Sin the the Camp

August 31, 2022 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²“Command the people of Israel that they put out of the camp everyone who is leprous or has a discharge and everyone who is unclean through contact with the dead. ³You shall put out both male and female, putting them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camp, in the midst of which I dwell.” ⁴And the people of Israel did so, and put them outside the camp; as the Lord said to Moses, so the people of Israel did.

⁵And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁶“Speak to the people of Israel, When a man or woman commits any of the sins that people commit by breaking faith with the Lord, and that person realizes his guilt, ⁷he shall confess his sin that he has committed. And he shall make full restitution for his wrong, adding a fifth to it and giving it to him to whom he did the wrong. ⁸But if the man has no next of kin to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution for wrong shall go to the Lord for the priest, in addition to the ram of atonement with which atonement is made for him. ⁹And every contribution, all the holy donations of the people of Israel, which they bring to the priest, shall be his. ¹⁰Each one shall keep his holy donations: whatever anyone gives to the priest shall be his.” – Numbers 5:1-10 ESV

God puts a high priority on holiness and because He set apart the people of Israel as His own possession, He expected them to live up to His exacting standards.

For you are a holy people, who belong to the LORD your God. Of all the people on earth, the LORD your God has chosen you to be his own special treasure. – Deuteronomy 7:6 NLT

Having dealt with the Levitical responsibility for the care of the tabernacle, God now turns His attention to the rest of the tribes of Israel. And in the next two chapters, He provides Moses with some rather strange instructions that deal with a wide range of topics – from the seemingly harsh treatment of lepers and those individuals suffering from potentially contagious diseases to the trial of a wife accused of adultery and the strange regulations concerning the Nazirite vow.

But the underlying point seems to be fairly simple: God is highly concerned about the moral purity of His people. He takes the vows of His people seriously. He expects them to maintain moral and ethical standards that are superior to those of other nations. He holds His chosen people to a higher standard than the rest of the nations.

It’s interesting to note that these two chapters talk a lot about moral failure, uncleanliness, and defilement. Yet in the end, there is a beautiful statement regarding God’s desire to bless and protect His people. God wanted to show His people favor and grace. He wanted to shine the light of His glory on them. But He couldn’t do it if there was sin in the camp. He couldn’t dwell in the midst of uncleanness and defilement. He would not make His home in a place surrounded by sin.

So God takes special care to maintain external cleanliness in His people. In verses 1-4 of chapter 5, God commands that those who carry potentially deadly diseases be removed from the camp. This seems like harsh and unloving treatment of the disadvantaged, but its intent was protective and not punitive. They were placed outside the camp so that their disease would not spread, bringing disaster and death to the entire nation.

This rather startling command was meant to provide a not-so-subtle picture of how God’s people were to deal with sin found in their midst. They were to view it as dangerous and potentially deadly and remove it. Like a communicable disease, sin posed a real threat, threatening to spread throughout the camp if left unchecked. The risk of contamination was real and needed to be dealt with decisively. But God’s people always find it much easier to allow sin to exist. We are reluctant to judge, lest we be judged. Yet God seems to be reminding us that the regulations made for ensuring cleanliness in the camp of Israel suggest the adoption of similar means for maintaining purity in the church.

“And although, in large communities of Christians, it may be often difficult or delicate to do this, the suspension or, in flagrant cases of sin, the total excommunication of the offender from the privileges and communion of the church is an imperative duty, as necessary to the moral purity of the Christian as the exclusion of the leper from the camp was to physical health and ceremonial purity in the Jewish church.” – Matthew Henry, The Matthew Henry Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible

God wanted to bless His people. He wanted to shower them with His favor, but He expected them to take seriously those things that might defile them and diminish their holiness. And He had given Moses very detailed instructions regarding those physical conditions that would render a person impure and, therefore, unholy.

“If anyone has a swelling or a rash or discolored skin that might develop into a serious skin disease, that person must be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons. The priest will examine the affected area of the skin. If the hair in the affected area has turned white and the problem appears to be more than skin-deep, it is a serious skin disease, and the priest who examines it must pronounce the person ceremonially unclean.” – Leviticus 13:2-3 NLT

“If anyone has suffered a burn on the skin and the burned area changes color, becoming either reddish white or shiny white, the priest must examine it. If he finds that the hair in the affected area has turned white and the problem appears to be more than skin-deep, a skin disease has broken out in the burn. The priest must then pronounce the person ceremonially unclean, for it is clearly a serious skin disease.” – Leviticus 13:24-25 NLT

These instructions go on for several chapters and make for a far-from-pleasant read. But the point behind them is clear. God viewed these skin conditions as potentially contagious and, therefore, dangerous to the well-being of the nation. The one inflicted with them was to be declared ceremonially unclean and separated from the rest of the camp until healed.

Anyone who had come into contact with a dead body was also to be considered ceremonially unclean and placed in isolation for a period of seven days (Numbers 19:11). And God provides the reasoning behind this command and the others that demanded removal from the camp.

“Remove them so they will not defile the camp in which I live among them…” – Numbers 5:3 NLT

God’s presence demanded the purity of His people, both physically and spiritually. The Levites had been charged with keeping the tabernacle holy and consecrated to the Lord. Now, God was letting the rest of the tribes know that His tabernacle must dwell in the midst of a holy people.

These chapters reveal that the purity of God’s people was a high priority to Him. Why? Because He wanted to bless them and dwell among them. He desired to show them His favor. But sin separates. Sin brings God’s anger instead of His favor. Sin destroys. And God made sure the people made the connection between physical defilement and moral uncleanness by declaring the danger of sinful behavior among His people.

“Give the following instructions to the people of Israel: If any of the people—men or women—betray the Lord by doing wrong to another person, they are guilty. They must confess their sin and make full restitution for what they have done, adding an additional 20 percent and returning it to the person who was wronged.” – Numbers 5:6-7 NLT

Sin was not to be tolerated or treated lightly. It was to be dealt with decisively and immediately. And God clarifies that sin is ultimately an affront to Him. It is a betrayal of the Lord. The Hebrew word is מַעַל (maʿal), and it refers to an act of treachery or betrayal. In committing any sin, the guilty party has displayed their unfaithfulness to the Lord. While their sin harmed another human being, it was done in violation of the will of God. So, God required that restitution be made. Their sin came at a cost. Restoration to God was not possible until payment was made to the innocent party. But if restitution was not possible, the guilty party was obligated to make things right with God.

But if the person who was wronged is dead, and there are no near relatives to whom restitution can be made, the payment belongs to the Lord and must be given to the priest. Those who are guilty must also bring a ram as a sacrifice, and they will be purified and made right with the Lord. – Numbers 5:8 NLT

While God was concerned about the interpersonal relationships between His people, He was even more concerned about their status with Him. Sins committed against others were ultimately an affront to God because He had provided strict laws concerning the interactions between His people. They were prohibited from committing murder, practicing adultery, lying, stealing, dishonoring their parents, coveting, and speaking falsely about one another.

But God knew that they would have a hard time adhering to these commands. That’s why He provided them with the sacrificial system that provided a means of atonement. Even when they committed unintentional sins, they would need a means of restoring their broken relationship with God.

“Suppose you sin by violating one of the Lord’s commands. Even if you are unaware of what you have done, you are guilty and will be punished for your sin. For a guilt offering, you must bring to the priest your own ram with no defects, or you may buy one of equal value. Through this process the priest will purify you from your unintentional sin, making you right with the Lord, and you will be forgiven. This is a guilt offering, for you have been guilty of an offense against the Lord.” – Leviticus 5:17-19 NLT

God made provision for sin. And for the people of Israel, it involved the sacrificial system. But the author of Hebrews reminds us that the sacrificial system was never intended to be a permanent solution to man’s sin problem.

The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared.

But instead, those sacrifices actually reminded them of their sins year after year. For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. That is why, when Christ came into the world… – Hebrews 10:1-5 NLT

God has given His Son as payment for our sins – past, present, and future. We no longer have to pay the penalty that sin requires – which is death and separation from God. But we still must take sin seriously. Paul asks this powerful and probing question: “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning, so that grace may increase?” (Romans 6:1 NIV). Then he provides the answer: “By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” (Romans 6:2 NIV).

Paul goes on to tell us: “For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin – because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.” (Romans 6:6-7 NIV). We no longer have to sin. We have been set free from its power and its penalty. Yet we find that we still have a propensity to sin. And God expects us to treat sin with the same soberness and seriousness that He demanded of the people of Israel. So He can bless us with His favor.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

God’s House Movers

August 30, 2022 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ²“Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their clans and their fathers’ houses, ³from thirty years old up to fifty years old, all who can come on duty, to do the work in the tent of meeting. ⁴This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting: the most holy things. ⁵When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the veil of the screen and cover the ark of the testimony with it. ⁶Then they shall put on it a covering of goatskin and spread on top of that a cloth all of blue, and shall put in its poles. ⁷And over the table of the bread of the Presence they shall spread a cloth of blue and put on it the plates, the dishes for incense, the bowls, and the flagons for the drink offering; the regular showbread also shall be on it. ⁸Then they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet and cover the same with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. ⁹And they shall take a cloth of blue and cover the lampstand for the light, with its lamps, its tongs, its trays, and all the vessels for oil with which it is supplied. ¹⁰And they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of goatskin and put it on the carrying frame. ¹¹And over the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue and cover it with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. ¹²And they shall take all the vessels of the service that are used in the sanctuary and put them in a cloth of blue and cover them with a covering of goatskin and put them on the carrying frame. ¹³And they shall take away the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it. ¹⁴And they shall put on it all the utensils of the altar, which are used for the service there, the fire pans, the forks, the shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. ¹⁵And 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 sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry.

¹⁶“And Eleazar the 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, with the oversight of the whole tabernacle and all that is in it, of the sanctuary and its vessels.”

¹⁷The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ¹⁸“Let not the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites, ¹⁹but deal thus with them, that they may live and not die when they come near to the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them each to his task and to his burden, ²⁰but they shall not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment, lest they die.” –

²¹The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²²“Take a census of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers’ houses and by their clans. ²³From thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, all who can come to do duty, to do service in the tent of meeting. ²⁴This is the service of the clans of the Gershonites, in serving and bearing burdens: ²⁵they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting with its covering and the covering of goatskin that is on top of it and the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting ²⁶and 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. ²⁷All the service of the sons 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. ²⁸This is the service of the clans of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting, and their guard duty is to be under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

²⁹“As for the sons of Merari, you shall list them by their clans and their fathers’ houses. ³⁰From thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, everyone who can come on duty, to do the service of the tent of meeting. ³¹And 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, ³²and the pillars around the court with their bases, pegs, and cords, with all their equipment and all their accessories. And you shall list by name the objects that they are required to carry. ³³This is the service of the clans of the sons of Merari, the whole of their service in the tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.”

³⁴And Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of the congregation listed the sons of the Kohathites, by their clans and their fathers’ houses, ³⁵from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting; ³⁶and those listed by clans were 2,750. ³⁷This was the list of the clans of the Kohathites, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the Lord by Moses.

³⁸Those listed of the sons of Gershon, by their clans and their fathers’ houses, ³⁹from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty for service in the tent of meeting— ⁴⁰those listed by their clans and their fathers’ houses were 2,630. ⁴¹This was the list of the clans of the sons of Gershon, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the Lord.

⁴²Those listed of the clans of the sons of Merari, by their clans and their fathers’ houses, ⁴³from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting— ⁴⁴those listed by clans were 3,200. ⁴⁵This was the list of the clans of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the Lord by Moses.

⁴⁶All those who were listed of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of Israel listed, by their clans and their fathers’ houses, ⁴⁷from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come to do the service of ministry and the service of bearing burdens in the tent of meeting, ⁴⁸those listed were 8,580. ⁴⁹According to the commandment of the Lord through Moses they were listed, each one with his task of serving or carrying. Thus they were listed by him, as the Lord commanded Moses. – Numbers 4:1-49 ESV

Kohath, Gershon, and Merari were the three sons of Levi and the grandsons of Jacob (Genesis 46:11). The descendants of these men comprised the clans of Levi. whom God had appointed to serve alongside Aaron and his sons, the God-ordained priests of Israel. These three Levitical families were responsible for the care and transportation of the tabernacle and in Numbers 4, Moses records the very precise details concerning their responsibilities. Each clan was assigned a different set of tasks that left nothing to the imagination or allowed room for confusion. Yahweh was a God of order and His dwelling place was to be considered holy and treated with reverence.

Every piece of wood, metal, or cloth used in its construction was to be considered sacred and handled with extreme care and caution. To drive this point home, God provided Moses with two severe warnings concerning the improper treatment of His house.

“And 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 sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, lest they die.” – Numbers 4:15 ESV

“Let not the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites, but deal thus with them, that they may live and not die when they come near to the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them each to his task and to his burden, but they shall not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment, lest they die.” – Numbers 4:18-20 ESV

Even in its disassembled state, the tabernacle remained holy and sacred. Every item, regardless of its significance or size, was to be handled with care.

The tabernacle, while not large in size, was a complicated structure that required careful planning to construct. Along with all the structural components that made up the building itself, there were a great many utensils and tools required to perform the sacred duties associated with the sacrificial system. These items were also considered holy and required painstaking care to ensure that their consecrated status was protected from potential desecration or defilement.

So, God provided detailed instructions to the three Levitical clans, ensuring that they clearly understood their particular areas of responsibility. He put the Kohathites in charge of caring for the objects associated with the sanctuary (Numbers 3:4-14). This included the Ark of the Covenant, the Table of Showbread, and other holy items.

The Gershonites were responsible for the decorations in the sanctuary, including the curtains, ropes, and coverings (Numbers 4:24-26). Finally, the Merarites had the task of maintaining and transporting the structural components of the tabernacle, including the pillars, bases, frames, pegs, and cords.

Each clan had its particular responsibility as ordained by God. Nothing was left to chance. God provided them with a well-ordered and structured plan that, if carefully followed, would ensure the physical and spiritual integrity of the tabernacle and the safety of those responsible for its care.

God even prescribed the proper means of transporting every element of the tabernacle. Anything associated with the Holy Place was to be carried on poles by the Kohathites. They were not allowed to utilize a cart and oxen to transport these holy objects. And 1 Chronicles 13 records what happened when David attempted to skirt this prohibition by transporting the Ark of the Covenant using a cart pulled by a team of oxen.

And when they came to the threshing floor of Chidon, Uzzah put out his hand to take hold of the ark, for the oxen stumbled. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he put out his hand to the ark, and he died there before God. – 1 Chronicles 13:9-10 ESV

David’s failure to obey God’s command resulted in the death of an innocent man. A well-meaning Uzzah inadvertently touched one of the holy objects and paid for it with his life.

God allowed the Gershonites and Merarites to utilize ox carts to move the larger items under their care (Numbers 7:6-9). But even these objects were to be treated with reverence and handled with extreme care and caution.

One can get an idea of just how massive an undertaking the transportation of the tabernacle was by adding up the numbers of men set apart for the task. Between the three Levitical clans, there were 8,580 men chosen to pull off this recurring assignment. There is no way of knowing how many times the tabernacle was disassembled, moved, and reconstructed, but each time it was a large-scale effort that required careful planning and meticulous coordination. Each clan had a God-ordained role and every member of that clan had a particular part to play. In a sense, these men had the formidable task of ensuring the ongoing presence of God in the midst of the camp of Israel. Each time they had done their job well and the tabernacle was rebuilt on its new site, the Shekinah glory of God came to rest above the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies. The faithful execution of their God-given responsibilities helped assure the nation of God’s ongoing presence and power.

Redeemed!

August 29, 2022 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

⁴⁰And the Lord said to Moses, “List all the firstborn males of the people of Israel, from a month old and upward, taking the number of their names. ⁴¹And you shall take the Levites for me—I am the Lord—instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the cattle of the people of Israel.” ⁴²So Moses listed all the firstborn among the people of Israel, as the Lord commanded him. ⁴³And all the firstborn males, according to the number of names, from a month old and upward as listed were 22,273.

⁴⁴And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁴⁵“Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. The Levites shall be mine: I am the Lord. ⁴⁶And as the redemption price for the 273 of the firstborn of the people of Israel, over and above the number of the male Levites, ⁴⁷you shall take five shekels per head; you shall take them according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel of twenty gerahs), ⁴⁸and give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are over.” ⁴⁹So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those redeemed by the Levites. ⁵⁰From the firstborn of the people of Israel he took the money, 1,365 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary. ⁵¹And Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses. – Numbers 3:40-51 ESV

It is easy to view the Levites as nothing more than the priestly order, the one tribe whose sole responsibility was to care for the tabernacle and serve as priests on behalf of the people of God. But there is a much deeper theological significance to their role as the spiritual mediators of Israel.

As has been stated before, God had spared the firstborn sons of Israel when He sent the death angel to punish the nation of Egypt. As a result of Pharaoh’s stubborn refusal to release the descendants of Jacob from their captivity, God gave Moses instructions concerning the final plague He would bring upon the Egyptians.

So Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt, and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the cattle. There shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there has never been, nor ever will be again.” – Exodus 11:4-6 ESV

Then God instructed the Israelites to prepare for the coming judgment by selecting an unblemished lamb for every household.

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household…. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.” – Exodus 12:1-3, 5-6 ESV

Each household was to sacrifice their lamb at the same time and follow God’s exacting instructions.

“Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord‘s Passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.” – Exodus 12:7-13 ESV

When the death angel passed through the land, he would “pass over” those homes on which the blood had been sprinkled on the doorposts and lintels. The sacrifice of the unblemished lambs would redeem any firstborn residing in that home.

“For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you.” – Exodus 12:23 ESV

On the fateful night when the death angel passed over the city, “the Lord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 12:29 ESV). But because of the sacrifice of the unblemished lambs, the homes of the Israelites were protected and their firstborn sons were spared. But “there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where someone was not dead” (Exodus 12:30 ESV).

As a result of this miraculous redemption of Israel’s firstborn sons, God commanded Moses, “Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine” (Exodus 13:1 ESV).

God had spared the firstborn of Israel, and He commanded that they be dedicated to His service. But as the Israelites were making their way to the land of Canaan, God ordered the tribe of Levi to serve as substitutes for the firstborn sons of Israel. The males of this one tribe would act as stand-ins for all those firstborn sons of the 11 other tribes who rightfully belonged to God. The Levites would redeem or ransom their brothers and serve on their behalf.

God ordered Moses to make a list of all the firstborn males of the people of Israel, from a month old and upward. It would appear that these were the sons who had been born since the Israelites left Egypt. According to verse 43, that number amounted to 22,273 firstborn male sons from the 11 tribes of Israel. Verse 39 reveals that there were 22,000 firstborn male sons from the tribe of Levi.

“The Levites, amounting to twenty-two thousand, were given in exchange for an equal number of the first-born from the other tribes, leaving an excess of two hundred seventy-three; and as there were no substitutes for these, they were redeemed at the rate of five shekels for each (Nu 18:15, 16). Every Israelite would naturally wish that his son might be redeemed by a Levite without the payment of this tax, and yet some would have to incur the expense, for there were not Levites enough to make an equal exchange. Jewish writers say the matter was determined by lot, in this manner: Moses put into an urn twenty-two thousand pieces of parchment, on each of which he wrote “a son of Levi,” and two hundred seventy-three more, containing the words, “five shekels.” These being shaken, he ordered each of the first-born to put in his hand and take out a slip. If it contained the first inscription, the boy was redeemed by a Levite; if the latter, the parent had to pay. The ransom-money…was appropriated to the use of the sanctuary.” – Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

The Levites were more than just priests, they served as God-ordained substitutes whose lives were used to redeem or ransom those who rightfully belonged to God. They served in place of and on behalf of all those whom God had redeemed from death at the original Passover. And when the number of Levites didn’t match that of the firstborn males from the other 11 tribes, 273 families had to pay a sizeable tax of five shekels. The lack of a substitute came at a high price.

And this cost was meant to convey the value of each Levite’s life. No firstborn male was to take his freedom from service lightly or to treat the life of his Levite counterpart flippantly. This passage should serve as a reminder of the tremendous price God paid on behalf of every sinner whom He redeemed from death through the sacrifice of His Son.

For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but now in these last days he has been revealed for your sake. – 1 Peter 1:18-20 ESV

The author of Hebrews refers to the church as “the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven” (Hebrews 12:23 NLT). Each has been “ransomed with the precious blood of the Son of God. All men are the Lord’s by creation, and all true Christians are his by redemption” (Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary).

According to Paul, Jesus is “the firstborn among many brothers and sisters” (Romans 8:29 NLT). He was the firstborn Son of God who served as the sinless substitute for sinful men and women. His death made possible the gift of eternal life for those who at one time stood condemned before God. And had Jesus not offered His life as our substitute, none of us could have afforded to pay the debt we owed to God.

For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. That is why, when Christ came into the world… – Hebrews 10:4-5 NLT

For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time. – Hebrews 10:10 NLT

Numbers chapter 3 should remind us of the lines of that great old hymn, “Redeemed, How I Love to Proclaim It.”

Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it!
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed through His infinite mercy,
His child, and forever, I am.

Service as Substitutes

August 28, 2022 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹⁴And the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, ¹⁵“List the sons of Levi, by fathers’ houses and by clans; every male from a month old and upward you shall list.” ¹⁶So Moses listed them according to the word of the Lord, as he was commanded. ¹⁷And these were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon and Kohath and Merari. ¹⁸And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their clans: Libni and Shimei. ¹⁹And the sons of Kohath by their clans: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. ²⁰And the sons of Merari by their clans: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites, by their fathers’ houses.

²¹To Gershon belonged the clan of the Libnites and the clan of the Shimeites; these were the clans of the Gershonites. ²²Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was 7,500. ²³The clans of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle on the west, ²⁴with Eliasaph, the son of Lael as chief of the fathers’ house of the Gershonites. ²⁵And the guard duty of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting involved the tabernacle, the tent with its covering, the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting, ²⁶the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its cords—all the service connected with these.

²⁷To Kohath belonged the clan of the Amramites and the clan of the Izharites and the clan of the Hebronites and the clan of the Uzzielites; these are the clans of the Kohathites. ²⁸According to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, there were 8,600, keeping guard over the sanctuary. ²⁹The clans of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle, ³⁰with Elizaphan the son of Uzziel as chief of the fathers’ house of the clans of the Kohathites. ³¹And their guard duty involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and the screen; all the service connected with these. ³²And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the chiefs of the Levites, and to have oversight of those who kept guard over the sanctuary.

³³To Merari belonged the clan of the Mahlites and the clan of the Mushites: these are the clans of Merari. ³⁴Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was 6,200. ³⁵And the chief of the fathers’ house of the clans of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. ³⁶And the appointed guard duty of the sons of Merari involved the frames of the tabernacle, the bars, the pillars, the bases, and all their accessories; all the service connected with these; ³⁷also the pillars around the court, with their bases and pegs and cords.

³⁸Those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons, guarding the sanctuary itself, to protect the people of Israel. And any outsider who came near was to be put to death. ³⁹All those listed among the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron listed at the commandment of the Lord, by clans, all the males from a month old and upward, were 22,000. – Numbers 3:14-39 ESV

Back when God brought the final plague of the death of the firstborn on the Egyptians, He claimed all the firstborn males of the Israelites as His own.

“Dedicate to me all the firstborn sons of Israel and every firstborn male animal. They are mine.” – Exodus 13:2 NLT

God had spared the firstborn of the Israelites and, in return, the people were to set apart those individuals to His service. They belonged to Him. But later, God revealed to Moses another plan. He appointed the tribe of Levi to serve as ministers to the priests and the Tabernacle. They were the smallest of the tribes and seemed to hold special favor with God because of their role in the aftermath of the Golden Calf debacle.

“All of you who are on the LORD’s side, come over here and join me.” And all the Levites came. He told them, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Strap on your swords! Go back and forth from one end of the camp to the other, killing even your brothers, friends, and neighbors.” The Levites obeyed Moses, and about three thousand people died that day. Then Moses told the Levites, “Today you have been ordained for the service of the LORD, for you obeyed him even though it meant killing your own sons and brothers. Because of this, he will now give you a great blessing.” – Exodus 32:26-29 NL)

The Levites had become His servants. Now, they were to become the peoples’ substitutes. God still claimed the firstborn as His own. They belonged to Him because He had spared their lives the night the death angel had passed over their homes in the land of Egypt. When Moses numbered all the firstborn males of the tribes of Israel they totaled 22,273. These were probably the number of firstborn males who had been born since they had left Egypt. The total number of Levite males from one month and older was 22,000.

God was going to allow the Levites to become substitutes for the firstborn of all the Israelites.

“The Levites will be reserved for me as substitutes for the firstborn sons of Israel; I am the LORD. And the Levites’ livestock are mine as substitutes for the firstborn livestock of the whole nation of Israel.” – Number 3:41 NLT

God could have demanded that the firstborn males of all the tribes perform the service required to maintain and move His Tabernacle. He could have pressed them into service as His ministers and priests but instead, He set aside the tribe of Levi for this important duty. And in doing so, the Levites became substitutes for the people.

The Levites were not to be included in the census of fighting men but were made responsible for the care and transportation of the tabernacle. It was their task to take down and set up the tabernacle whenever God commanded them to move. And when they arrived at their God-appointed destination, they reassembled the tabernacle and then set up their own camps around it.

In this passage, God provides Moses with detailed instructions to divide the tribe of Levi into its clans or family groups.

So Moses listed them, just as the Lord had commanded.

Levi had three sons, whose names were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

The clans descended from Gershon were named after two of his descendants, Libni and Shimei.

The clans descended from Kohath were named after four of his descendants, Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

The clans descended from Merari were named after two of his descendants, Mahli and Mushi.

These were the Levite clans, listed according to their family groups. – Numbers 3:16-20 NLT

Each of these clans was to set up their camp on a particular perimeter of the tabernacle. One to the east, one to the west, another to the north, and the last one to the south. In doing so, they would be protecting the sons of Israel from coming near the tabernacle in an unclean state and facing certain death (Numbers 1:47-54).

The Levites had been given a huge responsibility. Not only were they to care for all the things related to the tabernacle, but they were to maintain its holiness. The tabernacle was God’s dwelling place and was to be treated with reverence. God seemed to know that if it was left up to the people, they would drop the ball. The tabernacle would probably fall into disrepair as they became distracted with their own cares and concerns. So He appointed this task to the Levites. They served as substitutes. They were given the unenviable task of keeping everything associated with the tabernacle pure and holy, including themselves and the people they served.

God had set apart the entire nation of Israel as a kingdom of priests.

“Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.’ This is the message you must give to the people of Israel.” – Exodus 19:5-6 NLT

And God had claimed the right to require the service of every firstborn among the Israelites because He had spared them from death during the final plague in Exodus. But He had chosen the Levites to serve as their substitutes. They served in the place of those who were rightfully obligated to serve God. Not every Israelite was required to serve as a priest. Their place was taken by the Levites. Not every firstborn was required to dedicate their life to the service of God and His tabernacle. Their place was taken by the Levites.

Which is a picture of Christ’s substitutionary death for each of us. He became our sin substitute. He paid the debt we owed. He took our place. He served in our stead. He satisfied the demands of a holy God and did what none of us could on our own. He made the ultimate sacrifice. And that is what the Levites did. They became a sacrifice for the people of Israel. They served and satisfied the demands of God by maintaining and caring for His Tabernacle. They kept the people of Israel from experiencing death by keeping the tabernacle holy and set apart for God. Their role was vital to the spiritual life of the people of God. They gave so that others might live. Just as Jesus did for us.

The Heaviness of Holiness

August 27, 2022August 28, 2022 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹These are the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. ²These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ³These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he ordained to serve as priests. ⁴But Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord when they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of Aaron their father.

⁵And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁶“Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. ⁷They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle. ⁸They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle. ⁹And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the people of Israel. ¹⁰And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall guard their priesthood. But if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.”

¹¹And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹²“Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, ¹³for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the Lord.” – Numbers 3:1-13 ESV

God set apart the entire tribe of Levi to assist Aaron and his four sons, whom He had anointed to serve as priests. All adult males were exempt from military service but were expected to care for the maintenance and transportation of the tabernacle.

“Call forward the tribe of Levi, and present them to Aaron the priest to serve as his assistants. They will serve Aaron and the whole community, performing their sacred duties in and around the Tabernacle. They will also maintain all the furnishings of the sacred tent, serving in the Tabernacle on behalf of all the Israelites.” – Numbers 3:6-8 NLT

While some of the Levites served as priests alongside Aaron and his sons, many were assigned the important task of caring for the tabernacle. They were divided into specific units with instructions to maintain the various elements that comprised the tabernacle and made the worship of Yahweh possible. The entire tabernacle was designed to be portable so that it could be transported from one place to another as the Israelites made their way to the land of promise. When it came time to move, the various clans of the tribe of Levi were assigned different sections of the tabernacle to disassemble and carry to the next location. Once there, they were responsible for the reconstruction of the tabernacle and for the maintenance of the items under their care.

Service in the priesthood was a high honor and was not to be taken lightly. It came with great responsibilities and God held all those who served as priests to an exacting standard.

They must be set apart as holy to their God and must never bring shame on the name of God. They must be holy, for they are the ones who present the special gifts to the Lord, gifts of food for their God. – Leviticus 21:6 NLT

One of the greatest responsibilities given to Aaron and his sons was that of providing the offering of atonement for the people of Israel. These men were expected to keep themselves morally and ceremonially pure so that they might intercede before God on behalf of the people. Moses instructed Aaron:

“Come to the altar and sacrifice your sin offering and your burnt offering to purify yourself and the people. Then present the offerings of the people to purify them, making them right with the Lord, just as he has commanded.” – Leviticus 9:7 NLT

For Aaron and his four sons to effectively mediate between God and the Israelite people, they had to maintain a holy lifestyle. Leviticus 22 outlines just how careful they had to be in order to keep from offending a holy God through personal impurity or disobedience to His commands.

“Tell Aaron and his sons to be very careful with the sacred gifts that the Israelites set apart for me, so they do not bring shame on my holy name. I am the Lord.” – Leviticus 22:2 NLT

“The priests must follow my instructions carefully. Otherwise they will be punished for their sin and will die for violating my instructions. I am the Lord who makes them holy.” – Leviticus 22:9 NLT

They were expected to take their role seriously, knowing that God would hold them accountable for any indiscretion or hint of physical or spiritual impurity. And Moses reveals that two of Aaron’s sons had been put to death for disobeying the commands of God.

Nadab and Abihu died in the Lord’s presence in the wilderness of Sinai when they burned before the Lord the wrong kind of fire, different than he had commanded. – Numbers 3:4 NLT

Leviticus 10 records what happened to Aaron’s two eldest sons.

Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu put coals of fire in their incense burners and sprinkled incense over them. In this way, they disobeyed the Lord by burning before him the wrong kind of fire, different than he had commanded. So fire blazed forth from the Lord’s presence and burned them up, and they died there before the Lord. – Leviticus 10: 1-2 NLT

The text doesn’t explain the exact nature of their sin but it makes it clear that they had violated the command of God. They had failed to take seriously God’s holiness and their own call to moral purity. Their offer of “strange fire” was outside the will of God. They had chosen to make an offering that was unsanctioned by God and, therefore, unacceptable. And Moses explained to Aaron that his sons’ unacceptable sacrifice had failed to bring glory to God.

Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord meant when he said,

‘I will display my holiness
through those who come near me.
I will display my glory
before all the people.’”

And Aaron was silent. – Leviticus 10:3 NLT

It seems apparent that these two men had tried to glorify themselves. They had chosen to do God’s will their own way and their punishment was death. It’s interesting to note that Nadab and Abihu were executed by the very same heavenly fire that had consumed the offering that Aaron had offered up to God on behalf of the people.

After that, Aaron raised his hands toward the people and blessed them. Then, after presenting the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offering, he stepped down from the altar. Then Moses and Aaron went into the Tabernacle, and when they came back out, they blessed the people again, and the glory of the Lord appeared to the whole community. Fire blazed forth from the Lord’s presence and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When the people saw this, they shouted with joy and fell face down on the ground. – Leviticus 9:22-24 NLT

It seems that Nadab and Abihu had seen the reaction of the people to their father’s sacrifice and now desired to elicit a similar response by offering up their own unsolicited offering to God. But rather than the people falling on their faces before them, the fire of God fell from heaven and consumed them.

So fire blazed forth from the Lord’s presence and burned them up, and they died there before the Lord. – Leviticus 10:2 NLT

According to Leviticus 21:8, God considered each and every priest to be holy and they were to be treated as such. They belonged to Him and He expected their actions to reflect their status as His chosen servants.

“You must treat them as holy because they offer up food to your God. You must consider them holy because I, the Lord, am holy, and I make you holy.” – Leviticus 21:8 NLT

And even the Levites were expected to take seriously their status as God’s chosen tribe. They had been set apart by God for His use and they were to treat their role with a healthy dose of reverence and respect.

“Look, I have chosen the Levites from among the Israelites to serve as substitutes for all the firstborn sons of the people of Israel. The Levites belong to me…” – Numbers 3:12 NLT

And just so they understood the gravity of their position and the danger of taking it lightly, Moses warned them, “any unauthorized person who goes too near the sanctuary must be put to death” (Numbers 3:10 NLT). Their set-apart status would put them in close proximity to the tabernacle, but they were not to take that privilege lightly. Unlike Nadab and Abihu, there were to treat God with honor and reverence at all times. Their behavior mattered. The manner in which they treated His tabernacle was important. They had their God-given role to play and they were to honor Him through their obedience and faithfulness.

I Will Dwell Among Them

August 26, 2022 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ²“The people of Israel shall camp each by his own standard, with the banners of their fathers’ houses. They shall camp facing the tent of meeting on every side. ³Those to camp on the east side toward the sunrise shall be of the standard of the camp of Judah by their companies, the chief of the people of Judah being Nahshon the son of Amminadab, ⁴his company as listed being 74,600. ⁵Those to camp next to him shall be the tribe of Issachar, the chief of the people of Issachar being Nethanel the son of Zuar, ⁶his company as listed being 54,400. ⁷Then the tribe of Zebulun, the chief of the people of Zebulun being Eliab the son of Helon, ⁸his company as listed being 57,400. ⁹All those listed of the camp of Judah, by their companies, were 186,400. They shall set out first on the march.

¹⁰“On the south side shall be the standard of the camp of Reuben by their companies, the chief of the people of Reuben being Elizur the son of Shedeur, ¹¹his company as listed being 46,500. ¹²And those to camp next to him shall be the tribe of Simeon, the chief of the people of Simeon being Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai, ¹³his company as listed being 59,300. ¹⁴Then the tribe of Gad, the chief of the people of Gad being Eliasaph the son of Reuel, ¹⁵his company as listed being 45,650. ¹⁶All those listed of the camp of Reuben, by their companies, were 151,450. They shall set out second.

¹⁷“Then the tent of meeting shall set out, with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camps; as they camp, so shall they set out, each in position, standard by standard.

¹⁸“On the west side shall be the standard of the camp of Ephraim by their companies, the chief of the people of Ephraim being Elishama the son of Ammihud, ¹⁹his company as listed being 40,500. ²⁰And next to him shall be the tribe of Manasseh, the chief of the people of Manasseh being Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, ²¹his company as listed being 32,200. ²²Then the tribe of Benjamin, the chief of the people of Benjamin being Abidan the son of Gideoni, ²³his company as listed being 35,400. ²⁴All those listed of the camp of Ephraim, by their companies, were 108,100. They shall set out third on the march.

²⁵“On the north side shall be the standard of the camp of Dan by their companies, the chief of the people of Dan being Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai, ²⁶his company as listed being 62,700. ²⁷And those to camp next to him shall be the tribe of Asher, the chief of the people of Asher being Pagiel the son of Ochran, ²⁸his company as listed being 41,500. ²⁹Then the tribe of Naphtali, the chief of the people of Naphtali being Ahira the son of Enan, ³⁰his company as listed being 53,400. ³¹All those listed of the camp of Dan were 157,600. They shall set out last, standard by standard.”

³²These are the people of Israel as listed by their fathers’ houses. All those listed in the camps by their companies were 603,550. ³³But the Levites were not listed among the people of Israel, as the Lord commanded Moses.

³⁴Thus did the people of Israel. According to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so they camped by their standards, and so they set out, each one in his clan, according to his father’s house. – Numbers 2:1-34 ESV

Chapter one reveals that the 12 tribes of Israel comprised a large and formidable mass of humanity. For Moses to effectively lead this sizeable contingent of people he would need God’s power and presence, as well as means for organizing and orchestrating their movements and interactions. He was attempting to guide a massive number of former slaves a great distance across less-than-friendly terrain with the goal of settling them in a land occupied by hostile adversaries. And nobody understood the difficulty of Moses’ mission better than God. That’s why He provided Moses with very specific instructions designed to provide a sense of structure and decorum as they made their way to the promised land.

Then the Lord gave these instructions to Moses and Aaron: “When the Israelites set up camp, each tribe will be assigned its own area. The tribal divisions will camp beneath their family banners on all four sides of the Tabernacle, but at some distance from it.” – Numbers 2:1-2 NLT

God knew that the people would need structure and a constant reminder that He was to be the center of their lives. They owed their very existence to God and any hope they had of surviving the trip to Canaan was dependent upon His divine assistance. Despite their large army, without God’s help, they would never last long enough to fight a battle in Canaan. They would die off in the wilderness. So, God provided them with detailed instructions that were meant to be both practical and inspirational.

Whether they were on the march or setting up camp for the night, the tabernacle was to be the focal point of their lives. This large portable tent had been ordered and designed by God Himself and was to function as His dwelling place among the people of Israel. Ever since He had delivered them from their captivity in Egypt, God had repeatedly promised to live among them and be their God.

“Have the people of Israel build me a holy sanctuary so I can live among them. You must build this Tabernacle and its furnishings exactly according to the pattern I will show you.” – Exodus 25:8-9 NLT

“I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God. And they will know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.” – Exodus 29:45-46 BSB

Exodus 25-29 contains God’s detailed and exacting instructions regarding the design and construction of the tabernacle. Nothing was left to chance and there was a purpose behind every facet of its design. The tabernacle was to be a place of worship and sacrifice. In the Holy of Holies, God’s shekinah glory rested above the mercy seat which sat on top of the Ark of the Covenant. This “dwelling place“ of God was to be a constant reminder to the Israelites that He was among them. They did not worship an unseen and unapproachable God. He had chosen them to be His people and had graced them with the tangible proof of His presence.

But He was to remain at the center of their thoughts and at the heart of their community. When they set up camp, the tabernacle was to be strategically placed in the middle with each of the tribes located in their proper place around its perimeter. They served a God of order. There was no place for chaos and confusion among the people of Israel. The tribes were not free to set up their own rules or serve as their own gods. They answered to God Almighty.

“This picture of the organization of Israel in camp is an expression of the author’s understanding of the theology of the divine presence. There are barriers which divide a holy God from a fallible Israel. The structure of the tent itself and the construction of the sophisticated priestly hierarchy has the effect, at least potentially, of emphasizing the difference and distance between man and God. This is valuable to theology as a perspective, but requires the compensating search for nearness and presence. The . . . author sought to affirm this in and through his insistence that God is to be found, tabernacled among his people, at the center of their life as a community.” – Philip J. Budd, Numbers. Word Biblical Commentary series

Even when traveling through the wilderness, the Israelites were to keep the disassembled tabernacle at the center of their column, with the tribes arranged in their proper order around it. They were to maintain their focus and dependence upon God at all times. Without Him, they were just another nation attempting to navigate a fallen world in their own strength and according to their own sinful desires.

The tabernacle was to be a constant reminder of their dependence upon and devotion to God. Even the repeated taking down, transport, and setting up of the tabernacle would be a powerful reminder of the centrality of God’s presence in their lives. With the constant requirement to maintain the dwelling place of God, it would be difficult to forget that He was the source of their power and the basis of their hope for the future.

God was invisible but not unknowable. He was transcendent but also immanent. His true dwelling place was in heaven but He had deemed to make His presence known among men on earth. God had chosen them and had graciously promised to dwell among them.

Cursed to be a Blessing

August 25, 2022 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

⁴⁷But the Levites were not listed along with them by their ancestral tribe. ⁴⁸For the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁴⁹“Only the tribe of Levi you shall not list, and you shall not take a census of them among the people of Israel. ⁵⁰But appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, and over all its furnishings, and over all that belongs to it. They are to carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings, and they shall take care of it and shall camp around the tabernacle. ⁵¹When the tabernacle is to set out, the Levites shall take it down, and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up. And if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death. ⁵²The people of Israel shall pitch their tents by their companies, each man in his own camp and each man by his own standard. ⁵³But the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that there may be no wrath on the congregation of the people of Israel. And the Levites shall keep guard over the tabernacle of the testimony.” ⁵⁴Thus did the people of Israel; they did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses. – Numbers 1:47-54 ESV

In the census taken to determine the number of men eligible for military service, Moses had ordered that every tribe be counted, except that of Levi. God had expressly excluded the Levites from military service because they had already been given the responsibility of serving as priests and caretakers of the tabernacle. They had been consecrated by God for His service and, therefore, were exempt from military duty. But why did this one tribe receive the special designation as God’s priests? What had they done to deserve such an important and prominent role?

The rise of the tribe of Levi is a remarkable story that begins in the book of Genesis. In chapter 34, Moses records the dark story of the rape of Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, by Shechem, the son of the Hivite king. When Jacob received news of the defilement of his daughter, he did nothing about it. His inaction engaged his sons.

They were shocked and furious that their sister had been raped. Shechem had done a disgraceful thing against Jacob’s family, something that should never be done. – Genesis 34:7 NLT

Shechem’s father, Hamor, begged Jacob and his sons to overlook his son’s indiscretion and allow him to marry Dinah. He even suggested that their two nations make an alliance that would allow their sons and daughters to intermarry. But the sons of Jacob had other plans. They agreed to the alliance on the condition that all the Hivite men undergo the rite of circumcision. Sensing an opportunity to take advantage of the Israelites and confiscate their livestock and possessions, the Hivite men were summarily circumcised.

…three days later, when their wounds were still sore, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, who were Dinah’s full brothers, took their swords and entered the town without opposition. Then they slaughtered every male there, including Hamor and his son Shechem. They killed them with their swords, then took Dinah from Shechem’s house and returned to their camp. – Genesis 34:25-26 NLT

When Jacob received word of what his two sons had done, he was appalled and angered because he feared reprisals from the other nations in the region.

“You have ruined me! You’ve made me stink among all the people of this land—among all the Canaanites and Perizzites. We are so few that they will join forces and crush us. I will be ruined, and my entire household will be wiped out!” – Genesis 34:30 NLT

Years later, while on his deathbed, Jacob revealed that he had never forgiven Simeon and Levi for their deceitful treatment of the Hivites. When it was their turn to receive a blessing from their father, what they heard sounded more like a curse.

“Simeon and Levi are two of a kind;
    their weapons are instruments of violence.
May I never join in their meetings;
    may I never be a party to their plans.
For in their anger they murdered men,
    and they crippled oxen just for sport.
A curse on their anger, for it is fierce;
    a curse on their wrath, for it is cruel.
I will scatter them among the descendants of Jacob;
    I will disperse them throughout Israel.” – Genesis 49:5-7 NLT

Fast forward to the time when Moses was leading the people of Israel through the wilderness on their way to Canaan. It just so happens that Moses and his brother, Aaron, were of the tribe of Levi. So, when God ordered Moses to set apart Aaron and his sons to serve as priests, He was bringing about the fulfillment of Jacob’s “blessing.”

“Call for your brother, Aaron, and his sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. Set them apart from the rest of the people of Israel so they may minister to me and be my priests.” – Exodus 28:1 NLT

It’s important to note that when God was preparing to deliver the people of Israel from their captivity in Egypt, He ordered Moses to set apart or consecrate the firstborn from among the Israelites as His possession.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Dedicate to me every firstborn among the Israelites. The first offspring to be born, of both humans and animals, belongs to me.” – Exodus 13:1 NLT

God had just graciously spared the firstborn among the Israelites when His death angel had gone throughout the land destroying all the firstborn of the Egyptians, including Pharoah’s son and heir (Exodus 12:29-32). God demanded that the firstborn among the Israelites be dedicated to His service as an offering of thanksgiving. But, sometime later, when God spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, He declared that all Israelites were to consider themselves as His priests.

“‘Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.’ This is the message you must give to the people of Israel.” – Exodus 19:5-6 NLT

But God later determined to set apart the Levites to serve as His priests. These descendants of Levi, who had been cursed by his own father, were destined to play a vital role in the spiritual well-being of the nation of Israel. God later declared to Aaron His intent to dedicate this one tribe for His glory and the good of the people.

“You yourselves must perform the sacred duties inside the sanctuary and at the altar. If you follow these instructions, the Lord’s anger will never again blaze against the people of Israel. I myself have chosen your fellow Levites from among the Israelites to be your special assistants. They are a gift to you, dedicated to the Lord for service in the Tabernacle.” – Numbers 18:5-6 NLT

Not all Levites were priests, but the entire tribe was dedicated to the service of God’s tabernacle. While some served in the priestly function, others were assigned the task of caring for the tabernacle itself. Many were responsible for the tear-down and set-up of the tabernacle so it could be transported from one place to another. Others were responsible for its protection. And while the Levites would not receive an allotment of land in Canaan, God promised to take care of their every need.

“You priests will receive no allotment of land or share of property among the people of Israel. I am your share and your allotment. As for the tribe of Levi, your relatives, I will compensate them for their service in the Tabernacle. Instead of an allotment of land, I will give them the tithes from the entire land of Israel.” – Numbers 18:20-21 NLT

Interestingly enough, God even fulfilled Jacob’s promise that the descendants of Levi would be scattered among the rest of the tribes. When the time came for the Israelites to enter the land of Canaan, God had Moses divide up the land between the tribes, but the Levites received no allotment. Instead, they were given possession of 48 cities spread through the tribes of Israel.

“Six of the towns you give the Levites will be cities of refuge, where a person who has accidentally killed someone can flee for safety. In addition, give them forty-two other towns. In all, forty-eight towns with the surrounding pastureland will be given to the Levites. These towns will come from the property of the people of Israel. The larger tribes will give more towns to the Levites, while the smaller tribes will give fewer. Each tribe will give property in proportion to the size of its land.” – Numbers 35:6-8 NLT

Six of the cities were to be set apart as cities of refuge, where any Israelite could seek asylum if they were guilty of unintentionally murdering someone. As long as they remained within the walls of one of these cities, they were protected. It’s fascinating to consider that Jacob cursed his son Levi for having murdered the Hivites, now God was using the descendants of Levi to provide protection for those who committed involuntary manslaughter.

These cities will be places of protection from a dead person’s relatives who want to avenge the death. The slayer must not be put to death before being tried by the community. Designate six cities of refuge for yourselves, three on the east side of the Jordan River and three on the west in the land of Canaan. These cities are for the protection of Israelites, foreigners living among you, and traveling merchants. Anyone who accidentally kills someone may flee there for safety. – Numbers 35:12-15 NLT

Just as Jacob predicted, the Levites ended up scattered throughout the land of Canaan. Other than the allotted cities, they never owned any property within the borders of the promised land. Yet, they were given the right and responsibility to serve as God’s priests. And when the rest of the illegible men were conscripted into Israel’s army, the Levites were excluded so that they could preserve the presence of God among the people.

“Do not include the tribe of Levi in the registration; do not count them with the rest of the Israelites. Put the Levites in charge of the Tabernacle of the Covenant, along with all its furnishings and equipment. They must carry the Tabernacle and all its furnishings as you travel, and they must take care of it and camp around it. Whenever it is time for the Tabernacle to move, the Levites will take it down. And when it is time to stop, they will set it up again. But any unauthorized person who goes too near the Tabernacle must be put to death.” – Numbers 1:50-51 NLT

God had a plan for His people and it included their physical and spiritual well-being. Some would fight the enemy using swords and spears. Others would do battle with incense and offerings, protecting the name of God and preserving the spiritual health of the people of God.

Our Great God

August 24, 2022 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹⁷Moses and Aaron took these men who had been named, ¹⁸and on the first day of the second month, they assembled the whole congregation together, who registered themselves by clans, by fathers’ houses, according to the number of names from twenty years old and upward, head by head, ¹⁹as the Lord commanded Moses. So he listed them in the wilderness of Sinai.

²⁰The people of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: ²¹those listed of the tribe of Reuben were 46,500.

²²Of the people of Simeon, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, those of them who were listed, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: ²³those listed of the tribe of Simeon were 59,300.

²⁴Of the people of Gad, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: ²⁵those listed of the tribe of Gad were 45,650.

²⁶Of the people of Judah, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: ²⁷those listed of the tribe of Judah were 74,600.

²⁸Of the people of Issachar, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: ²⁹those listed of the tribe of Issachar were 54,400.

³⁰Of the people of Zebulun, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: ³¹those listed of the tribe of Zebulun were 57,400.

³²Of the people of Joseph, namely, of the people of Ephraim, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: ³³those listed of the tribe of Ephraim were 40,500.

³⁴Of the people of Manasseh, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: ³⁵those listed of the tribe of Manasseh were 32,200.

³⁶Of the people of Benjamin, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: ³⁷those listed of the tribe of Benjamin were 35,400.

³⁸Of the people of Dan, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: ³⁹those listed of the tribe of Dan were 62,700.

⁴⁰Of the people of Asher, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: ⁴¹those listed of the tribe of Asher were 41,500.

⁴²Of the people of Naphtali, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: ⁴³those listed of the tribe of Naphtali were 53,400.

⁴⁴These are those who were listed, whom Moses and Aaron listed with the help of the chiefs of Israel, twelve men, each representing his father’s house. ⁴⁵So all those listed of the people of Israel, by their fathers’ houses, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war in Israel— ⁴⁶all those listed were 603,550. – Numbers 1:17-46 ESV

Twelve tribes yielded over 600,000 men of fighting age. That is a staggering number, and when you consider that it only included men who were 20-years-old and older, and does not take into account women and children, you can begin to sense the size of the Israelite community. Some scholars have estimated that, based on the size of Israel’s fighting force, the total number of Israelites could have been from one to two million. But those astounding estimates have caused concern among some scholars who question the impossibility of that many people surviving life in the unforgiving wilderness for more than 40 years. The NET Study Bible provides the following summary of their misgivings.

“There has been much discussion about the numbers in the Israelite wilderness experience. The immediate difficulty for even the casual reader is the enormous number of the population. If indeed there were 603,550 men twenty years of age and older who could fight, the total population of the exodus community counting women and children would have been well over a million, or even two million as calculated by some. This is not a figure that the Bible ever gives, but given the sizes of families the estimate would not be far off. This is a staggering number to have cross the Sea, drink from the oases, or assemble in the plain by Sinai. It is not a question of whether or not God could provide for such a number; it is rather a problem of logistics for a population of that size in that period of time. The problem is not with the text itself, but with the interpretation of the word אֶלֶף (’elef), traditionally translated “thousand.” The word certainly can be taken as “thousand,” and most often is. But in view of the problem of the large number here, some scholars have chosen one of the other meanings attested in literature for this word…” – see A. H. McNeile, Numbers, 7; J. Garstang, Joshua-Judges, 120; J. Bright, History of Israel, 144

In an attempt to come up with a more reasonable and believable number, other interpretations of the word אֶלֶף (’elef) have been utilized. And while these rather clever reinterpretations have resulted in a drastic reduction in the number of fighting men and, therefore, the total number of Israelites, they are not without their flaws. One such effort managed to reduce the total size of the Israelite army to about 18,000 men, resulting in an estimated population of 72,000 Israelites. This drastic reduction may make the total number of Israelites more acceptable and believable, but it plays fast and lose with the text.

It is clear that God commanded Moses to “take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, by clans, by fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, every male, head by head” (Numbers 1:2 ESV). The Hebrew word translated as “head” is actually גֻּלְגֹּלֶת (gulgōleṯ), which means “skull.” Moses had been instructed to count every skull of every man in the Israelite community.

“…the count appears to have been literal, and the totals calculated accordingly, totals which match other passages in the text. If some formula is used to reduce the thousands in this army, then there is the problem of knowing what to do when a battle has only five thousand, or three thousand men. One can only conclude that on the basis of what we know the word should be left with the translation ‘thousand,’ no matter what difficulties this might suggest to the reader.” – NET Bible Study Notes

There is no accurate way of calculating the overall size of the Israelite community based on these numbers. S,o we must be careful when throwing around numbers like one or two million. We just don’t know. But at the same time, we must refrain from questioning the integrity of the text just because we find it difficult to accept the idea of an army of 603,550 men.

While we may find these numbers difficult to comprehend, the text provides no conclusive evidence to doubt their veracity. If anything, the size of Israel’s army supports the fear that drove Pharaoh to begin persecuting the people of Israel in the first place. The book of Exodus reminds us that during their stay in Egypt the descendants of Jacob had multiplied greatly.

…the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them. – Exodus 1:7 ESV

The dramatic increase in their numbers had been significant enough to catch the attention of Pharaoh.

Exodus 13:18 states that when the Israelites left Egypt they marched out like an army arrayed for battle. They were so large that they were required to line up in regiments or groups, most likely according to the various tribes. They were a vast number of men, women, and children. They were even accompanied by non-Israelites as they made their way out of Egypt. And it’s interesting to note that the book of Exodus reports that the number of men who left Egypt was virtually the same as the number of men determined by the census.

And the people of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. A mixed multitude also went up with them, and very much livestock, both flocks and herds. – Exodus 12:37-38 ESV

Unless we can find a convincing reason to dismiss the numbers that Moses recorded, it is best to accept them as proof of God’s promise to Abraham that his descendants would become a great nation (Genesis 15:5).

“I believe we should take eleph in census contexts as thousands until further investigation clearly indicates that we should interpret it differently.” – Dr. Thomas L. Constable, Notes on Numbers

During their 400 years of captivity in Egypt, God had been blessing and preparing His people for the future conquest of the land of Canaan. He had multiplied them greatly and transformed them from an army of slaves into a military force made up of freemen who were heirs to the land of promise. The numbers should stagger us. The miraculous nature of Israel’s transformation is meant to amaze us. For more than four centuries, God had protected and provided for them. He had multiplied them. And when the time was right, He had delivered them. Now, He was ready to use their vast numbers to conquer the land of Canaan. And just before his death, Moses reminded the people of Israel that their God would go before them when they entered the land.

“The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you. They shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.” – Deuteronomy 28:7 ESV

Their future victories would be the result of God’s greatness and glory, not the size of their army. They were not to place their confidence in the might of their military. They were to trust in the unfathomable greatness of God. The words God later spoke to the prophet Zechariah sum up the attitude the Israelites were to have regarding the results of the census.

“Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.” – Zechariah 4:6 ESV

Whether their army numbered 60,000 or 600,000, any victory they hoped to have would come from the Lord. He was the Lord of Heavens Armies and their only hope of future success.

Don’t Judge by the Numbers

August 23, 2022 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, ²“Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, by clans, by fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, every male, head by head. ³From twenty years old and upward, all in Israel who are able to go to war, you and Aaron shall list them, company by company. ⁴And there shall be with you a man from each tribe, each man being the head of the house of his fathers. ⁵And these are the names of the men who shall assist you. From Reuben, Elizur the son of Shedeur; ⁶from Simeon, Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai; ⁷from Judah, Nahshon the son of Amminadab; ⁸from Issachar, Nethanel the son of Zuar; ⁹from Zebulun, Eliab the son of Helon; ¹⁰from the sons of Joseph, from Ephraim, Elishama the son of Ammihud, and from Manasseh, Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur; ¹¹from Benjamin, Abidan the son of Gideoni; ¹²from Dan, Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai; ¹³from Asher, Pagiel the son of Ochran; ¹⁴from Gad, Eliasaph the son of Deuel; ¹⁵from Naphtali, Ahira the son of Enan.” ¹⁶These were the ones chosen from the congregation, the chiefs of their ancestral tribes, the heads of the clans of Israel. – Numbers 1:1-16 ESV

The book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Pentateuch, which contains the first five books of the Bible. According to verse 1, the author of Numbers was none other than Moses, the man whom God had chosen to deliver the nation of Israel from their captivity in Egypt. Over the centuries, there have been some who have attempted to discount Moses as the author of Numbers and the rest of the books of the Pentateuch. But the Scriptures seem to consistently support the Mosaic authorship of these books sometimes referred to as the Law of Moses.

These are the stages of the people of Israel, when they went out of the land of Egypt by their companies under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. Moses wrote down their starting places, stage by stage, by command of the Lord, and these are their stages according to their starting places. – Numbers 33:2 ESV

Jesus believed Moses to be the one who recorded the content found in the Law of Moses. In one of His post-resurrection appearances to His followers, Jesus told them:

“These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” – Luke 24:44 ESV

After first having met Jesus, Phillip declared his belief that he had met the Messiah, the one whom Moses had written about in the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures.

Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” – John 1:45 ESV

It is likely that Moses recorded the books of the Pentateuch late in his life as he prepared the people of Israel to enter into the land of Canaan, promised to them by God as their inheritance. The Pentateuch contains the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Each was penned by Moses under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and contains a unique historical record of the people of Israel. Genesis covers the creation of the universe, the fall of man, the dispersal of the nations, and the eventual call of Abram, who would become the father of the Hebrew people. Genesis tells the story of their eventual captivity in Egypt, then the book of Exodus reveals how God used Moses to deliver them from slavery and lead them across the wilderness to the land of promise. The book of Leviticus continues the historical record of Israel’s wilderness wanderings, outlining how God provided His people with the Law and gave specific instructions to the tribe of Levi regarding their God-ordained role to serve as priests and caretakers of the Tabernacle.

The book of Deuteronomy might be considered a collection of sermons or messages that Moses gave to the people of Israel as they prepared to enter the land of Canaan. He would not be joining them as they crossed over the River Jordan, so he wanted to make sure they understood the gravity of what they were about to do. He had led them for more than 40 years and was determined for them to fulfill their God-ordained occupation of the land.

The Book of Numbers essentially bridges the gap between the Israelites receiving the Law (Exodus and Leviticus) and preparing them to enter the Promised Land (Deuteronomy and Joshua). The title of the book is based on the two censuses taken by Moses. Chapters 1-4 record the first “numbering” of the people and chapter 26 records the second. The first 25 chapters of Numbers cover the exploits of the first generation of Israelites who successfully escaped their captivity in Egypt. Under the leadership of Moses, they eventually made their to the border of Canaan but refused to obey God’s command and cross over the Jorden to take possession of the land. Fearing the more formidable nations that occupied Canaan, they turned away and were forced to wander in the wilderness until that rebellious generation died off. The final chapters of Numbers record what happened to the next generation of Israelites. The themes of obedience, rebellion, repentance, and blessing run through the entire book.

The book of Numbers opens up with the first generation of Israel in the second month of their second year since their escape from Egypt. Chapters 7-10 provide a recap of what happened prior to that point. But the entire book spans a period of nearly 40 years, chronicling what happened to the people of Israel from the time they refused to enter the land the first time until the second generation arrived on the shore of the Jordan River again.

We know from the book of Exodus, that during their 400-year stay in the land of Egypt, the number of Jacob’s descendants had expanded greatly. When Jacob and his family initially entered the land to escape a famine in Canaan, there had only been 70 of them (Exodus 1:5). But during their time of captivity, their numbers had increased significantly.

…the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them. – Exodus 1:7 ESV

It was their vast numbers that caused Pharaoh to begin a campaign of persecution against the Israelites designed to demoralize them and diminish their numbers.

“Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel. So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves. – Exodus 1:9-14 ESV

He even tried to reduce their numbers through infanticide, ordering the Hebrew midwives to execute all male babies born among the Jews.

“When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.” – Exodus 1:16 ESV

But these faithful women refused to obey Pharaoh’s command and the number of Israelites continue to increase. Some 430 years later, when Moses led the nation of Israel out of Egypt, they could have been well over a million in number.

And the people of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. – Exodus 12:37 ESV

The 600,000 number would have been adult males, many of whom would have been married with children. So, it would not be a stretch of the imagination to estimate a crowd of more than a million people making their way out of Egypt and into the wilderness. Some have estimated that Israel had grown to be 2.4 million in number.

So, the book of Numbers opens up with a census, designed to determine exactly how many Israelites there were according to their tribes. But Moses was particularly interested in how many warriors he had at his disposal because they would be needed when the time came to enter the land and destroy the nations that lived there.

“From the whole community of Israel, record the names of all the warriors by their clans and families. List all the men twenty years old or older who are able to go to war. You and Aaron must register the troops, and you will be assisted by one family leader from each tribe.” – Numbers 1:2-4 NLT

One of the important points to remember is that Moses was under the impression that they were just weeks away from the conquest of the land. He had no way of knowing that the people were going to refuse to obey God’s command and take possession of the land. He was taking a census in order to determine the size of his army and to prepare his forces for the inevitable battles they would face in occupying the land of promise.

According to verse 46, the census revealed a sizeable force of 603,550 men. This number would have consisted of all males over the age of 20 and Moses must have been encouraged by the size of the army God had provided. Their future looked bright. Their success seemed to be assured. With an army of this size and God’s help, the land of Canaan was as good as conquered. Or was it?

Repentance, Reconciliation, and Restoration

August 22, 2022 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹³Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. ¹⁴Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. ¹⁶Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. ¹⁷Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. ¹⁸Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

¹⁹My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, ²⁰let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. – James 5:13-20 ESV

Back in the previous chapter, James wrote, “You do not have, because you do not ask” (James 4:2 ESV). He accused his readers of two sins. The first had to do with allowing their unfulfilled passions to turn into covetousness and greed. Unable to get what they believed to be rightfully theirs, they were attempting to get it by force, even expressing a willingness to kill for it. But that raises the second sin of which they were guilty. They never made their request known to God.

These people were fighting amongst themselves because their unmet desires were producing uncontrollable jealousy and envy. Rather than expressing their so-called needs to God, they were taking matters into their own hands. And, on those rare occasions when they did manage to ask God for what they craved, they did so with the wrong motives.

You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. – James 4:3 ESV

James accused them of spiritual adultery because they displayed a greater love for the things of this world than they did for God. The things they so greatly desired were of more value to them than their relationship with God.

In his letter to the church in Philippi, Paul addressed a conflict between two women in the congregation.

Now I appeal to Euodia and Syntyche. Please, because you belong to the Lord, settle your disagreement. – Philippians 4:2 NLT

These two godly women were experiencing some kind of personal disagreement that had become apparent to the rest of the church members. And Paul called on the church to come to their aid so that their dispute could be resolved and their relationship restored. Then he addressed the entire faith community.

Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:4-7 NLT

There was no place for quarreling and fighting within the body of Christ. Jealousy and greed should not exist among believers because we serve a God who is fully capable of meeting all our needs. But we must never forget that God is not obligated to fulfill all our desires. At times, we treat God like a cosmic genie in a bottle by demanding that He give us whatever we wish for. But God does not exist to obey our every command and to fulfill our deepest cravings and desires.

Notice that Paul told the Philippians to make their requests known to God, but he didn’t promise them that all those requests would be fulfilled. Instead, he assured them that God would give them the one thing they needed more than anything else: peace of mind. God would replace their craving with contentment. Oftentimes, the things for which we ask God reveal that our hope is misplaced. We wrongly believe that our answered prayer will bring us joy, fulfillment, and satisfaction. If we’re sick, we become convinced that healing is what we need most. If we are having financial difficulties, a sudden influx of cash will surely make all our problems go away. If we’re experiencing a relational conflict, we convince ourselves that if God would only change the other person, everything would be better.

But prayer is less about getting what we want from God than it is about us learning to trust Him. Prayer is the believer’s primary form of communication with the Father and it is intended to be a conversation, not a monologue. Too often, we craft our list of petitions and methodically communicate them to God, fully expecting Him to fulfill each and every request. And we base our belief in this make-a-wish approach to prayer on the words of Jesus. After all, didn’t He say, “Ask, and it will be given to you…” (Matthew 7:7 NLT)? And wasn’t it Jesus who promised, “If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you” (Matthew 18:19 NLT)? And didn’t He tell His disciples, “whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith” (Matthew 21:22 NLT)?

But Jesus was not offering His followers carte blanche when it came to prayer. He wasn’t providing them with a blank check that obligated Him to give them whatever their heart desired. There is a sense in which our requests need to line up with the will of God and demonstrate faith in His greatness and goodness. We are not free to dictate to God what we have determined to be best for our lives. He is sovereign over all things, including our desires. Only He knows what we truly need at any given moment. In making our requests known to God, we are expressing our hearts and desires to Him, but we are also placing our hope in His providential plans for our lives. We are trusting Him to do what He deems best.

And that is the gist of James’ closing words to his audience. He wraps up his letter by calling them to pray. Rather than fighting amongst themselves, they were to take their problems to the Lord. If they were suffering, they were to pray rather than figure out ways to get out of it on their own. On the other hand, if they were experiencing joy and contentment, they were to offer up prayers of praise to God for His goodness and grace. If they were experiencing poor health, they were to call on the elders of the church and seek their wisdom and prayers.

James seems to be suggesting that there are some illnesses that are spiritually related. His instructions to call on the elders would indicate that there are times when there is more to a physical illness than meets the eye. Verse 15 seems to suggest that the one who is suffering may have unconfessed sin in their life?

Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. – James 5:15 NLT

We must be careful to not assume that all sickness is the result of sin. That was a false perception of Jesus’ own disciples. One day, they encountered a man who had been blind since birth, and they asked Jesus, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?” (John 9:2 NLT).

They wrongly assumed that this man’s condition had been the direct result of somebody’s sin. He was suffering because someone had offended God. But Jesus corrected their misconception by stating, “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins…This happened so the power of God could be seen in him” (John 9:3 NLT). According to Jesus, this man’s blindness was nothing more than a perfect opportunity to display God’s power through healing, and Jesus went on to restore his sight.

But James makes it clear that there can be a direct correlation between continued sickness and unconfessed sin.

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. – James 5:16 NLT

James has already accused this congregation of committing spiritual adultery. They were displaying jealousy and greed, fighting and quarreling amongst themselves, and manifesting an inordinate love for the things of this world. They had offended one another. They were guilty of treating one another with contempt and unjust discrimination. Feelings had been hurt. The poor had been mistreated. The name of Christ had been damaged in the community. And repentance, reconciliation, and restitution was required.

And James insists that their less-than-ideal spiritual state could be changed for the better – through the power of prayer. And he used the story of the Old Testament prophet, Elijah, as an example.

Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops. – James 5:17-18 NLT

This story ties into James’ earlier statement: “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results” (James 5:16 NLT). Elijah was a righteous man who made his request known to God and his prayer was answered – in a spectacular and supernatural way. This one man, praying in tune with the will of God, had been able to summon a three-and-a-half-year drought. And then, at just the right time and in keeping with God’s will, Elijah brought down much-needed rain.

In order to understand James’ use of Elijah as an example of a righteous and prayerful man, you have to go back to 1 Kings. There we can see the spiritual conditions that led Elijah to pray for a devastating drought, and it all had to do with the ungodly leadership of the king.

Ahab son of Omri began to rule over Israel in the thirty-eighth year of King Asa’s reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria twenty-two years. But Ahab son of Omri did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, even more than any of the kings before him. And as though it were not enough to follow the sinful example of Jeroboam, he married Jezebel, the daughter of King Ethbaal of the Sidonians, and he began to bow down in worship of Baal. First Ahab built a temple and an altar for Baal in Samaria. Then he set up an Asherah pole. He did more to provoke the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than any of the other kings of Israel before him. – 1 Kings 16:29-33 NLT

The drought was intended as punishment for the unfaithfulness of Ahab. The king had sinned against God by leading the people of Israel to commit idolatry. By withholding rain, God was punishing His rebellious people and encouraging them to repent and return to Him. And the restoration of the rain was God’s gracious attempt to remind them of His goodness.

And James ends his letter with a similar call to repentance and restoration, so that the church to whom he wrote might experience the grace and goodness of God.

My dear brothers and sisters, if someone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back, you can be sure that whoever brings the sinner back from wandering will save that person from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins. – James 5:19-20 NLT

It’s clear from the rest of the letter, that there were some who had wandered away from the truth of God’s Word. They were living apart from the will of God and damaging the spiritual well-being of the body of Christ. And it was up to the entire congregation to take seriously the sin within their midst and call one another to repentance and reconciliation. Because unconfessed sin can result in spiritual death or separation from God and the community of faith. But repentance can bring forgiveness and restoration.

Devotionary

The Bible Made Accessible and Applicable

Month: August 2022