Skip to content Numbers 8-10: Consecration and Redemption Mar 17 · 13 min ...more
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Levites Consecrated: Redeemed for Service 0:10 Good morning. Welcome to Stand on the Word. Thanks so much for joining us this morning. You might hear a little rain in the background. Numbers chapters 8 through 10, that is our passage for today. And we have 1 of0:21 my favorite verses in the Bible that comes from numbers chapter 10 verse 35. So it was whenever the ark set out that Moses said, rise up, oh lord, let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate0:33 you flee before you. I often pray that verse. I mean, it's so powerful. I mean, let me read it to you from the ESV. And when ever the ark set out, Moses said, arise, oh lord, and let your enemies0:45 be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you. No need to fight. The presence of the lord going before them would scatter god's enemies who are also our0:57 enemies. So here in today's passage, the journey to the promised land begins in earnest, and I and I have to believe there was a lot of excitement and anticipation. I mean, it must have been like having a new1:09 car and going on a road trip for the first time. You just had 2000000 of your closest friends with you. In chapter 8, the Levites are consecrated. They're set apart unto the Lord for the work of the tabernacle. So let's1:20 read that. Verse 9, and you shall bring the Levites before the tabernacle of meeting, and you shall gather together the whole congregation of the children of Israel. So you shall bring the Levites before the lord, and1:29 the children of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites. And Aaron shall offer the Levites before the lord like a wave offering from the children of Israel that they may perform the work of the lord. Verse 16.1:42 For they are wholly given to me from among the children of Israel. I have taken them for myself instead of all who open the womb, the firstborn of all the children of Israel. For all the firstborn among the1:54 children of Israel are mine, both man and beast, on the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt. I sanctified them. I set them apart to myself. I have taken the Levites2:06 instead of all the first born of the children of Israel. Okay. What the Lord is saying here, the Lord claimed all of the firstborn of Israel because he2:18 spared them in Egypt through the blood of the Passover lamb. Remember, the firstborn of the Egyptians died. So the firstborn belonged to him because he had redeemed them.2:30 So instead of taking the firstborn from every family and every tribe, God took the entire tribe of Levi as a stand in for the firstborn population. That's why they did2:42 the census that we read about previously. Now the people now notice what they did. The people laid their hands on the Levites, and that is transferring them, representing. They became their representatives,2:54 and they presented them as a wave offering to the Lord, which was then given to the priest to help in the service of the tabernacle. So what what is the significance, or is there3:06 significance of this to us today as followers of Christ? I would say absolutely. It illustrates that believers redeemed by the blood of the lamb, Jesus Christ, belong to3:18 God. We're set apart for service to him. That's what this is a picture of. Paul says this very clearly in first Corinthians chapter 6 verse 19, or do you not know that your body is the3:30 temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? Look at verse 20. For you were bought at a price. Therefore, glorify God.3:41 You were bought with a price. You were redeemed. Therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. Now here with the Levites, the consecration includes 3 offerings,3:53 a sin offering. This was atoning for their sin against God. Number 2 is the burnt offering. They were dedicating or surrendering themselves in totality to God. And then there was the grain offering, which was the4:05 giving of thanks to God. Now in the next chapter, the first half of chapter 9 records the observance of the first annual, Passover. Then we move to howGuided by Cloud and Fire 4:17 they are to be led on this journey by god. Verse 15. Now on the day that the tabernacle was raised up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony, from4:29 evening until morning. It was above the tabernacle like the appearance of fire. So it was always. The cloud covered it by day and the appearance of fire by night. Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the4:40 tabernacle, after that, the children of Israel would journey. And in the place where the cloud settled, there, the people of Israel would pitch their tents. At the command of the Lord, the children of Israel would4:51 journey. And at the command of the Lord, they would camp. As long as the cloud stayed above the tabernacle, they remain encamped. Even when the cloud continued long, many days above the tabernacle, the children of Israel5:03 kept the charge of the Lord and did not journey. So it was, when the cloud was above the tabernacle, a few days according to the command of the Lord, they would remain encamped. And according to the command of the Lord,5:14 they would journey. So it was when the cloud remained only from evening until morning, when the cloud was taken up in the morning, then they would journey whether by day or by night. Where whenever5:26 the cloud was taken up, they would journey. Whether it was 2 days, a month, or a year that the cloud remained above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would remain encamped and not journey. But when it was taken up,5:38 they would journey. At the command of the Lord, they remain encamped, and at the command of the Lord, they journeyed. They kept the charge of the Lord at the command of the Lord by the hand of Moses. Alright. You got it.5:50 The Lord says move, they move. It's kinda like the, the the the game used to play Simon Says. God says move, and they moved. God says stand still, and they stood still. So over their 40 years in the6:02 wilderness, based upon what we have recorded in, Moses's travel log, which is included in the Bible, the children of Israel made at least 42 stops on their journey to the promised land with6:14 God leading the way. Now some of those are short period of time, some for long periods of time. And this required them to keep their eyes upon the Lord. The ark of the covenant was in the tabernacle,6:25 which was in the middle of the camp with everyone facing that direction. This is this there's tremendous instruction in this imagery here of the old testament. For God to6:37 direct us, we need to be focused on him and his word looking at it. It needs to be at the center of our lives just as God's presence, his6:49 word, his testimony was at the center of their camp. Chapter 10 sets up a national emergency alert or communication system. Verse 1, chapter 10. And the Lord spoke to Moses saying,Trumpets, Armies, and Spiritual Battle 7:01 make 2 silver trumpets for yourself. You shall make them of hammered work. You shall use them for calling the congregation and for directing the movement of the camps. So the 2 trumpets that we hear that we read about7:13 here being created, were to do 4 things. 1, to assemble assemble the nation before God. Number 2, advance advance the nation on their march.7:25 3 was to alert alert the nation for battle, and 4 was to appoint appoint the dedicated days of celebration. And and notice it was the spiritual leadership giving the direction,7:37 here. Verse 8. The sons of Aaron, the priest shall blow the trumpets, and these shall be to you as an ordinance forever throughout your generations. When you go out to war in your land against the enemy who7:49 oppress you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, and you shall be remembered before the lord your god, and you shall be saved from your enemies. Alright. Time to move on. Verse 11.8:01 Now it came to pass on the twentieth day of the second month. In the second year, the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle of testimony, and the children of Israel set out from the wilderness of Sinai on8:13 their journey, then the cloud settled over the wilderness of Paran. So they settled out they I'm sorry. They started out for the first time according to the command of the lord by8:25 the hand of Moses. So after 2 years of preparation, they began their march in earnest toward the promised land. Again, I I draw your attention to something. I've mentioned this before, but8:36 it's worthy of, paying attention to. The fact that their families are called armies, it clearly had a militaristic connotation. Not only were they structured and ordered like a8:48 military operation, this was not just for the I mean, this was not just for the orderly movement of these 2000000 people. They were prepared for warfare. Paul uses this9:00 warfare analogy throughout the New Testament. And this understanding that we're in a battle has been shunned by the church, as a whole as it is seen as kind of9:11 offensive to the culture to be talking about warfare and battles, and it's militaristic. I mean, in fact, the I remember this. You know, some of you know my story. I didn't go to wasn't born into a church town.9:23 But when we started going to church, I was about 6 years old, a a a very strong bible centered church, they, they had a hymn book. They had hymn books back in those days. And 1 of the9:35 hymns was Onward Christian Soldiers. Well, that's been removed from the few churches that have hymn books, the hymn books that remain. But remember, the old testament speaks to the9:47 physical where the new testament speaks to the spiritual. We are in a battle. We need to understand, and we need to be prepared for the spiritual war that is raging around us. Again, the9:59 Old Testament gives us the imagery. It gives us the instruction. It gives us the parallels. It there is a war raging between good and evil, and we need to raise our children with this understanding. I10:10 mean, look what David wrote in Psalm 1 27 4 4 verse 4. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth. Now look at the10:22 terminology. Like an arrow like arrows in the hands of a warrior. We are in a spiritual battle. We need to train up our children to be like arrows that we can release them into the heart of the10:34 culture. Now God is certainly not offended by the suggestion that we are facing enemies to the contrary. Look at what Moses prayed. Again, I'm gonna go back to that favorite verse of mine.10:46 He prayed this each of the 42 times that the cloud lifted, the tabernacle was packed up, and the ark set out on his journey. So it was whenever the ark set out that Moses10:58 said, arise, oh lord, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you. Arise, oh god, and let your enemies11:10 be scattered. Father, we thank you for your word. And, lord, I I do pray that we would understand that we we are in a period of grace, but there's still the call to holiness.11:22 And, Lord, there's still this understanding that we're in a in a battle, a spiritual battle. Evil. There are principalities and powers and spiritual host of wickedness in heavenly places. And that's why Paul11:34 says we have to have the full armor of God so that we can stand against that. Lord, I pray that on this journey, our eyes would be open. The Holy Spirit would show us how to apply these11:46 principles to our lives that we might stand arrayed in the armor that you've provided, that we might bring glory and honor to your name. For we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.11:59 Alright. Thanks for joining this morning. And until next time, keep standing on the word.12:07 Today's study comes from the Stand on the Word Bible Reading Plan available for free at f r c dot o r g slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you12:19 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 Levites Consecrated: Redeemed for Service4:08 Guided by Cloud and Fire6:53 Trumpets, Armies, and Spiritual Battle93.9K followers
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