Numbers. Day 15, A Test For Marital Faithfulness, Part One

The passage we are studying today and tomorrow is probably going to seem quite strange and unfair to us. Or at least that was my first reaction to it. I had never done an in-depth study of the book of Numbers before and was only vaguely familiar with today's text due to my church's associate pastor using it in a sermon once. Our text deals with a jealous husband who may or may not have any real reason to suspect his wife has been unfaithful. 

I don't know about you, but I've personally known several people who've dealt with a spouse who has been obsessed with the idea that they're being betrayed even though that wasn't the case at all. I've known innocent women whose husbands seemed obsessed with the idea that their wives are being unfaithful or that their wives would be unfaithful if given the chance. So at first, the idea that a husband could take his wife to the priest and make her go through a ritual to see whether or not she had been unfaithful seemed like unfair treatment to the wife. But on the other hand, if the Lord hadn't provided a ritual to undergo---a ritual whose outcome is intended to be taken as an answer straight from God---women who lived with jealous and suspicious husbands might have had to endure a lifetime of unfounded accusations. This ritual would not be acceptable in our own times in nations where women have equal legal standing with men. But we are studying a period of ancient history involving a patriarchal society where men had most of the authority and power and where women had few protections under secular law, so the Lord laid out a procedure to be followed so that the husband would know if he has been betrayed or to show him he was wrong so he can repent and let the Lord heal his insecure and jealous nature. 

"Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'If a man's wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him so that another man has sexual relations with her, and this is hidden from her husband and her impurity is undetected (since there is no witness against her and she has not been caught in the act), and if feelings of jealousy come over her husband and he suspects his wife and she is impure---or if he is jealous and suspects her even though she is not impure---then he is to take his wife to the priest. He must also take an offering of a tenth of an ephah of barley flour on her behalf. He must not pour olive oil on it or put incense on it, because it is a grain offering for jealousy, a reminder-offering to draw attention to wrongdoing." (Numbers 5:11-15) The husband may feel like something is off in his household. A discerning person may just "know" when their spouse is being unfaithful even though there's nothing specific they can point their finger at and even though they may not have any concrete proof. On the other hand, some people are so insecure that they are jealous for no reason and they may keep looking for proof that isn't there. Going to the priest is intended to provide the true answer and the husband is to accept the answer even if it doesn't line up with his suspicions.

The grain offering isn't to be sweetened or dressed up in any way. Jealousy is a bitter emotion. Betrayal is a bitter thing. No matter who is in the wrong in this matter (the wife for adultery or the husband for being jealous for no reason), the plain and bitter grain symbolizes the plain and bitter truth. 

"The priest shall bring her and have her stand before the Lord. Then he shall take some holy water in a clay jar and put some dust from the tabernacle floor into the water. After the priest has had the woman stand before the Lord, he shall loosen her hair and place in her hands the reminder-offering, the grain offering for jealousy, while he himself holds the bitter water that brings a curse." (Numbers 5:16-18) The woman's head covering is removed. The head covering worn by a married woman was a symbol to everyone that she was under the protection of a husband. If she is proven to be unfaithful, her husband can't and won't protect her from the resulting penalty. 

"Then the priest shall put the woman under oath and say to her, 'If no other man has had sexual relations with you and you have not gone astray and become impure while married to your husband, may this bitter water that brings a curse not harm you." (Numbers 5:19) The woman is going to drink this water, and if nothing happens to her, her innocence is proven. Her husband must accept this verdict as the word of God, her Judge. God knows whether or not she has been unfaithful. If nothing happens after she drinks the water, her husband cannot persist in accusing her. God has witnessed her living a faithful life and He has given true and unquestionable testimony on her behalf.

Could a woman bring her husband to the priest if she suspects her husband has been unfaithful? There is nothing in the Bible to suggest she could. In the Old Testament so far we have studied various laws being given in which only the men were addressed when these laws were handed down, but we understood that the laws were intended to apply to men and women alike, so we can't rule out the possibility that the test for faithfulness could be applied to men as well as to women. But I tend to think that in an ancient patriarchal society only the men could bring their spouses up on charges of infidelity. There are some patriarchal cultures in the world today in which a woman has no legal recourse if her husband has been unfaithful, but her husband can divorce her or have her maimed or even put to death for unfaithfulness. At least here in Numbers the jealous husband isn't allowed to lay a finger on his wife if she is found to be unfaithful. If she is guilty, her judgment comes only from the Lord. 

Does this mean the Lord allowed men to get away with adultery? No. "Thou shalt not commit adultery" is one of the ten commandments. The Lord never turns a blind eye to sin. Even if a woman of the Old Testament era couldn't bring her husband to the priest upon suspicions of adultery, God knew whether or not her husband had broken his holy marriage vows. God would deal with the unfaithful husband. A clear example of this is how God dealt with King David. David was the most politically powerful man on earth at the time, answerable to no human authority, and he thought he could conceal his sin. He thought he could go on with his life as if he had done no wrong. But there was an authority to whom he was answerable---Almighty God---and God didn't allow him to get away with his sin or continue living in unrepentant sin. God is righteous and won't overlook sin. God is also loving and He won't allow a child of His to keep going astray. He disciplines those He loves, just as a good parent corrects the behavior of a child. A woman in Old Testament times may not have had much recourse under the law against an unfaithful husband, but she could certainly appeal to God, and His is the highest court in the land. 

Numbers. Day 14, Purity And Restitution

We are going to look at two segments of Chapter 5 today. The first segment is titled "The Purity Of The Camp" in my NIV Bible. In this case "purity" is a reference to quarantining away from the camp those who are infected with contagious illnesses. Spiritual purity is not the subject of this segment, although our passage could be used as a metaphor for it.

"The Lord said to Moses, 'Command the Israelites to send away from the camp anyone who has a defiling skin disease or a discharge of any kind, or who is ceremonially unclean because of a dead body." (Numbers 5:1-2) In Leviticus 13, 15, and 21 we spent a great deal of time studying the hygiene and medical regulations which the Lord prescribed for the nation of Israel. The person with a defiling skin disease (a spreading, possibly infectious rash or blistering or peeling that might potentially be leprosy) or a person with a bodily discharge was to quarantine for seven days and then have their symptoms reassessed. If the symptoms didn't worsen but were still present after seven days, another period of quarantine was prescribed. If the symptoms improved or went away entirely, the person didn't have a deadly illness and could rejoin society after bathing and changing clothes and observing the religious rituals for purity. 

Also we learned that coming in contact with a dead body rendered a person ceremonially unclean until evening. It was necessary for close relatives of the deceased to prepare the body for burial and then bury it but after doing so they had to wash themselves, change their clothes, and remain in self-isolation until sundown. This was to help prevent transferring viral or bacterial contagion from the dead to the living. In those days a diagnosis for the cause of someone's death could not always be made. There were no medical examiners to perform autopsies and run blood tests and look at cells under a microscope. For the safety of everyone in the camp, it had to be assumed that the cause of death might have been something contagious, so anyone who came in contact with the body had to bathe and change their clothes and avoid social interaction for a temporary period of time.

There are to be no exceptions for quarantine based on the sex of the person who is ill, for the Lord says, "'Send away male and female alike; send them outside the camp so they will not defile their camp, where I dwell among them.' The Israelites did so; they sent them outside the camp. They did just as the Lord had instructed Moses." (Numbers 5:3-4) No could could appeal quarantine based on the hardship it would cause them to send a male family member outside the camp (he would not be able to go to his work during this time) or based on the hardship it would cause them to send a female family member outside the camp (she would not be able to care for children or run the household). Since multiple generations tended to live together in those times, I assume if the main male breadwinner of the household had to go into quarantine, other male members of the family would chip in and help out as much as they could. If a mom of young kids had to go into quarantine, I think her mother or mother-in-law or some other female relative would babysit and cook meals and provide the other needs of the household.

The removal of contagion from the camp can be used as a metaphor for removing sin from the camp, or in modern times for excommunicating a person from a congregation or removing someone as an officer of the church when they fall into public sin. For example, in my own church some years back there was a married couple who were very active in the choir and who taught a youth group one night a week at their home. The husband was carrying on a secret affair that suddenly became public when the woman he had the affair with became pregnant by him and had him served with papers to force him to submit to a paternity test and pay child support (the test proved he was the father). The church was forced to remove this man as a teacher of the youth group. Finding out that their teacher had been living an immoral lifestyle the whole time he'd been leading Bible study was very hurtful for these young people. It would have been wrong if the church had allowed him to continue serving in a position of authority. The church leadership had no choice except to lovingly but firmly tell him he must step down. He was not forbidden to attend the church; he voluntarily left for a time but repented and got his life together and came back. But to have turned a blind eye to the sin of a person who held an office in the church would have been to sin against God's holy word which the church upholds and it would have been to sin against the youth group and the congregation as a whole.

The second segment of our study today involves making restitution for wrongs. In this instance the Bible appears to be speaking primarily about monetary wrongs, such as when a person has defrauded another or has stolen from another or has caused monetary loss in some other way. "The Lord said to Moses, 'Say to the Israelites: Any man or woman who wrongs another in any way and so is unfaithful to the Lord is guilty and must confess the sin they have committed.'" (Numbers 5:5-7a) Although verse 6 says the restitution mentioned here is to be paid if a person wrongs another in "any way", in the original language the words rendered as "any way" can also mean "in a way that is common". One of the most common ways people wrong each other tends to involve monetary transactions and I believe that's mainly the type of sin in view here in these verses because the one who has done wrong will be commanded to pay the amount back plus an extra one fifth. It would be difficult to place a monetary value on wrongs that don't involve a financial loss.

"They must make full restitution for the wrong they have done, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the person they have wronged." (Numbers 5:7b) If a person cheated his neighbor in a financial transaction of some type, he would have to pay the neighbor back that amount plus an additional one fifth. If a person caused the death of any of his neighbor's livestock, the monetary value of the dead livestock would be calculated and an extra fifth added to the total. If a person caused the deliberate loss of someone else's home or other property, the value of the property would be assessed and he would have to pay that back plus a fifth.

There might be times when the person who was wronged dies before the case comes to trial. The person who did him wrong is not off the hook. The wrongdoer still owes the money to the dead person's heirs. If the dead person had no heirs, the wrongdoer has to pay the money to the priest and must bring a sacrifice of atonement. "But if that person has no close relative to whom restitution can be made for the wrong, the restitution belongs to the Lord and must be given to the priest, along with the ram with which atonement is made for the wrongdoer. All the sacred contributions the Israelites bring to a priest will belong to him. Sacred things belong to their owners, but what they give to the priest will belong to the priest." (Numbers 5:8-10) 

Many of the sacrifices the Israelites brought to the tabernacle could be shared in by the person bringing the sacrifice. Certain portions were given to the Lord, certain portions belonged to the priests to be shared in a communal meal, and certain portions belonged to the one who brought the sacrifice. If I'm reading verse 10 correctly, it looks like in the case of a person making restitution, the entire sacrifice belongs to the priest to whom it is brought. The person who brought the ram could not retain any part of it. It also looks like the ram is not to be a communal meal for the priests but that all of it belongs to the one priest who officiated this restitution ceremony, with the exception of the portions of the ram that belong to the Lord.

Sin is sin even if the person we sinned against is dead. All of us can probably think back on our lives and recall times we've said or done something we wish we hadn't, and in some of those cases the person we'd like to apologize to is dead. Just as we've seen in today's passage, even though the person who was wronged is dead, the wrongdoer still owes something to the Lord. We might not be able to apologize to everyone we've ever hurt but we can confess our sin to God and repent of it. We can pray to Him for the strength not to commit that particular sin again. We can pray for the Lord's help to love our fellow man as the Lord commands us. We are commanded to love others because it's natural for us to want to be good to those we love. Love will help us not to sin against our neighbor. "Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." (Romans 13:10)

 

Numbers. Day 13, The Men In Service At The Tabernacle

In Chapter 4 we've been learning that at the time when Israel camped in the wilderness, the men called into service at the tabernacle are from the tribe of Levi and that the ages of the men called into service are from the age of thirty to fifty. Today we'll see how many men were in the group who first began to serve at the tabernacle.

"Moses, Aaron and the leaders of the community counted the Kohathites by their clans and families. All the men from thirty to fifty years of age who came to serve in the work at the tent of meeting, counted by clans, were 2,750. This was the total of all those in the Kohathite clans who served at the tent of meeting. Moses and Aaron counted them according to the Lord's command through Moses." (Numbers 4:34-36) I tried doing a background search to find out if all these men worked at the sanctuary every single day or whether they worked in shifts. Later in the Bible we'll find the institution of twenty-four "courses" (divisions, crews, orders) of priests who switched off with each other at regularly prescribed intervals. This may be the way the men of the Kohathite clan, the Gershonite clan, and the Merarite clan worked as well, but I've been unable to find out. The number of men from each clan of Levi in service will seem like quite a lot (8,580) to be working at the tabernacle at the same time. On the other hand, when we consider that the total number of people camped in the wilderness at this time was 2,000,000 or more, and that these people were daily bringing sacrifices and offerings to the tabernacle, and that these people were coming to the tabernacle for the various things the Lord instructed them to see the priests about, it very well may have taken thousands of men working every day to keep things running smoothly.

"The Gersonites were counted by their clans and families. All the men from thirty to fifty years of age who came to serve in the work at the tent of meeting, counted by their clans and families, were 2,630. This was the total of those in the Gershonite clans who served in the tent of meeting. Moses and Aaron counted them according to the Lord's command." (Numbers 4:38-41) 

"The Merarites were counted by their clans and families. All the men from thirty to fifty years of age who came to serve in the work at the tent of meeting, counted by their clans, were 3,200. This was the total of those in the Merarite clans. Moses and Aaron counted them according to the Lord's command through Moses." (Numbers 4:42-44)

At this point I think it's beneficial for us to do a quick recap of the duties the Lord assigned to the men descended from Jacob's son Levi. Only Aaron and his sons, and those descended directly from them, are to be ordained as priests. The Kohathites are the clan of Levi from which Aaron sprang, and it is to this clan that the Lord assigned the care of the holy furnishings of the tabernacle: the ark of the covenant, the table for the bread, the lampstand, the altars, and all the bowls and dishes and implements. The Gershonites were in charge of the materials that made up the ceiling and walls of the tabernacle and the courtyard: the tent itself, the protective leather coverings, the curtains of the sanctuary, and the curtains that surrounded the courtyard. The Merarites were to take care of and transport the hardware of the tabernacle and the enclosure surrounding it: the tent poles, the pillars, the sockets, the boards and so on. You'll note that the number of men in the Merarite clan was greater than that of the other clans. Their work was likely the hardest and heaviest, so more men were required to prevent any one person from being overburdened by the weight of these heavy materials.

The Lord intends His people to work together. It will take all these men working together to perform all the tasks that are necessary to keep the tabernacle and all its activities running smoothly. It will take all these men working together to disassemble, transport, and reassemble the tabernacle every time it is moved. In our own times the Lord intends for His people to work together. We may not be moving a tabernacle across the desert, but there is work for every single person who makes up the congregation, and we must not be neglectful of our duties. The Lord doesn't call every person to perform the same task in the church just as He didn't call every person to perform the same task at the tabernacle. Some are given the gift of preaching. Others are called to be teachers or counselors or musicians or singers. Others are called to perform administrative duties or to clean the facilities or to maintain the church lawn or parking lots or walkways. Others are called to be door greeters or to hand out the weekly bulletins with a smile. Others are called to be listeners and encouragers. Others are called to be prayer warriors. Others are called to send out cards to the sick and the bereaved or to minister to the sick and bereaved by cooking meals for them. Others are called to the bus ministry to pick up those who aren't able to drive themselves to church. You can be absolutely certain that if you are a child of God, He has a job for you. That job may be something that's visible to the public or it may involve performing a supportive role behind the scenes. But there is definitely something the Lord wants you to do, and if you aren't sure what that is, the Lord will be pleased to reveal this to you as you come to Him in prayer seeking His will. 

"So Moses, Aaron and the leaders of Israel counted all the Levites by their clans and families. All the men from thirty to fifty years of age who came to do the work of serving and carrying the tent of meeting numbered 8,580. At the Lord's command through Moses, each was assigned his work and told what to carry. Thus they were counted, as the Lord commanded Moses." (Numbers 4:46-49) Moses and Aaron and the leaders of Israel do what the Lord commands them. The men called into service do what the Lord commands them. You and I can follow their example by asking the Lord what we can do for Him and then doing what He tells us to do.

Numbers. Day 12, The Gershonites And The Merarites And Their Special Duties

There are three clans of Levites: the Kohathites, Gershonites, and Merarites. Yesterday we looked at the duties the Lord assigned at the tabernacle to the Kohathites. Today we'll talk about the duties of the two other clans.

"The Lord said to Moses, 'Take a census also of the Gersonites by their families and clans. Count all the men from thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the work at the tent of meeting." (Numbers 4:21-23) Later in Numbers we'll see the beginning age of service lowered to twenty-five and then in the book of Chronicles the age is lowered to twenty. There are some ancient rabbinical traditions that suggest an apprentice period had perhaps always been in place before these men began the actual work, such as a five year period of training beginning at age twenty-five in the book of Numbers. This would mean the men began the actual work at age thirty and retired (or assumed lighter duties) at age fifty. Later, when the age limit is lowered in Chronicles, young men aged twenty may have begun their training and would have assumed their full duties by the age of twenty-five and would have remained in service until their retirement age of fifty, or perhaps they would still have been employed with this work but with easier duties after age fifty. After the temple is built the work will be far less arduous than it is here in Numbers. Younger men of slighter build would be able to perform the duties and would be able to put more years into the job because it won't be as physically demanding.

"This is the service of the Gershonite clans in their carrying and their other work: They are to carry the curtains of the tabernacle, that is, the tent of meeting, its covering and its outer covering of durable leather, the curtains for the entrance to the tent of meeting, the curtains of the courtyard surrounding the tabernacle and altar, the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard, the ropes and all the equipment used in the service of the tent. The Gershonites are to do all that needs to be done with these things." (Numbers 4:24-26) These men are tasked with the care and the transport of this massive amount of material. In Exodus we studied the curtains and other coverings in great detail and learned the dimensions of each piece---and each piece was quite substantial in size and weight.

Aaron and his sons are to oversee the work of the Gershonites, but Aaron's son Ithamar is going to be their direct supervisor. "All their service, whether carrying or doing their work, is to be done under the direction of Aaron and his sons. You shall assign them as their responsibility all they are to carry. This is the service of the Gershonite clans at the tent of meeting. Their duties are to be under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest." (Numbers 4:27-28) 

"Count all the Merarites by their clans and families. Count all the men from thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the work at the tent of meeting. As part of all their service at the tent, they are to carry the frames of the tabernacle, its crossbars, posts and bases, as well as the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, ropes, all their equipment and everything related to their use. Assign to each man the specific things he is to carry. This is the service of the Merarite clans as they work at the tent of meeting under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest." (Numbers 4:29-33) We looked at the specifications for the frame and the other materials that form the basis of the tabernacle itself back in the book of Exodus. The men in charge of assembling, disassembling, and moving these pieces are going to need to have both physical strength and endurance. This is not light work. 

While Aaron and his sons are tasked with overseeing the work of the Levite clans, we find Ithamar being the primary person in charge of supervising the work of both the Gershonites and the Merarites. The men from these two clans will report directly to Ithamar for their instructions. The work of the Kohathites appears to be directly supervised by Aaron and his two sons all together, according to Numbers 4:19 in yesterday's study. This makes sense because the Kohathites are in charge of transporting the most holy articles from within the tabernacle and a sharp eye will need to be kept on them to ensure everything is done exactly as the Lord described in the first section of Numbers 4. Aaron's son Eleazar will succeed him as high priest, so perhaps the majority of his time (when not helping to oversee the Kohathite workers) is spent apprenticing under his father, while the majority of Ithamar's time is spent supervising the workers not just from the Kohathite clan but also from the Gershonite and Merarite clans.

Ever since we first began studying the things that are to go on at the tabernacle (religious services, sacrifices, medical opinions given by the priests, the keeping of bread on the table and the keeping of fire in the lamps, the care and transport of the tabernacle furnishings and materials, and so on) it has become quite evident that some type of work is continually in progress at the tabernacle and that the tabernacle is the center of the community as well as the center of the camp. The worship of the Lord is meant to be at the center of the Israelite's lives, just as the worship of the Lord is meant to be at the center of all our lives today. So many things would go better for us, spiritually speaking, if we continually kept the Lord at the center of our lives and at the forefront of our minds. A great deal of things would go better for us in other ways as well. We'd have clearer direction for our lives. We'd have more peace and comfort in our troubles. We'd have more confidence in prayer. We'd have more joy in our hearts. The Lord designed us for worship---for the worship of Him---and He designed us with a space at the center of our hearts that cannot be satisfactorily filled by anyone or anything else. The sad truth is that if we do not place the Lord at the center of our lives, we will try to place someone else or something else there. There will be no lasting satisfaction, peace, or joy from a situation like that.

Numbers. Day 11, The Kohathites And Their Special Duties

The Kohathites are the branch of the tribe of Levi that will work most closely with the holy things of the tabernacle. This is the family line of Aaron the high priest. Today we'll look at the duties the Lord assigns to them.

"The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: 'Take a census of the Kohathite branch of the Levites by their clans and families. Count all the men from thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the work at the tent of meeting.'" (Numbers 4:1-2) Later in the Bible we'll find the age range being changed because after the temple is built the work won't be as physically demanding. As long as the tabernacle is being moved from place to place, the men involved in the work must be in what was considered their prime (in both wisdom and physical strength) in ancient times, which was considered to be the age of thirty to fifty.

"This is the work of the Kohathites at the tent of meeting: the care of the most holy things. When the camp is to move, Aaron and his sons are to go in and take down the shielding curtain and put it over the ark of the covenant law. Then they are to cover the curtain with a durable leather, spread a cloth of solid blue over that and put the poles in place." (Numbers 4:4-6) The curtain that separates the Most Holy Place from the outer portion of the sanctuary is to cover the ark, then a covering of leather is to be placed over the curtain, then a solid blue covering is placed on top. These coverings shield the ark from view while it is being transported. As we learned in Exodus, the men moving the ark are never to touch it; they are to transport it by using the poles that fit through the rings installed on its sides.

"Over the table of the Presence they are to spread a blue cloth and put on it the plates, dishes and bowls, and the jars for drink offerings; the bread that is continually there is to remain on it. They are to spread a scarlet cloth over them, cover that with the durable leather and put the poles in place." (Numbers 4:7-8) The table settings are to be left on the table while it is being carried. These items aren't made of breakable materials and the table has a raised rim around it so there's no danger of anything falling off the table during transport. 

"They are to take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand that is for light, together with its lamps, its wick trimmers and trays, and all its jars for the olive oil used to supply it. Then they are to wrap it and all its accessories in a covering of the durable leather and put it on a carrying frame." (Numbers 4:9-10) The lamps will not be burning during transport.

"Over the gold altar they are to spread a blue cloth and cover that with the durable leather and put the poles in place. They are to take all the articles used for ministering in the sanctuary, wrap them in a blue cloth, cover that with the durable leather and put them on a carrying frame. They are to remove the ashes from the bronze altar and spread a purple cloth over it. Then they are to place on it all the utensils used for ministering at the altar, including the firepans, meat forks, shovels and sprinkling bowls. Over it they are to spread a covering of the durable leather and put the poles in place." (Numbers 4:11-14) Just as no lampstands will be burning during transport, no hot ashes will be left in the altar during transport. This protects the men and the coverings from being burned.

The items Aaron and his sons are covering are holy items and they are to handle them in an attitude of reverence while covering them. Each item is to be carefully wrapped in precisely the manner prescribed by the Lord in the color of cloth He designates for each item. There are a number of theories about why God chose the particular colors used at the tabernacle and why He chose which color fabrics to cover which items, and if you have time you might want to do an internet search and read some of these theories (there are a lot of them, so time and space doesn't permit a discussion of them here), but I wonder if one of these reasons wasn't because God wants the priests to have to concentrate carefully on the duties at hand. If there is a specific order in which the tabernacle furnishings are to be packed up, and if there is a specific way in which each item is to be covered, and if coverings of different colors go with different items, then the minds of the men can't wander from the task. They have to keep their minds on what the Lord has said, and when keeping their minds on what the Lord has said, they are keeping their minds on the Lord. They are being trained to regard the items of the Lord's house as holy because the Lord Himself is holy.

"After Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy furnishings and all the holy articles, and when the camp is ready to move, only then are the Kohathites to come and do the carrying. But they must not touch the holy things or they will die. The Kohathites are to carry those things that are in the tent of meeting." (Numbers 4:15) These objects are too holy for anyone but the priests to see or touch. Only after the items are covered can the Kohathites transport the covered objects and they can touch only the carrying poles and not the items themselves. If anyone but a priest lays hands on these objects, that person will die. We find this very thing happening to a man named Uzzah, whose sad fate is related to us in both 2 Samuel 6 and 1 Chronicles 13. 

Why did the Lord make these items so dangerous to handle? My theory is that it's because it was of the utmost importance, especially in the early days of the nation of Israel, for the people to regard these objects as holy so that by extension they would reverence the Lord's holiness to the highest possible degree. They had just emerged from Egypt, one of the most idolatrous ancient civilizations to ever exist. They are about to enter the promised land where every tribe who resides there worships false gods. The holiness of the one true God is serious business, and I think if the Lord hadn't impressed upon the people time and time again how holy the objects of His house were, He wouldn't have been able to impress upon them how holy He is---not when they've been surrounded by a pantheon of false gods for hundreds of years and not while they'll be surrounded by a pantheon of false gods for many years to come. They are in danger of regarding Him as just another god because that's how the cultures around them consider Him. He is trying to help them not to fall into such an error.

"Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, is to have charge of the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the regular grain offering and the anointing oil. He is to be in charge of the entire tabernacle and everything in it, including its holy furnishings and articles. The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 'So that the Kohathite tribal clans are not destroyed from among the Levites. See that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy things, do this for them: Aaron and his sons are to go into the sanctuary and assign to each man his work and what he is to carry. But the Kohathites must not go in to look at the holy things, even for a moment, or they will die.'" (Numbers 4:16-20) We've all heard the expression, "Curiosity killed the cat." The Lord doesn't want curiosity to kill the Kohathites. He knows human nature. He knows some of these men may want to see what's underneath the coverings over the holy furnishings of the tabernacle. He knows some of these men may become prideful enough to think they have a right to see these objects, considering they are of the same clan as Aaron the priest. But to peek at these objects means certain death because God is not to be mocked, and to disobey His orders regarding the holy objects is to mock His sovereign authority.

We also, in our own day, need to regard the Lord as holy. Whenever we come to Him in prayer it would behoove us to remind ourselves that we are entering into the presence of Someone so utterly holy that His perfection cannot begin to be comprehended by creatures such as us. We need to have this attitude not because He'll strike us dead if we don't, but because we owe our Creator this reverence, and because if we don't revere Him as King and Lord we won't have nearly as much faith as He wants us to have. We won't have nearly as much confidence or assurance or comfort or peace as He wants us to have if we don't regard Him in our hearts as Someone indescribably holy. Our prayer won't be as effective and powerful if we don't regard Him as holy. Bible study won't have as much of a positive effect on us if we don't regard Him as holy. Our testimonies won't lead others to the Lord if others can't see that we regard Him as holy. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty!

Numbers. Day 10, Collecting For The Firstborn

In the remainder of Chapter 3 we find the Lord telling Moses to count all the Israelite males who are over a month old and to take up a collection (a redemption fee) for them.

"The Lord said to Moses, 'Count all the firstborn Israelite males who are a month old or more and make a list of their names. Take the Levites for Me in place of all the firstborn of the Israelites, and the livestock of the Levites in place of all the firstborn of the livestock of the Israelites. I am the Lord." (Numbers 3:40-41) In Exodus 13:2 the Lord said, "Consecrate to Me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to Me, whether human or animal." He also said, "After the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you, as He promised on oath to your ancestors, you are to give over to the Lord the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the Lord." (Exodus 13:11-12) We learned in Exodus 13:15 that this was to commemorate Passover when the Lord spared the firstborn sons of the Israelites and the firstborn animals of all their flocks. The men of Israel are to redeem their firstborn sons by paying five silver shekels to the treasury and they are to sacrifice the firstborn male animals (of clean animals) to the Lord. They are to teach their sons why this custom exists, saying, "With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed the firstborn of both people and animals of Egypt. This is why I sacrifice to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons." (Exodus 13:14b-15)

What does the Lord mean here in Numbers that He is taking the tribe of Levi in place of the firstborn sons of the Israelites? Well, He doesn't ask or expect or want the Israelites to sacrifice their sons to Him. He considers such a thing an abomination and will have much to say in the Bible against human sacrifice, a horrible act practiced by some of the heathen peoples of the Old Testament. The Lord also isn't asking or expecting or wanting the firstborn son of every Israelite to serve at the tabernacle. In time that would be way too many men for the job and, as we discussed earlier in Chapter 3, the reason the Lord chose the tribe of Levi to serve at the tabernacle may have been because they were the smallest tribe. The Lord isn't wasteful and isn't going to call more men to the work than He needs. So in place of every firstborn male of every Israelite coming to serve the Lord at the tabernacle, the Lord has called the tribe of Levi for this work, and He is going to accept the tribe of Levi as a symbol of all the firstborn. 

It is believed by many scholars that the firstborns who are counted in Chapter 3 are only those who were born after the Israelites departed from Egypt. If that is not the case then it's difficult to explain why the number of firstborn is so low for a group that numbers 2,000,000 or more. "So Moses counted all the firstborn of the Israelites, as the Lord commanded him. The number of firstborn males a month old or more, listed by name, was 22,273." (Numbers 3:42-43) One commentary I consulted states that if this number represents the entire number of firstborn males in Israel, then only one in every 27 male births was a firstborn. I'm terrible at math and I'll just have to take this scholar's word for how this number is calculated, but it doesn't make sense that only one in every 27 male births is a firstborn male. 

But then there are critics who say there's no way 22,273 firstborn males were born to the Israelites within the first thirteen months of being free from Egypt. I think it's possible if a large number of young people got married right after Israel's rescue from Egypt. The oppression of Pharaoh grew even more severe than normal during the last several years Israel was in Egypt, and especially during the months Moses and Aaron pleaded with him to let the Israelites go. I can well imagine that the single Israelites may have held off on getting married during those last few years and months in Egypt due to how much worse they were being treated. It was a bad time to be giving birth. To use a current example from 2020, some young couples are putting off having children due to the pandemic. It's not a good time to be giving birth. So if a lot of young men and women married soon after their rescue from Egypt, we could expect a great deal of firstborn sons to make their appearance within the first thirteen months out of Egypt.

"The Lord also said to Moses, 'Take the Levites in place of all the firstborn of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites in place of their livestock. The Levites are to be Mine. I am the Lord." (Numbers 3:44-45) The Levites are no longer to shepherd flocks and herds but are being called to serve the Lord at His tabernacle and be the religious shepherds of Israel. A similar thing happens in the New Testament when Jesus calls fishermen to be among His disciples, telling them He will make them fishers of men instead of fishers of fish. (Matthew 4:19) The Lord no longer intends the Levites to work at agricultural occupations. He is calling them to a special work, just as Jesus called fishermen away from their nets and to the special work of leading people to salvation.

"To redeem the 273 firstborn Israelites who exceed the number of the Levites, collect five shekels for each one, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. Give the money for the redemption of the additional Israelites to Aaron and his sons." (Numbers 3:46-48) Yesterday we were told that the number of the Levite males, from the age of one month old and up, was 22,000. Since there are more firstborn males among the other tribes than there are a total count of all the males of the tribe of Levi, an amount of money is paid into the tabernacle treasury for the additional males. This must be paid in the form of the sanctuary shekel which has to weigh a specific amount.

"So Moses collected the redemption money from those who exceeded the number redeemed by the Levites. From the firstborn of the Israelites he collected silver weighing 1,365 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel. Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, as he was commanded by the word of the Lord." (Numbers 3:49-51) 

The Old Testament places a great deal of emphasis on firstborn males. In ancient times the firstborn son was believed to be the best and the brightest his father could produce. It was thought that the firstborn was stronger and would naturally be more successful and deserving of an inheritance from his father.

In the New Testament we find God the Father giving His best and brightest: His only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to redeem mankind from sin. God gave His firstborn Son---His only Son---to buy back our souls that we'd sold out to sin. 

God holds nothing back from us. He gave us the best He had, even though it cost Him so much to do it. In return we should hold nothing in our hearts back from Him. 

Numbers. Day 9, The Levites, Part Three

Today we'll conclude our look at the clans of the Levites and the duties the Lord assigned to them. 

"These were the names of the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath and Merari." (Numbers 3:17) Levi was a son of Jacob and the great-grandfather of Moses and Aaron. 

"These were the names of the Gershonite clans: Libni and Shemei. The Kohathite clans: Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. The Merarite clans: Mahli and Mushi. These were the Levite clans, according to their families." (Numbers 3:18-20) Moses and Aaron are the sons of Kohath's son Amram.

"To Gershon belonged the clans of the Libnites and the Shemeites; these were the Gershonite clans. The number of all the males a month old or more who were counted was 7,500. The Gershonite clans were to camp in the west, behind the tabernacle. The leader of the families of the Gershonites was Eliasaph son of Lael. At the tent of meeting the Gershonites were responsible for the care of the tabernacle and tent, its coverings, the curtain at the entrance to the tent of meeting, the curtains of the courtyard, the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard surrounding the tabernacle and altar, and the ropes---and everything related to their use." (Numbers 3:21-26) This group of men was responsible for taking care of the items mentioned and for taking these items down and putting them back up every time the tabernacle was disassembled and reassembled when moving.

"To Kohath belonged the clans of the Amramites, Izharites, Hebronites and Uzzielites; these were the Kohathite clans. The number of all the males a month or more old was 8,600. The Kohathites were responsible for the care of the sanctuary. The Kohathite clans were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle. The leader of the families of the Kohathite clans was Elizaphan son of Uzziel. They were responsible for the care of the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the articles of the sanctuary used in ministering, the curtain, and everything related to their use. The chief leader of the Levites was Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest. He was appointed over those who were responsible for the care of the sanctuary." (Numbers 3:27-32) The most important items inside the sanctuary were taken care of by this clan. This is the clan of Aaron the high priest and therefore the men of this clan are responsible for the furnishings of the tabernacle. Any job at the tabernacle should have been regarded as a great honor, but the Kohathite clans had very prestigious jobs indeed, yet it will be men from this group who will stage a rebellion against the authority of Moses and---by extension---against the authority of the God who put Moses in charge of the people.

"To Merari belonged the clans of the Mahlites and the Mushites; those were the Merarite clans. The number of all the males a month old or more who were counted was 6,200. The leader of the families of the Merarite clans was Zuriel son of Abihail; they were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. The Merarites were appointed to take care of the frames of the tabernacle, its crossbars, posts, bases, all its equipment, and everything related to their use, as well as the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs and ropes." (Numbers 3:33-37) These men are tasked with the upkeep of the items mentioned and they will be responsible for taking down the tent of meeting every time it moves and for putting it back up at each new location.

"Moses and Aaron and his sons were to camp to the east of the tabernacle, toward the sunrise, in front of the tent of meeting. They were responsible for the care of the sanctuary on behalf of the Israelites. Anyone else who approached the sanctuary was to be put to death." (Numbers 3:38) When the Bible uses the word "approached" it doesn't mean no one else in Israel can come near the sanctuary other than the men of the Levite clans. It means no one is allowed to perform any of the tasks listed in our passage today other than the men to whom these tasks were assigned. No one else is to presumptuously take on any of these responsibilities. The Lord, who is holy, has assigned the tasks to whom He has chosen, and to rebel against His will in these matters is a capital offense. For an example of someone who presumptuously took on a duty that was not his to perform, later in the Bible we'll find King Uzziah offering incense in the temple (something only a priest could do) and as a result the Lord struck him with the deadly and incurable disease of leprosy. (This incident can be found in 2 Chronicles 26.)

"The total number of Levites counted at the Lord's command by Moses and Aaron according to their clans, including every male a month or more old, was 22,000." (Numbers 3:42-43) This number doesn't match the totals we were given for each clan. If we add up the total for the three clans we get 22,300, but since these numbers were originally expressed as Hebrew letters, a slight error in translation could have occurred when the numbers were changed into the modern numerical system. Some of these letters were quite similar in appearance to each other and instead of an error when changing them into modern numerals it could be that a very ancient copying error occurred. Either way, a difference of 300 men doesn't represent an error of Biblical doctrine. It affects nothing regarding any foundation of our faith and we need not get hung up on it.

As we discussed over the weekend, the Lord placed a special calling on the entire tribe of Levi. The life's work of the men of this tribe is to be about the Lord's business. The Lord has placed a calling on our lives too---to be about His business. That business is to share the gospel with everyone in every way we can, by word and deed and attitude.