Skip to content Duties of the Levite Clans in Numbers Mar 13 · 15 min ...more
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Military Precision in Levite Service 0:09 Good morning. Welcome to Stand on the Word. Today, our journey through the bible takes us to Numbers chapters 4 and 5. Verse 32 of chapter 4, you shall assign to each man by name the items he must carry.0:21 Now our last 2 days, we combined into 1. My apologies for not mentioning that, on Wednesday. It provided a little extra travel time for me. Plus those 3 chapters, I think, went well together. Someone did0:33 point out that I have a, counting problem. I said we were in our fourth book, but we are actually on our fifth book. What I was referring to as numbers is the fourth book of the Pentateuch. We have0:45 actually done 5 books because we have included Job as our second book in our journey. Math was never my favorite subject. Alright. Chapter 4 continues in greater details the duties of the 30:57 main families or clans of the Levites. Now in chapter 5, we then go into laws, regulations regarding lepers, restitution, and women suspected of adultery. So stick with us.1:09 Alright. Let's begin. Verse 1, chapter 4. Then the lord spoke to Moses and Aaron saying, take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the children of Levi, by their families, by their fathers' houses, from 30 years old1:20 and above, even to 50 years old, all who enter the service to do the work in the tabernacle of meeting. Now let me stop for a moment and point out something that I think is important. In verse 3, we see the1:32 word service or in some translations, it might be host or company. This is the same Hebrew word that we've seen before, shavah, which is a military term, which1:44 is also translated as armies. It clearly has a militaristic connotation. Serving in the tabernacle, I think this is what it's communicating and scholars agree, that1:56 serving in the tabernacle was just as important as service by those who were enlisted into the military, the soldiers. And it required the same military precision, discipline, and structure, if not2:07 more, because so much was at stake. And I also believe that it communicates the reality of spiritual warfare, which is just as real, if not more so than physical warfare. Next, we have2:19 the 3 branches or divisions of the tribe of Levi. First, we have here the Kohathites. Next, we have the duties assigned to the Gershonites. Then we have the Merarites.2:33 Notice this is the actual second count, the second census. The first census in the previous chapter counted males 20 years of age and up. In that count, there were 22000 here. The census2:44 is of those 30 to 50 years of age. The second count produced 8500 men. So why the, why the difference? Why this count of age 30 to 50? This is the 202:56 year period of active service in the tabernacle by these men. In numbers app numbers chapter 8 verse 24, it says that the Levite may enter in the service at 25.3:09 Now there may have been a 5 year apprenticeship or a probation period. So why was it that men at age 20 could fight, they were counted as warriors, but you had to be 303:21 to serve in the tabernacle? Well, look back at Nadab and Abihu. Alright? Those who waited on the Lord needed to be mature. And by the way, research has shown3:33 that the rational part of a person's brain is not fully developed until the age of 25. Scripture shows us a lot. Verse 4, this is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of3:44 meeting relating to the most holy things. They had the most exalted job of the Levites. When the camp prepares to journey, Aaron and his sons shall come in, and they shall take down the covering veil and cover the3:56 ark of the testimony with it. They shall 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. Now the as I mentioned, the the4:08 Kohathites were given a special and exalted duty of carrying the internal elements of the tabernacle, the most holy things. Now they were not allowed to touch them nor look upon them, lest they die.4:20 The priest had to come in first and wrap up the holy things and prepare them for the journey. Aaron's son Eleazar was over this, this tribe of the Levites, this clan. Next, the4:32 Gershonites who were to carry this the curtain of the tabernacle, and Aaron's son Ithamar was responsible for the second of the 3 divisions. Verse 21, then the lord spoke to Moses saying, also take a4:44 census of the sons of Gershon by their father's house, by their families. Verse 25, they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle and tabernacle of meeting with its covering, covering of badger skin skins that is on it4:56 and the screen for the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Now the third in the final division of the Levites was the Merarites. They were the largest with 3200 men, and they had a pretty hard job. They had to do the5:08 heavy lifting as they carried the structure of the tabernacle. Verse 29. As for the sons of Merari, you shall number them by their families and by their father's house. And this is what5:20 they verse 31. This is what they must carry as all their services for the tabernacle of meeting, the boards of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, and the pillars around the court with their sockets, pegs5:31 and cords, with all their furnishings and all their service, and you shall assign to each man by name the items he must carry. Now this is the military precision and structure. The work5:43 was assigned by name. Alright? It wasn't just left to whoever. Hey, Joe. Pick that up. As I as I read that, I also wonder about this. I wonder if their assignments were for their entire 20 year5:55 career. I don't know. Maybe they were promoted, within their divisions as they as new people came in, younger people, and I'm sure they probably advanced. But some6:07 some could have spent 20 years simply being responsible for the tent pegs, driving the tent pegs every time the tabernacle was set up. Now in chapter 16, we're gonnaEmbrace Your God-Given Role 6:18 see that, Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, organized a rebellion against Moses because they were not satisfied with their exalted6:31 role, their elevated role in caring for the most holy things in the tabernacle. They wanted the priest role as well. Now this ingratitude and this envy brought about their destruction. This is6:42 an important application, I think, for us right here. And and and Paul talks about this in Romans chapter 12 where he wrote this in verse 4. For as we have many members in 1 body, but all the members do not have the same6:54 function. And we can't all be the hand. We can't all be, you know, the the the foot. We can't all be the knee. We all have a different function. So we, being many, are 1 body in Christ and individually members7:06 of 1 another. We're connected together. We're the the body of Christ. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them. If prophecy, let us prophesy. In proportion to our7:18 faith or ministry, let us use it in our ministry. He who teaches in teaching. He who exhorts in exhortation. He who gives with liberality. He who leads with diligence. He who shows mercy with cheerfulness. We should7:30 embrace with our whole heart the assignment God has given us and not be envious of the role that others have, their platform, their position. And I I would tell you this is this7:41 is this is difficult lesson. It's a part of the sanctification process. It's 1 of the things in the new testament. Talks about selfish ambition and that creates7:53 strife. We should be diligent to carry out the the place that the Lord has given us in the body of Christ. If if if we're given the responsibility8:05 of the tent pegs, then be the best tent peg driver possible. Perfect your calling and do your work as unto the lord. Now on to chapter 5, and the lord spoke to Moses saying,Purity, Restitution, and Divine Justice 8:17 command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every leper, everyone who has a discharge, and whoever becomes defiled by a corpse. You shall put out both male and female. You shall put them outside the camp8:28 that they may not defile their camps in the midst of which I dwell. Is this extreme? Yes. But notice what it says, that that they may not defile their camps in the8:40 midst of which I dwell. This was designed to make them extremely sensitive to unholiness in the presence of a holy god. Verse 5, then the lord8:52 spoke to Moses saying, speak to the children of Israel. When a man or woman commits any sin that men commit in unfaithfulness against the lord, and that person is guilty, then he shall confess the sin which9:04 he has committed. He shall make restitution for his trespass in full, plus 1 fifth of it, and give it to the 1 he has wronged. Now here, this is restitution. But notice that the sin is9:16 always first and foremost against God, but the restitution is made to the person who was wronged by that sin. Now this is an important aspect of justice that has been9:28 been deemphasized in our justice justice system today. I mean, think about it for a minute. The way our system is structured, often a victim is a victim twice. They're the victim of, the9:40 perpetrator, whatever the crime may be, and I'm speaking specifically of nonviolent crimes. They could be robbed. They could be defrauded, and and and they're not made whole by the perpetrator. And then the9:51 victim pays taxes to incarcerate the criminal, which on average in America today is 60 to 65000 dollars. Nonviolent offenders, I believe, in biblical principles here,10:03 they should not be incarcerated. They should be working to pay restitution to their victims. Now dealing with suspected adultery, verse 11. And the Lord spoke to Moses saying, speak to the children of Israel and10:15 say to them, if any man's wife goes astray and behaves unfaithfully toward him, and a man lies with her carnally, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband, and it is concealed that she defiled herself, and there was10:27 no witness against her nor was she caught. If the spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he becomes jealous of his wife who has defiled herself, or if the spirit of jealousy comes upon him10:39 and he becomes jealous of his wife, although she has not defiled herself, then the man shall bring his wife to the priest. He shall bring the offering required for her 1 tenth of a ephah of barley meal. He10:51 shall pour no oil on it, no frankincense on it. It's not a celebration. It's not a joyous occasion because it is a grain offering of jealousy, an offering for remembering, for bringing iniquity11:02 to remembrance. As the priest shall bring her near and set her before the Lord, the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel and take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the11:13 water. Verse 21. Then the priest shall put the woman under the oath of the curse, and he shall say to the woman, the Lord make you a curse and an oath among your people when the Lord makes your thigh rot and your belly11:23 swell, and may this water that causes the curse go into your stomach and make your belly swell and your thigh rot, then the woman shall say, amen, so be it. Then the priest shall write these11:35 curses in a book, and he shall scrape them off into the bitter water. Alright. Some are saying, wait a minute. Wait a minute. What about the man who was involved here? Why is the focus put on the woman? First,11:47 it was actually protecting the woman. It was divinely administered justice. Remember, stoning was a penalty for adultery. This prohibited the the husband from calling for his wife to11:59 be stoned if the spirit of jealousy came upon her and she upon him and she was completely innocent. Now Jewish teaching also, this is Jewish teaching, says that the male adulterer12:11 was afflicted in the same manner as the woman by the hand of God. Now it, now this practice did cease after their time in the wilderness. The the scholar suggests that this was to preserve12:23 the essential unity and prevent the fracturing of families as the nation was in its formative process. I mean, think about it for a moment. Even today, unless you've served in the military, many people don't realize12:35 this. Even today in our nation's military, even though there's it's been a lot of changes in the last, 15 to 20 years, adultery is still a crime because of its detrimental12:47 effect. It all goes back to what Peter restated in first Peter chapter 1 verse 13. Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at12:59 the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lust as in your ignorance, but as he who called you is holy. Remember, god13:11 called the children of Israel out of Egypt, and he said, I'm going to be your God and you'll be my people. They had an identity. The same is true for us. When we're called out of the bondage of sin into a relationship13:23 with God through Jesus Christ, the 1 who called us is holy. He who called you is holy. You also be holy in all of your conduct because it is written, be13:34 holy for I am holy. Father, we thank you for your word, and we thank you for the Holy Spirit that is teaching us on this journey. And we ask that the Holy Spirit would open our minds and our13:46 understanding to the truth of your word that we might walk in the truth of your word, in the light of your word. Show us how to apply these principles to our lives in this world in which we live. We thank you, father,13:57 for we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Thanks for joining me this morning. Until next time, keep standing on the word.14:07 Today's study comes from the stand on the word bible reading plan available for free at frc dot org slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you14:19 can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.In this video 0:00 Military Precision in Levite Service6:10 Embrace Your God-Given Role8:14 Purity, Restitution, and Divine Justice
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