Numbers 8:1-26 NIV
Setting Up the Lamps
1The Lord Said to Moses, 2“Speak
to Aaron and say to him, ‘When you set up the lamps, see that all seven light
up the area in front of the lampstand.’ ”
3Aaron
did so; he set up the lamps so that they faced forward on the lampstand, Just As The Lord Commanded Moses. 4This is
how the lampstand was made: It was made of hammered gold—from its base to its
blossoms. The lampstand was made exactly like the pattern The Lord Had Shown Moses.
The Setting Apart of the
Levites
5The Lord Said to Moses:
6“Take the Levites from among all the Israelites and make them ceremonially clean. 7To purify them, do this: Sprinkle the water of cleansing on them; then have them shave their whole bodies and wash their clothes. And so they will purify themselves. 8Have them take a young bull with its grain offering of the finest flour mixed with olive oil; then you are to take a second young bull for a sin offering.a9Bring the Levites to the front of the tent of meeting and assemble the whole Israelite community. 10You are to bring the Levites Before The Lord, and the Israelites are to lay their hands on them. 11Aaron is to present the Levites BeforeThe Lord as a wave offering from the Israelites, so that they may be ready to do the Work of The Lord.
6“Take the Levites from among all the Israelites and make them ceremonially clean. 7To purify them, do this: Sprinkle the water of cleansing on them; then have them shave their whole bodies and wash their clothes. And so they will purify themselves. 8Have them take a young bull with its grain offering of the finest flour mixed with olive oil; then you are to take a second young bull for a sin offering.a9Bring the Levites to the front of the tent of meeting and assemble the whole Israelite community. 10You are to bring the Levites Before The Lord, and the Israelites are to lay their hands on them. 11Aaron is to present the Levites BeforeThe Lord as a wave offering from the Israelites, so that they may be ready to do the Work of The Lord.
12“Then
the Levites are to lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, using one for a
sin offering to The Lord and the
other for a burnt offering, to make atonement for the Levites. 13Have
the Levites stand in front of Aaron and his sons and then present them as a
wave offering to The Lord. 14In this
way you are to set the Levites apart from the other Israelites,
and the Levites will be MINE.
and the Levites will be MINE.
15“After
you have purified the Levites and presented them as a wave offering, they are
to come to do their work at the tent of meeting. 16They
are the Israelites who are to be given wholly to ME. I Have Taken them as My Own
in place of the firstborn, the first male offspring from every Israelite woman. 17Every
firstborn male in Israel, whether human or animal, is MINE. When I Struck Down
all the firstborn in Egypt, I Set them Apart For Myself. 18And I Have Taken the Levites in place of all the firstborn sons in Israel. 19From
among all the Israelites, I Have Given the Levites as gifts to Aaron and his
sons to do the work at the tent of meeting on behalf of the Israelites and to
make atonement for them so that no plague will strike the Israelites when they
go near the Sanctuary.”
20Moses,
Aaron and the whole Israelite community did with the Levites Just As The Lord Commanded Moses. 21The
Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes. Then Aaron presented them
as a wave offering Before The Lord and made atonement for them to purify
them. 22After
that, the Levites came to do their work at the tent of meeting under the
supervision of Aaron and his sons. They did with the Levites Just As The Lord Commanded Moses.
23The Lord Said to Moses, 24“This
applies to the Levites: Men twenty-five years old or
more shall come to take part in the work at the tent of meeting, 25but at the age of fifty, they must retire from their regular
service and work no longer. 26They
may assist their brothers in performing their duties at the tent of meeting,
but they themselves must not do the work. This, then, is how you are to assign
the responsibilities of the Levites.”
The Setting Apart of the Levites
Here we have
directions for the solemn ordination of the Levites. All Israel must know that
they did not take this honor to themselves, but were called of GOD to it; nor
was it enough that they were distinguished from others. All who are employed
for GOD must be dedicated to Him.
Christians must be
baptized, ministers must be ordained; we must first give ourselves to The LORD,
and then our services. The Levites must be cleansed. They must be clean that
bear the vessels of The LORD. Moses must sprinkle the water of purifying upon
them. This signifies the application of the Blood of CHRIST to our souls by
faith, that we may be fit to serve The Living GOD.
GOD Declares His Acceptance of them. All who expect to share in the privileges of the Tabernacle,
must resolve to do the service of the Tabernacle. As, on the one hand, none of
GOD's creatures are His necessary servants and HE Does Not Need the service of
any of them; so none are merely honorary servants to do nothing. All whom GOD Owns, HE Employs; angels themselves have their own services to The Living GOD.