NUMBERS LESSON 12
We will begin this lesson in Numbers 8:1 "And the LORD spake unto
Moses, saying,"
We remember from the last lesson, that the LORD spoke to Moses
from above the mercy seat.
Numbers 8:2 "Speak unto Aaron, and say unto him, When thou
lightest the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light over against the
candlestick."
The lighting of the lamps, and keeping them lit, was the function
of the high priest and the priests. "Seven" means spiritually
complete. Jesus is the Light of the world. The light in the tabernacle
symbolized His Light. The candlestick, many times, symbolizes the
church. This would mean that the Light of Jesus should shine out to
the entire church. It reminds me of the candlestick being in each of
the seven churches in Revelation. The "candlestick", also, symbolizes
Jesus. The Light of the gospel of Jesus Christ is what causes us to
walk with Him. When Jesus comes and dwells within us, His light opens
our understanding. We were spiritually blind, but now we see. The
light in the tabernacle shone on the bread. The Bread, also,
symbolizes Jesus. He is the Bread, or Word of God. This Light, then,
is not only giving physical light in the tabernacle, but is giving
forth that spiritual Light which gives life.
Numbers 8:3 "And Aaron did so; he lighted the lamps thereof over
against the candlestick, as the LORD commanded Moses."
Aaron, acting as high priest, lights the lamps. Jesus is the High
Priest, who is the Light. The light gets very dim in our churches
today. Sometimes, it appears it will go completely out. Jesus will
Light up the church again, if we will let Him come in.
Numbers 8:4 "And this work of the candlestick [was of] beaten
gold, unto the shaft thereof, unto the flowers thereof, [was] beaten
work: according unto the pattern which the LORD had shewed Moses, so
he made the candlestick."
The "gold" symbolized God. Jesus {the Light} is God the Son, or
God the Word. Exodus 25:31 "And thou shalt make a candlestick [of]
pure gold: [of] beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft,
and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of
the same." Exodus 25:32 "And six branches shall come out of the sides
of it; three branches of the candlestick out of the one side, and
three branches of the candlestick out of the other side:" We could go
on with this description, but you can read it in the rest of chapter
25 of Exodus. The idea is that there was a candlestick with 6 extra
flutes, three on each side. All together, there were 7 places of
burning.
Numbers 8:5 "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,"
This is a break from the message of the candlestick.
Numbers 8:6 "Take the Levites from among the children of Israel,
and cleanse them."
The entire Levitical tribe was not to be the ministers in the
sanctuary, and they were not dedicated in the same manner as Aaron and
Aaron's sons. In a sense, these Levites are like the congregation.
They are cleansed, like water baptism. They may not be called to
minister in the church, but they serve God. God is constantly showing
in types and shadows, the Christians and their relationship to God.
The Levites shadow the congregation. They are separated out from the
world. They are baptized in water and cleansed. They are set aside for
God's purpose. Only one of the three tribes of Levi actually become
priests in the tabernacle.
Numbers 8:7 "And thus shalt thou do unto them, to cleanse them:
Sprinkle water of purifying upon them, and let them shave all their
flesh, and let them wash their clothes, and [so] make themselves
clean."
This sprinkling is very much like many protestant churches do.
They sprinkle the water on their heads to purify them. The shaving and
washing of their clothes are an outward cleansing. The key to this is
"make themselves clean". This outward cleansing could be symbolic of
doing away with the filth of the world. Hebrews 9:10 "[Which stood]
only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances,
imposed [on them] until the time of reformation." Hebrews 10:22 "Let
us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our
hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with
pure water."
Numbers 8:8 "Then let them take a young bullock with his meat
offering, [even] fine flour mingled with oil, and another young
bullock shalt thou take for a sin offering."
We know the animal above, was to be the substitute for their
sins. They put their hands on the head of the sacrificial animal, and
transferred their sins to it. Jesus is our Substitute. Romans 8:3 "For
what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God
sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin,
condemned sin in the flesh:" II Corinthians 5:21 "For he hath made him
[to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the
righteousness of God in him."
Numbers 8:9 "And thou shalt bring the Levites before the
tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt gather the whole
assembly of the children of Israel together:"
This is to be a public declaration of their faith. The entire 12
tribes of Israel will witness the separation of the Levites for God's
service.
Numbers 8:10 "And thou shalt bring the Levites before the LORD:
and the children of Israel shall put their hands upon the Levites:"
In this laying on of their hands, they have lain their
responsibility to serve God on the Levites. The firstborn belonged to
God to serve Him. The families bought them back with 5 shekels of
silver. Now, this is showing their responsibility to serve is
transferred to the Levites.
Numbers 8:11 "And Aaron shall offer the Levites before the LORD
[for] an offering of the children of Israel, that they may execute the
service of the LORD."
They are the substitutes for the firstborn. The Levites belong to
God, in place of the firstborn belonging to Him. They are dedicated to
do service to God.
Numbers 8:12 "And the Levites shall lay their hands upon the
heads of the bullocks: and thou shalt offer the one [for] a sin
offering, and the other [for] a burnt offering, unto the LORD, to make
an atonement for the Levites."
The Levites transferred their sins on to the head of the animals.
Their sins will be burned up with the bullocks.
Numbers 8:13 "And thou shalt set the Levites before Aaron, and
before his sons, and offer them [for] an offering unto the LORD."
The Levites are God's. They are His in every way. They will, now,
serve in whatever capacity God sees fit.
Numbers 8:14 "Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the
children of Israel: and the Levites shall be mine."
This is in a different sense, than the Israelites in entirety.
The other Israelites, except for the Levites, have a private life. The
Levites do not. They are the property of God. Numbers 3:45 "Take the
Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and
the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle; and the Levites
shall be mine: I [am] the LORD."
Numbers 8:15 "And after that shall the Levites go in to do the
service of the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt cleanse
them, and offer them [for] an offering."
Some of the Levites carry the curtains of the temple, when they
move. Others carry the boards, when they move. Some, such as Aaron and
his sons, work in the ministry of the tabernacle, and handle the holy
things. They are an offering unto God.
Numbers 8:16 "For they [are] wholly given unto me from among the
children of Israel; instead of such as open every womb, [even instead
of] the firstborn of all the children of Israel, have I taken them
unto me."
This is a repeat of an earlier statement. I believe anyone
contemplating going into the ministry should take careful note of
this. This is saying, that once you are dedicated to the service of
God, you no longer have a private life. You belong to God 24 hours a
day and 365 days a year. You no longer make decisions about your life.
You are under the total control of the Lord. You follow His
instructions in all avenues of your life. He is your Lord.
Numbers 8:17 "For all the firstborn of the children of Israel
[are] mine, [both] man and beast: on the day that I smote every
firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for myself."
The last of the ten plagues that came on Egypt, was the death of
the firstborn. The Hebrew firstborn were spared, because there was
blood applied over the doors of their homes. They were, in effect,
bought with that blood. Their lives were spared by the blood of the
lamb over the door. Those spared belonged to God from that moment on.
"Sanctified" means set aside for God's purpose. All Christians are
bought with the blood of the Lamb {Jesus Christ}. We are not our own,
we belong to God.
Numbers 8:18 "And I have taken the Levites for all the firstborn
of the children of Israel."
Now we see again, the substitution of the Levites for the
firstborn.
Numbers 8:19 "And I have given the Levites [as] a gift to Aaron
and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the service
of the children of Israel in the tabernacle of the congregation, and
to make an atonement for the children of Israel: that there be no
plague among the children of Israel, when the children of Israel come
nigh unto the sanctuary."
The servile work that the Levites did is, in a way, atonement for
what all of Israel should have been doing. They would not keep the law
of God in the way He expected. This is the Levitical tribe doing it
for them. All of the Israelites were bound to be holy, but the Levites
became holy for them.
Numbers 8:20 "And Moses, and Aaron, and all the congregation of
the children of Israel, did to the Levites according unto all that the
LORD commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did the children of
Israel unto them."
This just means that Moses carried God's wishes out in detail
pertaining to the Levites.
Numbers 8:21 And the Levites were purified, and they washed their
clothes; and Aaron offered them [as] an offering before the LORD; and
Aaron made an atonement for them to cleanse them.
They purified themselves, and were purified by the ceremonial
washings, as well. When they were prepared, God presented them before
the Lord.
Numbers 8:22 "And after that went the Levites in to do their
service in the tabernacle of the congregation before Aaron, and before
his sons: as the LORD had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so
did they unto them."
The Levites had different jobs to do. This just means they
reported to Aaron, to perform the tasks God had set out for them to
do.
Numbers 8:23 "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,"
We are being reminded that these are not Moses' wishes, but are
orders spoken to Moses by the LORD.
Numbers 8:24 "This [is it] that [belongeth] unto the Levites:
from twenty and five years old and upward they shall go in to wait
upon the service of the tabernacle of the congregation:"
We read earlier, that their actual serving began when they were
thirty years old, and lasted until they were fifty years old. I
believe the difference, here, is, possibly, that they were in training
from the time they were 25 until they were thirty. Then at the age of
thirty, they started the actual performance of their ministry. The
word "wait" is a giveaway to that.
Numbers 8:25 "And from the age of fifty years they shall cease
waiting upon the service [thereof], and shall serve no more:"
Some of this service required a great deal of stamina. The
carrying of the heavy boards would be one example. A person tires more
easily after the age of fifty. Perhaps, that is why the time for their
service to cease is given as 50 years.
Numbers 8:26 "But shall minister with their brethren in the
tabernacle of the congregation, to keep the charge, and shall do no
service. Thus shalt thou do unto the Levites touching their charge."
This is speaking of them not having other jobs. They work for the
LORD. Some of them are like caretakers of the tabernacle.
Numbers 12 Questions
1. Where was the LORD, when He spoke to Moses?
2. The _______ lamps shall give light over against the candlestick.
3. Who was responsible for the lights?
4. _________ is the Light of the world.
5. Who does the "candlestick" symbolize?
6. What happens, when Jesus comes and dwells within us?
7. The "Bread" in the tabernacle symbolizes what?
8. What, besides physical light, does the Light bring?
9. Who lighted the lamps?
10. The work of the candlestick was of _________ ________.
11. The _________ symbolizes God.
12. Quote Exodus chapter 25 verses 31 and 32.
13. Describe the candlestick.
14. Who, of the Levites, was Moses to cleanse?
15. What is this cleansing like?
16. What is God constantly showing in the types and shadows?
17. They sprinkled the water on their heads to _________ them.
18. Quote Hebrews chapter 9 verse 10.
19. Quote Hebrews chapter 10 verse 22.
20. Why did they put their hands on the head of the sacrificial
animal?
21. Quote Romans chapter 8 verse 3.
22. Quote 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 21.
23. What is verse 9 speaking of?
24. What had they done to the Levites, when they laid their hands on
them?
25. They are substitutes for the ___________.
26. What happened to the sins of the Levites?
27. What is the difference in the Israelites all belonging to God, and
the Levites belonging to God?
28. Quote Numbers chapter 3 verse 45.
29. Why should a person going into the ministry think seriously,
before doing it?
30. What was the last of the ten plagues in Egypt?
31. How were the firstborn of the Hebrews saved?
32. Why is the age of service here 25, instead of 30 years?
33. Some of the work required a great deal of ___________.
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