3/15/11
Numbers 3-4
The Sons of Aaron (Lev 10.1—7)
Numbers 3:1 This is the lineage of Aaron and Moses at the time when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 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 ordained to minister as priests. 4 Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord when they offered unholy fire before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of their father Aaron.
The Duties of the Levites
5 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 6 Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, so
that they may assist him. 7 They shall perform duties for him and for the whole congregation in front of the tent of meeting, doing service at the tabernacle; 8 they shall be in charge of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and attend to the duties for the Israelites as they do service at the tabernacle. 9 You shall give the Levites to Aaron and
his descendants; they are unreservedly given to him from among the Israelites. 10 But you shall make a register of
Aaron and his descendants; it is they who shall attend to the priesthood, and any outsider who comes near shall be put to death.
11 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 12 I hereby accept the Levites from among the Israelites as substitutes for all the firstborn that open the womb among the Israelites. The Levites shall be mine, 13 for all the firstborn are mine; when I killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both
human and animal; they shall be mine. I am the Lord.
A Census of the Levites (Cp Num 1.47—54)
14 Then the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying: 15 Enroll the Levites by ancestral houses
and by clans. You shall enroll every male from a month old and upward. 16 So Moses enrolled them according to the
word of the Lord, as he was commanded. 17 The following were the sons of Levi, by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 18 These are the names of the sons of Gershon by their clans: Libni and Shimei. 19 The sons of Kohath by their clans: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
20 The sons of Merari by their clans: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites, by their ancestral houses.
21 To Gershon belonged the clan of the Libnites and the clan of the Shimeites; these were the clans of the Gershonites. 22 Their enrollment, counting all the males from a month old and upward, was seven thousand five hundred. 23 The clans of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle on the west, 24 with Eliasaph son of Lael as head of the ancestral house of the Gershonites. 25 The responsibility of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting was to be the tabernacle, the tent with its covering, the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting, 26 the hangings of the court, the screen for the entrance of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its cords—all the service pertaining to these.
27 To Kohath belonged the clan of the Amramites, the clan of the Izharites, the clan of the Hebronites, and the
clan of the Uzzielites; these are the clans of the Kohathites. 28 Counting all the males, from a month old and upward,
there were eight thousand six hundred, attending to the duties of the sanctuary. 29 The clans of the Kohathites were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle, 30 with Elizaphan son of Uzziel as head of the ancestral house of the clans of the Kohathites. 31 Their responsibility was to be the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and the screen—all the service pertaining to these. 32 Eleazar son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the leaders of the Levites, and to have oversight of those who had charge of the sanctuary.
33 To Merari belonged the clan of the Mahlites and the clan of the Mushites: these are the clans of Merari. 34 Their enrollment, counting all the males from a month old and upward, was six thousand two hundred. 35 The head of the ancestral house of the clans of Merari was Zuriel son of Abihail; they were to camp on the north side of the
tabernacle. 36 The responsibility assigned to the sons of Merari was to be the frames of the tabernacle, the bars, the pillars, the bases, and all their accessories—all the service pertaining to these; 37 also the pillars of the court all around, with their bases and pegs and cords.
38 Those who were to camp in front of the tabernacle on the east—in front of the tent of meeting toward the east—were Moses and Aaron and Aaron’s sons, having charge of the rites within the sanctuary, whatever had to be done for the Israelites; and any outsider who came near was to be put to death. 39 The total enrollment of the Levites whom Moses and Aaron enrolled at the commandment of the Lord, by their clans, all the males from a month old
and upward, was twenty-two thousand.
The Redemption of the Firstborn
40 Then the Lord said to Moses: Enroll all the firstborn males of the Israelites, from a month old and upward, and count their names. 41 But you shall accept the Levites for me—I am the Lord—as substitutes for all the firstborn among the Israelites, and the livestock of the Levites as substitutes for all the firstborn among the livestock of the Israelites. 42 So Moses enrolled all the firstborn among the Israelites, as the Lord commanded him. 43 The total enrollment, all the firstborn males from a month old and upward, counting the number of names, was twenty-two thousand two hundred seventy-three.
44 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 45 Accept the Levites as substitutes for all the firstborn among the Israelites, and the livestock of the Levites as substitutes for their livestock; and the Levites shall be mine. I am the Lord. 46 As the price of redemption of the two hundred seventy-three of the firstborn of the Israelites, over and above the number of the Levites, 47 you shall accept five shekels apiece, reckoning by the shekel of the sanctuary, a shekel of twenty gerahs. 48 Give to Aaron and his sons the money by which the excess number of them is redeemed. 49 So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those redeemed by the Levites; 50 from the firstborn of the Israelites he took the money, one thousand three hundred sixty-five shekels, reckoned by the shekel
of the sanctuary; 51 and Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the
Lord,
as the Lord had commanded Moses.
The Kohathites
Numbers 4:1 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: 2 Take a census of the Kohathites separate from the other Levites, by their clans and their ancestral houses, 3 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, all who qualify to do work relating to the tent of meeting. 4 The service of the Kohathites relating to the tent of meeting concerns the most holy things.
5 When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the screening curtain, and cover the ark of the covenant with it; 6 then they shall put on it a covering of fine leather, and spread over that a cloth all of blue, and shall put its poles in place. 7 Over the table of the bread of the Presence they shall spread a blue cloth, and put on it the plates, the dishes for incense, the bowls, and the flagons for the drink offering; the regular bread also shall be on it; 8 then they shall spread over them a crimson cloth, and cover it with a covering of fine leather, and shall put its poles in place. 9 They shall take a blue cloth, and cover the lampstand for the light, with its lamps, its snuffers, its trays, and all the vessels for oil with which it is supplied; 10 and they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of fine leather, and put it on the carrying frame. 11 Over the golden altar they shall spread a blue cloth, and cover it with
a covering of fine leather, and shall put its poles in place; 12 and they shall take all the utensils of the service that are used in the sanctuary, and put them in a blue cloth, and cover them with a covering of fine leather, and put them on
the carrying frame. 13 They shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth over it; 14 and they shall put on it all the utensils of the altar, which are used for the service there, the firepans, the forks, the shovels,
and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of fine leather, and shall put its poles in place. 15 When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that the Kohathites shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, or they will die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the Kohathites are to carry.
16 Eleazar son of Aaron the priest shall have charge of the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the regular grain offering, and the anointing oil, the oversight of all the tabernacle and all that is in it, in the sanctuary and in its utensils.
17 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: 18 You must not let the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites. 19 This is how you must deal with them in order that they may live and not die when they come near to the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and assign each to a particular task or burden. 20 But the Kohathites must not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment; otherwise they will die.
The Gershonites and Merarites
21 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 22 Take a census of the Gershonites also, by their ancestral houses and by their clans; 23 from thirty years old up to fifty years old you shall enroll them, all who qualify to do work in the tent of meeting. 24 This is the service of the clans of the Gershonites, in serving and bearing burdens: 25 They shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle, and the tent of meeting with its covering, and the outer covering of fine leather
that is on top of it, and the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting, 26 and the hangings of the court, and the screen for the entrance of the gate of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords, and all the equipment for their service; and they shall do all that needs to be done with regard to them. 27 All the service of the Gershonites shall be at the command of Aaron and his sons, in all that they are to carry, and in all that they have to
do; and you shall assign to their charge all that they are to carry. 28 This is the service of the clans of the Gershonites relating to the tent of meeting, and their responsibilities are to be under the oversight of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.
29 As for the Merarites, you shall enroll them by their clans and their ancestral houses; 30 from thirty years old up to fifty years old you shall enroll them, everyone who qualifies to do the work of the tent of meeting. 31 This is what they are charged to carry, as the whole of their service in the tent of meeting: the frames of the tabernacle, with its bars, pillars, and bases, 32 and the pillars of the court all around with their bases, pegs, and cords, with all their equipment and all their related service; and you shall assign by name the objects that they are required to carry. 33 This is the service of the clans of the Merarites, the whole of their service relating to the tent of meeting, under the hand of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.
Census of the Levites
34 So Moses and Aaron and the leaders of the congregation enrolled the Kohathites, by their clans and their ancestral houses, 35 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who qualified for work relating to the tent of meeting; 36 and their enrollment by clans was two thousand seven hundred fifty. 37 This was the enrollment of the clans of the Kohathites, all who served at the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron enrolled according to the commandment of the Lord by Moses.
38 The enrollment of the Gershonites, by their clans and their ancestral houses, 39 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who qualified for work relating to the tent of meeting— 40 their enrollment by their clans and their ancestral houses was two thousand six hundred thirty. 41 This was the enrollment of the clans of the Gershonites,
all who served at the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron enrolled according to the commandment of the Lord.
42 The enrollment of the clans of the Merarites, by their clans and their ancestral houses, 43 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who qualified for work relating to the tent of meeting— 44 their enrollment by their clans was three thousand two hundred. 45 This is the enrollment of the clans of the Merarites, whom Moses and Aaron enrolled according to the commandment of the Lord by Moses.
46 All those who were enrolled of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the leaders of Israel enrolled, by their clans and their ancestral houses, 47 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who qualified to do the work
of service and the work of bearing burdens relating to the tent of meeting, 48 their enrollment was eight thousand five hundred eighty. 49 According to the commandment of the Lord through Moses they were appointed to their several tasks of serving or carrying; thus they were enrolled by him, as the Lord commanded Moses.
Devotionals, Videos and more ...
by Bill Federer
On this day, March 15, 1984, the Senate voted down voluntary silent prayer in public schools. President Ronald Reagan responded: “I am deeply disappointed that, although a majority of the Senate voted for it, the school prayer amendment fell short.” President Reagan later remarked: “In 1962, the Supreme Court… banned the… saying of prayers. In 1963, the Court banned the reading of the Bible in our public schools… a series of assaults were made in one court after another… Without God there is no virtue because there is no prompting of the conscience…. without God democracy will not and cannot long endure.”
Federer, B. (2003). American minute. St. Louis, MO.: Amerisearch, Inc.
by D.H. Stern
The king’s heart in ADONAI’s hand
is like streams of water—
he directs it wherever he pleases.
All a person’s ways are right in his own view,
but ADONAI weighs the heart.
Stern, D. H. (1998). Complete Jewish Bible-OE
: An English version of the Tanakh (OT) and
B'rit Hadashah (NT) (1st ed.). Clarksville, Md.: Jewish
New Testament Publications.
by Oswald Chambers
The discipline of dismay
And as they followed, they were afraid. --- Mark 10:32. Chambers, O. (1993). My Utmost for His Highest
At the beginning we were sure we knew all about Jesus Christ, it was a delight to sell all and to fling ourselves out in a hardihood of love; but now we are not quite so sure. Jesus is on in front and He looks strange. “Jesus went before them: and they were amazed.”
There is an aspect of Jesus that chills the heart of a disciple to the core and makes the whole spiritual life gasp for breath. This strange Being with His face set like a flint and His striding determination strikes terror into me. He is no longer Counsellor and Comrade, He is taken up with a point of view I know nothing about, and I am amazed at Him. At first I was confident that I understood Him, but now I am not so sure. I begin to realize there is a distance between Jesus Christ and me; I can no longer be familiar with Him. He is ahead of me and He never turns round; I have no idea where He is going, and the goal has become strangely far off.
Jesus Christ had to fathom every sin and every sorrow man could experience, and that is what makes Him seem strange. When we see Him in this aspect we do not know Him, we do not recognize one feature of his life, and we do not know how to begin to follow Him. He is on in front, a Leader Who is very strange, and we have no comradeship with Him.
The discipline of dismay is an essential necessity in the life of discipleship. The danger is to get back to a little fire of our own and kindle enthusiasm at it (cf. Isaiah 50:10–11). When the darkness of dismay comes, endure until it is over, because out of it will come that following of Jesus which is an unspeakable joy.
the Poetry of R.S. Thomas
July 5, 1940
Nought that I would give today
Would half compare
With the long-treasured riches that somewhere
In the deep heart are stored.
Cloud and the moon and mist and the whole
Hoard of frail, white-bubbling stars,
And the cool blessing,
Like moth or wind caressing,
Of the fair, fresh rain-dipped flowers;
And all the spells of the sea, and the new green
Of moss and fern and bracken
Before their youth is stricken;
The thoughts of the trees at eventide, the hush
In the dark corn at morning,
And the wish
In your own heart still but dawning-
All of these,
A soft weight on your hands,
I would give now;
And lastly myself made clean
And white as the wave-washed sand,
If I knew how.
R. S. Thomas and Elsi Eldridge were married in Llanycil, on the shore of Bala Lake on 5 July 1940. Among his unpublished manuscripts is the poem above, simply entitled "July 5th":
Berakhot 58a
A man sits in front of the television, his lottery ticket in hand. He listens attentively as the state lottery spokeswoman greets the viewers, and then begins to pick the winning numbers. 4. 17. 33. 38. 46 … and 61. The man watches and listens, staring in disbelief at the numbers on his ticket. They are identical! He cannot believe this has happened! He looks at the screen one more time as the numbers are listed. He checks his ticket a second, and then a third time. “Yes!” He has won the lottery. He gets down on his knees, on the floor, and looks up to the ceiling. “Thank you, God! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”
A year goes by, but the money he won turns out not to have been such a blessing. His marriage has broken up, and most of his old friends no longer talk to him. Much of the money is gone, squandered on silly extravagances and poor investments. What originally looked to be a great blessing turned out to be a real curse.
A child sits by the front window, looking out at the pouring rain. There is an unmistakable expression of disappointment on her face. Today was the day of her birthday party picnic, which had to be postponed because of the weather. Her mother tries to explain that friends and family will all get together next weekend and try again, but those words bring no comfort. Today is her actual birthday, and she had her hopes set on this day for a marvelous celebration. She looks up at the heavens and angrily asks God: “What did I ever do to You to deserve Your doing this to me?”
The next morning the family reads in the newspaper about a helicopter crash. The accident took place at the same site where the party was to be held and during the exact time that the family would have been gathered. What seemed yesterday like a curse today seems like a blessing in disguise.
Perhaps this is the reason we are taught to bless God for the bad as well as the good: We never really know how things will ultimately turn out. Events, sometimes, are not what they first appear to be. It may be that it is quite short-sighted and quite self-centered for us to thank God for what seems good and to blame or ignore God for what appears to be bad. Perhaps the Rabbis were being more realistic when they advised us that we need to be careful with the good, for it can turn on us and become a curse. And we need to be patient with what seems to be bad: It may turn out to be a real blessing in the long run.
Everything comes from God; that is what reciting a blessing reminds us. Everything, both good and bad, is just another opportunity. We cannot make much of opportunities until we are open enough to see them.
What does a good guest say? How much trouble has my host gone to just for me!
Text / The Rabbis taught: “One who sees a crowd of Israelites says: ‘Blessed is He who understands secrets.’ For each one’s mind is different, and each one’s face is different.” Ben Zoma once saw a crowd on the steps of the Temple Mount. He said: “Blessed is He who understands secrets, and blessed is He who created all these just to serve me!” He used to say: “How much trouble Adam had to go to just to get some bread to eat! He plowed, sowed, reaped, bound sheaves, threshed them, winnowed, selected, ground, sifted, kneaded and baked—and then he ate. And I simply get up and find all of these done for me. How much trouble did Adam go to in order to find clothes to wear! He sheared, cleaned the wool, beat it, spun it, weaved it—and then he had clothing to wear. And I simply get up and find all these done for me. All kinds of craftsmen anxiously come to my door, and I simply get up and find these done for me.” He used to say: “What does a good guest say? ‘How much trouble has my host gone to just for me! How much meat has he brought for me! How much wine has he brought for me! How much cake has he brought for me! All his trouble, he has done just for me!’ But what does a bad guest say? ‘How much trouble has my host gone to? I ate one slice of bread, I ate one piece of meat, I drank one cup of wine. All his trouble, he has done just for his wife and his children.’ ”
Context / Blessings (in Hebrew, berakhot) are an important part of the Jewish tradition. The better known blessings are those for foods like wine and bread, but there are also blessings for various occasions like studying a traditional text, seeing a rainbow, and hearing good news or bad news. Judaism sees each of these occasions as an opportunity for us to witness God’s presence in the world. Thus, we acknowledge God as the giver of Torah, the One who remembers God’s covenant with Noah, and who is either good and beneficent, or the true Judge.
This section of Gemara lists the proper blessings to be recited for certain foods and upon seeing specific people (like a king) or places (for example, where a miracle occurred). Ben Zoma feels that one should thank God not only for the individuality of each person (“Blessed is He Who understands secrets”) but also for each person’s labors on his behalf. Since these blessings are, in part, an attempt to formalize a sense of thankfulness, Ben Zoma believes that one should be thankful for the simple fact that one’s life is so easy. To prove this, Ben Zoma compares his life with that of Adam in the Garden of Eden. Adam had to work so much harder to produce food or clothing. “And I simply get up and find all of these done for me!”
As a continuation of Ben Zoma’s thoughts on gratitude, a famous quote of his (“He used to say …”) is introduced. Just as we should be grateful and thank God for the food and clothing we have, we should also be grateful guests and thank our host for what he has done for us. Thus, a person should not think: “My host was making dinner anyway. He just added some water to the soup and a place setting at the table.” Rather, one should think: “My host went out of his way to provide for me. How privileged I am to have such a wonderful host.”
Katz, M., & Schwartz, G. (1998). Swimming in the Sea of Talmud: Lessons for Everyday LIving
. Philadelphia, PA: The Jewish Publication Society.by Diana Wallis
O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. --- Psalm 96:9 KJV
The word translated “beauty” here is somewhat rare. The Westminster Pulpit Vol. II (2)
The psalmist is appealing to people to praise God, calling them to recognize his greatness, his glory, calling them to think of his power and majesty, urging them to answer the things their eyes see and their hearts feel by offering praise to him. In this call so poetic and full of beauty is revealed the meaning of worship, its condition and glory. “O worship the LORD.” The supreme thing is worship. But how is worship to be rendered? “In the beauty of holiness.” Wherever you find beauty, it is the outcome of holiness. Wherever you find beauty as the outcome of holiness, that beauty itself is incense, is worship. To live the life of holiness is to live the life of beauty, and that is to worship.
When Charles Kingsley lay dying, he said, “How beautiful God is!” We are almost startled by the word. We speak of his majesty. We speak of his might. We speak of his mercy, his holiness, his love. Yet there is nothing of God that he has made more conspicuous to us than his beauty. Every manifestation of God is full of beauty.
The beauty of God, blossoming in the daisy, blazing in the starry heavens—brings you back to my text, “O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.” All the beauty of flowers, in form and color and perfume, are of God. All the beauty of the seasons—spring and summer and autumn and winter; all that is beautiful in human beings physically, mentally, spiritually, and all that is beautiful in the interrelation between people is of God.
God is a God of glory. God is a God of love. But he is also the God of beauty.
I stayed with a friend in Devonshire who brought from his greenhouse a spray of roses and put them under the microscope. And the more closely I looked, the more perfect they were. The beauty of God is revealed in the tiniest cell of the flower. God is very beautiful, and everything that is of God is essentially beautiful. --- G. Campbell Morgan
Wallis, D. (2001). Take Heart: Daily Devotions with the Church's Great Preachers
A Nation: Numbers 1–10
Here is where we see the first indication that the great mob of people who swarmed out of Egypt are now to be treated as a responsible nation. A census was taken, with the men of military age numbering 603,550. This figure is given in several different texts, though in some it is rounded off (Ex. 12:37; 38:26; Num. 1:46; 2:32; 11:21). The later census of Numbers 26:51 shows similarity, but also some change over the 38-year period. The total population of Israel now ready to leave Sinai probably ranged between 2 and 2 1/2 million people. Tribal marching and camping positions were set. The duties of the Levites were defined, and a system of trumpet calls was set to signal assembly, the order of departure, alarms, etc. As the people of Israel marched they were to respond to the direct leading of God. The pillar of cloud and fire which had appeared as Israel left Egypt (Exodus 13:21) now rested over the tabernacle. When the cloud rested, the people remained in camp. But when in the morning the cloud lifted up, the people set out and followed it as God led them where He chose. As the Bible says, “At the Lord’s command they encamped, and at the Lord’s command they set out. They obeyed the Lord’s order in accordance with His command through Moses” (Numbers 9:23). Even in this, the people were being taught to respond to God. God’s people must always look to Him for guidance, and go or wait at His command.
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