We’re going to skip chapter 2, as it is simply a numbering of
the various tribes and move on to Numbers 3:1-10
— 1 Now these are the records of Aaron and Moses when the LORD
spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 And these 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 consecrated to
minister as priests. 4 Nadab and Abihu had died before the LORD when they
offered profane fire before the LORD in the Wilderness of Sinai; and they had
no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar ministered as priests in the presence of
Aaron their father. 5 And the LORD spoke
to Moses, saying: 6 "Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before
Aaron the priest, that they may serve him. 7 And they shall attend to his needs
and the needs of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of meeting, to do
the work of the tabernacle. 8 Also they shall attend to all the furnishings of
the tabernacle of meeting, and to the needs of the children of Israel, to do
the work of the tabernacle. 9 And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his
sons; they are given entirely to him from among the children of Israel. 10 So
you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall attend to their
priesthood; but the outsider who comes near shall be put to death."
First thing we need to remember is this: Everything in all of
creation belongs to God. Even people. Psalm 24:1— The earth is the
LORD's, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein. God would have been perfectly
righteous to declare “every single soul on Planet Earth shall come before Me to
serve Me”. And who could argue with Him? It all belonged to Him anyway. But He
doesn’t. He says “I will take the Levites, they will belong to Me, they will be
in My service”. So let’s go through this passage.
Numbers 3:5-13—5 And the LORD spoke to Moses,
saying: 6 "Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the
priest, that they may serve him. 7 And they shall attend to his needs and the
needs of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of meeting, to do the
work of the tabernacle. 8 Also they shall attend to all the furnishings of the
tabernacle of meeting, and to the needs of the children of Israel, to do the
work of the tabernacle. 9 And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons;
they are given entirely to him from among the children of Israel. 10 So you
shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall attend to their priesthood;
but the outsider who comes near shall be put to death. 11 Then the LORD spoke
to Moses, saying: 12 "Now behold, I Myself have taken the Levites from
among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb
among the children of Israel. Therefore the Levites shall be Mine, 13 because
all the firstborn are Mine. On the day that I struck all the firstborn in the
land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and
beast. They shall be Mine: I am the LORD.”
Aaron was to be the High Priest. He was the chief of all who were to go between man and God. But remember, there were over 600,000 people in the camp of Israel. And they were all sinners, as everyone is. And the depth of their sin was exposed when Moses was atop Mt. Sinai receiving the Law from God, and before he could even come down they were already throwing a drunken orgy in front of the Golden Calf that they convinced Aaron to make. So whoever it was going between man and God was going to be busy. Especially when you take into account all the details of all the various sacrifices, what animals were to be brought, male or female, how they were to be prepared, what to do with the blood, etc etc etc. Not to mention having to inspect the people and their houses for possible leprosy.
Now, remember, this was under the Old Covenant. And under
this Old Covenant, only Levites could serve in the priesthood. And when one
priest died, or one High Priest died, they were replaced. So this priesthood
was transferred from one man to another to another, throughout successive generations. As
it says in Hebrews 7:23—Also there were many
priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing. And this
is a place where we say “But God…” He gave to us a New Covenant, with a better
High Priest, namely our Lord Jesus Christ. And the good thing about Him is, He
is not dead, as He lives forevermore. And because He lives forever, His
priesthood is forever. Hebrews 7:24—But He,
because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. No more
need for going through the divisions of the priesthood to see who will sprinkle
incense and offer prayers today or tomorrow or the next day. No more deciding
who will be High Priest today or tomorrow. We now have one Priest, both now and
forever, and He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him,
since He always lives to make intercession for them (Hebrews 7:25).
You may ask, “But Jesus isn’t from the tribe of
Levi, He is from Judah”. And this is true. But remember, New Covenant. The Old
Covenant, with all its rules and regulations, and its imperfections because of
men’s weaknesses (Romans 8:3), could redeem no one simply because they
did their best to keep it. So a New Covenant had to be made. External commands
could save no one, as they were always being broken and the burning flesh of
bulls and goats could not take away their stain (Hebrews 10:4). If we
were to be redeemed to God, we needed a better and eternal sacrifice. And for
this, we needed a better and eternal High Priest. And it had to be One who did
not come from the tribe of Levi.
Why? Simply to show that this High Priest was offering a
sacrifice better than the Law. If He were from the tribe of Levi, the
people—especially the Jews—would think salvation came from the Law. However, Galatians
2:16—knowing that a man is not justified by the
works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ
Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of
the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. So now
we have a New Covenant, a better and eternal sacrifice, mediated by a better
and eternal High Priest, to redeem us from the curse of the Law (Galatians
3:13).
Us. Sinful, wretched us!!! Us who for however long turned our backs on God, despised God, rebelled against God, violated His Law and ignored His salvation! And yet, here comes the Lion of Judah—a different tribe entirely from the tribe of Levi—to become our High Priest, to become our perfect and eternal sacrifice, that we may be reconciled to the very God we hated! The very God in whose face we spit came and offered Himself as the sacrifice. Think about it! When the Roman guards were beating Christ and spitting on Him and mocking Him. They were not doing these things to a mere man. They were beating and spitting on and mocking—God! Were they any different than us? No. They were not
Isaac Watts said it quite well—
Alas! and did my Savior bleed,/and
did my Sovereign die!
Would he devote that sacred head/for sinners such as I?
Was it for crimes that I have done,/he groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! Grace unknown!/And love beyond degree!
(“Alas And Did My Saviour Bleed?”)
The blood of Bulls and goats could not take away sin. They can cover them up, but can never take them away. Hallelujah! He wrote in another place-
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
that were a present far too small.
Love so amazing, so divine,
demands my soul, my life, my all.
(“When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”)
What do many hold onto on this Earth, what do many prize more, what do many not want to rid themselves of, in exchange for the eternal goodness and beauty of our Lord Jesus! May it never be with those of us who love Him! There are about a thousand more rabbit holes I could go down, but I won’t.
Look at the last part of Numbers 3:10—“But the outsider who comes near shall be put to death.” Only
the Levites were to perform any work in the Tabernacle of Meeting. Anyone who
was not a son of Aaron could not come near to the Tabernacle of meeting to
perform priestly duties, lest God Himself wipe that person out. “But that’s
not fair, shouldn’t everybody have a chance???” The short answer: no. The
longer and more detailed answer: also, no.
Again, God has a certain way He wants things done. And if you
go against the way He wants things to be done, you will incur His wrath and you
run the risk of being destroyed on the spot. Just ask Nadab and Abihu (Leviticus
10:1-2). God declared that only the incense that was made according to His
specifications was to be used on the altar. They said “we’ve got a better idea”
and…..*poof*
Part 2 next week
