Joy: You’re listening to Season 2 of the Lifting Her Voice podcast. This is Episode #43 and today we’ll read Numbers, chapters 3-4 together. A special census applied to the Levites and God gave special instructions for the redemption of the firstborn and the duties for the tabernacle.
Welcome
Welcome to the Lifting Her Voice podcast, Season 2! I'm your host, Joy Miller, and I invite you to grab your Bible and join me - from the beginning - simply reading God's word together. We built some spiritual muscles in 2020 with just the New Testament. But this year we’re going all out, cover-to-cover, Old Testament and New. So, whether with your first cup in the morning, your commute to work, or as the last thing on your mind before sleep, God’s Word will equip you for every good work. I’m really glad you’re here!
Numbers Chapter 3:
Aaron’s Sons and the Levites
These are the family records of Aaron and Moses at the time the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. These are the names of Aaron’s sons: Nadab, the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. These are the names of Aaron’s sons, the anointed priests, who were ordained to serve as priests. But Nadab and Abihu died in the Lord’s presence when they presented unauthorized fire before the Lord in the Wilderness of Sinai, and they had no sons. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests under the direction of Aaron their father.
The Lord spoke to Moses: “Bring the tribe of Levi near and present them to the priest Aaron to assist him. They are to perform duties for him and the entire community before the tent of meeting by attending to the service of the tabernacle. They are to take care of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting and perform duties for the Israelites by attending to the service of the tabernacle. Assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they have been assigned exclusively to him from the Israelites. You are to appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out their priestly responsibilities, but any unauthorized person who comes near the sanctuary is to be put to death.”
The Lord spoke to Moses: “See, I have taken the Levites from the Israelites in place of every firstborn Israelite from the womb. The Levites belong to me, because every firstborn belongs to me. At the time I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated every firstborn in Israel to myself, both man and animal. They are mine; I am the Lord.”
The Levitical Census
The Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai: “Register the Levites by their ancestral families and their clans. You are to register every male one month old or more.” So Moses registered them in obedience to the Lord as he had been commanded:
These were Levi’s sons by name: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. These were the names of Gershon’s sons by their clans: Libni and Shimei. Kohath’s sons by their clans were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. Merari’s sons by their clans were Mahli and Mushi. These were the Levite clans by their ancestral families.
The Libnite clan and the Shimeite clan came from Gershon; these were the Gershonite clans. Those registered, counting every male one month old or more, numbered 7,500. The Gershonite clans camped behind the tabernacle on the west side, and the leader of the Gershonite families was Eliasaph son of Lael. The Gershonites’ duties at the tent of meeting involved the tabernacle, the tent, its covering, the screen for the entrance to the tent of meeting, the hangings of the courtyard, the screen for the entrance to the courtyard that surrounds the tabernacle and the altar, and the tent ropes — all the work relating to these.
The Amramite clan, the Izharite clan, the Hebronite clan, and the Uzzielite clan came from Kohath; these were the Kohathites. Counting every male one month old or more, there were 8,600 responsible for the duties of the sanctuary. The clans of the Kohathites camped on the south side of the tabernacle, and the leader of the families of the Kohathite clans was Elizaphan son of Uzziel. Their duties involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the sanctuary utensils that were used with these, and the screen — and all the work relating to them. The chief of the Levite leaders was Eleazar son of Aaron the priest; he had oversight of those responsible for the duties of the sanctuary.
The Mahlite clan and the Mushite clan came from Merari; these were the Merarite clans. Those registered, counting every male one month old or more, numbered 6,200. The leader of the families of the Merarite clans was Zuriel son of Abihail; they camped on the north side of the tabernacle. The assigned duties of Merari’s descendants involved the tabernacle’s supports, crossbars, pillars, bases, all its equipment, and all the work related to these, in addition to the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, and ropes.
Moses, Aaron, and his sons, who performed the duties of the sanctuary as a service on behalf of the Israelites, camped in front of the tabernacle on the east, in front of the tent of meeting toward the sunrise. Any unauthorized person who came near it was to be put to death.
The total number of all the Levite males one month old or more that Moses and Aaron registered by their clans at the Lord’s command was 22,000.
Redemption of the Firstborn
The Lord told Moses, “Register every firstborn male of the Israelites one month old or more, and list their names. You are to take the Levites for me — I am the Lord — in place of every firstborn among the Israelites, and the Levites’ cattle in place of every firstborn among the Israelites’ cattle.” So Moses registered every firstborn among the Israelites, as the Lord commanded him. The total number of the firstborn males one month old or more listed by name was 22,273.
The Lord spoke to Moses again: “Take the Levites in place of every firstborn among the Israelites, and the Levites’ cattle in place of their cattle. The Levites belong to me; I am the Lord. As the redemption price for the 273 firstborn Israelites who outnumber the Levites, collect five shekels for each person, according to the standard sanctuary shekel — twenty gerahs to the shekel. Give the silver to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are in excess among the Israelites.”
So Moses collected the redemption amount from those in excess of the ones redeemed by the Levites. He collected the silver from the firstborn Israelites: 1,365 shekels measured by the standard sanctuary shekel. He gave the redemption silver to Aaron and his sons in obedience to the Lord, just as the Lord commanded Moses.
Numbers Chapter 4:
Duties of the Kohathites
The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: “Among the Levites, take a census of the Kohathites by their clans and their ancestral families, men from thirty years old to fifty years old — everyone who is qualified to do work at the tent of meeting.
“The service of the Kohathites at the tent of meeting concerns the most holy objects. Whenever the camp is about to move on, Aaron and his sons are to go in, take down the screening curtain, and cover the ark of the testimony with it. They are to place over this a covering made of fine leather, spread a solid blue cloth on top, and insert its poles.
“They are to spread a blue cloth over the table of the Presence and place the plates and cups on it, as well as the bowls and pitchers for the drink offering. The regular bread offering is to be on it. They are to spread a scarlet cloth over them, cover them with a covering made of fine leather, and insert the poles in the table.
“They are to take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand used for light, with its lamps, snuffers, and firepans, as well as its jars of oil by which they service it. Then they are to place it with all its utensils inside a covering made of fine leather and put them on the carrying frame.
“They are to spread a blue cloth over the gold altar, cover it with a covering made of fine leather, and insert its poles. They are to take all the serving utensils they use in the sanctuary, place them in a blue cloth, cover them with a covering made of fine leather, and put them on a carrying frame.
“They are to remove the ashes from the bronze altar, spread a purple cloth over it, and place all the equipment on it that they use in serving: the firepans, meat forks, shovels, and basins — all the equipment of the altar. They are to spread a covering made of fine leather over it and insert its poles.
“Aaron and his sons are to finish covering the holy objects and all their equipment whenever the camp is to move on. The Kohathites will come and carry them, but they are not to touch the holy objects or they will die. These are the transportation duties of the Kohathites regarding the tent of meeting.
“Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has oversight of the lamp oil, the fragrant incense, the daily grain offering, and the anointing oil. He has oversight of the entire tabernacle and everything in it, the holy objects and their utensils.”
Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: “Do not allow the Kohathite tribal clans to be wiped out from the Levites. Do this for them so that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy objects: Aaron and his sons are to go in and assign each man his task and transportation duty. The Kohathites are not to go in and look at the holy objects as they are covered or they will die.”
Duties of the Gershonites
The Lord spoke to Moses: “Take a census of the Gershonites also, by their ancestral families and their clans. Register men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who is qualified to perform service, to do work at the tent of meeting. This is the service of the Gershonite clans regarding work and transportation duties: They are to transport the tabernacle curtains, the tent of meeting with its covering and the covering made of fine leather on top of it, the screen for the entrance to the tent of meeting, the hangings of the courtyard, the screen for the entrance at the gate of the courtyard that surrounds the tabernacle and the altar, along with their ropes and all the equipment for their service. They will carry out everything that needs to be done with these items.
“All the service of the Gershonites, all their transportation duties and all their other work, is to be done at the command of Aaron and his sons; you are to assign to them all that they are responsible to carry. This is the service of the Gershonite clans at the tent of meeting, and their duties will be under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.
Duties of the Merarites
“As for the Merarites, you are to register them by their clans and their ancestral families. Register men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who is qualified to do the work of the tent of meeting. This is what they are responsible to carry as the whole of their service at the tent of meeting: the supports of the tabernacle, with its crossbars, pillars, and bases, the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, and ropes, including all their equipment and all the work related to them. You are to assign by name the items that they are responsible to carry. This is the service of the Merarite clans regarding all their work at the tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.”
Census of the Levites
So Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of the community registered the Kohathites by their clans and their ancestral families, men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting. The men registered by their clans numbered 2,750. These were the registered men of the Kohathite clans, everyone who could serve at the tent of meeting. Moses and Aaron registered them at the Lord’s command through Moses.
The Gershonites were registered by their clans and their ancestral families, men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting. The men registered by their clans and their ancestral families numbered 2,630. These were the registered men of the Gershonite clans. At the Lord’s command Moses and Aaron registered everyone who could serve at the tent of meeting.
The men of the Merarite clans were registered by their clans and their ancestral families, those from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting. The men registered by their clans numbered 3,200. These were the registered men of the Merarite clans; Moses and Aaron registered them at the Lord’s command through Moses.
Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel registered all the Levites by their clans and their ancestral families, from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified to do the work of serving at the tent of meeting and transporting it. Their registered men numbered 8,580. At the Lord’s command they were registered under the direction of Moses, each one according to his work and transportation duty, and his assignment was as the Lord commanded Moses.
Close
Everything had to be perfect. No short cuts. No doing just the minimum to get by. If they were to have God abiding in their midst, it all had to be done by His exact instructions and commands. It should give us pause to think that – as Christ-followers – we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. He resides in us. Do we make sure everything is as nice as it can be for Him? Do we take shortcuts? Do just enough to get by? I confess I could always do better. How about you? Share your thoughts with me at Lifting Her Voice.com, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian Standard Bible(r), Copyright (c) 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible(r) and CSB(r) are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.