Numbers 4:1-20 - Warnings for Holy Service

Numbers 4:1-20

Duties of the Sons of Kohath

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.”

There was a responsibility as well as a stern warning for the Sons of Kohath in their assigned ministry tasks which other Levites did not have given directly to them.  In all their duties they were strictly prohibited from touching the holy things dedicated to the LORD and from even watching them being covered from unholy eyes by anyone other than the priests given the authority to touch and look at them.  The penalty for disobedience was death.  The death was by God Himself.  This kept them in line and instilled great fear and reverential awe as later when the ark of the Covenant which was kept in the holiest place behind the veil under the mercy seat in the tabernacle was moved and touched when it appeared to be falling (2 Samuel 6:6-7) off a cart.  Only the priests of Aaron could handle the Ark (Numbers 4:4-5) to move it.  Even the Kohathites were prohibited from touching or gazing inside at the contents of the holy items stored as a reminder of God’s presence and work among the people.  There are various other responsibilities listed for the Aaronic priests and the Kohathites here that are no longer relevant since the traveling tabernacle and later permanent temple were done away with.  The church is the dwelling of the Lord as His temple, composed of individual stones of each believer in Christ in whom He also dwells.  We all serve the Lord now but are able to touch and see Him and His holiness of person and work since Jesus tore down the veil separating us (Luke 23:45, Hebrews 6:19-20, 9:3, 8, 10:19-20) from His face when Jesus died on the cross of our sin’s curse.  He has made a new and living way for all who are made His to enter into His presence (Romans 5:1-2, Ephesians 2:18, 3:11-12) as priests to serve and worship without dying when approaching Him now!  The warnings for holy service now are to live in conforming daily to be like Christ without fear but with reverent awe in sober living as we mortify our sins of body and soul.  We will not die, but live in Him and His righteousness. 

Numbers 3:14-51 - Numbered and Dedicated Levites

Numbers 3:14-51

Census of the Levites Commanded (Numbers 1:47–54)

14 Then the LORD spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, saying: 15 “Number the children of Levi by their fathers’ houses, by their families; you shall number every male from a month old and above.”

16 So Moses numbered them according to the word of the LORD, as he was commanded. 17 These were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 18 And 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, Izehar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20 And the sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites by their fathers’ houses.

21 From Gershon came the family of the Libnites and the family of the Shimites; these were the families of the Gershonites. 22 Those who were numbered, according to the number of all the males from a month old and above—of those who were numbered there were seven thousand five hundred. 23 The families of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle westward. 24 And the leader of the father’s house of the Gershonites was Eliasaph the son of Lael. 25 The duties of the children of Gershon in the tabernacle of meeting included the tabernacle, the tent with its covering, the screen for the door of the tabernacle of meeting, 26 the screen for the door of the court, the hangings of the court which are around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords, according to all the work relating to them.

27 From Kohath came the family of the Amramites, the family of the Izharites, the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites; these were the families of the Kohathites. 28 According to the number of all the males, from a month old and above, there were eight thousand six hundred keeping charge of the sanctuary. 29 The families of the children of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle. 30 And the leader of the fathers’ house of the families of the Kohathites was Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. 31 Their duty included the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the utensils of the sanctuary with which they ministered, the screen, and all the work relating to them.

32 And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the leaders of the Levites, with oversight of those who kept charge of the sanctuary.

33 From Merari came the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites; these were the families of Merari. 34 And those who were numbered, according to the number of all the males from a month old and above, were six thousand two hundred. 35 The leader of the fathers’ house of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. These were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. 36 And the appointed duty of the children of Merari included the boards of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, its utensils, all the work relating to them, 37 and the pillars of the court all around, with their sockets, their pegs, and their cords.

38 Moreover those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tabernacle of meeting, were Moses, Aaron, and his sons, keeping charge of the sanctuary, to meet the needs of the children of Israel; but the outsider who came near was to be put to death. 39 All who were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the commandment of the LORD, by their families, all the males from a month old and above, were twenty-two thousand.

Levites Dedicated Instead of the Firstborn

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 is the detailed account of the Levites, the servants of the priests of God’s house, and their dedication to the LORD.  They were presented to God as representatives of the firstborn of the people of God for their redemption by proxy as commanded by the word of the LORD to Moses with the price of their redemption and gave it to Aaron and the priests to intercede for the people.  These kept charge of the sanctuary to meet the needs of the children of Israel as helpers and were given in place of the firstborn to be dedicated and substitutes for the sins of the people of God in that sense.  The priests took the price of their substitution to be the redemption of the rest of Israel, a pattern of the Lord Jesus Christ who was the firstborn from the dead (Colossians 1:18, 1 Corinthians 15:20-21, Revelation 1:5) who was sacrificed by Himself as our High Priest to atone for our sins as the penal substitute, the payment made by Himself in our place (1 Peter 2:24) 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, Hebrews 9:28), for our sins that separated us from our Creator and Sovereign Lord from birth.  He has redeemed us at the ultimate price of His own life as the firstborn like the Levites and ministered our redemption (Ephesians 1:14, Colossians 1:14, Hebrews 9:12, 14) like the Aaronic priests.  We have been counted righteous in Christ and are now numbered in His Book of Life as devoted and dedicated to serve and worship Him.  It is finished! 

Numbers 3:1-13 - God’s Priests and their Helpers

Numbers 3:1-13

The Sons of Aaron (Leviticus 10:1–7)

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.

The Levites Serve in the Tabernacle

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.”

The priests came from the sons of Aaron the brother of Moses who spoke for him before Pharaoh with the plagues on Egypt to let God’s people go out of bondage into glorious freedom to worship the LORD; the Levites from that tribe of Israel’s sons were appointed as helpers for the priests in regards to all things of the temple, similar to New Testament deacons.  These Levites served Aaron and his sons by attending to their needs as well as the congregation’s.  They also maintained the tabernacle’s furnishings and kept the lights of the candles burning night and day.  The dedication of these helpers allowed the firstborn of Israel to be excluded from being devoted to the LORD as all firstborn were commanded to be (Exodus 13:2) of both man and beast.  Not that the firstborn of people would be sacrificed as those of the animals, but that they would have been dedicated to the service of God as the Levites were.  This kept a smaller group of men as chosen to serve the priests, the tabernacle, and the congregation.  In Christ, by contrast, we all are priests to the Lord (Revelation 1:6, 5:10) and serve the temples of these individual bodies where God dwells as Spirit now (1 Corinthians 6:19) as well as the greater congregation (1 Peter 2:5) which is the body of Christ, the church of the living God.  We still have pastors and elders as under-shepherds loosely acting as priests over the household of God in local congregations and deacons somewhat as Levites who administer the house and its running along with the people, but it is now a different and more complete ministry to all in the local body and the universal church.  We see the pattern set in under the Old Covenant Testament made complete therefore in the new for God’s priests and their helpers in the church. 

Numbers 2:1-34 - Camping by Assigned Standards

Numbers 2:1-34

The Tribes and Leaders by Armies

1 And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: 2 “Everyone of the children of Israel shall camp by his own standard, beside the emblems of his father’s house; they shall camp some distance from the tabernacle of meeting. 3 On the east side, toward the rising of the sun, those of the standard of the forces with Judah shall camp according to their armies; and Nahshon the son of Amminadab shall be the leader of the children of Judah.” 4 And his army was numbered at seventy-four thousand six hundred.

5 “Those who camp next to him shall be the tribe of Issachar, and Nethanel the son of Zuar shall be the leader of the children of Issachar.” 6 And his army was numbered at fifty-four thousand four hundred.

7 “Then comes the tribe of Zebulun, and Eliab the son of Helon shall be the leader of the children of Zebulun.” 8 And his army was numbered at fifty-seven thousand four hundred. 9 “All who were numbered according to their armies of the forces with Judah, one hundred and eighty-six thousand four hundred—these shall break camp first.

10 “On the south side shall be the standard of the forces with Reuben according to their armies, and the leader of the children of Reuben shall be Elizur the son of Shedeur.” 11 And his army was numbered at forty-six thousand five hundred.

12 “Those who camp next to him shall be the tribe of Simeon, and the leader of the children of Simeon shall be Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.” 13 And his army was numbered at fifty-nine thousand three hundred.

14 “Then comes the tribe of Gad, and the leader of the children of Gad shall be Eliasaph the son of Reuel.” 15 And his army was numbered at forty-five thousand six hundred and fifty. 16 “All who were numbered according to their armies of the forces with Reuben, one hundred and fifty-one thousand four hundred and fifty—they shall be the second to break camp.

17 “And the tabernacle of meeting shall move out with the camp of the Levites in the middle of the camps; as they camp, so they shall move out, everyone in his place, by their standards.

18 “On the west side shall be the standard of the forces with Ephraim according to their armies, and the leader of the children of Ephraim shall be Elishama the son of Ammihud.” 19 And his army was numbered at forty thousand five hundred.

20 “Next to him comes the tribe of Manasseh, and the leader of the children of Manasseh shall be Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.” 21 And his army was numbered at thirty-two thousand two hundred.

22 “Then comes the tribe of Benjamin, and the leader of the children of Benjamin shall be Abidan the son of Gideoni.” 23 And his army was numbered at thirty-five thousand four hundred. 24 “All who were numbered according to their armies of the forces with Ephraim, one hundred and eight thousand one hundred—they shall be the third to break camp.

25 “The standard of the forces with Dan shall be on the north side according to their armies, and the leader of the children of Dan shall be Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.” 26 And his army was numbered at sixty-two thousand seven hundred.

27 “Those who camp next to him shall be the tribe of Asher, and the leader of the children of Asher shall be Pagiel the son of Ocran.” 28 And his army was numbered at forty-one thousand five hundred.

29 “Then comes the tribe of Naphtali, and the leader of the children of Naphtali shall be Ahira the son of Enan.” 30 And his army was numbered at fifty-three thousand four hundred. 31 “All who were numbered of the forces with Dan, one hundred and fifty-seven thousand six hundred—they shall break camp last, with their standards.”

32 These are the ones who were numbered of the children of Israel by their fathers’ houses. All who were numbered according to their armies of the forces were six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty. 33 But the Levites were not numbered among the children of Israel, just as the LORD commanded Moses.

34 Thus the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses; so they camped by their standards and so they broke camp, each one by his family, according to their fathers’ houses.

The twelve tribes of Israel were told to setup camp by their standards (banners) in their assigned places as given to them by Moses who was doing as God directed him under His authority.  They were told that they would setup their camps near their own family banners  at a set distance from the tabernacle where the priest met with the LORD to hear Him and sacrifices were made for their sins.  They were numbered as they assembled into their respective areas as well, listed here to account for them all as we look back at how God had multiplied them in their wandering journey out of the bondage of Egypt that represents the enslavement of sin in idolatry and immorality.  Only the Levites as servants of the temple were not specifically numbered for an account of their fruitful growth.  These families then broke camp and reassembled when told to move on and to stop and stay in a place for as long as they were told, learning obedience to hear God’s voice and willingly obey the directions they were to be given.  Do we find peace in the places where the Lord puts us in life as we sojourn through the places where we are led?  Do we serve and multiply in fruitful labors to worship as loving sacrifices as we gather together in worship?  May we learn from the example of the children of Israel to be faithful and attentive listeners to God’s word and directions in our lives (Isaiah 30:21) as they were being (Hebrews 5:14) taught (John 6:45, Romans 8:14) and guided by the sovereign hand of Almighty God.  May we camp but our assigned banners according to our gifts and callings together. 

Numbers 1:1-54 - Numbering the People of God

Numbers 1:1-54

The First Census of Israel (cf. 2 Samuel 24:1–9; 1 Chronicles 21:1–6)

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, saying: 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, 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.

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.

20 Now the children of Reuben, Israel’s oldest son, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, every male individually, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: 21 those who were numbered of the tribe of Reuben were forty-six thousand five hundred.

22 From the children of Simeon, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, of those who were numbered, according to the number of names, every male individually, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: 23 those who were numbered of the tribe of Simeon were fifty-nine thousand three hundred.

24 From the children of Gad, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: 25 those who were numbered of the tribe of Gad were forty-five thousand six hundred and fifty.

26 From the children of Judah, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: 27 those who were numbered of the tribe of Judah were seventy-four thousand six hundred.

28 From the children of Issachar, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: 29 those who were numbered of the tribe of Issachar were fifty-four thousand four hundred.

30 From the children of Zebulun, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: 31 those who were numbered of the tribe of Zebulun were fifty-seven thousand four hundred.

32 From the sons of Joseph, the children of Ephraim, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: 33 those who were numbered of the tribe of Ephraim were forty thousand five hundred.

34 From the children of Manasseh, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: 35 those who were numbered of the tribe of Manasseh were thirty-two thousand two hundred.

36 From the children of Benjamin, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: 37 those who were numbered of the tribe of Benjamin were thirty-five thousand four hundred.

38 From the children of Dan, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: 39 those who were numbered of the tribe of Dan were sixty-two thousand seven hundred.

40 From the children of Asher, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: 41 those who were numbered of the tribe of Asher were forty-one thousand five hundred.

42 From the children of Naphtali, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: 43 those who were numbered of the tribe of Naphtali were fifty-three thousand four hundred.

44 These are the ones who were numbered, whom Moses and Aaron numbered, with the leaders of Israel, twelve men, each one representing his father’s house. 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. 52 The children of Israel shall pitch their tents, everyone by his own camp, everyone by his own standard, according to their armies; 53 but the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the Testimony, that there may be no wrath on the congregation of the children of Israel; and the Levites shall keep charge of the tabernacle of the Testimony.”

54 Thus the children of Israel did; according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so they did.

The twelve tribes of Israel from Jacob’s sons multiplied in their wandering in the wilderness after leaving the bondage of Egypt and now were to be numbered at the command of the LORD.  They were counted by Moses at the command of the LORD to demonstrate the promise to Abraham of his descendants (Genesis 15:13, Exodus 12:40-41, Acts 7:6-7), God’s chosen nation, that they would indeed be fruitful and multiply.  The seventy people who went to Egypt (Genesis 46:27) with Joseph to avoid the famine were transformed into this mighty group of people to demonstrate that the LORD God keeps His promises to His children for the kingdom. We can therefore hold fast to the more certain promises in Christ of a better kingdom to come as He has numbered us in the Lamb’s Book of Life to be read out in the resurrection to come at the final judgment.  Our heavenly eternal census will include these twelve patriarchs and the twelve apostles (Ephesians 2:19-20, Revelation 21:12, 14) with our names counted in their number (Luke 10:20, Philippians 4:3, Hebrews 12:23, Revelation 20:12, 15) as well according to the promise we have in Christ Jesus our Lord!  This numbering of God’s people in the Sinai wilderness is the written assurance of our own numbering in heaven which we confidently and eagerly (Romans 8:23, 25, Hebrews 9:27-28) look forward to the promise of eternal life fulfilled at last and our heavenly country as our forever promised land.  Yes, this was the Numbering the People of God after the release from Egyptian bondage as a reminder of our hope of an eternal promised land to all written and numbered in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Leviticus 27:1-34 - Redeeming Command of Life

Leviticus 27:1-34

Redeeming Persons and Property Dedicated to God

1 Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: When a man consecrates by a vow certain persons to the LORD, according to your valuation, 3 if your valuation is of a male from twenty years old up to sixty years old, then your valuation shall be fifty shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary. 4 If it is a female, then your valuation shall be thirty shekels; 5 and if from five years old up to twenty years old, then your valuation for a male shall be twenty shekels, and for a female ten shekels; 6 and if from a month old up to five years old, then your valuation for a male shall be five shekels of silver, and for a female your valuation shall be three shekels of silver; 7 and if from sixty years old and above, if it is a male, then your valuation shall be fifteen shekels, and for a female ten shekels.

8 ‘But if he is too poor to pay your valuation, then he shall present himself before the priest, and the priest shall set a value for him; according to the ability of him who vowed, the priest shall value him.

9 ‘If it is an animal that men may bring as an offering to the LORD, all that anyone gives to the LORD shall be holy. 10 He shall not substitute it or exchange it, good for bad or bad for good; and if he at all exchanges animal for animal, then both it and the one exchanged for it shall be holy. 11 If it is an unclean animal which they do not offer as a sacrifice to the LORD, then he shall present the animal before the priest; 12 and the priest shall set a value for it, whether it is good or bad; as you, the priest, value it, so it shall be. 13 But if he wants at all to redeem it, then he must add one-fifth to your valuation.

14 ‘And when a man dedicates his house to be holy to the LORD, then the priest shall set a value for it, whether it is good or bad; as the priest values it, so it shall stand. 15 If he who dedicated it wants to redeem his house, then he must add one-fifth of the money of your valuation to it, and it shall be his.

16 ‘If a man dedicates to the LORD part of a field of his possession, then your valuation shall be according to the seed for it. A homer of barley seed shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver. 17 If he dedicates his field from the Year of Jubilee, according to your valuation it shall stand. 18 But if he dedicates his field after the Jubilee, then the priest shall reckon to him the money due according to the years that remain till the Year of Jubilee, and it shall be deducted from your valuation. 19 And if he who dedicates the field ever wishes to redeem it, then he must add one-fifth of the money of your valuation to it, and it shall belong to him. 20 But if he does not want to redeem the field, or if he has sold the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed anymore; 21 but the field, when it is released in the Jubilee, shall be holy to the LORD, as a devoted field; it shall be the possession of the priest.

22 ‘And if a man dedicates to the LORD a field which he has bought, which is not the field of his possession, 23 then the priest shall reckon to him the worth of your valuation, up to the Year of Jubilee, and he shall give your valuation on that day as a holy offering to the LORD. 24 In the Year of Jubilee the field shall return to him from whom it was bought, to the one who owned the land as a possession. 25 And all your valuations shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs to the shekel.

26 ‘But the firstborn of the animals, which should be the LORD’s firstborn, no man shall dedicate; whether it is an ox or sheep, it is the LORD’s. 27 And if it is an unclean animal, then he shall redeem it according to your valuation, and shall add one-fifth to it; or if it is not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to your valuation.

28 Nevertheless no devoted offering that a man may devote to the LORD of all that he has, both man and beast, or the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed; every devoted offering is most holy to the LORD. 29 No person under the ban, who may become doomed to destruction among men, shall be redeemed, but shall surely be put to death. 30 And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD’s. It is holy to the LORD. 31 If a man wants at all to redeem any of his tithes, he shall add one-fifth to it. 32 And concerning the tithe of the herd or the flock, of whatever passes under the rod, the tenth one shall be holy to the LORD. 33 He shall not inquire whether it is good or bad, nor shall he exchange it; and if he exchanges it at all, then both it and the one exchanged for it shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.’”

34 These are the commandments which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel on Mount Sinai.

Redemption comes at a price that someone has to pay.  In Israel’s day that meant a value had to be placed on the one to be redeemed by the LORD before a sacrifice could be made for the one set aside for the LORD.  There was a list of valuation given by God according to gender and age, with an exception for the poor who could not pay so much and it was left to the priest to set a value, a price to pay to be redeemed.  A holy exchange had to then be made to pay the price.  This is a picture of the gospel exchange where Christ as our great High Priest sets our value to be dedicated as one set aside to the Lord as His and He did the redemption by His own offering of His lifeblood to pay the price once and forevermore.  The text here also covered all that people owned, such as their houses land, and animal stock as well that these might be dedicated to the LORD and redeemed or bought back from the loss of a fallen creation (Romans 8:21-22) to be given to God as devoted to Him as well.  All we have belongs to our Lord and Creator.  God deserves everything we are and possess because He made us all for His glory and He therefore redeemed us from the curse of sin laid bare to see by the Law which we cannot perfectly keep (Galatians 3:13) by the sacrifice of His Son, the perfect and sinless Lamb of God, to be holy devoted to serve and worship Him.  His valuation as our perfect priest shows the infinite value He has to love us so that He sent His own Son (1 John 4:9-10) that we might be bought back to be living sacrifices in return (Romans 12:1) on the altar of His redeeming grace.  This is the great exchange of God to count His righteousness as if it was our own and simultaneously counting our sin as if it was His (though He Himself as divine is sinless, 2 Corinthians 5:21) to sacrifice Himself to pay the price (Romans 6:10-11) of our redemption by passing over the punishment of our sins as our (Isaiah 53:7, 1 Corinthians 5:7) Passover Lamb sacrificed for us to partake of as we remind ourselves when we participate in the Lord’s Supper.  These things show us the purpose of the sacrifices as God’s Redeeming Command of Life to us fulfilled in the gospel of Jesus Christ. His word of the gospel is the redeeming command (Psalm 133:3, John 12:50) of everlasting life with the Father in Christ! 

Leviticus 26:27-46 - Statutes and Judgments

Leviticus 26:27-46

27 ‘And after all this, if you do not obey Me, but walk contrary to Me, 28 then I also will walk contrary to you in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.  29 You shall eat the flesh of your sons, and you shall eat the flesh of your daughters.

30 I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars, and cast your carcasses on the lifeless forms of your idols; and My soul shall abhor you.  31 I will lay your cities waste and bring your sanctuaries to desolation, and I will not smell the fragrance of your sweet aromas.  32 I will bring the land to desolation, and your enemies who dwell in it shall be astonished at it.

33 I will scatter you among the nations and draw out a sword after you; your land shall be desolate and your cities waste.  34 Then the land shall enjoy its sabbaths as long as it lies desolate and you are in your enemies’ land; then the land shall rest and enjoy its sabbaths.  35 As long as it lies desolate it shall rest— for the time it did not rest on your sabbaths when you dwelt in it.

36 ‘And as for those of you who are left, I will send faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; the sound of a shaken leaf shall cause them to flee; they shall flee as though fleeing from a sword, and they shall fall when no one pursues.  37 They shall stumble over one another, as it were before a sword, when no one pursues; and you shall have no power to stand before your enemies.  38 You shall perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up.  39 And those of you who are left shall waste away in their iniquity in your enemies’ lands; also in their fathers’ iniquities, which are with them, they shall waste away.

40 ’But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, with their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, and that they also have walked contrary to Me, 41 and that I also have walked contrary to them and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if their uncircumcised hearts are humbled, and they accept their guilt—42 then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham I will remember; I will remember the land.  43 The land also shall be left empty by them, and will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies desolate without them; they will accept their guilt, because they despised My judgments and because their soul abhorred My statutes.

44 Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, nor shall I abhor them, to utterly destroy them and break My covenant with them; for I am the LORD their God.  45 But for their sake I will remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God: I am the LORD.’”

46 These are the statutes and judgments and laws which the LORD made between Himself and the children of Israel on Mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.

The statutes and judgments which the LORD God made with the people of His covenant began here with the consequences of disobedience and then contrasted those who confess and repent from their sins and turn to follow Him according to His Word.  His stated promise was to walk contrary to their contrary lives lived in opposition and rebellion against Him with even stronger opposition to them for their continued sin by destroying their cities and high places of idolatry where they worshipped dead gods of wood and stone in place of the living and Almighty in heaven above ruling (Psalm 103:19) over them.  He even went so far as to say He would throw their dead bodies on their idol altars to burn with them in destruction by the hands of their adversaries, reminding us of the lake of fire to come in the final judgment on those rejecting Him and His gospel of forgiveness and grace as a result of confession and repentance by faith.  Bit the hope is seen in the promise to forgive and restore if they would confess their sins and unfaithfulness to Him.  If they admitted that they were walking contrary to Him and His commandments and accept their guilt and consequences defined by God in humility without defending themselves, then He would restore and honor the conditional covenant of works made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob which they inherited.  We likewise come through repentance and confession by the conviction of our own sin and receive forgiveness in God’s Son as we face our rebellion against Him and our guilt incurred.  Then we also find ourselves in a new covenant of grace which we cannot earn and which no sin can deny us our salvation in His work of keeping the covenant of the Law perfectly in our stead as we cannot (James 2:10) to deliver us (Galatians 3:24) from its impossible requirements (Romans 3:23, 6:23) and our just judgment.  Like Israel then, we see the foreshadowing of grace in the gospel as they are promised not to be cast away as Je remembered and honored the covenant which He made with them and their forefathers through the faith (Romans 4:13, 16, Galatians 3:9, 14) of Abraham.  These are the statutes and judgments and laws of the LORD that God made with His chosen people and communicated in writing through Moses to them.  We now have the completed book of all the words of God given through the prophets and apostles that contain the fulfillment of all promises of grace through repentance and faith in His one and only own Son who died as a sacrifice of redemption and restoration for we the people chosen in Him before the foundation (Romans 8:28-29, Ephesians 1:4) of the world!  May we live accordingly in grace and the pursuit of holiness to conform to the image of Christ which we are destined for and not walk contrary to Him and His Word.

Leviticus 26:1-26 - Keeping Covenant with God

Leviticus 26:1-26

Promise of Blessing and Retribution (Deuteronomy 7:12–24; 28:1–68)

1 ‘You shall not make idols for yourselves; neither a carved image nor a sacred pillar shall you rear up for yourselves; nor shall you set up an engraved stone in your land, to bow down to it for I am the LORD your God.

2 You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I am the LORD.

3 If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them, 4 then I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. 5 Your threshing shall last till the time of vintage, and the vintage shall last till the time of sowing; you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely.

6 I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none will make you afraid; I will rid the land of evil beasts, and the sword will not go through your land. 7 You will chase your enemies, and they shall fall by the sword before you. 8 Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight; your enemies shall fall by the sword before you.

9 ‘For I will look on you favorably and make you fruitful, multiply you and confirm My covenant with you. 10 You shall eat the old harvest, and clear out the old because of the new. 11 I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you. 12 I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. 13 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves; I have broken the bands of your yoke and made you walk upright.

14 ‘But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments, 15 and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant, 16 I also will do this to you:

I will even appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. 17 I will set My face against you, and you shall be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you shall reign over you, and you shall flee when no one pursues you.

18 ‘And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. 19 I will break the pride of your power; I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze. 20 And your strength shall be spent in vain; for your land shall not yield its produce, nor shall the trees of the land yield their fruit.

21 ‘Then, if you walk contrary to Me, and are not willing to obey Me, I will bring on you seven times more plagues, according to your sins. 22 I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, destroy your livestock, and make you few in number; and your highways shall be desolate.

23 ‘And if by these things you are not reformed by Me, but walk contrary to Me, 24 then I also will walk contrary to you, and I will punish you yet seven times for your sins. 25 And I will bring a sword against you that will execute the vengeance of the covenant; when you are gathered together within your cities I will send pestilence among you; and you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. 26 When I have cut off your supply of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall bring back your bread by weight, and you shall eat and not be satisfied.

The examples and commands to follow the LORD God are meant to honor and keep His covenant to reap the blessings or face the consequences of retribution for living contrary to His word and will.  The commands of His moral law begin with avoiding all idolatry that worships any lifeless image in place of the living God.  This is the first commandment given and is strongly given to remind God’s people of the importance and seriousness of this foundational message to be well pleasing to Him and taste His blessings in their lives.  The consequences of disobedience to worship Him alone are listed here as plagues, terrors, diseases, unfruitfulness, oppression and defeat by adversaries, and more to break their pride until they turn back in repentance and obedience to worship, follow, and serve no other god but God alone in heaven above who created us all for His purpose and glory to share in.  However, if they did keep the covenant of works and worshiped Him alone, they would see blessings of fruitfulness, safety, peace, victory over the adversary, and true prosperity in the protection and presence of the LORD among them.  He promised to dwell in their midst and be their God as they would be His own people whom He delivered from the bondage of Egypt and its enslavement to sin in suffering.  God broke their bonds to set them free indeed as we are (John 8:31-33, 36, Galatians 5:1) in Jesus Christ as His own special people (Titus 2:14, 1 Peter 2:9) in His unbreakable covenant in His lifeblood poured out in place of ours on the cross of our curse brought on by Adam’s original sin to us all from birth by inheritance.  We keep this covenant by walking in the faith He has given us in the unbreakable covenant in His blood made with us (Galatians 3:15, 17, Hebrews 8:10, 12:24, 13:20) with the full assurance that it will not be removed and cannot be lost or forfeited by us either.  We may suffer temporary temporal consequences for our disobedience and pursuit of other idols or immorality (1 Corinthians 3:12-13, 14-15), yet His hand will not release us from the new covenant even if we lose the opportunity to give Him praise through our repentance and faith.  He keeps covenant with us now in His Son as we can never do on our own as we see in the history of Israel under the old covenant of works that demanded obedience or the covenant would be broken.  God promises now to never break this new covenant, which is our hope and motivation to follow in willing obedience to that grace!