Numbers 3
-The numbering continues in chapter three, now concerning
the Levites, as the LORD continues to give word to Moses in the wilderness.
Aaron and his sons are designated for various duties and places to camp
surrounding the tabernacle, all of which they obeyed unto the LORD. “But Nadab
and Abihu died before the LORD when they offered strange fire before the LORD
in the wilderness of Sinai (see Leviticus 10:1-2 for more information, Numbers
3:4).” The Levites were God’s; therefore, He redeemed all of them from a month
old and upward and the rest paid ransom for the rest of the firstborn from
among the sons of Israel (Numbers 3:40-50). The money was given to Aaron and
his sons, “at the command of the LORD (Numbers 3:51).” See the following quote
for elaboration on this unique situation in Israel:
“The principle on which the enumeration of the Levites had been made was
now to be applied to the other tribes. The number of their male children, from
a month old and upward, was to be reckoned, in order that a comparison might be
instituted with that of the Levites, for the formal adoption of the latter as
substitutes for the first-born. 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
(Numbers 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, which, reckoning the shekel at
half a dollar, would amount to $2.50 each, was appropriated to the use of the
sanctuary. The excess of the general over the Levitical first-born is so small,
that the only way of accounting for it is, by supposing those first-born only
were counted as were males remaining in their parents' household, or that those
first-born only were numbered which had been born since the departure from
Egypt, when God claimed all the first-born as his special property (see http://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/jamieson-fausset-brown/numbers/numbers-3.html).”
-*Application* God entrusts certain people and calls them to
full-time ministry to work in His House, otherwise now known as the church in
Christianity. These are the principles we can glean from this study of the
national order for the Hebrew people. Those called into obedient career service
deserve our utmost loyalty and respect as long as they are following the Word
of God. Otherwise, they are offering that “strange fire,” or in other words
inauthentic ministry, which the LORD detests, and He will eventually punish
them for that, often severely as we see in the Scriptures here. The ministry is
hard, and pastors need our support, believe me, I am one. They are judged on a
stricter standard and carry the weight of serving people’s souls (James 3:1).
That is not a light responsibility and only accomplished with the power of the
Holy Spirit.
Verse to Memorize:
Numbers 3:4
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