Month: January 2020

Chapter 17 contains the third round of YHWH’s validation of both the leadership of Moses and Aaron but also the need for an established priesthood. God established the role and responsibility of the priests for a specific purpose and those who have attempted to subvert that are intruding upon His specific intention and His choice for who is to serve in the role.

In the wake then of the swallowing up of Korah et al in response to their rebellion and the plague that fell upon the people after their subsequent grumbling, YHWH proposes another visual confirmation of His position on the matters at hand. Each tribe of Israel is to take a staff (cut branch from a tree) and write their father’s name on it (the father’s name likely being the name of son of Jacob that their tribe name came from, like Reuben, Dan, etc.) Except in the case of Levi, Aaron’s name is to be listed. The rods are supposed to be placed at the Tent of Meeting where God will make the rod of “…the man whom I choose” to sprout. Moses cajoles the people and they agree.

I do find it curious that they continue to submit to these kinds of tests. They have always been wrong, every single time, as recently as a few days before when the ground literally opened up and swallowed wrong people and Aaron had to haul tail through the camp to stave off a plague against others. And yet here we are.

As we would expect, the Aaron staff from the house of Levi has gone the whole nine yards, not only sprouting but going all the way to producing ripe almonds. Branches cut from trees may show signs of life for a short time afterwards, but they certainly don’t rebound, resurrect, and start kicking out nourishment. God’s involvement here is clear and robust. The arguments around His intention with Aaron and the priesthood should cease as only they have been given the ability to approach God.

The evidence clear, the various chiefs take their unsprouted rods back home. That’s a pretty humbling scene, and it should be. Not because it makes them somehow “lesser than” Aaron or the priests, but as a sobering reminder that they have been part of shallowly elevating themselves to a role that only God can grant. YHWH asks that the Aaron staff be kept with the holy things and the ark as a sign for those who have been part of the rebellion. Unlike the tassels in chapter 15 which were public and designed to keep people from doing the wrong thing, this reminder was logged as evidence that God has clearly and boldly made His way known and that further grumblings on this item will be met with judgment. Put frankly, YHWH has had enough. Persistent, willful, intentionally blind resistance to God and His ways will result in God taking action. He will not be thwarted by arrogant pursuit of human power.

Interestingly, all the things that are kept in the ark of the covenant bore witness to Israel’s failures. In the ark was the manna (that they complained about), the 10 Words (which had been broken in reaction to their idolatry) and Aaron’s rod, which YHWH used as proof of them being on the wrong side of history with their rebellion. And yet, it is this ark that contains these items where blood is sprinkled and atonement made (Leviticus 16). YHWH walks into His forgiveness and rescue with eyes wide open.

If there’s perhaps a more day to day lesson to be had here, it is likely that we should not covet the will that God has for another man’s life but strive to be faithful in our own. The likely element of the desire for earthly authority aside, where God has blessed someone to serve in a specific way, in leadership or prominence or otherwise, we should pray for them and ask that God’s will is done through them. Jealousy is foolishness as it proposes that the good YHWH has prepared for us is not to our liking.

As one could only hope, the people approach Moses with clarity on how things are. “Behold, we perish, we are undone, we are all undone. Everyone who comes near, who cones near to the tabernacle of YHWH shall die. Are we all to perish?” They are a dramatic bunch but at least where they have put their drama to use here it is actually pointing in the right direction.

Chapter 4 represents another census of the Levites, different than the one described in chapter 3. The previous census was executed to count the male Levites a month old and older and compare that to the number of first born males in all of Israel to see whether the number of Levites was sufficient to “cover” the first number of the born of Israel, to stand in for them in service to YHWH (there weren’t, so a redemption price was paid to make up the difference). This next census counts males between the ages of 30 and 50 for each of the three tribes of Levites. These would be the number of men eligible to do the work that is going to be laid out for each tribe of Levites in their service to YHWH (under the direction of the priests). 

The Kohathites are responsible for the protection and transportation of the most holy things (think items that are used as part of the administration of offerings to YHWH). However, they still can’t touch them (you know, because they are holy things, and holy things can’t be interacted with common things, otherwise there are consequences). So, when the camp has to move, Aaron & sons must first go in and put all of the holy things away. The ark of the testimony is covered with the veil  (that separates the holy of holies from everything else) and then that is covered with goatskin and THAT is covered with a cloth of all blue. Then they put the poles in it and Kohath et al can make away with it without the risk of coming into contact and dying directly. 

Then the rest of the stuff. The table where the bread of the presence is held a blue cloth is added with all of the plates and incense bowls and such are added on top of that. Then a scarlet cloth and some goatskin. Poles in, good to go. Similar things happen for the lampstands, the altar (the leftover ashes get taken as well) and all of its utensils. All get bundled, covered in cloth and goatskin, and prepared by the priests so the Kohathites can transport them to the next camp. This all sounds heavy, and it certainly was, thus the count of only males 30-50. 

Each Levite tribe and their work gets to be overseen by either Aaron or one of his sons. The Kohath tribe gets Aaron’s son, Eleazar. YHWH takes time to warn Aaron and Moses to protect Kohath and Co., ensuring that they aren’t destroyed. How do they do that? They pass on these instructions precisely and the priests make sure that all the stuff is wrapped well. Also, remind the Kohathites that if they peek, even for a second, it will be their last image before death. 

Next, there’s a count of the Gershonites. The holy things being accounted for by Kohath, Gershon and sons are responsible for all the drapery. This means everything around the court of the meeting place as well as the curtains that covered the actual tent of meeting. If it’s a curtain, a descendant of Gershon is carrying it. The priests don’t have to pack any of this up, it’s not “holy” like the holy things the Kohathites deal with. The transportation and protection of the curtains fall under the direction of Ithamar, son of Aaron. 

Finally, there’s a count of the Merarites, and they are responsible for what’s left: the poles, bars, pegs, and bases. Basically, these fellas carry the skeleton of the meeting place that all the curtains go on. They also fall under the direction of Ithamar, son of Aaron. 

The chapter ends with an accounting of how many of these fellas fit the criteria for each tribe. All told, there’s 8,580 Levite males between 30 and 50 who will do this work to start, split between the three tribes. That’s a massive operation, but YHWH ensured there were enough fellas, clear responsibilities, and proper leadership in place so that His mobile residence among His people could be adequately transported from camp to camp. 

The next two chapters of Numbers focus on counting Levites, two different censuses (censi?) for two different purposes. But it opens with an account of the sons of Aaron, or more broadly, the line of priests. Although Aaron is from the tribe of Kohath, a Levite tribe, the priests should be thought of differently than the Levites. Ultimately, the priests are responsible for the mediation between YHWH and His people, only they may handle the holy items and enter the the holy place. The Levites, as we shall see detailed, are not permitted to do those things, but are responsible for the guarding and transport of the tabernacle and its contents. 

We are reminded that Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu died interacting with “strange fire”, basically by offering a sacrifice that YHWH did not ask for. It sets a tone for the next few chapters which show dire circumstances for folks trying to interact with people or things that are set apart for YHWH’s service in ways that He hasn’t permitted. All told, Aaron has only two sons left, thus Eleazer and Ithamar will serve as priests under Aaron. 

YHWH then speaks to Moses and tells him to charge the tribe of Levi with serving the priests, specifically by protecting the priests/contents of the tabernacle as well as to move it when the tribe moves (don’t forget the context, Numbers is the preparation for God’s people to move into the land He has promised). As part of this protection, anyone who comes near to what the Levites have been tasked to protect shall be put to death. The consequences of allowing the tabernacle, its implements, or its minsters to be made unclean can have consequences that extend to the entire camp and must be dealt with quickly. 

In v.11, we get an explanation of why the first census of the Levites is occurring (which obviously must be different than the census that has already occurred for the non-Levites, which was to get counts for battle). We are reminded that, ever since the 10th plague in Egypt,  the first born of everything belongs to YHWH, including the first born of Israel, who were to be dedicated to His service in the sanctuary. But ever since the issue with the golden calf in Exodus 32, the Levites as a tribe were identified to take the place of the first born of everyone. 

So, now we get the count of each of the tribes of the Levites (sons of Levi), Gershon, Kohath and Merari. There is a hierarchy to the order. The priests will face east (most favored), the Kohathites south (next), then the Gershonites (west), and finally the Merarites to the north. They also have different responsibilities over the tabernacle items when  they travel. Kohathites carry the holy items like the ark of the covenant, the altar, the tables, etc., the Gershonites the curtains, the Merarites the poles and tent pegs. When they marched, you’d normally expect the more favored roles to go first, but in order that the tabernacle be reconstructed, the Merarites go first to get the pegs and poles up, then the Gershonites put the curtains on, then the Kohathites deliver the holy items so the priests can get all of that set up. 
After all of the counts, there were 22,000 Levites and 22,273 of the rest of Israel. This means there’s a deficit (if the Levites are supposed to stand in place for all the first born of Israel, they are 273 fellas short).

These remaining lives must be redeemed (since they haven’t been substituted) and the cost of redemption is five shekels per head (or what was the going price for a servant at the time). The money went to Aaron and his sons.