More details on the dedication of the Tabernacle and its ministers

I.  The lampstand must always be lit (8:1-4)

II. The Levites must be cleansed and consecrated (8:5-26)

• the people acknowledge that the Levites are their substitutes (8:10)
• the Levites acknowledge that the sacrificial animals are their substitutes (8:12)

III. The Passover must be kept (9:1-14)

• provision is made for those who were legitimately kept from a timely observance (9:10-11)
• penalty is prescribed for those who willingly absent themselves from a timely observance (9:13)

IV. The Lord must be followed (9:15-23)

• by day and by night (9:15-17)
• in travel and in rest (9:18)
• for days and for years (9:22)

Meditation Points:

Remembering that the Old Testament teaches us about Jesus (John 5:39), consider today’s reading.

1. Jesus is the ever-burning Light of the world (John 8:12).
2. Jesus is our substitute (1 Peter 2:21).
3. Jesus is our Passover (1 Corinthians 5:7).
4. Jesus commands us to follow Him (John 12:26).

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The first day’s offerings at the Tabernacle

1.  Each tribe presented an ox and 1/2 a wagon for Levitical use. (verses 1-9)

• 2 wagons/4 oxen for Gershon’s family
• 4 wagons/8 oxen for Merari’s family
• No wagons or oxen for Kohath’s family–they must carry the sacred furniture themselves

2.  On twelve consecutive days, the tribes, in turn and in the order of their encampment (chapter 2), presented identical offerings. (verses 10-88)

And he that offered his offering the [ordinal number from 1^st to 12^th] day was [tribal elder], of the tribe of [one of 12 tribes of Israel]:
And his offering was

• one silver charger, the weight thereof was an hundred and thirty shekels,
• one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary;
• both of them were full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering:
• One spoon of ten shekels of gold, full of incense:
• One young bullock,
• one ram,
• one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering:
• One kid of the goats for a sin offering:
• And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen,
• five rams,
• five he goats,
• five lambs of the first year:

this was the offering of [tribal elder].”

3.  Moses, thereafter, went into the Tabernacle to hear from God. (verse 89)

Meditation Points:

1. Every tribe participated (the Levites being excluded by God)
2. Every tribe gave the same amount
3. Everyone who is saved benefits from the same offering of Christ at Calvary.

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Trinity International Baptist Church of Athens, Greece publishes these English language Bible study guides for use in its evening meetings. We are pursuing a 3-year, through-the-Bible, program. For this month’s reading schedule, look here:  April 2008 daily Bible reading schedule.

Sins-ceremonial, actual and imagined-and saintliness

 Segregating lepers and the otherwise unclean (5:1-4)

Guidelines:

• man or woman
• physical or spiritual uncleanness
• congregational responsibility to enforce this law
• outside the camp
• not where God dwells

Confession and restitution (5:5-10)

Principles:

• man or woman
• trespass against another person is a trespass against the Lord
• obligatory confession
• restitution plus 20%
• no statute of limitations on sin: if the offended party be dead, payment to a surviving relative; if no surviving relative, payment to the Lord
• ram of atonement

A solution for jealous husbands (5:11-31)

Guidelines:

• If a man suspected his wife of having an extra-marital affair
• he should bring her to the priest, along with the specified offering
• the priest will uncover the woman’s head, and put the offering in her hands
• he also will pronounce the rules of this “trial by drinking”
• the wife will doubly agree to the terms, willing to suffer if she is lying
• the priest will take the jealousy offering and wave it before the Lord, burning a small part on the altar
• she shall drink the mixture of holy water and dirt that the priest offers her
• if she has sinned, as her husband suspected, her thigh will rot and her belly will swell; if not, she shall become pregnant

The Nazirite vow (6:1-21)

Guidelines:

• man or woman
• voluntary separation unto the Lord
• no wine, strong drink, grape vinegar, grape juice, fresh grapes or raisins
• no haircuts
• no touching of dead bodies, not even close relatives
• even accidental defilement nullifies all previous days of separation
• the vow should be kept ( 6:21)

A priestly benediction (6:22-27)

May the Lord

• bless you
• keep you
• make His face shine upon you
• be gracious to you
• lift up his countenance upon you
• give you peace

Meditation Points:

1. God will not allow the defiled in His presence; for man to abide with God, man must be cleansed from his sin.  Until then, man must remain outside the camp. Remember that Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden of Eden after their sin.
2. We must confess our sins to God and to one another. Merely repeating them in private to our religious leaders helps neither us nor those we have offended, and it certainly doesn’t impress God.
3. Sin is a fact of life, even married life.  And though love thinks no evil, sometimes our minds become overrun with jealousy.  What can we do, but bring it to the Lord and have Him settle the matter.
4. Extreme devotion to God is rare.
5. What else would one desire from God that is not mentioned in the Aaronic blessing? If God would bless you, keep you, cause his face to shine upon you, be gracious to you, and give you peace–what else would you want?

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Part of a three-year Bible reading program that progresses chronologically from Genesis to Revelation, as used by Trinity International Baptist Church in our English language Bible studies.

Counting the Levites

Meditation Points: 

What?  No women allowed to minister in the tabernacle? And nobody older than 50 years? And nobody less than 30 years old? That just isn’t fair! We need to pass a law criminalizing such sex and age discrimination. And they probably didn’t allow Buddhists, Muslims or atheists to work there either. And no doubt they kept homosexuals and lesbians out, too. We’ve already seen that they didn’t allow people with physical disabilities to be priests. Who do they think they are limiting the leadership to men of a certain age? I want to speak to the one who is behind all of this…

How old was Jesus when He began to teach and preach?

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