February 8, 2005

Reading through the Bible in one Year: Exodus 29:31-31:11; Matthew 23:13-33

Weekly Memory Verse: 1 Corinthians 2:16

Good Evening Brothers and Sisters,

Numbers 3 (NASB95)
¹ Now these are the records of the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. ² These then are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. ³ These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he ordained to serve as priests. ⁴ But Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord when they offered strange fire before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai; and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of their father Aaron. ⁵ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁶ “Bring the tribe of Levi near and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him. ⁷ “They shall perform the duties for him and for the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, to do the service of the tabernacle. ⁸ “They shall also keep all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, along with the duties of the sons of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle. ⁹ “You shall thus give the Levites to Aaron and to his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the sons of Israel. ¹⁰ “So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons that they may keep their priesthood, but the layman who comes near shall be put to death.” ¹¹ Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹² “Now, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the sons of Israel instead of every firstborn, the first issue of the womb among the sons of Israel. So the Levites shall be Mine. ¹³ “For all the firstborn are Mine; on the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, from man to beast. They shall be Mine; I am the Lord.” ¹⁴ Then the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, ¹⁵ “Number the sons of Levi by their fathers’ households, by their families; every male from a month old and upward you shall number.” ¹⁶ So Moses numbered them according to the word of the Lord, just as he had been commanded. ¹⁷ These then are the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon and Kohath and Merari. ¹⁸ These are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shimei; ¹⁹ and the sons of Kohath by their families: Amram and Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel; ²⁰ and the sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their fathers’ households. ²¹ Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites and the family of the Shimeites; these were the families of the Gershonites. ²² Their numbered men, in the numbering of every male from a month old and upward, even their numbered men were 7,500. ²³ The families of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle westward, ²⁴ and the leader of the fathers’ households of the Gershonites was Eliasaph the son of Lael. ²⁵ Now the duties of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting involved the tabernacle and the tent, its covering, and the screen for the doorway of the tent of meeting, ²⁶ and the hangings of the court, and the screen for the doorway of the court which is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its cords, according to all the service concerning them. ²⁷ Of Kohath was the family of the Amramites and the family of the Izharites and the family of the Hebronites and the family of the Uzzielites; these were the families of the Kohathites. ²⁸ In the numbering of every male from a month old and upward, there were 8,600, performing the duties of the sanctuary. ²⁹ The families of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the southward side of the tabernacle, ³⁰ and the leader of the fathers’ households of the Kohathite families was Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. ³¹ Now their duties involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, and the utensils of the sanctuary with which they minister, and the screen, and all the service concerning them; ³² and Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was the chief of the leaders of Levi, and had the oversight of those who perform the duties of the sanctuary. ³³ Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites; these were the families of Merari. ³⁴ Their numbered men in the numbering of every male from a month old and upward, were 6,200. ³⁵ The leader of the fathers’ households of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to camp on the northward side of the tabernacle. ³⁶ Now the appointed duties of the sons of Merari involved the frames of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, all its equipment, and the service concerning them, ³⁷ and the pillars around the court with their sockets and their pegs and their cords. ³⁸ Now those who were to camp before the tabernacle eastward, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, are Moses and Aaron and his sons, performing the duties of the sanctuary for the obligation of the sons of Israel; but the layman coming near was to be put to death. ³⁹ All the numbered men of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the command of the Lord by their families, every male from a month old and upward, were 22,000. ⁴⁰ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Number every firstborn male of the sons of Israel from a month old and upward, and make a list of their names. ⁴¹ “You shall take the Levites for Me, I am the Lord, instead of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the cattle of the sons of Israel.” ⁴² So Moses numbered all the firstborn among the sons of Israel, just as the Lord had commanded him; ⁴³ and all the firstborn males by the number of names from a month old and upward, for their numbered men were 22,273. ⁴⁴ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁴⁵ “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel and the cattle of the Levites. And the Levites shall be Mine; I am the Lord. ⁴⁶ “For the ransom of the 273 of the firstborn of the sons of Israel who are in excess beyond the Levites, ⁴⁷ you shall take five shekels apiece, per head; you shall take them in terms of the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), ⁴⁸ and give the money, the ransom of those who are in excess among them, to Aaron and to his sons.” ⁴⁹ So Moses took the ransom money from those who were in excess, beyond those ransomed by the Levites; ⁵⁰ from the firstborn of the sons of Israel he took the money in terms of the shekel of the sanctuary, 1,365. ⁵¹ Then Moses gave the ransom money to Aaron and to his sons, at the command of the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.^[1]

At first, I was confused as to why God used a different standard with the Levites.  They were counted from one month old and onward.  The reason they were counted was because God accepted the Levites as the tithe of Israel from the people.  God expected every firstborn to be given to Him; the Levites were traded one for one in exchange for the firstborn.  God wanted the Levites to be His personal possession.  They were set apart to serve Him, and they belonged to God.  Today God has picked another group of people to be His possession, they are the believers:

John 17:6 (NASB95)
⁶ “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.

John 12:26 (NASB95)
²⁶ “If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.

Ephesians 2:13 (NASB95)
¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Ephesians 5:27 (NASB95)
²⁷ that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. ^[2]

As Christians, we belong to Jesus because we were purchased with His blood.  Our lives were replaced with His life and now our lives are devoted to Him for the rest of our lives. 

Exodus 13:11-16 (NASB95)
¹¹ “Now when the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanite, as He swore to you and to your fathers, and gives it to you, ¹² you shall devote to the Lord the first offspring of every womb, and the first offspring of every beast that you own; the males belong to the Lord. ¹³ “But every first offspring of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck; and every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. ¹⁴ “And it shall be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ then you shall say to him, ‘With a powerful hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. ¹⁵ ‘It came about, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the Lord killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore, I sacrifice to the Lord the males, the first offspring of every womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ ¹⁶ “So it shall serve as a sign on your hand and as phylacteries on your forehead, for with a powerful hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”^[3]

God designated that since He passed over the firstborn of Israel, then that first born lot belonged to Him.  God actually did a favor to Israel by requiring that the tribe of Levi be given to Him to fulfill this purpose.  Can you imagine the unrest that would happen if each firstborn child had to be given up? 

God assigned the Levites to the different tasks that they were supposed to take care of.  This designation was important, because just like the order of the marching that we covered in the last chapter, this enables ease and eliminates confusion as they begin to serve Him.

One commentary raised a problem that the numbers did not match up; the explanation to the difference is that the tribe of Levi also had firstborn, so around 300 Levites could not be counted against the firstborn of Israel.  The tribe of Levi had firstborn in it also that were devoted to the Lord; they could not be devoted to the Lord a second time.

The ransom money is interesting to me, because God provided a way to ransom those who were not matched one for one with the Levites.  He allowed a way for a person to buy his freedom by paying a price.  It is kind of interesting when you consider that Jesus paid the price with His blood as a ransom for all.  The price of the ransom was not cheap, five shekels was equal to about six month’s wages for the average person, (New American Commentary: Numbers).  This was a very cheap price for a slave though.  In short, the ransom was designed to pay for the price of the lives of the first born like they were paying the price for a slave.  By paying the price for a life, they were allowed to live out their lives in freedom.

Matthew 20:26-28 (NASB95)
²⁶ “It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, ²⁷ and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; ²⁸ just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

Mark 10:43-45 (NASB95)
⁴³ “But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; ⁴⁴ and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. ⁴⁵ “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

1 Timothy 2:5-6 (NASB95)
⁵ For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, ⁶ who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.

Galatians 1:3-4 (NASB95)
³ Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, ⁴ who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,

1 Peter 1:18-19 (NASB95)
¹⁸ knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, ¹⁹ but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. ^[4]

A ransom was required to redeem the firstborn that exceeded the amount of the Levites.  Jesus covered the ransom for the rest of the world when He paid the price on the cross.  In Christian circles we hear the terminology that we have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, but really don't understand how important that this concept is.  Jesus paid the price for our very lives, purchasing us with His own blood so that we will not pay the price for our sin.  Our lives have been purchased for a price, and we are given the freedom to either serve God or refuse to serve God because we are free men.  The real question is whether or not we will follow the Lord after we have been ransomed out of the world. 

Genesis 34:25-31 (NASB95)
²⁵ Now it came about on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword and came upon the city unawares, and killed every male. ²⁶ They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and went forth. ²⁷ Jacob’s sons came upon the slain and looted the city, because they had defiled their sister. ²⁸ They took their flocks and their herds and their donkeys, and that which was in the city and that which was in the field; ²⁹ and they captured and looted all their wealth and all their little ones and their wives, even all that was in the houses. ³⁰ Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me odious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and my men being few in number, they will gather together against me and attack me and I will be destroyed, I and my household.” ³¹ But they said, “Should he treat our sister as a harlot?”

Genesis 49:5-7 (NASB95)
⁵ “Simeon and Levi are brothers; Their swords are implements of violence. ⁶ “Let my soul not enter into their council; Let not my glory be united with their assembly; Because in their anger they slew men, And in their self-will they lamed oxen. ⁷ “Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; And their wrath, for it is cruel. I will disperse them in Jacob, And scatter them in Israel.

Exodus 32:25-29 (NASB95)
²⁵ Now when Moses saw that the people were out of control—for Aaron had let them get out of control to be a derision among their enemies— ²⁶ then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered together to him. ²⁷ He said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Every man of you put his sword upon his thigh, and go back and forth from gate to gate in the camp, and kill every man his brother, and every man his friend, and every man his neighbor.’ ” ²⁸ So the sons of Levi did as Moses instructed, and about three thousand men of the people fell that day. ²⁹ Then Moses said, “Dedicate yourselves today to the Lord—for every man has been against his son and against his brother—in order that He may bestow a blessing upon you today.”

Joshua 19:8-9 (NASB95)
⁸ and all the villages which were around these cities as far as Baalath-beer, Ramah of the Negev. This was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Simeon according to their families. ⁹ The inheritance of the sons of Simeon was taken from the portion of the sons of Judah, for the share of the sons of Judah was too large for them; so the sons of Simeon received an inheritance in the midst of Judah’s inheritance.^[5]

One last thought, Levi was not allowed to have land.  This may appear to be because of the curse of Jacob in Genesis where he had said that they would be scattered out through the tribes.  I think that it goes deeper than that.  Simeon was also involved in the fiasco with Dinah, yet they were alotted land with the inheritance of Judah, so even though they were scattered, they still maintained their identity and their tribal unity.  The Levites would be scattered through the entire land when they conquered the Promised Land, through 48 cities, their tribal unity was split up.  

The first time that Levi was called into action was when Dinah was kidnapped and raped, they defended her honor, and delivered her from her captivity.  When Moses called for the righteous men to join him in slaughtering the ones who were involved with the golden calf, the Levites rallied to the call.  Two incidents took place which involved the Levites, both of these incidents involved following the righteousness of God.  The Levites were fighters; they were true warriors, men willing and able to bear a sword for righteous purposes.  God wanted these warriors to be His possession, they had won His heart.  Our God is a loving God, one who is rich in mercy and grace, but He is also a warrior God, one who has been engaged in spiritual battle since the beginning.  These fighting men won His heart. 

1 Timothy 1:18-19 (NASB95)
¹⁸ This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight, ¹⁹ keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith.

1 Timothy 6:11-14 (NASB95)
¹¹ But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. ¹² Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. ¹³ I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, ¹⁴ that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Matthew 22:11-14 (NASB95)
¹¹ “But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, ¹² and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless. ¹³ “Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ ¹⁴ “For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Romans 10:9-13 (NASB95)
⁹ that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; ¹⁰ for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. ¹¹ For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” ¹² For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; ¹³ for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” ^[6]

When we stand before God, do we stand as wimps or are we willing to fight the good fight?  Are we willing to fight for righteousness and hold to the standard that God has placed before our lives?  I wonder how many have compromised their lives rather than go through the effort to hold to the straight and narrow path.  We live in a spiritual battle, Jesus has ransomed us with His blood, and now we are warriors who stand ready to bear the sword of word of God and wield it carefully in battle.  When Jesus spoke of the marriage supper where the groom sent out into the streets one man showed up without becoming properly dressed for the feast, he was bound and thrown out.  Many are called to be Christians, few are chosen, I wonder, is that because the mouth says that they are Christians, but their actions say that they are liars?  On the other hand, Paul tells us in Romans that salvation is once for all.  I believe that once a person has come to know Jesus, he is saved from hell forever, there is a great number of scriptures that validate this.  Yet, how many are chosen to take the next step?  How many are chosen by God to enter into the inner circle where He trains us to become spiritual warriors?  If you think about it, there were 11 other tribes, when you consider the split tribe of Joseph it makes 12, all of them were on the outside surrounding the tabernacle, only the Levites were in the inner circle.  All of Israel was the chosen people of God, but only the Levites were allowed to minister in the tabernacle. 

I apologize for deviating on the tangent; my mind went wild for a moment.  If you have any comments that you would like to add to the study, please feel free to write in. 

Father, as we consider Your word today, build a desire in each of us to engage in spiritual battle and to stand as ministers before You.

In Him,

Joe Turner.