The Chapter-A-Day thread. (3)

God claims the Levites as His.

Numbers 3:

"And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the firstborn that openeth the matrix among the children of Israel: therefore the Levites shall be mine; Because all the firstborn are mine; for on the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I hallowed unto me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast: mine shall they be: I am the LORD." ~Numbers 3:11-13

God gives strict instructions to the sons of Kohath.

Numbers 4:

"And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it: but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation." ~Numbers 4:15

The Cleansing of the Camp.

Numbers 5:

"And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Command the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whosoever is defiled by the dead: Both male and female shall ye put out, without the camp shall ye put them; that they defile not their camps, in the midst whereof I dwell. And the children of Israel did so, and put them out without the camp: as the LORD spake unto Moses, so did the children of Israel." ~Numbers 5:1-5

Numbers 6:

The Blessing.

This is an interesting chapter. it starts off with what is required to be a Nazarite, and it concludes with a blessing.

Numbers 7:

God speaks from the Mercy Seat.

God sets up House, so to speak, and the princes of Israel (heads of families) come, bearing offerings. Thus was the dedication of the altar, after that it was anointed.

Then, Moses heard the voice of One speaking unto him from off the mercy seat that was upon the ark of testimony, from between the two cherubims.

God spoke to Moses from the Mercy Seat!

Phenomenal!!!

Numbers 8:
The Levites Are Consecrated.

"And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them. And thus shalt thou do unto them, to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of purifying upon them, and let them shave all their flesh, and let them wash their clothes, and so make themselves clean. Then let them take a young bullock with his meat offering, even fine flour mingled with oil, and another young bullock shalt thou take for a sin offering. And thou shalt bring the Levites before the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt gather the whole assembly of the children of Israel together: And thou shalt bring the Levites before the LORD: and the children of Israel shall put their hands upon the Levites: And Aaron shall offer the Levites before the LORD for an offering of the children of Israel, that they may execute the service of the LORD. And the Levites shall lay their hands upon the heads of the bullocks: and thou shalt offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, unto the LORD, to make an atonement for the Levites. And thou shalt set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them for an offering unto the LORD. Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the children of Israel: and the Levites shall be mine. And after that shall the Levites go in to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt cleanse them, and offer them for an offering. For they are wholly given unto me from among the children of Israel; instead of such as open every womb, even instead of the firstborn of all the children of Israel, have I taken them unto me. For all the firstborn of the children of Israel are mine, both man and beast: on the day that I smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for myself. And I have taken the Levites for all the firstborn of the children of Israel. And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the tabernacle of the congregation, and to make an atonement for the children of Israel: that there be no plague among the children of Israel, when the children of Israel come nigh unto the sanctuary. And Moses, and Aaron, and all the congregation of the children of Israel, did to the Levites according unto all that the LORD commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did the children of Israel unto them." ~Numbers 8:5-20

Numbers 9:

Remembering Passover.

God speaks to Moses again.

"And the LORD spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying, Let the children of Israel also keep the passover at his appointed season. In the fourteenth day of this month, at even, ye shall keep it in his appointed season: according to all the rites of it, and according to all the ceremonies thereof, shall ye keep it. And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, that they should keep the passover. And they kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the first month at even in the wilderness of Sinai: according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did the children of Israel." ~Numbers 9:1-5

Numbers 10:

Calling of the Assembly.

God speaks to Moses again.

"And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shalt thou make them: that thou mayest use them for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps. And when they shall blow with them, all the assembly shall assemble themselves to thee at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And if they blow but with one trumpet, then the princes, which are heads of the thousands of Israel, shall gather themselves unto thee. When ye blow an alarm, then the camps that lie on the east parts shall go forward. When ye blow an alarm the second time, then the camps that lie on the south side shall take their journey: they shall blow an alarm for their journeys. But when the congregation is to be gathered together, ye shall blow, but ye shall not sound an alarm. And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the trumpets; and they shall be to you for an ordinance for ever throughout your generations." ~Numbers 10:1-8

Numbers 11:

The Quail.

Be Careful What You Ask For.

So the people are complaining yet one more time, and turning against Moses (and more importantly, God). Moses is exasperated and actually asks God if "he" gave "birth" to these people. Why did God curse him with these complaining, unthankful and murderous people?

God tells Moses that He was going to give the people quail, till it's coming out of their ears.

And He did.

Numbers 12:

Miriam Gets Leprosy.

Miriam blatantly rebels against Moses. God's anger is kindled.

"And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman. And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it. (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.) And the LORD spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out. And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth. And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them; and he departed. And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous." ~Numbers 12:1-10

Numbers 13:

12 Spies Sent to Canaan.

"And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them. And Moses by the commandment of the LORD sent them from the wilderness of Paran: all those men were heads of the children of Israel." ~Numbers 13:1-3

Good to join you today in (Numbers 15) 'Preparing for life in the promised land'.'What can I give Him? Give my heart'

(Numbers 16) 'Being faithful and loyal to our leaders'. Those that rebel against Godly anointed leadership like those that rebelled against Moses and Aaron,the leaders of the people of Israel,are on the slippery slope to forfeiting the blessing of the LORD.

(Numbers 17) 'God gives authority to His anointed leaders' There were 12 rods brought from the 12 tribes of Israel and one from the Levites. Aaron's rod represented the priestly order of Levites. Aaron's leadership,as well as Moses had been shown rebellion by the people. God showed the people by the budding of Aaron's rod that he was the anointed one with Moses that the people should respect and honor and his rod would be a sign against the rebels. God vindicates His servants!

(Numbers 18) 'We all have duties to perform'. The Priests and Levites had duties to perform. Grant us LORD a gift for serving. Let us never be mere performers but give us a heart to serve. Amen

(Numbers 19) 'Purification and Holiness'. God gave laws of purification to the Children of Israel. In this dispensation he wants us to be pure and holy also and provides cleansing and purifying from all sin that would defile us. The atonement of Christ makers us clean. (1 John 1:7-9) 'But if we walk in the light as He is in the light we have fellowship with one another and the Blood of Jesus Christ,His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin,we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins,He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness'.

(Numbers 20) 'The error of Moses at Kadesh'. Miriam died and was buried. The people were still complaining against Moses and Aaron,because there was no water. 'If only..' (v.3-4) How often have we said that when things are hard? Moses and Aaron went from the people to the door of the tabernacle and fell on their faces and the glory of the LORD appeared to them. God said to Moses,"Take the rod and Aaron gather the people together. 'Speak to the rock before their eyes and it will yield its' water ad the congregation will drink.' Moses struck the rock twice and the people were able to drink. The LORD said to Moses,'Because you did not believe me to hallow me in the eyes of the people,you shall not bring this assembly into the land I have given you'. Aaron's role was given to his son Eleaser and Aaron died and the people mourned.

(Numbers 21) 'The last part of the journey before the conquest of the promised land'. From Mount Hor to the plains of Moab. There was much opposition and the Canaanites were defeated at Hormah.The children of Israel continued from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea to go around the land of Edom. The people became discouraged and spoke against God and Moses. . They were disciplined by fiery serpents that bit them and many died. Then the people came to Moses and repented of their sin and Moses prayed for them. God told Moses to make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole and anyone bitten would live,if they looked at it. This was a picture of the LORD Jesus Christ who would come to save us from our sins. He would be lifted up on the cross and all who look to Him and His sacrifice can live and be delivered of their sin. God brings victory on our journey to the promised land! Every obstacle will be overcome!

(Numbers 22;-Numbers 23;Numbers 24) 'The prophecies of Balaam'.The account of the Israelites and the Moabites. The Moabites brought in a 'prophet',Balaam from Mesopotamia to curse the Israelites. Balek thinks he can defeat the Israelites because of this curse. But Balaam could only bless the people of God. Who do you think won in the end?

(Numbers 25) The Israelites are seduced into apostacy through sexual liason with Moabite women who were prostitutes. They would receive punishment for this sin. The majority repented. Some were defiant and died. Sin destroys. We must be faithful and true to our Holy God and also be holy.