THROUGH THE BIBLE - Numbers..

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com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. And in this chapter, we're going to be seeing the duty of the Levites. The duty of the Levites when it comes to the setting out of the camp.

So just get there in your Bibles to Numbers chapter 4. Numbers chapter 4. And let's read it together, carefully paying attention to each one of the words. Beloved of Christ, with much reverence to each one of the words that you have in front of you. Try to understand the whole context so that we will be blessed by the exposition of his word.

Numbers chapter four. I'm reading from the English Standard Version of the Bible, and this is the word of God. It says. The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their clans and their fathers' houses, from thirty years old up to fifty years old, all who can come on duty to do the work in the tent of meeting. This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting, the most holy things.

When 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. Then 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. And 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. They shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet, and over the same with a covering of God's skin, and shall put it in its poles.

And 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. And they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of godskin and put it on the carrying frame. And over the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with a covering of God's skin, and put it in its poles. And 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. And they shall take away the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it.

And they shall put on it all the utensils of the altar which are used for the service there. the firepans, the forks, the shovels, and the basins, and all the utensils of the altar. And they shall spread on it a covering of goatskin, and shall put in it spools. 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 this, that 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.

And Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, shall have charge of the oil for delight, 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. Verse 17. The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 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 his son 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. The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Take a census of the sons of Gershon also by their father's house and by their clans.

From 30 years old up to 50 years old, you shall list them all who can come to duty to do service in the tent of meeting. This is the service of the clans of the Gershonites in serving and bearing burdens. They shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting which is covering and the covering of goatskin that is on top of it and the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting and 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 courts and all the equipment for their service. and they shall do all that needs to be done with regard to them. All 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. This 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." Verse 29. And for the sons of Merari, you shall list them by their clans and their fathers' house, from 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.

And this is what they are charged to carry as the whole of their service in the Tent of Meeting, the frames of the tabernacle, which is bars, pillars and bases, and 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. This is the service of the clans of the sons of Merari. The whole of their service is the tent of meeting under the direction of Ithamar, the son of Aaron, the priest. and Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of the congregation listed the sons of the Kohathites by their clans and their father houses from 30 years old up to 50 years old, everyone who could come on duty for service in the tent of meeting.

And those listed by clans were 2,750, This was the list of the clans of the Kohathites, all who served in the Tent of Meeting, whom Moses and Adam listed according to the commandment of the Lord by Moses. those listed of the sons of Gershon, by their clans and their fathers' houses, from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty for service in the Tent of Meeting, those listed by their clans and their fathers' houses, were two thousand six hundred and thirty. This 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. Those listed of the clans of the sons of Merari, by their clans and their fathers' houses, from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty for service in the tent of meeting, those listed by clans were 3,200. This 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."

Verse 46. All those who were listed of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of Israel listed, by their clans and their fathers' houses, from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come to do the service of the ministry of the service of bearing burdens in the tent of meeting, those listed were 8,580. According to the commandment of the Lord through Moses, they were listed, each one with his task of serving better or caring, that thus they were listed by him as the Lord commanded Moses. Amen. This is the word of the Lord, beloved of Christ.

Last week, I said to you that if we wanted to summarize the purpose of this book of numbers, that we could see it as the narration, if you want, of this story. of the journey of the people of Israel into or onto or towards the Promised Land. That is an overview of this book. And in a sense, the journey of the people of Israel to the Promised Land started when they were freed from the bondage under the Egyptians. However, in another sense, this journey has not started yet.

And that is because the people of Israel had been in the wilderness of Sinai and they have been camping there, not moving, not traveling. So, in a sense, the journey of the people of Israel will start in Numbers chapter 10, verse 11, as I showed it to you last week. Everything that has happened up to this point, it is the organization, if you want, or the preparation of the people of Israel so that they will be ready to depart into that journey towards the promised land, as it is given to us in Holy Scripture in Numbers chapter 10, verse 11. Pay attention to this, beloved of Christ. The Lord has been preparing and organizing the people of Israel so that they will start that journey to the promised land, which is going to start in Numbers chapter 10 verse 11.

Now, as part of that organization, was part of that preparation, the Lord has given the people of Israel, taken out of the bondage from the Egyptians, the law. You remember that in Mount Sinai, in the book of Exodus, they received the commandments of the Lord and the things that they were supposed to do in part of this preparation or organization of the people of Israel. Not only that, you remember that besides the law, the Lord also gave the people of Israel the tabernacle, which was the place in which they were going to meet with the God of Israel. Not only that, but the Lord also, as we have been reading in the first chapters of Numbers, He organized them by tribes around that tabernacle. You remember that?

And also, besides that organization of the tribes around the tabernacle, the Lord also gave them an army. Mighty men came together so that it will be the army of Israel and then they will defend the people of Israel as they start that journey. All of that is the organization of Israel as a nation, if you want, preparing them to start the journey that starts in Numbers chapter 10, verse 11. So what we're dealing with in chapter 3 and 4 is that which pertains to the Levites as they are being prepared as the intermediaries between God and the people of Israel, so that they will be ready to set out in Numbers chapter 10. They are getting ready.

And the role of the Levites is very important. Last week, I said to you that what you need to have in your mind is that this tribe of the Levites, they were set apart, chosen from among the people of Israel. Israel was chosen, but the Levites were chosen from among the Levites to be consecrated unto the Lord, to serve the Lord in the tabernacle. Now, when they were coming out of Egypt, you remember in the Passover, the Lord requested that the firstborn of all Israel will be consecrated unto the Lord as a token of the judgment that had passed over the people of Israel and had fall upon the Egyptians only. But now, when it comes to the preparation for the setting out into the journey, the Lord changes that and says that the Levites are going to take the place of the first born male of Israel so that redemption will be made through the Levites.

Now, when we arrive to chapter number four, now we're going to be dealing, beloved of Christ, with the duties of the Levites as when they are going to set out. By setting out, I mean departure, right? Or when they start their journey. You understand that word, right? Setting out, because for me, the word doesn't make sense.

But setting out is when they start their journey, right? So here in chapter number four, we have the duties that are given to the Levites for when that moment arrives, when that moment comes. Now, before we understand this chapter four, you need to remember that the Levites were divided into different types. At least, let's just see two of them so that we don't complicate things here. But the Levites could be either the priests, remember?

The priests in Aaron and his sons. Remember, Aaron was a high priest and the sons were to also be the priests. Nadab and Abihu, they died in Leviticus chapter 10. So Eleazar and Ithamar will take their place. Eleazar first and then Ithamar will take the place of Nadab and Abihu.

But these are the Levites as priests in Aaron. But besides them, you will have all the other Levites who will be the servants of the tabernacle. And what we're dealing with primarily in Chapter four will be not so much with the priest Aaron and the sons, but rather with the duties of the Levites as they are the servants of the tabernacle. Now, these Levites, you have to remember, this is very important for us to understand the book. These Levites, beloved of Christ, the ones that are not the priests, but the ones that are the servants of the tabernacle, were divided into these three groups that I also explained that you have them in front of you in Numbers chapter 3 and Numbers chapter 4.

First, you have the Kohathites, then you have the Gershonites, and then you have the Merorites. So what we're going to be dealing with in chapter 4 is the duties for the Kohathites, Gershonites, and the Merorites as they get ready to set out and start the journey. So the Lord is very careful in giving them these duties of what they are supposed to do. Now, remember that the Lord is very particular in every single detail, right? So it's not as simple as just simply pack your stuff and then just start going, but rather the Lord is going to give them particular tasks and details on how they have to set out.

Now, also remember that for the camp to set out, remember that there was a pillar of a cloud, the cloud of the Lord that was there. And they will set out only when that pillar with the cloud will move. So when the cloud will move, then the camp will pack their stuff and then just move behind the cloud, which meant that they were following the lure. Now, as I said, chapter number four is just those tasks, those instructions given to the Kohathites, the Gershonites, and the Merorites of what they have to do when the camp is going to set out. Now, simply, very simply put, the task of these three groups, the task of these three groups was to carry out the tabernacle.

That is, just to take it and carry the tabernacle. Now, they needed to do it in detail, but simply put, it is to have the burden, we read there, or to carry the tabernacle. Now, the carrying of the tabernacle is going to be divided in three different stages. Bear with me, please, with your mind. Three stages, each one of them given to each one of the groups, and they're going to be distributed according to the tabernacle.

You remember that the tabernacle had this very holy internal part, and then you had the structure of the tabernacle, and then you have the outward part of the tabernacle. So the Kohathites, the Kohathites who were in the south of the camp, or the Kohathites, They were going to be in charge of this internal furnishing or these internal parts of the tabernacle. They were going to be in charge of the things, of the items that were inside of the tabernacle. The Gershonites were going to be in charge of the structure of the tent of meeting. So the first, the Kohathites were the inside, the items, you know, like the ark and the items that were inside.

And then we have the Gershonites, who were in charge of the actual structure of the tent of meeting. And then the Mererites, who were the third ones, they were in charge of the outward part. Remember, the outward part of the tabernacle. I'm trying just to make it as simple as possible. That's basically it.

OK, that's basically what this chapter shows us in the narrative, in the historical narrative, that when they were going to set out and restart their journey, the packing or the carrying of the tabernacle was going to be organized and that was going to be done by these three groups of the Levites. the Kohathites, the Gershonites, and the Merorites, and the Kohathites were going to be in charge of the inner parts, then the Gershonites of the structure of the tabernacle, and the Merorites of the external part of that tabernacle. Now, why is all of this very important? This is important for at least two reasons, perhaps three, let's say two for now. The first one is Beloved of Christ, that we need to understand that the setting out of the camp, it was vital and very important.

So now, when the pillar that represented it was God, right? When the pillar will set out and move in the first setting out, it will go to Paran. But when it moves for Israel to follow them, it was to follow their God. Now, following their God, it would have been just simple just to take your stuff and then just to follow God. But God decides to give his people clear instructions on how they putting together of the tabernacle was going to be done so that they could follow the Lord, their God.

This shows us, beloved of Christ, that the following of the cloud was the following of the will of God, because it was not possible for the people of Israel to follow God just as they wanted to do it. They had to follow these instructions given to them. And we can see the holiness of the whole process of following God in the careful detail given in chapter 4 and the importance of the tabernacle itself. So we are told, for instance, the Kohathites, who were the ones that were in charge of the inner parts and the inner elements of the tabernacle, that they were supposed to do it after the priests, Aaron and his sons, they have covered and they have organized all the items and all the elements with goatskin, because if the Kohathites came into the tabernacle and they touched or they grabbed the stuff just to move it without reverence, They would die. So the Lord says to Israel, Be careful that the Kohathites will not die as they approach this very important aspect, but rather make sure that the priests have put together ready all things so that they will take them and carry them out as the camp sets Also, we see the importance of this task as Eleazar, who is the firstborn, is the one that is to be in charge of the Kohathites or under the direction of Eleazar better.

We see the importance of what they do. Beloved of Christ, every time or when the camp is going to set out and follow the Lord, it was a representation of following the will of the Lord. And it was impossible for Israel to actually move into their journey if they did not do the things according to what the Lord said. Following the Lord God of Israel was following His will, and following His will had to be done according to the things that He said. This teaches us, beloved of Christ, that doing the will of the Lord is all the time regulated by the word of the Lord and not by the preference or the intentions of people.

Israel simply could have just come up with a simple concept and let's just follow the cloud, but the Lord gave them specific instructions. Now, the other thing that I want you to see here is the holiness and the vital importance in serving the Lord. The Levites had been set apart, consecrated unto the Lord to serve the Lord, to serve him, consecrated unto him. And serving the Lord was a very important task full with holiness. and required that the Lord will be actually the one working in the people that were going to serve them.

They could lose their lives if they did not approach the Lord God of Israel as He wanted them to do it. Now, we are told that the service of the Levites is actually summarized in chapter number 3 as keeping guard of the tabernacle and also doing the work of the tabernacle. You can read that later in verse seven and eight of chapter three, that the service of the Levites, it is to keep guard of the tabernacle and also to work or to minister or to give the service of the tabernacle. This is so important, beloved of Christ, because the tabernacle represented the dwelling place of God. So the Levites were supposed not only to do the things that were required, but also to protect and to keep the tabernacle as the dwelling place of God in the exactly same way and with exactly the same language that Adam was required to keep and to work the garden of Eden which was the dwelling place of God.

Exactly the same two words are given to the Levites that correspond to the work of Adam in the garden which was the dwelling place of God. They were to keep it and they were to protected, exactly the same thing that Adam was required, because now this tabernacle is going to be, if you want, something that was foreshadowed in the Garden of Eden. In the Garden of Eden, the people of God had communion with God and they lost that. But now in the tabernacle given to Israel, the people of Israel can have fellowship with God once again through the ministry and through the service of the Levites. Now, all of this is important, the will of the Lord, according to His words, and the holy service of the Levites unto the Lord to keep and protect the dwelling place of God.

This is important, beloved of Christ, because under the new covenant, The church that is us, those who by grace through faith have been saved and inserted into the person of Jesus Christ, we are not only called Levites, but better, we are called the priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christians are the priesthood of the King Jesus Christ. And as priests of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are not only to keep and protect the dwelling place of God, but the New Testament also calls each believer as the dwelling place of God, the tabernacle, or if you want, the temple of the Lord. Beloved of Christ, it is very important that just as in the Old Testament, that which the Levites were supposed to do in order to please the Lord was according to His Word and according to what He had said, that under the new covenant, the priesthood that is under the Lord Jesus Christ will exercise their spiritual duty of serving the Lord, through that which God has proclaimed and has revealed in the Son, Jesus Christ, so that the will of the Father will be done. Because in that day many will say, Lord, Lord, didn't we do this thing and that thing in your name?

But it's only those who do the will of the Father, those who will enter into the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. The church, beloved of Christ, as the priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ, has been given the glorious privilege, not only to be individually the tabernacle, the temple of the Holy Spirit and of God, but every time that the congregation comes together, every time that the saints come together to worship the one that saved us and the one that redeemed us, every time that the congregation comes to celebrate the victory of Christ, is that those who have access to the presence of the Lord can not only come together, but being partakers of the glory of God with the certainty and with the assurance that this glory of God will not destroy us and will not cause in us what we naturally deserve. This is the betterness, if you want, of this glorious new covenant that makes believers. a priest after the order of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is a high priest after an eternal order, the order of Melchizedek. Now, when we come together, beloved of Christ, the same worship that was given in the Old Testament through the Levites and through the tabernacle and after the temple, Just the same worship that we do in the New Testament is to be regulated fully and completely by what God has said to us, so that what we are doing when we worship the Lord Jesus Christ is not the preference or the will of people, but it is the will of men, is the will of God.

Now, Beloved of Christ, I'm not speaking about the building of the church, or the things that we do, but that which God requires of us as our brother Red, is not burnt offerings or sacrifices, but what He desires is a heart that is full with mercy. filled with righteousness, the heart of Christ, so that the sacrificial offerings that we offer to the Lord are spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable before the Lord, because the glorious, never-ending, all-sufficient intercession of the Lord Jesus Christ that makes the ravage that is in you and in my heart acceptable and pleasing before the God that is holy and that will not accept nothing else but perfection. So we can have certainty that the High Priest, our Lord Jesus Christ, gives us access into the Holy Presence and that when we worship and open our mouths and listen to the word and read scripture and pray together that these acts of worship are not empty nor meaningless but rather filled with the hope and the certainty that scripture gives us that if we come by faith like a child He is going to manifest His presence among us and He indeed is going to transform us and He's going to carry us and take us through the wilderness into the journey of the promised land that is kept and reserved for us in heaven. I promise that cannot be broken and that will not be altered because He is the one that is keeping us through that wilderness and pilgrimage. Amen.