A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Numbers 4 (Part 1)

Numbers 4:1-20—1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: 2 "Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the children of Levi, by their families, by their fathers' house, 3 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. 4 "This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of meeting, relating to the most holy things: 5 When the camp prepares to journey, Aaron and his sons shall come, and they shall take down the covering veil and cover the ark of the Testimony with it. 6 Then they shall put on it a covering of badger skins, and spread over that a cloth entirely of blue; and they shall insert its poles. 7 On the table of showbread they shall spread a blue cloth, and put on it the dishes, the pans, the bowls, and the pitchers for pouring; and the showbread shall be on it. 8 They shall spread over them a scarlet cloth, and cover the same with a covering of badger skins; and they shall insert its poles. 9 And they shall take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand of the light, with its lamps, its wick-trimmers, its trays, and all its oil vessels, with which they service it. 10 Then they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of badger skins, and put it on a carrying beam. 11 "Over the golden altar they shall spread a blue cloth, and cover it with a covering of badger skins; and they shall insert its poles. 12 Then they shall take all the utensils of service with which they minister in the sanctuary, put them in a blue cloth, cover them with a covering of badger skins, and put them on a carrying beam. 13 Also they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth over it. 14 They shall put on it all its implements with which they minister there--the firepans, the forks, the shovels, the basins, and all the utensils of the altar--and they shall spread on it a covering of badger skins, and insert its poles. 15 And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is set to go, then the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them; but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. "These are the things in the tabernacle of meeting which the sons of Kohath are to carry. 16 "The appointed duty of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest is the oil for the light, the sweet incense, the daily grain offering, the anointing oil, the oversight of all the tabernacle, of all that is in it, with the sanctuary and its furnishings." 17 Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: 18 "Do not cut off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites; 19 but do this in regard to them, that they may live and not die when they approach the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint each of them to his service and his task. 20 But they shall not go in to watch while the holy things are being covered, lest they die."

As I have said before, God is a God of order. He doesn’t do things willy-nilly, He doesn’t say “well, I didn’t see that not working out. Let’s try it differently”. He has a certain way He wants things done, and He does them that particular way. If we go back to Exodus, we see this. He hardens Pharaoh’s heart so he will not let the Israelites go, so that God can bring the 10 plagues on Egypt. The last plague is the death of the firstborn, after which Pharaoh relents and tells the people to leave, and God puts it in the hearts of the people of Egypt to give the Israelites their gold and silver—the things which will go into making the tools used in the tabernacle. He brings the people to Sinai, where He gives them the Ten Commandments and other commandments of His law. Then in Leviticus He gives them the rules by which they are to offer their offerings to Him. Then in Numbers 1, He tells Moses to take a census of the people, in Numbers 2 He tells Moses to have all the tribes camp by their standard, in Numbers 3 He addresses the Levites and how they shall be His, then this chapter, Numbers 4, outlines the duties of each division of the Levites. We will focus only on this section of the chapter, verses 1-20.

The Tabernacle was where God would put His name. It was where He would come to meet the people one day out of the year, Yom Kippur (Leviticus 16), and only the High Priest was to go into the Holy of Holies on that one day. The Tabernacle was 30’ long and 10’ wide, the Holy of Holies was the smallest part of it, at 10’X10’. And the High Priest had to prepare himself to go in, lest he die. And at no other time was ANYONE to go into the Holy Of Holies. Only the High Priest, and only on that day and in that particular way.

So the things that were in the Holy of Holies were very special, to say the least. It wasn’t like a tent where you would hold a Revival. Everything in it had to be taken care of in the most special of ways. You could not look upon the Ark of the Covenant or you would die. How many of y’all are thinking of “Raiders of the Lost Ark” right now? The makers of that film don’t quite get it right, but they come kinda close. The Nazis looked at the Ark. Fire went out from it and consumed them, melted some of their faces. Right? That is kinda what would happen if any of the Israelites looked upon the Ark. Numbers 4:4-6—4 “This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of meeting, relating to the most holy things: 5 When the camp prepares to journey, Aaron and his sons shall come, and they shall take down the covering veil and cover the ark of the Testimony with it. 6 Then they shall put on it a covering of badger skins, and spread over that a cloth entirely of blue; and they shall insert its poles” The first thing to be done was this: the sons of Aaron were to take the veil which separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place, and they were to use it to cover the Ark of the Covenant. That way no one could look on it and die. Then they were to cover that with badger skins, and then a blue cloth.

The Ark is the only piece of the Tabernacle that is to be covered with 3 coverings. Every other piece only requires 2 coverings, but the Ark is to be covered with 3 layers. First there is the Veil, which closes off the Holy of Holies. That is to go next to the Ark. Then the badger skin, which was thick and dense to keep any possible rain from staining that veil. Keil and Delitzsch post that this could be from a sea cow, John Gill comments that it was a seal skin. Either of these would be waterproof, and would allow any water to slide right off. Then the covering of blue, to denote that this was where the presence of YHVH would sit that one day out of the year.

Then it says in Numbers 4:6—“they shall insert its poles”. The phrase here is probably more likely “adjust its poles”, since they were never to be taken out (Exodus 25:15). You could not look on the Ark, let alone touch it. And we see no clearer indication of that then when the Ark was returned to Jerusalem in 2nd Samuel 6:1-7— 1 Again David gathered all the choice men of Israel, thirty thousand. 2 And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baale Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, whose name is called by the Name, the LORD of Hosts, who dwells between the cherubim. 3 So they set the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new cart. 4 And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill, accompanying the ark of God; and Ahio went before the ark. 5 Then David and all the house of Israel played music before the LORD on all kinds of instruments of fir wood, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on sistrums, and on cymbals. 6 And when they came to Nachon's threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. 7 Then the anger of the LORD was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God. There were so many mistakes made with the Ark, starting way back in 1^st Samuel, when they rushed it out into the battle against the Philistines, treating it like some kind of good luck charm. Then a couple chapters later some men dare to look inside it, and God struck down 50,000 men of Beth Shemesh because of it. Then it sat in Kirjath Jearim for 20 years in the house of a man named Abinadab. Then David had it moved into the house of Obed-Edom, a Gittite, for 3 months. It was on this leg of the journey that Uzzah made his fatal mistake.

So why was it that Uzzah died? I mean, after all, he was just making sure the Ark didn’t fall on the ground. Pretty harmless, no? It was not harmless. The Ark was where God met the High Priest and atonement was made for the people’s sins. NO ONE was to touch it. That is why it was carried on poles. Uzzah was not struck down only for placing his hand on the Ark, They all should have been struck down for the flippant way they were handling it. They sat it on an ox cart. By all rights, the sons of Kohath should have been carrying it. By its poles. That’s the way God commanded it. Chuck Smith says this:

It is interesting though that as David sought to bring the Ark of the Covenant back, rather than going back to the book of the law to see how God had ordered the Ark of the Covenant to be transported, David was following the Philistine example. When they sent the Ark of the Covenant back, they had built a cart, and they took oxen and had it pulled back with the cart pulled by oxen. Now that was the Philistines’ method of transporting the ark. However, the law of God said that when they bore the ark, they were to put these staves through the rings, and it was to be borne by four priests. So David really wasn’t following the law of God in building this new cart, and having it pulled by oxen. He was not following God’s pattern, but the Philistine pattern. It had, of course, disastrous results.

So what application does this have for us 21^st Century Gentile Christians? This—we should not have a low view of the things of God. When we are handling His Word, we should do it with all reverence and respect. The one thing that came immediately to my mind was in how we take the Lord’s Supper. The Apostle Paul gives us a stern warning in 1st Corinthians 11:23-31—23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me." 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes. 27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. 30   For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. It’s just a little piece of bread and some wine, what can be the harm? It’s not the elements that you need to be afraid of. It’s not the bread and the wine. It’s your attitude toward the One they represent. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself. In an unworthy manner. Basically you are saying, if you are not following Christ, if you have not submitted yourself to His Lordship, if He has not forgiven your sins—you're saying that He has. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes. And if you are not in Christ, you are proclaiming that as a jest, as a mockery. You're saying “Yes, He’s dead. And I’m glad He’s dead. He can stay that way, what do I care?” You’re no different than Uzzah putting out his hand and touching the Ark.

Part 2 next week

 Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen

A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Leviticus 25:35-46

Just noticed I never published this part of Leviticus. So, here it is

Leviticus 25:35-46—“‘35 If one of your brethren becomes poor, and falls into poverty among you, then you shall help him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you. 36 Take no usury or interest from him; but fear your God, that your brother may live with you. 37 You shall not lend him your money for usury, nor lend him your food at a profit. 38 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God. 39 And if one of your brethren who dwells by you becomes poor, and sells himself to you, you shall not compel him to serve as a slave. 40 As a hired servant and a sojourner he shall be with you, and shall serve you until the Year of Jubilee. 41 And then he shall depart from you—he and his children with him—and shall return to his own family. He shall return to the possession of his fathers. 42 For they are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves. 43 You shall not rule over him with rigor, but you shall fear your God. 44 And as for your male and female slaves whom you may have—from the nations that are around you, from them you may buy male and female slaves. 45 Moreover you may buy the children of the strangers who dwell among you, and their families who are with you, which they beget in your land; and they shall become your property. 46 And you may take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them as a possession; they shall be your permanent slaves. But regarding your brethren, the children of Israel, you shall not rule over one another with rigor.’”

Here we see the difference between how the Israelites were to treat their fellow Israelites, versus how they could deal with those from other nations. The principle is rather simple—you treat your fellow Israelites better than you treat those pagans who mock and despise God and who worship foreign gods. If one of your fellow countrymen becomes poor, you and your neighbors do what you can to help him. If he needs to borrow money, lend him money—only do not charge interest. If he borrows 100 shekels, he pays back 100 shekels, not 150. If he needs food, you lend him food—only, again, do not charge interest.  If you lend him an omer of flour, he gives you back an omer of flour—not an omer and a half.

Then look at the warning that God attaches to these commands. Leviticus 25:36, 43—“36 Take no usury or interest from him; but fear your God, that your brother may live with you…43 You shall not rule over him with rigor, but you shall fear your God.” This is a repeat of a warning He gave back in Exodus 22:21—“You shall neither mistreat a stranger nor oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” These people had been strangers and foreigners in the land of Egypt. They were not invited, but a long time ago a young man named Joseph went down to Egypt after being sold to Midianites. Eventually, a famine took over the land where his father and brothers lived, and guess where they had to go to find food? Yeah, Egypt. And God granted them favor in the eyes of the Egyptians, and they ate well and their descendants lived happily in that land for some time. Exodus 1:7—The children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them. Good times all around for these happy Hebrews. BUT. Exodus 1:8-11—8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. 9 And he said to his people, "Look, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we; 10 come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and it happen, in the event of war, that they also join our enemies and fight against us, and so go up out of the land." 11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. They were strangers in the land of Egypt, and the Egyptians afflicted them. Now, what did God do to Egypt after they afflicted Israel for 400 some-odd years? He sent plagues and death. And it is for that reason that God gives the Israelites the warnings He does in Leviticus 25:36 and 25:40. He is warning them that if they mistreat strangers—and even more, if they mistreat their fellow countrymen—that He just might send plagues and death among them. Because, let’s remember, these people were the people of God. So that fellow Israelite was one of God’s people. And do you think it’s a good idea to afflict God’s people? No it is not, and God even says so in Leviticus 25:42—“For they are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves.”

This theme—the people of God taking care of the people of God—is seen again in the New Testament as well. Galatians 6:10—As we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith. The people of God are always put under a microscope by the people of Satan. The lost, the pagans, the haters of God are always looking for some flaw to exploit so they can point their finger at us and say, “Aha! See! These who claim to be so pure and holy, and look at how they treat their own!” This scrutiny has only increased since the advent of our Lord Christ. He came preaching “Love one another.” John 13:34-35—“34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” Paul wrote the same thing to the saints in Rome, in Romans 13:8—Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. In the second chapter of his letter, James wrote to those of the Dispersion to not judge one another based on what a man had or did not have. He sums up his whole argument in James 2:8-9—8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you do well; 9 but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

And yet, it wasn’t too long after the birth of the church that schisms and factions and sniping and feuding arose in the church—nay, even while Paul was penning the word of Holy Writ these things became manifest. Galatians 5:14-15—14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 15 But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another! Philippians 4:2—I implore Euodia and I implore Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. 1st Corinthians 1:10-12—10 Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. 11 For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe's household, that there are contentions among you. 12 Now I say this, that each of you says, "I am of Paul," or "I am of Apollos," or "I am of Cephas," or "I am of Christ." Corinth and Galatia and Philippi were cities filled with pagans, heathens, Romans, and all other groups who knew not God. And the people in these cities were judging these Christians not on how they acted toward the worshippers of false (little-g) gods, but on how they treated their fellow worshippers of the true (BIG-G) God. And if those of The Way would bite and devour one another; if they would erect false divisions among them based on how eloquent the speaker they followed; if they sought their own interest at the expense of others—then what good was it to follow this dead Jewish rabbi (as He was known by those who did not know Him)? When they could just as easily be accepted by those who, like they themselves, practiced all sorts of idolatry in the pagan temples? “I thought you Christians were supposed to ‘love one another’. Is this what your Master meant? Is this how you show your ‘love’ for one another? Thanks—but no thanks!” If we are the people of God, then we should be caring for the people of God. That is the foundation of this command to not hire one of your fellow Hebrews as a slave, but as a hired servant.

Now, the question then becomes, “What’s the difference?” Well, the word translated ‘slave’ is עֶבֶד (‘ebed), which means literally, ‘a slave’. This is one who would become the property of another, as seen in verses 44-46. (Even though slaves were your considered as property, and you could pass them down to your children as an inheritance, you still had to treat them properly, see again Exodus 22:21). The word translated ‘hired servant’ in Leviticus 25:40 is שָׂכִיר (sakiyr), and it means ‘a hireling’. In short, this would mean a day-laborer. And the other, most important distinction between a slave (עֶבֶד (‘ebed)) and a hireling (שָׂכִיר (sakiyr)) was this: at the end of their sixth year of service (or at the Year of Jubilee, whichever came first), the hireling (שָׂכִיר (sakiyr)) went free. (Unless, of course, he had pledged himself to his master as seen in Exodus 21:4-6). The slave (עֶבֶד (‘ebed)) did not. They could serve as that person’s slave for seven Sabbath years and a Jubilee—and there was not one word in the Law about their owner being under any obligation to let them go free at any time—period.

 

Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen.

A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Numbers 3 (Part 3)

Numbers 3:11-13—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." If God says something belongs to Him, does it belong to Him? So when He says He has taken the Levites to Himself, do they then belong to God? Well, yes. But these were His people, His tribe, rather than all the firstborn of Israel. For one very important reason: that they may act as a go-between between God and Man. Were they better than the others? By no means. We have already shown, from the book of Judges, that they could be just as dastardly as anyone. He does it for one reason and one reason only: because He can. Because that’s what He decided He wanted to do.

Don’t think you are any different. He chose who would be His from before the foundation of the world. Why? Are we better than those He didn’t choose? Oh goodness, no. We are far worse than we could ever think, far worse than we could ever be accused of being. And likewise, these Levites were no better than the others. But the others were set apart for His armies, and the Levites for His service in the Tabernacle. This was done to maintain order in this crowd of over 600,000 people. Ever take part in putting something together or tearing it down? It can be frustrating. People milling about, moving stuff in no particular order, with seemingly no rhyme or reason. Then one person puts something where it doesn't belong, and everything gets out of whack, and… Now, suppose instead of setting up a stage for a production, we’re talking about the place where God has decided to put His name. And instead of a dozen or so workers, we have over a half million. So God says, Okay, before we get started, we are only going to have the sons of the tribe of Levi handling this. They are going to put stuff up, they alone are going to take it down and put all the stuff where it’s supposed to be, and do everything else. Now, that’s settled.

Now, suppose one of these Levites said “Nah, I’d rather not”. Could they have just walked away from this calling? No. “The Levites shall be MINE”. They belonged to God. If you are in Christ, you belong to God. And that should make us the most humble of all people. That we have been bought with the price of the blood of the Son of God. Not because we were good enough or smart enough or holy enough or righteous enough to accept that payment. But that we were chosen, based on nothing, by God, redeemed with His blood, and we are now set apart to Him. There are some who say “Yes, but you can always walk away. You can say ‘I don’t want to do this anymore’”. Seriously? You think that once you are in Christ, saved from the wrath to come, that God thinks so little of you that He would let you waltz off into Hell? 1st Corinthians 3:23—and you are Christ’s and Christ is God’s. Ephesians 1:13-14—13 having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. See that word “guarantee” in verse 14? In the KJV it is translated “earnest”. It is defined as “money which in purchases is given as a pledge or down payment that the full amount will subsequently be paid.” God gives us His Holy Spirit as a pledge. And God does not go back on His word.  The Holy Spirit is our guarantee, our earnest. If God guarantees something, will it happen?

Verses 14-39 detail which duty each division of the Levites was to carry out, so we will skip on down to Numbers 3:40-51—40 Then the LORD said to Moses: "Number all the firstborn males of the children of Israel from a month old and above, and take the number of their names. 41 And you shall take the Levites for Me—I am the LORD—instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the livestock of the children of Israel." 42 So Moses numbered all the firstborn among the children of Israel, as the LORD commanded him. 43 And all the firstborn males, according to the number of names from a month old and above, of those who were numbered of them, were twenty-two thousand two hundred and seventy-three. 44 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 45 "Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites instead of their livestock. The Levites shall be Mine: I am the LORD. 46 And for the redemption of the two hundred and seventy-three of the firstborn of the children of Israel, who are more than the number of the Levites, 47 you shall take five shekels for each one individually; you shall take them in the currency of the shekel of the sanctuary, the shekel of twenty gerahs. 48 And you shall give the money, with which the excess number of them is redeemed, to Aaron and his sons." 49 So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those who were redeemed by the Levites. 50 From the firstborn of the children of Israel he took the money, one thousand three hundred and sixty-five shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary. 51 And Moses gave their redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses.

Here we see a picture of redemption. The Old Covenant is often referred to as a “Covenant of Works”, and the New Covenant is referred to as a “Covenant of Grace”. I would argue they are both a Covenant of Grace. Adam’s sin plunged all humans into death and sin. God would have been perfectly justified in wiping us all out and starting all over again. But He didn’t. Even before He began the work of Creation, He knew Man would sin. So He planned to redeem some with the blood of His Son, Whom He would send at an appointed time. Until that time, He would chose for Himself a people He would call Israel. And He would give them types and shadows to serve as guideposts so that when that Son came into the world, they would know it was Him. One of those guideposts was this concept of redemption.

First, He says in verse 45 that He shall take the tribe of Levi instead of all the firstborn of all Israel. There were 22,000 males in the tribe of Levi, there were 22,273 firstborn males in all of Israel. That meant there were 273 more firstborn males than there were males in the tribe of Levi. So how would these additional 273 souls be redeemed? Well, in verses 46-48, we see that God told Moses that there was a price to be paid for them. They couldn’t just say “eh, close enough”. The first 22,000 firstborn had to be redeemed with a Levite, the remaining 273 had to be redeemed with something. God determined that that price was five shekels. This would be the price of anything devoted to the service of God, as it says in Numbers 18:16— And those redeemed of the devoted things you shall redeem when one month old, according to your valuation, for five shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs. God could have said “that one is Mine, and I shall have it”, but He didn’t.  He said “give five shekels to the Levites, that they might minister on My behalf, and intercede for you”. So the principle of redemption was established.

This principle would find its way into the New Covenant, but instead of paying five shekels to redeem a soul to God, it was now a price God paid to redeem a particular people. In 1st Corinthians 6:20 it says you were bought with a price. That price was not five shekels, but rather the blood of the Lamb without spot or blemish. As John the Baptist said, “the Lamb of God which takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29). In order for your sins to be taken away and forgotten, something had to be given in its place. God cannot just forget about the times you have disobeyed Him and rebelled against Him. Under the Law, that something was the blood of bulls and goats. But as we saw earlier, Hebrews 10:4—It is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. We had to be redeemed. We had to have someone go into the Holy of Holies in Heaven with blood from a perfect sacrifice in order for God to forgive our sins. Hebrews 9:12—Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. F.B. Meyer in his commentary, wrote—

We are led to consider Christ’s high-priestly work. The scene for it is no edifice made with hands in this transitory world, but eternal and divine. His stay in the Holiest is not brief, hurried, and repeated year by year, but once for all He enters by virtue of His own blood. That blood cleanses not only from ceremonial guilt, but from moral and spiritual pollution. A will or testament comes into force when the testator dies; so the will of the eternal Father toward us has been made valid through the blood of Jesus.

I’ll end with the words of the Apostle Peter, in 1st Peter 1:17-19—17 And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; 18 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. If you are in Christ, it cost more than five shekels to redeem you from the curse of sin. You were bought and paid for with the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen.

A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Numbers 3 (part 2)

Now, this idea of God being particular about who ministers to Him for man, this precept is still in effect today. Only today those men are not called priests, but rather preachers. If you’re like me, you have heard snippets from those who call themselves preachers who have no business calling themselves preachers. Whether they're spewing the heretical Prosperity “gospel”, or they call themselves “progressive”, or they stand before their congregation wearing a rainbow-colored shawl, these are some who do not preach truth. And every time they stand to give their talks, they heap more and more of God’s wrath upon them. They are outsiders coming near, as our verse in Numbers says, and while they may not die today or tomorrow, they will die, like all humans. And when they do, they will stand before God, who will judge them rightly, that they have blasphemed the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, they have blasphemed the Father, and are deserving of eternal torment.

The question I always have is, “why do they do it”? Why do they blaspheme the name of God—the very God they hate—why do they preach, as they say, “in the name of Jesus”, teaching their audiences the very opposite of what God has said, the very opposite of what Christ has said? I fear that it may be their way of sticking their thumb in His eye, showing Him their utter contempt. Making light of the things of God and His Christ. And they will receive the reward for their unrighteousness. And it will be eternal. 2nd Peter 2:1-3—1 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.

Now, this is not to say the Levites could not be corrupted. In the book of Judges we see two episodes where they were not seen in the most favorable light. Of course  in Judges 19 we read of a Levite who was travelling with his concubine, she gets taken by a bunch of men referred to as “sons of Belial” and has unspeakable things done to her. She returns, dies on the threshold of the house, and he walks past her with contempt. And also in Judges 17 we read of a Levite who worked as a priest for an individual named Micah and served his graven images. Judges 17:6-13—6 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. (That is a phrase you find all throughout the book of Judges. Judges, if you read it, may very well be the most depressing book in the Bible. Moses has died, Joshua has died, and Israel as a nation is still in its infancy, and many of their past behaviors return.) 7 Now there was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah; he was a Levite, and was staying there. 8 The man departed from the city of Bethlehem in Judah to stay wherever he could find a place. Then he came to the mountains of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, as he journeyed. 9 And Micah said to him, "Where do you come from?" So he said to him, "I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am on my way to find a place to stay." 10 Micah said to him, "Dwell with me, and be a father and a priest to me, and I will give you ten shekels of silver per year, a suit of clothes, and your sustenance." So the Levite went in. 11 Then the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man became like one of his sons to him. 12 So Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and lived in the house of Micah. 13 Then Micah said, "Now I know that the LORD will be good to me, since I have a Levite as priest!" This is the passage referred to by Paris Reidhead in his famous sermon entitled “Ten Shekels and a Shirt”.  This passage is a warning to all who would come—whether Old Testament priests or New Testament preachers, but especially those who would preach and teach in such a way to lead people into sin and away from God—to examine why it is they preach, or “preach”. He says in his sermon—

The question comes then to this, what is the standard of success and by what are we going to judge our lives and our ministry? And the question that you are going to ask yourself, “Is God an end or is He a means?” Our generation is prepared to honor successful choices. As long as a person can get things done or get the job done then our generation is prepared to say well done.

And so we’ve got to ask ourselves at the very outset of our ministry, and our pilgrimage, and our walk, “Are we going to be Levites who serve God for ten shekels and a shirt?” serve men perhaps in the name of God, rather than God. For though he was a Levite and performed religious activities, he was looking for a place, which would give him recognition, a place which would give him acceptance, a place which would give him security, a place where he could shine in terms of those values which were important to him. His whole business was serving in religious activities, so it had to be a religious job. He was very happy when he found that Micah had an opening. But he had decided that he was worth ten shekels and a shirt, and he was prepared to sell himself to anyone that would give that much. If somebody came along and gave more, he would sell himself to them. But he put a value upon himself and he figured then his religious service and his activities were just a means to an end, and by the same token, God was a means to an end.

It’s why Paul tells us in 1st Timothy 3:2 that a pastor must be blameless, not covetous or a drunkard, etc. etc. Don’t judge the effectiveness of your ministry by numbers, but rather by your faithfulness to God.

Now, after these events, did God say “Eh, I’m done with you Levites. If anybody wants to be a priest and to minister in the Tabernacle, go ahead”? Did He cast off the tribe of Levi for these offenses? No. Paul lays out the qualifications for elders and deacons in his letters to Timothy and Titus. And, as the Levites did, some who have been elders and deacons have abused those positions. Does that mean God has said, “Well, okay, I’ll open up the doors and if anyone wants to be an elder or deacon, go right ahead”? Again, no. God does not adapt to the culture; the culture is to adapt to God and His Word. Unfortunately, many “churches” are run by men—and women—who do not fit the qualifications laid out in Scripture. And we wonder why society is running downhill at such an alarming rate. If the church doesn’t care about God’s Word and His commands, why should we expect those outside the church to respect them?

We would see later in Scripture that some unscrupulous kings would appoint whomever they desired, regardless of ancestry, to be priests. For example, we see Jeroboam do this very thing in 1st Kings 12:27-31— 27 If these people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn back to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and go back to Rehoboam king of Judah." 28 Therefore the king asked advice, made two calves of gold, and said to the people, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!" 29 And he set up one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. 30 Now this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan. 31 He made shrines on the high places, and made priests from every class of people, who were not of the sons of Levi. He did it again in the very next chapter, 1st Kings 13:33-34—33 After this event Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but again he made priests from every class of people for the high places; whoever wished, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places. 34 And this thing was the sin of the house of Jeroboam, so as to exterminate and destroy it from the face of the earth. This becomes a phrase used repeatedly in the books of Kings and Chronicles, “the sin of Jeroboam”. His sons would be wiped out, his name dragged for so many years—so many times the evil kings of Israel are described as “walking in the sin of Jeroboam”. Not “sins”, but “sin”, singular. This sin here, where he sets up idol worship and appoints priests from outside of Aaron’s bloodline—directly against the edict from God. Simply because he wanted glory for himself, the very glory which belongs to God and God alone! Robert Hawker, the Anglican priest from the late 1700s and early 1800s, summarized the sinfulness and wretchedness of these actions quite succinctly

What an awful example doth this man afford of an unreclaimed heart! oh, Reader! Learn from it the vast and infinite importance of the Spirit’s work upon the soul, without whose gracious influence every sinner’s heart would be more and more hardened, through the deceitfulness of sin.

Then of course we have the example of King Saul. 1st Samuel 13:8-12—8 Then [Saul] waited seven days, according to the time set by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. 9 So Saul said, "Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me." And he offered the burnt offering. 10 Now it happened, as soon as he had finished presenting the burnt offering, that Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might greet him. 11 And Samuel said, "What have you done?"—you can almost hear the anger and consternation in Samuel’s voice—Saul said, "When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, 12 then I said, 'The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the LORD.'  Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering." Saul of course was from the tribe of Benjamin, a tribe which had no business with the things of the Tabernacle. But Saul presumed to offer a Burnt Offering to God, and did so without waiting for the man of God, Samuel, who was descended from Levi through his father Elkanah.

And just as Rehoboam suffered the loss of his kingdom, so Samuel told Saul he would lose his kingdom as well. 1st Samuel 13:13-14—13 And Samuel said to Saul, "You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you. For now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14      But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you." And of course we know this came true, that King Saul died in battle and his kingdom was given to the man he tried to kill many times, the man David, And while David is held in high esteem by the Israelites, while King Saul is held in derision. Why? Because he disobeyed God.

Part 3 next week 

Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen

A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Numbers 3 (Part 1)

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

Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen.

A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Numbers 1

So now that we are done with Leviticus, we keep moving through the Law, and into the book of Numbers. And as you might have already guessed, the book of Numbers is full of a bunch of…wait for it…numbers!! Can you believe that! Originally, the title of the book wasבְּמִדְבַּר  (BaMidbar or BeMidbar), which is Hebrew for “in the wilderness”, and is taken from the first verse in the book. Numbers 1:1—Now the LORD spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai…  The structure of Numbers alternates between narratives and exhaustively detailed lists. The lists show that God is a God who is concerned with details. He doesn't just tell Moses to grab a bunch of guys to do certain tasks—He mentions these men by name. He doesn't just have Moses tell the people to gather whatever gifts they want to bring, and bring them wherever they want whenever they want—He spells out who is to bring what and when. The narratives show the mercy of God. Even after they complain about having to eat manna—which is Hebrew for “free food from Heaven, every day” (well, not really, but that’s what it was)—and He has to kill many of those people. Even after they complain about Moses and Aaron “taking upon themselves” the mantle of leadership and He has to send Korah and his sons directly to Hell. Even after He has to strike Miriam with leprosy for daring to question the way God ordered things. Even after the people commit harlotry with the women of Moab. Even after they complain that they can't take the land He promised and He makes them wander for forty years until that generation died out. Even after…even after…even after… Even after all these things—these are still His people and He is still their God!

So, when does this book begin? Well, we see from the very first verse that these people have been camped at the bottom of Mt. Sinai for a little over a year. Numbers 1:1—Now the LORD spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt. This is the first day of the month ofאִיָּר  (Iyyar), they have been a year out of Egypt—which means they’ve been at the bottom of Sinai for nearly fourteen months. They’ve seen the lightnings and thunders and heard God speak and were afraid and told Moses, “You talk to Him lest we die”; they’ve built their golden calf, after which many were put to death and had to drink the powdered gold ; God has been giving Moses all these rules and commandments and ordinances. And now God tells Moses to take a count of all the people. Numbers 1:2—“2 Take a census of all the congregation of the children of Israel, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, every male individually.” Numbering is a way of showing ownership, which is why David got in trouble for calling the census at the end of his life. 2nd Samuel 24:10—And David's heart condemned him after he had numbered the people. So David said to the LORD, "I have sinned greatly in what I have done; but now, I pray, O LORD, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly."

This was one of several censuses God calls Moses to undertake. A little later He tells Moses to count all the children from the tribe of Levi, from one month old and above. He would have a reason for that census, and we’ll talk about that when we get there. Now, notice something about this census that God commands. He doesn't tell Moses, “Hey, go out and grab some friends and count the people.” He tells Moses to number the people “by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, every male individually.” Notice that last word—individually. By family, by name. This shows that God is a God who knows His people by name. Does that sound like something Jesus might have said? John 10:2-3—2 “But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” If you know Christ (or, rather, are known by Him [Galatians 4:9]), this was not something that just happened. You were known by Christ before even the world was founded. Listen to Jesus’ words in John 10:14—“I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.” Notice, Jesus does not say “I will know My sheep.” He says “I know them”. Present tense. And I don’t think I'm incorrect in saying that the vast majority of His sheep hadn’t even been born yet. I wasn’t. You certainly weren’t. If you are reading this, then you came along at least 2000 years after Jesus said “I know My sheep.” You were one of the sheep He knew, even 2000 years ago. And He has called you by name, and you have answered, and He will not lose you.

Numbers 1:3-16—“3 From twenty years old and above—all who are able to go to war in Israel. You and Aaron shall number them by their armies. 4 And with you there shall be a man from every tribe, each one the head of his father's house.  5 These are the names of the men who shall stand with you: from Reuben, Elizur the son of Shedeur; 6 from Simeon, Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai; 7 from Judah, Nahshon the son of Amminadab; 8 from Issachar, Nethanel the son of Zuar; 9 from Zebulun, Eliab the son of Helon; 10 from the sons of Joseph: from Ephraim, Elishama the son of Ammihud; from Manasseh, Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur; 11 from Benjamin, Abidan the son of Gideoni; 12 from Dan, Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai; 13 from Asher, Pagiel the son of Ocran; 14 from Gad, Eliasaph the son of Deuel; 15 from Naphtali, Ahira the son of Enan." 16 These were chosen from the congregation, leaders of their fathers' tribes, heads of the divisions in Israel.  Every tribe sent the head of their tribe, as listed here. As you will see, there is an order that God commands, as God has an order for everything. In His order of creation we see that He first created the heavens and the earth, then He gave it light, then He divided the water from the land, then the moon and stars, then life in the sea, then creatures that lived on land, then Man.  At creation, He gave all that man would need, and gave him dominion over those creatures, and set man over them. But here, He gives orders to set these men over their armies. And He calls them by name. He always knows His own, and in Scripture, He calls His own by name. Isaiah 43:1--But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine!” We belong to Him, just as the armies of Israel belonged to Him, and He knows us and calls us by name, just as He knew and called the armies of Israel by name.

These are men who were called to be warriors. There was land that God had promised to His people, land that was already inhabited, and the people that lived in these lands were not just going to give it up without a fight. Today, we are called to win people to Christ, not by war and fighting, but by spreading the gospel to people who do not know God, and many of whom don’t care for God and may even hate God. They have a master, one who, like the inhabitants of the lands the Israelites were to conquer, does not give ground easily. 2nd Corinthians 4:4--whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. Many times in the New Testament, we are referred to in a militaristic manner. 2nd Timothy 2:3-4--You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. In Ephesians we are told to wear the full armor of God. Ephesians 6:13-17—13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Many of the hymns we love speak of our battle.

Onward, Christian Soldiers

Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus going on before.
Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe;
Forward into battle see His banners go!

 A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and pow’r are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

 Does the one hymn say "Onward Christian Daffodils"? Or "A Mighty Civic Center Is Our God"? No. These tell us to be soldiers, and that God is a mighty fortress. We should be ready to go into battle for the gospel--not with arrows and shields, but by the power of God, fully submitted to Him, remembering that the battle is the Lord's (1st Samuel 17:47). Here in Numbers, God is calling all men—not women, not children, they had to be of a certain age to be considered, by God, to be ready for this service—into service, much like in 1^st Timothy, where Paul relates that a pastor must be not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil (1^st Timothy 3:6). When one is too young, or too new in the faith, and is given too great a position, he can think that he deserves it, can become arrogant, and take himself too seriously, instead of submitting himself to the word, and the authority, of God. Likewise here, males for service in the army of Israel were not to be youngsters, or adolescents, or teenagers, but were to be fully grown and mature, lest they think they are better than their leaders or better than what they truly are.

Numbers 1:17-19—17 Then Moses and Aaron took these men who had been mentioned by name, 18 and they assembled all the congregation together on the first day of the second month; and they recited their ancestry by families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, each one individually. 19  As the LORD commanded Moses, so he numbered them in the Wilderness of Sinai. Notice, this is the second day of the first month, the very day the Tabernacle was erected (Numbers1:1). Just as God commanded the people to come out of Egypt quickly and to not delay, here He does not delay, either. He knew these people would resort to being a lazy people if given the chance (see Exodus 32:1). And because there were so many people to prepare, all who were numbered were six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty. So He wanted to get them numbered, mustered and ready for battle. And so we must be ready. 1st Peter 3:15—But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you. That is why we must always be in the word, reading it, studying it, so we may give that answer when needed. 

The next verses, from verse 20 through verse 44, are simply relating the numbers from each of the twelve tribes, so we will skip those verses, and pick up at verse 45. Numbers 1:45-51—45 So all who were numbered of the children of Israel, by their fathers' houses, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war in Israel—46 all who were numbered were six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty. 47 But the Levites were not numbered among them by their fathers' tribe; 48 for the LORD had spoken to Moses, saying: 49 "Only the tribe of Levi you shall not number, nor take a census of them among the children of Israel; 50 but you shall appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the Testimony, over all its furnishings, and over all things that belong to it; they shall carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings; they shall attend to it and camp around the tabernacle. 51 And when the tabernacle is to go forward, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle is to be set up, the Levites shall set it up. The outsider who comes near shall be put to death. 603,550 men, age 20 and older. But we see the Levites left out. Why? Simple. They were to be the priests to God, to go between men and God. And He did not want these men entangled in military combat. Because military service did not involve only going into battle, but also training, which usually took up more time than the fighting itself. And what was the main duty of the priests? Preparing the sacrifices of the people to God. And there was a lot to remember about these sacrifices; they had to be done properly, they had to divide the animals in certain ways depending on what the sacrifice was for, then there was the actual slaughtering of the animals, burning them on the altar, and let’s not forget carrying the waste and the skeletons out of the camp.

Plus, another thing to consider, these were the men who made peace between God and man, they could not be seen as men of war. This is exactly why God told David not to build Him a temple. 1st Chronicles 28:3—“But God said to me, ‘No David, you must not build a house for my name. You must not do that because you are a soldier, and you have killed many men.’” Likewise, we Christian men should not try to force others into the kingdom of God by violent force. Which is why we are given many admonitions in the New Testament about our conduct toward those who are outside of Christ. Colossians 4:5-6—5 Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. 6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. 1^st Peter 4:3-4—3 For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. 4 In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you. James 1:19-20—19 So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.  The world will not listen to what we say about Christ if we try to bludgeon them over the head with a Bible.

One more thing, God calls those whom He will, for one reason—because that is the way He wants it. Like in Acts 6:1-4—1 Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. 2 Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, "It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. 3 Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; 4 but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word." Men in 11 of the tribes of Israel were to fight for His people, but His priests—the Levites—were to stay behind to do the work of bringing His people closer to Him.  Likewise, the Apostles were to go out, taking the message of Christ to the world—to both Jew and Gentile—but the deacons were to serve the church locally, that the Apostles may not be ensnared with micromanaging the local congregation, but that they may devote themselves to studying and teaching the word of God.

Then in the last sentence of the last verse we see that only the Levites are to go near the Tabernacle. The outsider who comes near shall be put to death. Why? Because it was in the innermost part of this massive tent that the priest—and only the High Priest at that—was to speak with God, and that on only one day out of the year. Remember when God was speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai? Exodus 19:12—You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, 'Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. God sets boundaries. He has to. Otherwise, a creature may get too close, and they would die. Exodus 33:20—But He said, "You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live." God does not set these boundaries to be a big, bad ogre who wants to stifle your freedoms. He does it to protect you and to keep you safe.

In an article published by the American Society of Landscape Architects, they cited a study of playgrounds, and they discovered a difference between those that had a fence and those that didn’t:

 

A simple study was conducted to discover the effects of a fence around a playground and the consequent impact it would have on preschool children.  Teachers were to take their children to a local playground in which there was no fence during their normal recess hour.  The kids were to play as normal.  The same group was to be taken to a comparable playground in which there was a defined border designated by a fence. In the first scenario, the children remained huddled around their teacher, fearful of leaving out of her sight.  The later scenario exhibited drastically different results, with the children feeling free to explore within the given boundaries. The overwhelming conclusion was that with a given limitation, children felt safer to explore a playground.  Without a fence, the children were not able to see a given boundary or limit and thus were more reluctant to leave the caregiver.  With a boundary, in this case the fence, the children felt at ease to explore the space.  They were able to separate from the caregiver and continue to develop in their sense of self while still recognizing that they were in a safe environment within the limits of the fence.

(https://www.asla.org/awards/2006/studentawards/282.html)

 

We do better with boundaries.  Thus, we do better with God. Because God sets those boundaries, and we can trust that He knows what He is doing. He doesn’t act on impulse, He always has a reason for doing what He does, and sometimes we need Him to show us that don’t need what we think we need, or what we want. And as you read through the Bible, you will see that His ways are best, because “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9).

 

 Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen.