be mentioned again. This is especially so to call attention to the importance of the events which are occurring. And, the last time that this pillar will be seen is towards the end of Deuteronomy. It will be when the Lord commissions Joshua to assume leadership of Israel –

“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Behold, the days approach when you must die; call Joshua, and present yourselves in the tabernacle of meeting, that I may inaugurate him.’

So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves in the tabernacle of meeting. ¹⁵ Now the Lord appeared at the tabernacle in a pillar of cloud, and the pillar of cloud stood above the door of the tabernacle.” Deuteronomy 31:14, 15

That is immediately before the death of Moses, and just prior to entrance into Canaan. And so it can be seen that the presence of the Lord was truly with Israel from the exodus to the entrance; from Egypt to Canaan; from that which pictures leaving our life of bondage to sin, to that which pictures our entrance into the true Land of Promise where God’s rest is assured.

Before going on, and for the sake of clarity, two different things are spoken of in these verses. The first is ohel moed, or “the tent of meeting,” and the second is the mishkan, or “tabernacle.” It is rare to find a good translation which makes a distinction between the two, and because of this, there is inevitably a false sense of what is being relayed.

The tabernacle is an edifice which is inside of the tent of meeting. To correct the translation every time the tent of meeting is noted would be futile. However, when they are spoken of in the same verse, or in the same paragraph, it really is necessary to define which is being referred to. Otherwise, one would think they were the same thing. This becomes evident in the next words…

^{15 (con’t)} the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the Testimony; 

kisah he’anan eth ha’mishkan le’ohel ha’edut – “covered the cloud the tabernacle of the tent the testimony.” Most translations make the two appear synonymous, as if the tabernacle is the tent of the Testimony, elsewhere known as the tent of meeting. They are not synonymous though. This is evident from the verse we already cited from Exodus 40:34 –

“And covered the cloud tent of meeting, and the glory of Yehovah filled the tabernacle.” (Charlie’s translation)

And so now in Numbers, we have no reason to assume that the cloud only covered the area of the tent of meeting where the Ten Commandments were kept. This is more evident because in Exodus 40, it then went on to say that Moses couldn’t enter the tent of meeting because the cloud rested upon it. The entire structure is being spoken of here when the term “tent” is used. The cloud covers the entire tent of meeting which covers the tabernacle.

This might seem like a frivolous thing to spend so much time on, but the Lord is the One who has, time and again, purposefully made a distinction between the two. One should ask, “Why the specificity?” The answer must be that one is referring to the deity of Christ, and the other is referring to His humanity. The tabernacle is kept from the sight of the people, whereas the tent is in view of all. The visible manifestation of the cloud and fire shows the people that the Lord is, in fact, residing in the tabernacle, and it is thus He who leads the people when the cloud moves.

The cloud is that which reveals, and it is also that which hides. The Lord’s glory was revealed on the Mount of Transfiguration, but it was also hidden by the cloud. Likewise, the ascension of the Lord on the Mount of Olives was evident in the cloud which also obscured Him from their presence. At the rapture, the saints will be caught up together in the clouds to meet the Lord. There is a revealing, and there is a concealing. Precision of terminology here in the events in the wilderness set the stage for concepts which continue on throughout Scripture.

And there is yet more detail to consider. The tent here is called the “tent of the Testimony” rather than its more common term, “the tent of meeting.” Instead of now referring to it as the place where Moses went in to meet with the Lord, it is referring to it as the tent where the tablets of the Ten Commandments were rested in the ark of the covenant. What the people saw from the outside, and which was covered by the cloud and the fire, was to be a constant reminder to them of the glory which they saw on Sinai when they were given the Ten Commandments. At that time, because of the grandeur of what their eyes beheld, this was the next thing the Bible records –

“Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. ¹⁹ Then they said to Moses, ‘You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.’” Exodus 20:18, 19

By saying, “tent of the Testimony” here, it is given in relation not to Moses, but to the people. It is a witness and a reminder to them of what they had seen and been so fearful of. Understanding this, the cloud represents safety, as in a covering – such as from heat; protection – both for and from; God’s omnipotence and man’s ignorance; and so on. The presence of the cloud was the daily sign to the people that the Lord was there with them, but that Moses was the one who spoke to them. For them, it is the “tent of the Testimony.” For Moses, it is the “tent of meeting.” For both, it is where the word of the Lord issues from. For us, it is Christ Jesus, the embodiment of the law and the Word of God.

^{15 (con’t)} from evening until morning it was above the tabernacle like the appearance of fire.

Whereas the Lord’s presence was visible as a cloud during the day, it would be as fire at night. Fire has multiple meanings in the Bible, but the fact that it is associated with the Lord, it would be emblematic of His glory, holiness, protection, judgment, purification, and so on. In both the cloud and the fire, there is the thought of a welcoming presence, and yet the need to stand in awed reverence and fear at the same time. The people were to be comforted that they were cared for by the Lord, and yet they were to remember that they were to honor the Lord as their God, and not tread upon, nor question, His sovereignty.

¹⁶ So it was always: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night.

The word tamid, or “always,” is the reason for these words now. The cloud was there on the day the edifice was erected, and throughout that night, it had the appearance of fire, but this wasn’t a temporary display. Rather, it was there from that time on. The words, “by day” are inserted here, which is fine. It says as much in Exodus 40:38. However, the idea is that it is the same cloud at all times. The appearance changes only because of the surrounding circumstances in relation to the people’s eyes. The Lord made Himself manifest in such a way that the people would always know He was there with them.

The amazing thing to ponder at this point, is that despite this cloud and fire being perfectly evident to the people, twenty-four hours a day and every day of the year, they still found reason to grumble, complain, and doubt the Lord. They literally saw an outward manifestation of His presence, and they lacked faith in Him nonetheless. It sounds like Israel at the time of Christ’s first advent, doesn’t it?

¹⁷ Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle,

The Hebrew says, ohel, “tent,” not “tabernacle.” It is in reference to instruction for the people as a whole. In other words, the cloud rested upon the tent of the Testimony, but when it was time to move, it would rise on high. When this happened, it could be seen by all people, even to the extremities of the camp. When this occurred, it would be a sign to all. Then…

^{17 (con’t)} after that the children of Israel would journey;

The rising of the cloud indicated that it was time to move. In obedience to that, the people would break camp, the priests would prepare the most holy objects, the Levites would perform their duties, and then the signal would blast, and the camps would depart, beginning with Judah. From that moment, they would continue on until the spot which the Lord would direct them to…

^{17 (con’t)} and in the place where the cloud settled,

This should not be taken to mean that the cloud itself directed the people. Rather, when the people, according to the word of the Lord, had arrived at the spot where He had directed them to, the cloud would come down from its lofty height. It is the ark, carried by the Levites of Kohath, that would lead the entire procession. Above them would be the cloud on high for all in the ranks behind to see. This is certain because of Numbers 10:33, 34 –

“So they departed from the mountain of the Lord on a journey of three days; and the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them for the three days’ journey, to search out a resting place for them. ³⁴ And the cloud of the Lord was above them by day when they went out from the camp.”

The ark set out with the cloud above it. Where the ark rested, so the cloud dwelt, and this is where the tent of the Testimony would again be erected, and also it was…

^{17 (con’t)} there the children of Israel would pitch their tents.

The ark would be set down, the tent would be erected over it, and then the priests would uncover it. At the same time, the children of Israel would be arriving according to their placement around the sanctuary, and they would there pitch their tents.

¹⁸ At the command of the Lord the children of Israel would journey,

Here it says, al pi Yehovah – “according to the mouth of Yehovah.” Most scholars treat the rising, movement, and stopping of the cloud as “the command of the Lord.” However, this seems unlikely. What appears to be the case is that the command of the Lord is given to Moses, signifying they were to move out. In confirmation of this, the sign to the people is the rising of the cloud. From there, Israel would journey to where they were told to go. While going, the cloud remained above the ark wherever it was carried by the Levites who had been told where to go. From there…

^{18 (con’t)} and at the command of the Lord they would camp; 

Again it says, “according to the mouth of the Lord.” The Lord directed when and where to go, and the sign to them was His presence above the ark as it traveled. From there, they would stay until directed to break camp once again. This was what was expected, and it was for…

^{18 (con’t)} as long as the cloud stayed above the tabernacle they remained encamped.

As Matthew Henry says of their movement, “There is no time lost, while we are waiting God’s time.” The people were to do as instructed, and to remain where the presence of the Lord was. To depart from that would mean disobedience. These things are certain, because in Numbers 14, after a rebellion by the people in refusing to go into Canaan, the Lord told them that they were to remain in the wilderness until they died. Some of them, however, decided to go forward and right the wrong of their refusal by entering the land. However, that meant only more disaster –

“Then Moses told these words to all the children of Israel, and the people mourned greatly. ⁴⁰ And they rose early in the morning and went up to the top of the mountain, saying, “Here we are, and we will go up to the place which the Lord has promised, for we have sinned!”
⁴¹ And Moses said, “Now why do you transgress the command of the Lord? For this will not succeed. ⁴² Do not go up, lest you be defeated by your enemies, for the Lord is not among you. ⁴³ For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and you shall fall by the sword; because you have turned away from the Lord, the Lord will not be with you.”
⁴⁴ But they presumed to go up to the mountaintop. Nevertheless, neither the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses departed from the camp. ⁴⁵ Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who dwelt in that mountain came down and attacked them, and drove them back as far as Hormah.” Numbers 14:39-45

The people lacked the ark, and thus they lacked the presence of the Lord that moved with the ark. The details are coming soon to a disaster sermon near you.

¹⁹ Even when the cloud continued long, many days above the tabernacle,

The term yamim rabim, or “days in abundance” can mean “years.” It is an indefinite amount of time, and it was left solely up to the word of the Lord to determine when the camp would again be broken down and moved. While not moving, it says that “Israel kept the charge of the Lord.”

One might wonder why this is expressed. But it becomes obvious when we think of what it might have been like. Was it a horrible spot that lacked any excitement or beauty? Were the tents laid out over rocky, uncomfortable patches of land? Was there nothing but briers and thorns all around? That didn’t matter. The people were to look to the Lord and not the dull, barren, and bitter landscape. He provided them water, manna came six days a week, and He was to be their hope and confidence, not a lust for the world in which they lived.

^{19 (con’t)} the children of Israel kept the charge of the Lord and did not journey.

The word mishmeret, or “charge” signifies that which is to be kept or watched. The people posted sentinels; the people kept the commands of the Lord, living out their lives in accord with His commands and precepts; the people obeyed the law to stay until directed; the priests obeyed the daily rituals and sacrifices of the sanctuary. All of this, and surely more, is included in keeping the charge of the Lord. But mostly, according to the verse itself, it speaks of not journeying as long as the cloud continued above the tabernacle. The people stayed put and kept His charge in doing so.

The spot where we are now is so beautiful and nice
There is a stream of cool water running through it
We can relax and eat dates, and have a meal filled with spice
But to this place, our hopes we surely won’t commit

When the call is made, on we shall go
And maybe the next spot won’t be so grand
But we will be content there; certainly it is so
Even if we spend a year in that barren, wasted land

Our joy isn’t found in a temporary oasis
Nor are we despondent in a rough and ruined land
Such temporary things for our joy are not the basis
Instead, our hope and joy comes from the Lord’s gracious hand

Thank You for Your presence that fills our souls with delight
Thank You, O Lord, our hope, our joy, our ever-shining light

II. At the Command of the Lord (verses 20-23)

²⁰ So it was, when the cloud was above the tabernacle a few days: according to the command of the Lord they would remain encamped, and according to the command of the Lord they would journey.

The opening words, v’yesh asher, or “and sometimes…” are given now to show obedience to what was stated in the previous verses. In other words, one might say, “When Charlie ran the wastewater plant, and whenever he changed the shift schedule, the employees would work their new shifts. He might change them every month, or once every year. But whenever he changed the schedule the employees obeyed the directive. And sometimes he changed the schedule after two weeks, according to his change, the employees would show up to work. And sometimes he changed the schedule once a year, according to that, so they would show up to work.”

For now in Numbers, one might wonder how many different ways the idea of staying put and picking up and moving out can be expressed. Already, the idea has been spoken out three times in three different ways. The last was “many days.” Now it speaks of yamim mispar, or “days of a number,” meaning “a few days.”

Whereas verse 19 spoke of being obedient and staying put, even if the scene was one which was boring, ugly, and deprived of comfort, the spot they next arrived at may have been a beautiful oasis in the middle of the desert where the children could play and the people could smell the fragrant beauty of flowers. Where the tents were set up, the ground might have been soft and cushy. Surely in such a place, the Lord would allow them to hang around for a while and enjoy the comfortable life. But no! This didn’t matter. When it was time to go, they would have to acknowledge the Lord’s call and depart to wherever He next led, not knowing if it would have dates and grass, or rocks and snakes. The Lord’s word was their call to depart.

²¹ So it was, when the cloud remained only from evening until morning:

Again is says, v’yesh asher, or “And sometimes.” Now the thought is expressed again, but in another new way. The people picked up and moved, arriving in the evening. Their bodies were tired, their minds were racing at the anticipation of sleep and then exploring their surroundings, and the children were intent on finding their friends and playing in a new environment. But no! They set up camp in the evening, sat down to eat, went to bed unable to sleep because of the day’s events and the events of the anticipated day to come. And yet, no sooner had they gone out to collect the day’s manna, then they were alerted to the rise of the cloud and the call to move.

The beautiful date palms were filled with ripe fruit. The junipers smelled of delight, the wild ibis covered the hillside, waiting to be shot with an arrow, roasted over a fire, and mixed in with curry and spice kept from the departure from Egypt. But no! The cloud had arisen, the call to move was made, and the laborious job of breaking down camp, the tedium of waiting for the signal to move, and the tiring trudge in the heat commenced once again. All of this because…

^{21 (con’t)} when the cloud was taken up in the morning, then they would journey;

He is the Lord; we are His people. We are to keep His watch, including the call to move. So we shall do. He is the Lord; we are His people.

^{21 (con’t)} whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud was taken up, they would journey.

Many days or few, or even after a single night. But now, now we are to pick up and move by night! The word went out, and the fiery cloud has risen. There would be no chance to go out and pick a few dates for the trip, and there would be no chance to watch the sun set over the two v-shaped rocks one more time. No. The ark is setting out and so too shall we.

At least walking in the night would be cooler than during the day. That is a plus, unless it was winter time. Even in the desert, the temperatures would get uncomfortably cold at night. And more, traveling at night would mean uncertainty about where to step, if there were snakes or scorpions, and the like. For every positive about traveling by night, there were also two negatives. But the Lord is on the move, and we are His people. We too shall move.

The notion that the Lord first spoke the word of when to go and where to go, and that it wasn’t just following the cloud as he led, is confirmed by the words of Moses to his father-in-law Hobab. In Numbers 10, where we will read –

“So Moses said, ‘Please do not leave, inasmuch as you know how we are to camp in the wilderness, and you can be our eyes. ³² And it shall be, if you go with us—indeed it shall be—that whatever good the Lord will do to us, the same we will do to you.’” Numbers 10:31, 32

If it were merely a matter of following the pillar of cloud and fire, Moses would never have said this to him. Moses did not shun acknowledging a sound guide could both lead the way to where they were next instructed to go, but one who would lead them on a path that was conducive to such a trek. Going left around the next mountain might take an extra two hours, but it would be flat earth and not paths of rocks. The Lord gave the word, the pillar was the sign of it, and the people responded in accord with the word given and the sign provided, even at night.

²² Whether it was two days, a month, or a year that the cloud remained above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would remain encamped and not journey;

And again, the thought is expressed in another entirely new way by stating words which encompass several thoughts already expressed. First, it says yomayim, a way of expressing a two-day period, such as when the manna was given on the sixth day for a day and another day. It would be long enough to wash the clothes and relax, or have a sabbath if they arrived on a Friday. There would be time to see what was around them, but not enough time to get up and really explore. As soon as they were ready to call the place home, they would be told it was time to go.

Next, it says, a month. The Lord might give them time to gather up what was usable in the land around them, make some bows and arrows or spears, enjoy a feast period, or whatever. A month would be long enough to tell them if they didn’t like the place. If so, they would be happy to leave. Or, it would be long enough to tell them they loved the place and wished they could have stayed longer.

And finally, it says, “or a year.” The term is yamim; days. It generally gives the sense of a fullness of time. It may mean a year, and based on the previous two time-frames, that is not unlikely. It is simply an indeterminate amount of time. The thing about it being two days, one month, or one year, is that it didn’t really matter.

Because the Lord could move at any time, there was no time that the people could say, “Well, we can settle down here and relax.” And there was no time that the people could say, “It will be great to leave here soon.” They had no idea. The time period to us is one of looking back on a known. The time period to them was looking forward to an unknown. They were wholly dependent on the Lord’s decision, and there was nothing that could change that, whether they were content in a spot or not they would stop and wait…

^{22 (con’t)} but when it was taken up, they would journey.

Apart from the Lord, there could be no long-term planning, but because of His presence with them, there was no excuse for only short-term planning. The two thoughts are both beautifully summed up elsewhere in the Bible. First from James –

“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit’; ¹⁴ whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. ¹⁵ Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.’ ¹⁶ But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.” James 4:13-16

The second thought is expressed in the proverbs –

“A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children,
But the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.” Proverbs 13:22

The people were to occupy, but not assume. They were to be diligent in their daily life, but ready to depart from it on a moment’s notice. In essence, they were to trust in the Lord, be obedient to His call, and willing to accept His decision in whatever occurred in their lives.

²³ At the command of the Lord they remained encamped, and at the command of the Lord they journeyed;

Letter for letter, the words are identical to the final clause of verse 9:20. The repetition is given as a sign of obedience to the word. Preceding it in verse 9:20, it went from many days to a few days. Here it goes from two days to a year. The idea is one of voluntary, complete, and absolute submission to the call of the Lord, and to that alone. The words of this section had to have been recorded at the end of the wilderness wanderings, and were probably penned by Moses just prior to his being called up to the heights of Mount Nebo to see the Land of Promise before he died. However, they are logically inserted here, just prior to their departure, to highlight the words now before the times of trouble, leading to punishment, come about. Despite those failings, the people remained under the care of the Lord, moving at His command and direction, in order to eventually find their way to the place where they would enter into their allotted inheritance.

^{23 (con’t)} they kept the charge of the Lord,

This is a general repeat of verse 19 which said, “the children of Israel kept the charge of the Lord. They followed His commands, they spent their lives in obedience to the law, they moved when He directed, the priests tended to their sacred duties, the Levites broke down and re-erected the sanctuary, and they waited… they waited upon the Lord and upon His word to continue on the path He set before them. As it says, they kept this charge…

*^23 (fin) at the command of the Lord by the hand of Moses.

The Lord spoke to Moses, and Moses relayed the words to the people for their hearing. Again, as before, we can see that the movement of the cloud was a sign in confirmation of the word of the Lord. If the charge of the Lord includes obedience to the movement of the people, as it surely does, then that movement was spoken out first to Moses and then relayed to the people. When they moved, it was in ranks behind the ark. And where the ark moved, so the cloud moved with it.

In this, the word of the Lord is confirmed by the Lord. It was not Moses’ word to the people, but the Lord’s word through Moses. This is why a challenge to Moses was implicitly a challenge to the Lord Himself. Such will be the case in the chapters ahead, and so terrible will be the downfall of those who so challenge him. In the end, when the Lord speaks, it is the duty of man to pay heed to the Lord’s word, and to accept it in the context of the day in which it is received. The Lord spoke to and through Moses, and His words were found binding upon the people who heard them. The Lord continued to speak through His prophets until the time of John the Baptist, proclaiming the word of the Lord, but also proclaiming a greater Word to come.

Moses himself testified to the coming of Christ. Philip confirms that in John 1 when speaking to Nathanael. He said, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph” (1:45). Jesus Himself says the same. In John 5:46, speaking to the Jews, He said, “For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.”

Think it through… if the Lord spoke through Moses, and if Moses wrote about Jesus, then the Lord was speaking through Moses’ hand about Himself, when He would come as a Man. As this is so, then Jesus’ words are the word of the Lord and are binding on those who hear it. We cannot escape judgment if we reject Jesus, and that means Jesus in the context of the day in which He is proclaimed.

Christ came under the law, He lived out the law, and He died in fulfillment of the law. There is no other place to go than to the New Covenant which supersedes the Old. We study Moses in this church because we love Jesus. We are obedient in this church by being obedient to Moses… What! Yes, not to the Law of Moses, but to what the Law of Moses says to us about Jesus. It is He who said, “I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. ¹⁹ And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him” (Deuteronomy 18:18, 19).

Yes, Moses foresaw Jesus and said, “If you want to be obedient to the Lord, then you will hear the word of the Lord through this Prophet to come.” The Old is not an end in and of itself, and the trek to Canaan was not the end of the story. It was merely a step on the way to the coming of true glory. What the cloud and fire only anticipated was the coming of Christ.

Let us not be found deficient in our theology by assuming that tents, boxes of wood and gold, and tablets secreted away from sight, to be carried on the shoulders of men, is the end of our faith. No, the Lord whose blood was shed and sprinkled on the true Mercy Seat, and whose Spirit we carry in ourselves when we call on Christ – it is He who is the Author and the Finisher and the end goal of our faith. It is He who is only pictured in these temporary manifestations of the future glory found in Christ Jesus.

Each step of the book of Numbers is another step leading us to that glory. Without this law, we cannot actually appreciate what it took to get us to Him. Every step in the barren wilderness is a step towards the coming of the Lord. In this land where snakes bit at the heels of those who complained, but on whose feet were shoes that didn’t wear out for forty years, miracle upon miracle heaped up as a way of bringing this group of people to a unity that would last beyond all possibility. It is this foundation which united them, and it is in their remaining united that Christ was able to come. And it is in their continued unity for which Christ will come again.

But in the meantime, he is building a church. Someday, before He returns to His people Israel, in the land of Israel, He will first come for that church. It is hoped that you will be ready for that day by calling on Him now. When the call is made, you need to be ready to move.

Closing Verse: “Moreover You led them by day with a cloudy pillar,
And by night with a pillar of fire,
To give them light on the road
Which they should travel.” Nehemiah 9:12

Next Week: Numbers 10:1-10 Tastier than tea and crumpets… (Two Silver Trumpets) (18^th Numbers Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. It may seem at times as if you are lost in a desert, wandering aimlessly. But the Lord is there, carefully leading you to the Land of Promise. So follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

Keeping the Charge of the Lord

Now on the day that the tabernacle was raised up
The cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the Testimony
———-this did transpire
From evening until morning
It was above the tabernacle like the appearance of fire 

So it was always:
The cloud covered it by day
And the appearance of fire by night
Such was this marvelous display 

Whenever the cloud was taken up
From above the tabernacle, at the time of these events
After that the children of Israel would journey
And in the place where the cloud settled
———-there the children of Israel would pitch their tents 

At the command of the Lord the children of Israel would journey
And they would camp at the command of the Lord
As long as the cloud stayed above the tabernacle
They remained encamped, according to His word 

Even when the cloud continued long
Many days above the tabernacle; however long it would be
The children of Israel kept the charge of the Lord
And did not journey 

So it was, when the cloud was above the tabernacle a few days
According to the command of the Lord, so would it be
They would remain encamped
And according to the command of the Lord they would journey

So it was, when the cloud remained
Only from evening until morning; this amazing sight
When the cloud was taken up in the morning
Then they would journey; whether by day or by night

Whenever the cloud was taken up, then so would it be
Then at this time they would journey

Whether it was two days, a month, or a year
That the cloud remained above the tabernacle, so would it be
The children of Israel would not journey
———-but would remain encamped
But when it was taken up, they would journey

At the command of the Lord they remained encamped
And at the command of the Lord they journeyed
———-so we understand
They kept the charge of the Lord
At the command of the Lord by Moses’ hand

Lord God, we are even now in a wilderness
And we are wanting to be led by You
Without You to direct, our lives would be a mess
And so be our guide, O God; You who are faithful and true

We long for the water in this barren land
May it flow forth from the Rock, our souls to satisfy
|Give us this refreshing, spiritual hand
And may we take it, and to our lives daily it apply

And we shall be content and satisfied in You alone
We will follow You as we sing our songs of praise
Hallelujah to You; to us Your path You have shown
Hallelujah we shall sing to you for all of our days

Hallelujah and Amen…

Numbers 8:1-26
Acceptable to Serve

Today’s passage speaks of the purification of the Levites, readying them for service. There are several things they were required to do, and we will go through them as we go along. However, if you noticed, they were all externals. Sprinkling of water, shaving of hair, and washing of clothes. We’ll see how these point to spiritual truths, but it is obvious, even before we start, that none of those things could make a person pure in the truest sense.

Monks of all religions do things like this. Muslims wash themselves in certain ways before praying. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find any religion that doesn’t perform some type of external ritual that doesn’t really do anything to change the person internally. Were it not for the truths which point to Christ, it almost seems like it’s all just an outward show without any real significance.

We’re told later, in Hebrews, that the sacrifices of the Old Covenant didn’t actually do what they were intended to do. After all, it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins. But the people were not left without warnings that the externals needed to be met with internal conviction.

Further, as the Bible goes on, it is explicitly stated that things like circumcision of the body needed to be matched by circumcision of the heart. That is found as early as Deuteronomy 10. Eventually, the prophets started to really call out that things like rote sacrifices without holy living were useless, and even an abomination to the Lord. Were those things written just for Israel? Or are they written for us as well?

Text Verse: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16, 17

Paul says that “All Scripture” is given to us as he then describes. But what was he writing about? There was no New Testament at that time. The only New Testament consisted of the letters of the apostles that had been written, but other than Peter elevating Paul’s letters to the same level of authority as the rest of Scripture, the only Scripture that actually existed at the time is the body of writings we now call the Old Testament.

Numerous times the New Testament says, “It is written,” or something comparable to that, when speaking of the Old Testament. Everything found there was to lead us to understand how we are to conduct ourselves now. That includes the idea of purification and holiness as is outlined there.

If we go through the motions of living an externally pious life, but don’t match that up with a life that is morally pleasing to the Lord, we are far worse off than a person who lives a rather rugged life, but who desperately loves the Lord and mourns when he falls short. The difference between King David and the high priest Caiaphas is obvious.

The Levites were purified for service, and that service continued on for 1500 years, but during that time, they fell into the same error as everyone else. If you don’t believe it, take time to read Ezekiel 44. What we need to do is to constantly evaluate ourselves in relation to that internal call for holiness that the Lord has given us. And we need to not assume that because someone is behind a pulpit, or wears a fancy set of garments, that they are holy. As soon as you start idolizing such a person, they will let you down.

Keep all things in their proper perspective, hold fast to what is sound, and understand that things, like we will see today, do nothing in making a person holy unless they have an internal change to accompany the rite through which they pass. In fact, as we read and look into these verses, keep reminding yourself that some of the same people who are being set apart for the ministry will be rebelling against Moses and Aaron, and thus against the Lord within the span of just a few weeks. Remember these things as we go on. It’s all to be found in His superior word. And so let’s turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. Arrangement of the Lamps (verses 1-4)

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

The census has been conducted, the camp has been laid out, the offerings have been presented, and now a new direction is forthcoming as evidenced by these words of verse 1. When the words of this section were actually spoken is unknown.

It could even be at the same time as verse 7:1 which spoke of the day when Moses had finished setting up the tabernacle and had anointed it and everything in it. However, the placement of the words here has purpose. The gift offerings of the tribes have been made for the priest’s use, and what follows will be the actual purification and dedication of the Levites. In between these two events, the Lord places the instructions concerning Aaron’s duties in relation to the menorah…

² “Speak to Aaron, and say to him, ‘When you arrange the lamps,

Moses is told to speak to Aaron. It is he who is to arrange the lamps. Aaron is the high priest, and the high priest was to be a type of Christ to come. The description for making the menorah is found in Exodus 25. The instructions for its care are found in Exodus 27. The first lighting of it was accomplished by Moses in Exodus 40:25. It could be that these instructions now were given to Moses prior to that. Or maybe they came later. Either way, the instruction that Aaron was to tend the lamps has already been given, but now come these directions concerning the lamp’s arrangement. As this is so, one must ask, “Why place it here?”

An obvious answer would be that the camp is only now laid out in the shape of the cross. Thus it would be a reference to the light having been in the world, but that it was only seen for what it was at a specific time. If so, then that is what John is referring to concerning the Light, meaning Christ, coming into the world in John 1. The light had always shone in the darkness, but there is a time when the light came forth for all to see. Christ Jesus is our High Priest, and His work of illumination to even the darkest parts is being pictured by the instructions now presented to Aaron.

^2 (con’t) the seven lamps shall give light in front of the lampstand.’”

b’ha-alotekha eth hanerot – the words say, “In causing the lamps to rise.” The meaning is that when the lamps are lit and the light shines, then they are to shine el mul pene ha’menorah yairu shivat hanerot – over-against face the menorah shall shine seven the lamps. The Hebrew is complicated and translations vary.

Exodus specified that the menorah was to be on the south side of the tabernacle, across from the table of showbread. Further, they were to give light in front of it, meaning towards the north. These instructions are not just a repetition, but they are more specific in how they are to be arranged. They are to cast light towards the north where the table of showbread was.

However, being in the south, it would illuminate from east to west as well as to the north. But facing the north where the table was, there would be no darkness there, it would be fully illuminated. Christ is the Bread of life. It is through His death that we partake of Him. Thus, the layout of the camp as a cross, showing how Christ died, is the sign. The menorah, lighting up the north then pictures the seven-fold illumination of Christ, meaning the seven Spirits of God, shining even in the darkest places, even to death itself, and which the darkness cannot overcome, as stated in John 1:5.

³ And Aaron did so; he arranged the lamps to face toward the front of the lampstand, as the Lord commanded Moses.

Some scholars say that this actually goes back to the initial lighting and care of the lamp in Exodus 40. However, Aaron was not yet ordained to conduct those duties. It was Moses who originally lit them. After his ordination, Aaron assumed this responsibility. But again, regardless as to when Moses instructed Aaron, this is noted now because of the logical progression of thought which has been seen in the layout of the camp, the purification of it, the acceptance of the offerings, and so on. Each step, whether chronological or not, is purposeful as to where it is placed in the narrative. Aaron, as the high priest, is typical of Christ who performs all of these things.

⁴ Now this workmanship of the lampstand was hammered gold; from its shaft to its flowers it was hammered work. According to the pattern which the Lord had shown Moses, so he made the lampstand.

The details of this were given in Exodus 25. The pictures of Christ which it reveals are many. The repetition of what has already been stated there is to remind us of that, and to consider it in light of what Israel represents. They were to be a light to the world. They are being prepared for their journey to the land of promise. Almost everything is set. And so now, prior to the purification of the Levites – those who minister between the high priest and the people – the description of the menorah is once again given. The light of Christ, given by God’s High Priest, is to illuminate even the darkest places. It is reflective of what is quoted by Paul and Barnabas in Acts 13:47 –

“I have set you as a light to the Gentiles,
That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.”Acts 13:47

The purest of gold, fit for a King
Was used to make a seven-branch lampstand
Seeing its beauty makes my heart sing
The workmanship marvelous; stunning and grand

Every detail is so beautiful, each knob and flower
The glistening of the branches as they catch the light
It shines in the dark for hour after hour
Illuminating the holy place throughout the night

The glory of God is seen in each detail
Every branch speaks out a marvelous story
And in what it pictures, nothing will fail
As the Lord reveals to us His unending glory

II. The Purification of the Levites (verses 5-26)

⁵ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

With the matter of verses 1-4 established, the narrative returns to the Levites. In Chapters 3-5, they were called, their genealogies were recorded, they were dedicated in place of the first born, they were counted, and they had their duties assigned. Now they are to be purified and ordained for their service. There is a difference here and in that of Leviticus 8. The priests were consecrated for their service. Here, the Levites are purified, but they are not consecrated.

If we were to look at the reason for this following the previous passage about the menorah, it is to show that Christ is the One who is the Light, and through Him, the Spirit of God is given, just as the job of lighting the lamp belonged to Aaron. However, the Levites are given to accomplish the other, non-priestly duties. This is similar to how ministers in the church stand before the Lord and are to do those duties as He commands them in His word.

⁶ “Take the Levites from among the children of Israel and cleanse them ceremonially.

In Exodus 29:1, the term used was qadash, or consecrate, the priests. Here the word taher, or purify, is used of the Levites. The law of the firstborn being dedicated to the Lord was traded for the calling of the Levites to be so dedicated.

⁷ Thus you shall do to them to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of purification on them, and let them shave all their body, and let them wash their clothes, and so make themselves clean.

There are three things which were to be accomplished in the purification of the Levites. The first is to sprinkle the me khatat, or “sin water,” on them. The speculation on what this water is, or where it comes from is long and detailed. It is probably not the me nidah khatat, or water of separation, described in Numbers 19. That water was specifically intended to purify the sin of those who had been defiled by a dead body. This water symbolically purifies the Levites from sin, and so it was probably taken from the bronze laver. But this is also only speculation. As the Bible doesn’t explain its source, we cannot be dogmatic about it.

Secondly, the Levites were to “shave all their body.” They were to use a razor over kal basar, or “all the flesh.” Hair in the Bible signifies awareness. Also, the flesh is that which is opposed to the spirit. As this is a cleansing from sin, it is symbolic of removing all awareness of sin from oneself in order to live in the Spirit.

And thirdly, they were to wash their clothes. It is an external act, signifying purification. These rites picture the work of Christ. One example of this is recorded in the book of Hebrews where it says –

“…let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. ²³ Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” Hebrews 10:22, 23

The washing of the garments is an emblem of the internal conversion of a person. It symbolizes a sinless nature because of the work of Christ. On the last page of the Bible we read –

“Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.” Revelation 22:14

This symbolic purification of the Levites will be more perfectly realized in the millennial reign when there will again be offerings in Judah and Jerusalem. This more perfect purification is prophesied in Malachi 3 –

“But who can endure the day of His coming?
And who can stand when He appears?
For He is like a refiner’s fire
And like launderers’ soap.
³ He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver;
He will purify the sons of Levi,
And purge them as gold and silver,
That they may offer to the Lord
An offering in righteousness.
⁴ “Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem
Will be pleasant to the Lord,
As in the days of old,
As in former years.”Malachi 3:2-4

⁸ Then let them take a young bull with its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, and you shall take another young bull as a sin offering.

This is the same offering that was required for various sacrifices in Leviticus, a par ben baqar, or “bull, son of oxen.” Par comes from parar, meaning to defeat. Baqar means to inquire or seek out. It pictures Christ who defeated the devil, seeking out those He would redeem. Along with that was to be a grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil. This pictures the purity of Christ being completely filled with the Spirit. These would be for a burnt offering. A second young bull would be brought forward for a sin offering. It is the same sin offering required for the whole congregation in Leviticus 4:14. As the Levites stand in the stead of the firstborn, and as the firstborn represents the family, the same sin offering is made as for that of sin by the whole congregation.

⁹ And you shall bring the Levites before the tabernacle of meeting, and you shall gather together the whole congregation of the children of Israel.

It would be impossible for 22300 Levites to stand within the confines of the sanctuary. The size of the sanctuary is about 1250 square yards. Five people per square yard, which would be hugely cramped, would be 6250 people. And that doesn’t even take into consideration the tent of meeting or any other articles in the courtyard. At best, you could get maybe 1000 in there, and that would still be cramped. It would further be impossible for all 2-3 million of the people to gather at the area immediately in front of it. Therefore, it must be assumed that all of the Levites are standing outside of the sanctuary with their leaders representing them inside, and the leaders of the tribes of Israel also standing in there as the representatives of the whole congregation. From there…

¹⁰ So you shall bring the Levites before the Lord, and the children of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites;

With those designated to represent the others, there is then the laying on of the hands. In this act, the representatives of the people are symbolically transferring the congregation’s obligation of dedicating their firstborn to the Levites. From this time on, the Levites would be so dedicated to the service of the Lord. They are given over wholly to the priests as the people’s representatives. They are, in essence, a living sacrifice to the Lord.

¹¹ and Aaron shall offer the Levites before the Lord like a wave offering from the children of Israel, that they may perform the work of the Lord.

Obviously, Aaron didn’t pick up the Levites and wave them, and based on the numbers, it is obvious this was not done to every Levite individually. As there are 1440 minutes in a day, if you were to wave 5 in a minute, it would take over 3 days, night and day without bathroom breaks, to do them all. What most likely happened, is that he pointed at those representing the whole, and then he made the motion that would be made in a wave offering. The waving is “before,” or “in the face of,” the Lord. It was an acknowledgment of the omnipresence of His vision. In this waving, the Levites are symbolically shaken loose from the congregation, and henceforth devoted to the service of the Lord, under Aaron.

¹² Then the Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the young bulls, and you shall offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to the Lord, to make atonement for the Levites.

Now, with the Levites detached from the congregation, and attached to the service of the Lord, their first act is to offer their offerings for atonement. This is accomplished now by their own laying on of hands. The sin offering acknowledges and pleads for atonement of their sin, making them acceptable for service. The burnt offering pictures the giving of their lives and their abilities wholly over to the Lord. By going verse by verse, the logical and orderly procession of thoughts becomes clear. One thing needs to be done before the next, and one thing then follows after another.

¹³ “And you shall stand the Levites before Aaron and his sons, and then offer them like a wave offering to the Lord.

This is not a second waving, but it describes more fully what is occurring. The Levites are first stood before Aaron and his sons when they are offered to the Lord. In other words, they are being separated from the people, taken in place of the firstborn, and offered to the Lord, but as servants to the priesthood. The lessor in position is stood before the greater. The reason for all of this is…

¹⁴ Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the children of Israel, and the Levites shall be Mine.

The whole purpose of the rite is that of separation and attachment. The Levites are to be separated from the greater body of the congregation, and they are to be attached to the Lord. If one were to translate this verse using the meaning of Levi, which is “Attached,” its intent actually comes through – “Thus you shall separate the Attached from among the children of Israel, and the Attached shall be Mine; they shall be attached to Me.”

¹⁵ After that the Levites shall go in to service the tabernacle of meeting.

In saying, “go in to serve the tent of meeting,” it means for the service of the tent of meeting. The Levites were not authorized to go into either the holy place or the most holy place, but were to remain in the courtyard and assist the priests as needed. They were also responsible for taking down, and setting up, the entire sanctuary, including the tent of meeting and tabernacle. And, they were designated to carry the most holy objects once they were covered by the priests.

^{15 (con’t)} So you shall cleanse them and offer them like a wave offering.

The words are to be taken in the past tense. In other words, they are to do their service after they have been cleansed and waved.

¹⁶ For they are wholly given to Me from among the children of Israel; I have taken them for Myself instead of all who open the womb, the firstborn of all the children of Israel.

If the whole purpose of the rites is explained in verse 14, the explanation for that is given in this verse. The firstborn was claimed by the Lord in Exodus 13:2, and the exchange for the Levites was stated in Numbers 3:12. The emphatic words of verse 3:9, netunim netunim hemah lo, or “given, given to him” (meaning Aaron) are repeated here as netumin netunim hemah li, or “given, given wholly to Me.” The claim on the firstborn is released for the males of Israel, and an absolute claim on the Levites is now enacted by the Lord. That is further explained with…

¹⁷ For all the firstborn among the children of Israel are Mine, both man and beast; on the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them to Myself.

The words here are exceedingly similar to Numbers 3:13. The Lord is repeating that the firstborn of both man and beast were claimed by Him. The plague upon the firstborn came upon Egypt. The only thing that saved the firstborn was the sign of the blood. Because the Lord spared them, they were claimed as His from that time on. The firstborn of Levi was then exchanged for the firstborn of Israel, both man and beast.

However, the firstborn of Levi was a permanent release. The firstborn of the beasts was a one time release to level the playing field. After that initial granting of the exchange of firstborn animals, each new firstborn was still to be offered to the Lord. What will happen to the firstborn of the animals is first explained Numbers 18, and then that is further defined in Deuteronomy, but in short, they were to be redeemed, if a man or an unclean animal. Or, they were to be set apart as holy if a clean animal. When set apart as holy, they were to be eaten by the people at their annual feasts. Yes, like the first and second-year tithes, the people ate their firstborn clean animals in celebration to the Lord.

¹⁸ I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn of the children of Israel.

He has given up the claim on the firstborn, and made a permanent claim on the Levites. However, as noted in the previous verse, the firstborn of Israel would still need to be redeemed. That was by payment of five shekels of silver, because all firstborn were considered holy to the Lord.

¹⁹ And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the children of Israel,

The words, “as a gift,” are not right. It is a plural verb. It should say something like, “And I have given the Levites – assignments to Aaron and to his sons…” He has made a claim on them, and they are His. However, He has given them to Aaron and his sons for assisting in their work.

This is similar to the land of Israel, of which the Lord says “the land is Mine” (Leviticus 25:23, etc). It is His. However, He gave it to Israel for use. It is not a gift, as if they have a right to do whatever they want with it. When they are obedient, they may live there and use it. When they are not, they may not live there or use it. Similarly, the duties of the Levites are for assistance of the priesthood and the people, but they are ultimately for the Lord.

^{19 (con’t)} to do the work for the children of Israel in the tabernacle of meeting,

This means that they are to do the work instead of the children of Israel. Without having called the Levites to service, the duties they would do would have gone to the people, especially the firstborn of each family. In calling the Levites to service, the people would no longer be under this obligation. And there was a benefit to this…

^{19 (con’t)} and to make atonement for the children of Israel, 

The idea of atonement here is not of sacrificial offerings. That was the priests’ duty. Rather, the type of atonement being spoken of here is the turning away of wrath in the performance of one’s duties. It is seen in a marvelous parallel passage later in Numbers –

“‘“Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ¹¹ “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned back My wrath from the children of Israel, because he was zealous with My zeal among them, so that I did not consume the children of Israel in My zeal. ¹² Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give to him My covenant of peace; ¹³ and it shall be to him and his descendants after him a covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was zealous for his God, and made atonement for the children of Israel.”’”

Phinehas defended the honor of the Lord when he ran a spear through a man and a woman who were doing what they shouldn’t be doing. In that, he turned back the wrath of the Lord, covering over that which was not right. The Levites were authorized to come near the sanctuary and assist the priest. No other person could come near unless they came with an offering. The Levites thus turned back the wrath of the Lord in the sense that they performed services which would incur wrath for any non-authorized commoner. This continues to be explained with…

^{19 (con’t)} that there be no plague among the children of Israel when the children of Israel come near the sanctuary.”

This word used here, negeph, or plague, is only used seven times in the Bible and all are in relation to the people of Israel. The first was in relation to the blood of the lamb saving the firstborn. The second was in relation to the redemption money for the firstborn. Now it is used in relation to the Levites in place of the firstborn. They had replaced them and are considered purified for the tasks of service. If the people approached unlawfully or incorrectly, the plague would result. The final time negeph is used is in Isaiah 8 where it is ascribed directly to the Lord in relation to the people of Israel –

“He will be as a sanctuary,
But a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense
To both the houses of Israel,
As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.” Isaiah 8:14

That verse from Isaiah is then used by Paul when speaking of Christ in Romans 9, and by Peter – also speaking of Christ – in 1 Peter 2. In essence, Christ became the very plague upon Israel that the blood of the lamb, the ransom money, and the Levite was to protect them from. In their rejection of Him, they rejected what these types and shadows only pictured. It is a terrible mistake to underestimate and thus reject God’s provision in Christ.

If you have noticed, the term “children of Israel” has been used five times in this single verse. Five, being the number of grace, is surely used here to show that what God has done in the selection and appointment of the Levites is intended as an act of grace among the people. Its very intent is to atone for them and spare them from inevitable plague.

²⁰ Thus Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel did to the Levites; according to all that the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so the children of Israel did to them.

Moses and Aaron performed what they were told to perform, but the children of Israel likewise did what they were asked to do. Again, this certainly must mean the leaders of the tribes. The impossibility of the entire congregation gathering in front of the tent of meeting, and all of the Levites being inside the sanctuary for ordination, necessitates that certain designated representatives were chosen as emblematic of the whole. Understanding this, what was said to be done was, in fact, accomplished.

²¹ And the Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes;

This was in accord with verses 6 & 7. As instructed, so they did. The symbolism was explained there and with all of the information you’ve gotten in the subsequent verses up till now, it is best that you go home and reread the entire sermon. In this, the parts that have leaked out will return in clarity as to why they were specified.

^{21 (con’t)} then Aaron presented them like a wave offering before the Lord,

This is in obedience to verses 11 and 13. As instructed, so it was accomplished.

^{21 (con’t)} and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them.

This is in accord with verse 12. As instructed, so Aaron performed. It is rather amazing to think that after all of the details concerning the Levites so far in the book of Numbers, and especially in several chapters which dealt almost solely with them, that they still needed atonement apart from the regular atonement of the people. It should tell all of us that we may be the most qualified people in the world, we may be of the most noble lineage of all, we may perform rituals of purification greater than anyone else on the planet, and yet without atonement, we are wholly unacceptable to enter into the presence and service of the Lord. However, for the Levites these things are now all completed, and so something new begins…

²² After that the Levites went in to do their work in the tabernacle of meeting before Aaron and his sons; 

Again as before, the Levites could not enter the tent of meeting. However, the brazen altar, of which they would assist at, is directly connected to the tabernacle. The performance of their duties there would be considered as part of the duties of the tent of meeting. Further, they were assigned to the duties of taking it down, transporting it, and then putting it up again. From this time on, they are now set apart to the Lord and for the service of the priesthood.

^{22 (con’t)} as the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.

This is a standard note of obedience. Directives are given, the action is taken, and then a note of completion of the work, as it was commanded, is then provided. It is given time and again to show that nothing required of the Lord was allowed to fall. As John Gill says, [he] “exactly observed every punctilio of it and complied with it.” A+ for Moses.

²³ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

Now a supplementary, but new, section is introduced. It is supplementary to that concerning the Levites, but it is new in what it specifies concerning the ages authorized to serve and what they could do in that service.

²⁴ “This is what pertains to the Levites: From twenty-five years old and above one may enter to perform service in the work of the tabernacle of meeting;

This verse does cause a perceived conflict with verse 4:3 which said, “from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, all who enter the service to do the work in the tabernacle of meeting.” However, there is no conflict between the two. First, the census was for the set purpose of determining the tsava, or hosts, prepared for war. In other words, those who would perform the function of the honor guard of the Lord. Secondly, they were tasked with the melakah, or work of the tent of meeting. That would certainly include the honor of the movement of the sanctuary.

Here in this verse, those 25 and above would enter into the tsavah ba’avodah, or ‘warfare in the service” of the tent of meeting. What is probably being said then is that this pertains to the time when Israel arrives in Canaan. It was actually anticipated to be in less than a couple of months. Until they arrived, the census was for those who were to perform functions including the transport of the sanctuary. Once in Canaan, that would only happen under rare circumstances. In such a case, those twenty-five and above could serve in the lighter service duties until thirty when they would join into the full labors required of Levites.

Later in 1 Chronicles, David will assign Levites for service at the temple at twenty years of age. That was probably because the Levites were spread out throughout Israel, and there was a need for more Levites to assist with the increasing wealth and numbers of people in the kingdom. The age assigned by David continued from that point on, and even after the exile. Sergio while looking at the numbers of these three instances noted that they form a numeric chiasm –

Start at age 30 = serve 20 (4:3)

Start at age 25 = serve 25 (8:24)

Start at age 20 = serve 30 (1 Chronicles 23:24)

²⁵ and at the age of fifty years they must cease performing this work, and shall work no more.

Regardless of the age of starting the duties, the service of the Levites was to end at fifty. There are commentaries, some from Jewish sources, that state that this meant only in the service concerning breaking down, moving, and putting back up the tent of meeting. This doesn’t agree with that. It clearly says that they are to turn from serving in the tsavah, or Lord’s guard, and they were to no longer to serve. Regardless of what Israel actually did, the law is clear – work until fifty and then cease performing work any longer. However…

*^{26 (fin)} They may minister with their brethren in the tabernacle of meeting, to attend to needs, but they themselves shall do no work. Thus you shall do to the Levites regarding their duties.”

Here is a clear distinction between the heavy work of the service and the mishmeret, or charge of the tent of meeting. They could perform the watch of the Lord, ensuring all went well and ministering in this capacity with their brothers, but they were to no longer perform any of the heavier, burdensome tasks.

EW Bullinger defines the number fifty as that of “deliverance and rest following on as the result of the perfect consummation of time.” That suits quite well with the concept of Levites retiring at that age. As I explained in a previous sermon, everything relating to the temple and the service, including the temple itself, the sacrificial system at the temple, the duties within the temple, the person of Moses and all he did, Aaron the High Priest and His sons, and also the Levites, all of it pictures the Person and work of Christ. As standing in place of the firstborn, the Levites performed the functions of the firstborn, just as Christ does in reality.

In the New Testament, the term “firstborn” is used nine times. Seven of those are in relation to Christ in one way or another. In this capacity, Christ is the One who performs all of the duties that would have been accomplished by the Levites who were taken in place of the firstborn.

It is true that in some ways, they tended to things between the people and the priests in somewhat of a fashion as a minister does today, and scholars often point that fact out. But even those duties are given as gifts of ministry by the Lord. Our ability to accomplish those things is only because He has enabled us to do so.

In the end, and despite the complexity of passages like today’s, if we just keep telling ourselves that what we are seeing here is merely a snapshot of how God tends to us through Christ, it all makes much more sense. But it also should alert us to the fact that God is holy and He expects us to be holy. The Levites were set apart to, as we saw, make atonement for the children of Israel, that there be no plague among them. God is holy. To fail in treating Him as such, consequences were sure to come. The people could go so far, but no further. The Levites could go so far and no further. The priests below Aaron could go so far and no further. And even Aaron was limited in his duties. Holiness is something we must be on guard to maintain.

As Hebrews 12:14 says, “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.” Verses like that shouldn’t scare you though. The Lord calls us to holiness because He has made us holy. We are holy because of Christ, and therefore we will see the Lord. However, it is our responsibility to pursue that which we possess. To squander that is to squander the joy we can possess in this life as we live in the presence of God, and in anticipation of a more perfect life in the presence of God.

In your calling, whatever it is, do it in love always, in peace towards all, and with a sense of holiness that you are the Lord’s, and He has called you to such. In this, you will prosper in the work of your hands, and in the walk set before you.

Closing Verse: Bless the Lord, O house of Israel!
Bless the Lord, O house of Aaron!
²⁰ Bless the Lord, O house of Levi!
You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord!
²¹ Blessed be the Lord out of Zion,
Who dwells in Jerusalem!
Praise the Lord! Psalm 135:19-21

Next Week: Numbers 9:1-14 If you miss it the first time, there are provisions for you as a holdover… (The Lord’s Passover) (16^th Numbers Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. It may seem at times as if you are lost in a desert, wandering aimlessly. But the Lord is there, carefully leading you to the Land of Promise. So follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

Acceptable to Serve

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
These are the words He was then relaying

“Speak to Aaron, and say to him
‘When you arrange the lamps, so you shall do
The seven lamps shall give light
In front of the lampstand, as I am instructing you

And Aaron did so
He arranged the lamps to face
Toward the front of the lampstand
As the Lord commanded Moses, in that very place 

Now this workmanship of the lampstand was hammered gold
From its shaft to its flowers it was hammered work
According to the pattern which the Lord had shown Moses
So he made the lampstand; no detail did he shirk

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
“Take the Levites from among the children of Israel
And cleanse them ceremonially
Do these as to you I now tell 

Thus you shall do to them to cleanse them:
Sprinkle onthem water of purification, so I mean
And let them shave all their body
And let them wash their clothes, and so make themselves clean 

Then let them take a young bull
So you shall do this thing
With its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil
And you shall take another young bull as a sin offering 

And you shall bring the Levites
Before the tabernacle of meeting, so to you I tell
And you shall gather together the whole congregation
Of the children of Israel 

So you shall bring the Levites before the Lord
And the children of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites
———-according to My word

And Aaron shall offer the Levites before the Lord
Like a wave offering from the children of Israel
That they may perform the work of the Lord
Do this things as to you I now tell 

Then the Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the young bulls
And you shall offer one as a sin offering
And the other as a burnt offering to the Lord
To make atonement for the Levites, so you shall do this thing

“And you shall stand the Levites
According to this word
Before Aaron and his sons
And then offer them like a wave offering to the Lord 

Thus you shall separate the Levites
From among the children of Israel
And the Levites shall be Mine
To tend to their duties in this sanctuary in which I dwell 

After that the Levites shall go in
To service the tabernacle of meeting
So you shall cleanse them and offer them like a wave offering
These tasks I have assigned you shall be completing

For they are wholly given to Me
From among the children of Israel as to you I now tell
I have taken them for Myself instead of all who open the womb
The firstborn of all the children of Israel
(These four lines were left out of the spoken sermon by accident)

For all the firstborn among the children of Israel are Mine
Both man and beast, as to you I have described
On the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt
I them to Myself sanctified 

I have taken the Levites, this group of personnel
Instead of all the firstborn of the children of Israel

And I have given the Levites as a gift
To Aaron and his sons from among the children of Israel
To do the work for the children of Israel in the tabernacle of meeting
And to make atonement for the children of Israel; so to you I tell 

That there be no plague among the children of Israel
———-such shall not be
When the children of Israel come near the sanctuary

Thus Moses and Aaron and all the congregation
Of the children of Israel did to the Levites, as the Lord bid
According to all that the Lord commanded Moses
Concerning the Levites, so the children of Israel to them did 

And the Levites purified themselves
And washed their clothes, through and through
Then Aaron presented them like a wave offering before the Lord
And Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them
———-as he was told to do 

After that the Levites went in to do their work
In the tabernacle of meeting before Aaron and his sons, so they did
As the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites
So they did to them, according to what the Lord to them bid

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying
These words He was then relaying

“This is what pertains to the Levites:
From twenty-five years old and above, as directed by Me
One may enter to perform service
In the work of the tabernacle of meeting, so shall it be

And at the age of fifty years
They must cease this work from performing
And shall work no more
To this directive they shall be conforming

They may minister with their brethren
In the tabernacle of meeting, to attend to needs as to you I say
But they themselves shall do no work
Thus you shall do to the Levites regarding their duties
———-as I instruct you today

Lord God, we are even now in a wilderness
And we are wanting to be led by You
Without You to direct, our lives would be a mess
And so be our guide, O God; You who are faithful and true

We long for the water in this barren land
May it flow forth from the Rock, our souls to satisfy
Give us this refreshing, spiritual hand
And may we take it, and to our lives daily it apply

And we shall be content and satisfied in You alone
We will follow You as we sing our songs of praise
Hallelujah to You; to us Your path You have shown
Hallelujah we shall sing to you for all of our days

Hallelujah and Amen…

Numbers 7:10-89
The Dedication of the Altar

I’m going to be as honest as I can about today’s verses in two ways. The first is that when I get to this particular set of verses, specifically verses 12-83, I only read the whole set of verses 12-17, and then only the first and last verse of the other eleven sets of verses, just as I have done for you today. Funny thing, my mom said to me that she does the exact same thing when she gets here. The reason we do this is that they are seemingly identical, word for word, all the way through with the exception of the names. I have a tight schedule, and repetition leads to time use, and time use leads to getting backed up in other areas.

Yes, I kind of feel guilty about skipping over the repetition, but repetition leads to time use, and time use leads to getting backed up in other areas. Now that we are sufficiently backed up because of my repetition, I’ll move on by saying that not all repetition is tedious, and I will occasionally have someone say to me that they enjoy repetition in sermons and Bible studies. It helps things to sink in because they are repeated. I don’t disagree with that at all, and things seem to sink in better when they are repeated.

In the case of these repetitive verses in this chapter, they aren’t placed here for that reason. Rather than highlighting their similarities, they are actually given for quite the opposite reason. If you can make it all the way to verse 89, which will be in about 3 hours and 45 minutes, I will finish that verse and then explain the reason for it to you…

Text Verse: “As I urged you when I went into Macedonia—remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, ⁴ nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith.” 1 Timothy 1:3, 4

The second way I need to be honest about today’s sermon is that much of the final analysis of the sermon, after the verses are finished, actually came from the brain of Sergio Voitenko. Had he not looked into these some years ago, I have no idea what my final comments would have been like. Probably, I would have told you that the Bible was giving us a lesson on the beneficial use of repetition. If you need me to say that again, just holler out.

But he did analyze it, and then he went to the Jewish commentaries on this to see what they had to say. I am not a fan of Jewish commentaries in many respects, because they don’t stick to the Bible, and they often devolve into endless genealogies, just as Paul said about them. In the case of their conclusions here, they stuck to Scripture. In fact, they mirror much of what Christians say about Messiah. As Sergio noted in his thoughts, “…what a shame – some rabbis get so close to Jesus but [are] yet so blind. [C]an’t imagine what it would be like when they realize one day what they’ve missed out on for 2000 years.” As far as minute detail of the coming verses, John Lange says the following –

“We have thus a sample of sacred, divine book-keeping, whose separate lesson is that God is careful in all dealings with His people down to details and minutiæ. And this revelation is so comforting that we must not grudge the large space allowed to these entries, and wish that they were replaced by records that would clear up many things in this part of Scripture that are now very obscure.”

On that, he is right in that this is a sample of sacred, divine book-keeping. However, the minutiae actually clear up the seemingly obscure. Stay attentive as we go. And one final way I need to be honest – the sermon won’t take 3 hours and 45 minutes. At best it will be 3 hours and 30 minutes. Great things lie ahead in His superior word. And so let’s turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. The Offerings of the Dedication (verses 10-89)

¹⁰ Now the leaders offered the dedication offering 

These words initiate the details of the recording of the dedication of the altar. What follows will be the longest set of repetitions in Scripture. The same words appear to be used twelve times in the same manner, with the exception of the names of the tribe making the offering, and the leader in the tribe who makes the offering. Each day’s offering which follows consists of six verses which almost identically repeat.

The question is, “Why would the Lord repeat the same words twelve times over seventy-two verses? On the surface, it appears to be wholly unnecessary, even to the point of being overly tedious to the mind. Is God simply wasting words that could have been reduced to something like, “The same offering was presented by each tribe over the subsequent eleven days.”?

One thing is for sure, no later writer of the account would have ever thought of compiling it in the matter in which it is written. Thus, it stands as a testimony to the fact that Moses is the author, and he recorded it as it occurred, and exactly as the Lord determined. If we get nothing else out of this today, we should remember that fact. This account fully substantiates that Moses recorded what is presented.

Here, at the start of verse 10, it says, va’yaqrivu ha’nesiim eth khanukat – “and the princes brought near the dedication.” The word for “dedication” is a new one in Scripture which will be seen eight times, but four of them will be in this chapter. It is a word almost all people are familiar with, khanukah. Today it is used when speaking of the festival of Hanukkah which stems from the dedication of the temple by the Maccabees during the intertestamental period. The festival is noted in John 10:22 as something observed even when Jesus came. Now in Numbers, there is a dedication which is brought near…

^{10 (con’t)} for the altar

The Hebrew says, ha’mizbeakh – “the altar.” The altar is dedicated by these offerings. The offerings are brought forth by each tribe for this purpose. Thus, each day is a dedication of the altar by the tribe bringing forth its offering. This will be expressed in verse 84. It is the thing spoken of which is dedicated, not the offering itself. Here, and in 2 Chronicles 7, it is the altar which is spoken of. In Nehemiah 12, it is the wall that is referred to. And Psalm 30 speaks of the dedication of the house of David.

There is a question as to whether the term “for the altar” is speaking of both the brazen altar and the altar of incense. The reason why is because incense is one of the ingredients presented. That doesn’t seem to be a necessary conclusion. Frankincense is presented with offerings on the brazen altar as is noted in Leviticus. Further, the special incense for the golden altar was to be made for, and used only by, the priests. There is no reason to assume that the incense presented here is for anything except the brazen altar. The dedication is speaking only of the brazen altar…

^{10 (con’t)} when it was anointed;

Here it says, b’yom hi-masakh – “in the day it was anointed.” As we have seen before, this doesn’t mean literally on the day of the anointing, but in the time of its anointing. The anointing occurred in Leviticus 8 in a ceremony which lasted seven days. The presentation here is one which takes twelve days. And so the offering of dedication is during the time-frame of the altar’s anointing.

^{10 (con’t)} so the leaders offered their offering before the altar.

The leaders represent the people under them, and they thus represent the individual tribes, twelve of them. The offerings are made for their tribes, and they are offered in exactly the same order as the listing of the tribes around the sanctuary as is detailed in Numbers 2 and again in Numbers 10. As they encamped, and as they will head out in procession, so each also presents an offering.

¹¹ For the Lord said to Moses, “They shall offer their offering, one leader each day, for the dedication of the altar.”

As is often the case, the Hebrew reads much more elegantly – “And said Yehovah unto Moses, ‘One prince a day — one prince a day — are they to bring near their offering for the dedication of the altar.’” The offerings were to be made, but what should be the order? Should they be by birth order? Should they be all in one day? In what manner were they to come near? The Lord determined what was to be done, and then He passed that on to Moses. It is as the tribes are laid out according to the cross, and as the sun lights the sky during the spring of the year, from east to south to west to north, so the offering of each leader is to be made. And they are to be one day at a time. It is a royal procession to bring an offering before the King of the universe.

¹² And the one who offered his offering on the first day was Nahshon the son of Amminadab, from the tribe of Judah.

Starting with Judah, the fourth born to Jacob, but from whom would come Messiah, the first offering is made. Other than these three names, Nahshon, Amminadab, and Judah, we won’t repeat the meaning of the three names of each offering as they have been listed already in two previous sermons. Nahshon means “Serpent Person.” Amminadab means “People of the Prince.” Judah means “Praise,” In selecting Judah first, we have a picture for us to always remember, “Praise is to go first before the Lord.”

¹³ His offering was one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, 

The translation is lacking. It says, v’qarebano – “And his offering.” Things like this are placed into the word of God for a reason. To leave them out leaves the studious reader with a lack of understanding concerning what is being relayed. The offering presented is first to be a qaarat keseph, or “dish silver.” The word qearah, or dish, is used 17 times and only in Exodus and Numbers. It comes from a word which means to tear, or cut out. Thus it is something hollowed out like a shallow bowl. Silver pictures redemption. The weight is given as one hundred and thirty shekels. As this is silver, it was not used in the tabernacle, as only gold vessels were used there. This one, in the future, would probably be used at the brazen altar for mixing grain offerings.

^{13 (con’t)} and one silver bowl of seventy shekels,

Next is a mizraq, or bowl. This comes from the word zaraq, meaning “to scatter,” and so it would be a deeper bowl than the first presented. This one is to be a bit more than half the size of the previous dish; seventy shekels. This one would probably have been used in the future for receiving the blood of sacrificial animals and then splashing it upon the sides of the altar. The weight of each of these vessels was to be…

^{13 (con’t)} according to the shekel of the sanctuary,

The shekel of the sanctuary is described five times in the Bible as being the weight of twenty gerahs. A gerah is a set standard, like a grain in our modern weights. Of these bowls…

^{13 (con’t)} both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;

Both bowls were to be filled with soleth belulah ba’shemen – “fine flour mixed with oil.” The flour, or soleth, comes from an unused root meaning “to strip.” Thus it is fine flour. Into that is mixed oil so that it becomes one mixture. That mixture was brought as a grain offering. These picture Christ as has been seen in previous sermons. As they are in silver, it points to the human aspect of Jesus working out our redemption in His humanity. Next…

¹⁴ one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense;

The word here is kaph. It means “hand.” Thus it is a pan or cup, but being only ten shekels, it would be dinky. In it was to be incense. The gold points to the deity of Christ; the incense to His intercessory role in His divine nature. Also…

¹⁵ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year,

The par, or “bull” comes from the word parar, to defeat. The ayil, or ram, is from the same as ul, or mighty. And the kebes, or lamb is from an unused root meaning, “to dominate.” The lamb is in its first year indicating innocence. Each of these points to the work of Christ, as has been seen in previous sermons. It is Christ who defeats the devil through His might, and who remained innocent and free of sin, pictured in these animals. These then are offered up…

^{15 (con’t)} as a burnt offering;

The burnt offering is one which is burnt up completely. It pictures a life dedicated wholly to God. The symbolism then is that these are offered on behalf of the people who have dedicated their lives in this way, but the offerings picture Christ who makes that possible.

¹⁶ one kid of the goats as a sin offering;

This is a seir izzim, or shaggy goat. The word sayir means hairy. The word izzim means goat, coming from the word azaz, or prevail. It is the same as the two goats presented on the Day of Atonement in Leviticus 16:5. It is presented because hair in the Bible denotes awareness. In this case, it is an awareness of sin. The first time this word, sayir, or “hairy” was used was when speaking of Esau who is called a hairy man. He pictured fallen Adam who became aware of sin through his disobedience of the Lord’s command. Paul says in Romans 8:3 that “Christ came in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin.” In doing this, “he condemned sin in the flesh.” He prevailed over it. This is the purpose of presenting a hairy goat. It pictures Christ who came in this manner. This then acknowledges the sin of the people, but that the animal (picturing Christ) is given to take their place.

¹⁷ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year.

Also is a peace offering which consists of two baqar, or oxen. That comes from a verb signifying “to seek out.” Also, five ayil, or rams, signifying strength. Further, five atud, or male goats. These atudim have never been mentioned before in the sacrificial system. The word comes from athod which signifies “destined” as in “ready to become.” Along with them are to be five kebes, or lambs, of the first year. They again signify “to dominate.”

As these are peace offerings, they picture seeking out peace with God through Christ, resting in His strength, destined to be what God expects of us in Christ, and looking to dominate over the flesh through the power of Christ. To understand the significance of the offerings themselves, meaning the burnt, sin, and peace offerings, took sermon after sermon in Leviticus. Time prohibits repeating all of that here, and so a review of those Leviticus sermons is necessary to grasp all that these short verses now encompass.

^{17 (con’t)} This was the offering of Nahshon the son of Amminadab.

This concludes the offering of the first day as given by Nahshon.

^18-23 On the second day Nethanel the son of Zuar, leader of Issachar, presented an offering. … This was the offering of Nethanel the son of Zuar.

The second day sees the offering of the second tribe, which is also the second tribe under Judah’s standard to the east.

^24-29 On the third day Eliab the son of Helon, leader of the children of Zebulun, presented an offering. … This was the offering of Eliab the son of Helon.

The third day sees the offering of the third tribe, which is also the third tribe under Judah’s standard to the east.

^30-35 On the fourth day Elizur the son of Shedeur, leader of the children of Reuben, presented an offering. … This was the offering of Elizur the son of Shedeur.

The fourth day sees the offering of the fourth tribe, which is also the first tribe under Reuben’s standard to the south.

^36-41 On the fifth day Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai, leader of the children of Simeon, presented an offering. … This was the offering of Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.

The fifth day sees the offering of the fifth tribe, which is also the second tribe under Reuben’s standard to the south.

^42-47 On the sixth day Eliasaph the son of Deuel, leader of the children of Gad, presented an offering. … This was the offering of Eliasaph the son of Deuel.

The sixth day sees the offering of the sixth tribe, which is also the third tribe under Reuben’s standard to the south.

^48-53 On the seventh day Elishama the son of Ammihud, leader of the children of Ephraim, presented an offering. … This was the offering of Elishama the son of Ammihud.

The seventh day sees the offering of the seventh tribe, which is also the first tribe under Ephraim’s standard to the west. As the seventh day is noted here, it should be considered that whether this was a Sabbath or not, eventually there would be at least one, or even two presentations which occurred on a Sabbath. If so, it may be considered acceptable as it occurred in conjunction with the established religion. However, it may be that there was no offering at all made on a Sabbath, and the counting of days skips over the Sabbath. Thus, the term “on the XXth day” speaks of the day of the offerings, not the subsequent day in time. As the people were told to rest on the Sabbath, this may be the case, but as we saw in the previous sermon, it very well may not be.

^54-59 On the eighth day Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, leader of the children of Manasseh, presented an offering. … This was the offering of Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.

The eighth day sees the offering of the eighth tribe, which is also the second tribe under Ephraim’s standard to the west.

^60-65 On the ninth day Abidan the son of Gideoni, leader of the children of Benjamin, presented an offering. … This was the offering of Abidan the son of Gideoni.

The ninth day sees the offering of the ninth tribe, which is also the third tribe under Ephraim’s standard to the west.

^66-71 On the tenth day Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai, leader of the children of Dan, presented an offering. … This was the offering of Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.

The tenth day sees the offering of the tenth tribe, which is also the first tribe under Dan’s standard to the north.

^72-77 On the eleventh day Pagiel the son of Ocran, leader of the children of Asher, presented an offering. … This was the offering of Pagiel the son of Ocran.

The eleventh day sees the offering of the eleventh tribe, which is also the second tribe under Dan’s standard to the north.

^78-83 On the twelfth day Ahira the son of Enan, leader of the children of Naphtali, presented an offering. … This was the offering of Ahira the son of Enan.

The twelfth day sees the offering of the twelfth tribe, which is also the third tribe under Dan’s standard to the north.

⁸⁴ This was the dedication offering for the altar from the leaders of Israel,

The Hebrew says zot khanukat ha’mizbeakh – “this dedication the altar.” The altar is dedicated through the twelve offerings from each tribe, tribe by tribe.

^{84 (con’t)} when it was anointed:

It again reads, “in the day” it was anointed. Thus, this is speaking of the entire period of the offering as being in relation to the day in which the altar was anointed.

^{84 (con’t)} twelve silver platters, twelve silver bowls, and twelve gold pans.

The dedication spoken of in the first clause is now explained by this and the following verses. What was presented is what brings about the dedication of the altar. One of each item here was presented by each tribe.

⁸⁵ Each silver platter weighed one hundred and thirty shekels and each bowl seventy shekels. 

The combined weight of the silver platters is 1560 shekels. The combined weight of the silver bowls is 840 shekels.

^{85 (con’t)} All the silver of the vessels weighed two thousand four hundred shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary.

The combined weight of the silver is given. This according to the sanctuary shekel which is twenty gerahs to the shekel.

⁸⁶ The twelve gold pans full of incense weighed ten shekels apiece, according to the shekel of the sanctuary; all the gold of the pans weighed one hundred and twenty shekels.

Interestingly, the weight of the gold in gerahs, which is twenty gerahs to the shekel, is the same number as shekels of silver. There are 2400 shekels of silver and 120 shekels of gold which equals 2400 gerahs. 2400 is 12 x 200. Not to read too much into that, but the number 12 is that of governmental perfection, and the number 200 is the number of insufficiency. As this is for the dedication of the altar, it appears to point to the insufficiency of this Old Testament sacrificial system to accomplish what it is designed for. Thus, it is an implicit reference to the need for a New Covenant led by Christ and structured around His twelve apostles.

⁸⁷ All the oxen for the burnt offering were twelve young bulls, the rams twelve, the male lambs in their first year twelve, with their grain offering, and the kids of the goats as a sin offering twelve.

The totals for the burnt and sin offerings are given, one of each animal for each tribe. The grain offerings are only now mentioned, but it is understood from the laws given in Leviticus that these would accompany the sacrifices. All of these together, the burnt, grain, and sin offerings were given in anticipation of Christ to come. In themselves, they could accomplish nothing except to picture what He would do. This is explicitly stated in the book of Hebrews.

⁸⁸ And all the oxen for the sacrifice of peace offerings were twenty-four bulls, the rams sixty, the male goats sixty, and the lambs in their first year sixty.

The combined totals of each animal for the peace offerings are given here. Those combined then total 204 animals. And then combining these with the burnt and sin offerings equals a total number of animals offered at 252 over a period of 12 days, 36 as whole burnt offerings, and 216 were partially burned and the rest eaten according to the laws given for the sin and peace offerings.

^{88 (con’t)} This was the dedication offering for the altar after it was anointed.

The word akhar, or after, confirms what has already been deduced. The term b’yom, or “in the day” of the anointing of the altar, which has already been used, is speaking of the entire duration of the dedication. The entire process of the dedication is counted as the day of the altar’s anointing. With this, the altar is now dedicated to serve in the capacity for which it was built.

Through the offering presented by each leader, the people have, tribe by tribe, symbolically offered themselves to God through Christ; they have had their sins symbolically atoned for through Christ; and they have symbolically partaken of the body of Christ. Now, everything in Leviticus concerning the sacrifices to be conducted at this altar, and all of which point to the coming Messiah, can now be performed and accepted because of this time of dedication.

⁸⁹ Now when Moses went into the tabernacle of meeting to speak with Him,

To close out this long and very complicated chapter, we have a verse that seemingly has nothing to do with anything, but actually, this isn’t so. The first verse of Chapter 7 said, “Now it came to pass, when Moses had finished setting up the tabernacle, that he anointed it and consecrated it and all its furnishings, and the altar and all its utensils; so he anointed them and consecrated them.” That took us all the way back to Exodus 40:17 when the tabernacle was said to have been set up.

Since then, the entire sacrificial system has been outlined, and numerous laws have been given. Also, the priests have been consecrated and the Levites were then set apart for service to the priests. Here in this chapter the people have consecrated the altar and offered themselves, tribe by tribe, in anticipation of the coming Christ. Now, to close out all of that, we come to this verse.

We understand in this how Moses received his word from the Lord. It says that he would go into the tent of meeting to speak with Him. What is understood is that “Him” is Yehovah who has been speaking out His word to Moses. This is confirmed back in Exodus 25 at the giving of the directions for the construction of the Ark –

“You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you. ²² And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.” Exodus 25:21, 22

That is now revealed to actually be the case. When Moses went in, it says…

^{89 (con’t)} he heard the voice of One speaking to him

The verb here is in a particular form where it expresses the reflexive voice where the subject of the verb is both performing and receiving the verbal action. Maybe better stated, this should say, “…he heard the voice conversing with him” (Pulpit). It is debated if Moses stood outside of the veil, or if he alone was allowed inside the veil, apart from the special Day of Atonement allowances. In Exodus 33:11, it says that “the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.” This means that they had open and free discussion, not literally necessarily seeing one another’s face. However, in Numbers 12:8, it also says that Moses “sees the form of the Lord.” That implies a physical manifestation of the Lord, presumably the eternal Christ in His incarnate form. Either way, the voice was audible. And it both spoke to and responded to Moses. As God doesn’t have parts, and as a voice requires something to make the voice resonate, it is at least a foreshadowing of the incarnation where God would literally speak with a mouth through the Person of Jesus. For now, though, the mouth of the Lord would speak…

*^89 (fin) from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the Testimony, from between the two cherubim; thus He spoke to him.

The eternal Word of God, Yehovah, who is the Lord Jesus, would converse with Moses from above the mercy seat that was on the Ark. As the mercy seat points to the place of Christ’s atoning death, and as the ark of the Testimony points to Christ, the fulfillment and thus embodiment, of the law, it is appropriate that this verse is placed here. It is after the offering of the tribes for the dedication of the altar, which points to the sacrificial work of Christ which Christ would accomplish, that we are told how He spoke to Moses.

The name Moses means, “He who draws out.” Moses went in to draw out from the Lord, that which needed to be expressed to the people and the Lord would be there, conversing with him. From the spot which pictures His fulfillment of the covenant, He would speak out the words of the covenant which anticipated His coming in order to fulfill it. It is a rather remarkable thing to consider.

An offering to God; an offering for peace
One which signifies fellowship so sweet
It stems from our daily trod, and in Christ it shall never cease
Because in Him our fellowship is complete

Cleanse us in our inward parts; lead us in Your peace
May we join together with You, O precious Lord
Purify our minds and hearts; may this joy never cease
Through Christ, may we always be in one accord

Thank You for the cross from whence atonement came
Upon that offering, we can now add an offering of peace
Together they point to the same great Name
Both look to Jesus where joyous fellowship will never, never cease

II. Why So Many Repetitive Verses?

It has always been a curiosity why the Lord didn’t just say what the offerings were for the first day, and then say that the leader of each subsequent tribe made similar offerings over the next eleven days. The tally at the end would have clarified that well enough. But He didn’t do this. And so being curious as to why, our friend Sergio put these verses into the computer and looked for any differences. There actually are some.

First, the only tribe that doesn’t use the term nasiy, or “prince,” is that of Judah. All the others say, “On the XXth day XX the son of XX, leader (nasiy) of the children of XX, presented an offering. In verse 12, however, it says of Judah, “And the one who offered his offering on the first day was Nahshon the son of Amminadab, from the tribe of Judah.”

Secondly, verse 13 is identical to all the other eleven corresponding verses, but with one exception. It contains the letter vav at the beginning of the verse, translated as “And,” – “And His offering…” The other eleven simply begin with, “His offering was…” It would make more sense to say “And” at the beginning of the last eleven, not only say it during the first, but this is how it is.

And then thirdly, the exact same offerings are used, letter for letter, in all of the other verses, with two exceptions. In verse 17, and in verse 23, the word atudim, or “male goats” is spelled ayin-tav-vav-dalet-yod-mem. However, in the other ten, it is spelled without the letter vav. Those are the only differences in all 72 verses – the word nasiy, and three vav’s.

The reason for the exacting repetition of these 72 verses is clear. The Lord had these variations which needed to be highlighted. The way to accomplish this was to write every section, verse, word, and letter identically, with those changes as well. In doing this, the changes would then be seen as purposeful.

The first change, the leaving off of the term nasiy, or “prince,” is though Nahshon is the prince of Judah, he was not named specifically as prince because from this tribe would come its true nasiy, or Prince. This is actually referred to in 1 Chronicles 5 –

“For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came he that is the prince…” JPS Tanakh 1977

Though that was speaking immediately about David, it is referring prophetically to Messiah, the seed of David. Hence, the term nasiy, or prince, is left off here in anticipation of Christ.

The second variation, that of the vav, or “And,” beginning verse 13 is explained by the lack of the term “prince” in verse 12. The “and” there acknowledges that an offering was made by Nahshon, who though the leader, was not acknowledged as such. The vav is the sixth number of the aleph-bet. Six is the number of man. Nahshon made his offering, but the title being left off looked forward to the greater Man who would lead the tribe and the congregation.

Even the ancient rabbis understood the vav points to Messiah. Although their commentaries are not the Bible, in this case, they are, like any other scholars’ comments, based on the Bible. In the Midrash Rabbah of Numbers, they looked at the vav as an anticipation of six righteous men who would come from Judah. Nahshon is the grandfather of Boaz, and Boaz is the grandfather of David. Thus David, who anticipates the coming Messiah, is sixth from Nahshon. Along with him, the sages list the four other righteous men listed in the Bible – Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. They say the sixth to come would be Messiah. It is he who is the greater David. The way that they determine this is the same way we determine that Christ is the Lord; from Isaiah 11. There, the seven spirits of the Lord are named, but the first is the Spirit of the Lord. After that, six spirits would rest upon the Man, Messiah the Lord –

“There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse,
And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
² The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him,
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The Spirit of counsel and might,
The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.?Isaiah 11:1, 2

The third variation, that of the two vav’s in the atudim, or male goats, of Judah and Issachar point to the Person of Messiah as well. As I said, the word comes from athod which signifies “destined” as in ready to become. The first of the two uses is in the male goat offering of Judah, which means Praise. The vav signifies Messiah destined to be the Praise of God for and among His people.

This explains the extra vav of the offering of Judah, which seems obvious because Messiah comes from Judah. But, it doesn’t explain the extra vav of Issachar’s offering. In this, we need to look at the meaning of the name of Issachar. It means, “He is wages.” Thus, unlike the other ten tribes that have no vav, we see here that the Messiah was giving us a clue as to His mission. He is destined to be the payment which brings us peace with God, as seen in this peace offering which is made upon this very altar being dedicated.

There is no need for the vav in any other tribe’s offering, because these two sum up the role of Messiah as is intended here. He is the Praise of God which brings peace to man, and He is the payment which brings peace with God, represented by the altar where these sacrifices are made. It looks to the cross of Calvary. It was a long set of verses to go through to make the point, but the point is made.

If nothing else from this very long passage, which we even cut short in both its reading and its analysis because of the repetition, I would hope that you have learned that nothing is superfluous in God’s word. That which seems to make no sense, makes all kinds of sense when it is studied. Reading isn’t study, but it is what you should do every day with this precious word. The study is what you should do with those who have the time to prepare the study. Here, that’s my job. And in our time together, you can combine what you know from reading, with that which you learned from the study. In putting them together, you have a much fuller and more beautifully laid out picture of Christ. In the end, it is all about Him.

Closing Verse: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, ⁴ just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, ⁵ having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, ⁶ to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.” Ephesians 1:3-6

Next Week: Numbers 8:1-26 Don’t be anxious. Don’t lose your nerve… (Acceptable to Serve) (15^th Numbers Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. It may seem at times as if you are lost in a desert, wandering aimlessly. But the Lord is there, carefully leading you to the Land of Promise. So follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

An Offering for the Altar

Now the leaders offered the dedication offering
For the altar when it was anointed
So the leaders offered their offering before the altar
They did this as they were so appointed 

For the Lord said to Moses, “They shall offer their offering
One leader each day, for the dedication of the altar
———-such shall be their proffering

And the one who offered his offering on the first day
Was Nahshon the son of Amminadab, from the tribe of Judah
———-as the record does say 

His offering was one silver platter
The weight of which was shekels one hundred and thirty
And one silver bowl of seventy shekels
According to the shekel of the sanctuary

Both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering
One gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense as well
One young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year
———-as a burnt offering
One kid of the goats as a sin offering, as the account does tell 

And for the sacrifice of peace offerings
Two oxen, five rams, five male goats, not grown in a lab
And five male lambs in their first year
This was the offering of Nahshon the son of Amminadab

On the second day Nethanel the son of Zuar
Leader of Issachar
Presented an offering the same as before
This was the offering of Nethanel the son of Zuar

On the third day Eliab the son of Helon
Leader of the children of Zebulun
Presented an offering the same as before
This was the offering of Eliab the son of Helon

On the fourth day Elizur the son of Shedeur
Leader of the children of Reuben, for sure
Presented an offering the same as before
This was the offering of Elizur the son of Shedeur

On the fifth day Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai
Leader of the children of Simeon, by and by
Presented an offering the same as before
This was the offering of Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai

On the sixth day Eliasaph the son of Deuel
Leader of the children of Gad, as the account does tell
Presented an offering the same as before
This was the offering of Eliasaph the son of Deuel

On the seventh day Elishama the son of Ammihud
Leader of the children of Ephraim, so it is understood
Presented an offering the same as before
This was the offering of Elishama the son of Ammihud

On the eighth day Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur
Leader of the children of Manasseh, for sure
Presented an offering the same as before
This was the offering of Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur

On the ninth day Abidan the son of Gideoni
Leader of the children of Benjamin, as we see
Presented an offering the same as before
This was the offering of Abidan the son of Gideoni

On the tenth day Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai
Leader of the children of Dan, by and by
Presented an offering the same as before
This was the offering of Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai

On the eleventh day Pagiel the son of Ocran
Leader of the children of Asher, as stated hereon
Presented an offering the same as before
This was the offering of Pagiel the son of Ocran

On the twelfth day Ahira the son of Enan
Leader of the children of Naphtali
———-by the Lord his name was drawn
Presented an offering the same as before
This was the offering of Ahira the son of Enan

This was the dedication offering
For the altar from the leaders of Israel
When it was anointed
Twelve silver platters, twelve silver bowls
———-and twelve gold pans as the record does tell

Each silver platter weighed one hundred and thirty shekels
And each bowl shekels seventy
All the silver of the vessels weighed
———-two thousand four hundred shekels
According to the shekel of the sanctuary

The twelve gold pans full of incense weighed ten shekels apiece
According to the shekel of the sanctuary
All the gold of the pans weighed
Shekels one hundred and twenty 

All the oxen for the burnt offering were twelve young bulls
The rams twelve, the male lambs in their first year twelve, as well
With their grain offering
And the kids of the goats as a sin offering twelve
———-as the record does tell

And all the oxen for the sacrifice of peace offerings
were twenty-four bulls, the rams sixty, the male goats sixty
———-all as duly appointed
And the lambs in their first year sixty
This was the dedication offering for the altar after it was anointed

Now when Moses went into the tabernacle of meeting
To speak with Him, the voice of One speaking to him he heard
From above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the Testimony
From between the two cherubim; thus He spoke to him
———-thus He conveyed His word

Lord God, we are even now in a wilderness
And we are wanting to be led by You
Without You to direct, our lives would be a mess
And so be our guide, O God; You who are faithful and true

We long for the water in this barren land
May it flow forth from the Rock, our souls to satisfy
Give us this refreshing, spiritual hand
And may we take it, and to our lives daily it apply

And we shall be content and satisfied in You alone
We will follow You as we sing our songs of praise
Hallelujah to You; to us Your path You have shown
Hallelujah we shall sing to you for all of our days

Hallelujah and Amen…