Saturday - Numbers 10 - Trumpets & Traveling

The Jews were tuned in for the sound of a trumpet too. Of course, they heard it over and over. God had Moses order the construction of two solid silver trumpets.  Every time the Spirit moved then those trumpets were used to communicate to the nation that it was time for them to move too.  There were also other circumstances where the trumpets were used to convey messages to the people. Different sounds meant different things. The priests were in charge of blowing the trumpets to call the tribal chiefs for meetings, for national assemblies, to go to war on feast days, the first day of each month, over certain sacrifices and for the various stages of dismissal to march. It seems that there was probably quite a variety of sounds that meant different things for the people.

Based upon the sound of the trumpets, Judah's quarter was dismissed to strike camp and to march forward behind the Ark of the Covenant (Numbers 10:33). Then, after the Gershonites and Merarites moved forward with the Tabernacle loaded onto their wagons, with another blast the group under Reuben would follow after them. In the middle of the line, the Kohathites carried the tabernacle furniture. Lastly Ephraim's quarter proceeded with Dan's group bringing up the rear.

Friday - Numbers 9 - Passover

The original Passover marked the exit of the Israelites from Egypt.  Several times we have encountered commands concerning the annual Passover feast. Here we find the record of the first observance of the celebration exactly one year after the actual exodus from Pharaoh's land (Leviticus 23:5; Exodus 12:6 &18).  

They were still in the wilderness of Sinai. They had not yet moved along from Mt. Sinai. Now, as it happened, some of the people were unclean according to the rules that had been set by God and Moses concerning the touching of a corpse.  It seemed to them that they were at an impasse.  How could they obey God if there were two commandments that contradicted each other? They were required to observe the Passover and they were required not to do so... due to their uncleanness. So, God made a provision for individuals under those kinds of circumstances. They were required to celebrate the Passover one month later in more or less a smaller and more private manner (Number 9:10-11). However, except for those who were unclean (or traveling in a distant region), there were not to be any delays or postponements in the observance of this ritual. So, April 14th was Passover and May 14^th was the makeup date. By God's injunction, failure to celebrate Passover was supposed to be a fatal error (Numbers 9:13). Of course, for us, the full meaning of Passover is just as important.

Thursday - Numbers 8 - A Special Tribe

From above the Ark of the Covenant, God instructed Moses concerning the sanctification of the tribe of Levi. Their purpose, practical function and spiritual position had already been described and established; it was time to insert them into their proper office. God ordained that specific sacrifices be made in order to commence the service of the tribe.

After the light of the candlestick was lit, Moses was to sanctify and dedicate the Levites in preparation for their ministry. The prescribed ritual went like this: they were supposed to shave their bodies, wash their clothes and be anointed with holy water.  Then there were several offerings that had to be offered.

A meat offering, a sin offering and a burnt offering accompanied the offering of the Levites themselves to God. The tribe of Levi became a living sacrifice to God. God claimed them for Himself. According to Him, He had a right to them because He had spared the firstborn Jews while He killed all of the eldest offspring in Egypt. Of course, God being who He is... and, God doing things the way He customarily does them... He gave the tribe to Aaron and to his sons (Numbers 8:19). He gave! God is a giver!  He gave what (or who) He took on the same day that He had received them.

Since the other tribes were not allowed to come close enough to God to assist the priests, the Levites would do it for them. Each Levite would have a 25 year ministerial carrier ... including (it seems) the first five years which were probably set aside for training and preparation (compare Numbers 8:24 to Numbers 4:3, 23, 30, 35 & 39). All of these ministers were to be forced into retirement at the age of 50.  Well, semiretirement would be a better description. They still had access to the tabernacle complex and were servants to their fulltime brothers who were still young enough for the primary tasks.

Tuesday - Numbers 7 - The Chiefs' Offerings

Once all of the preparations for worship and service had been completed, the princes of each of the 12 tribes (excluding Levi) brought six covered wagons and 12 oxen to the tabernacle as a gift to be used in the ministry of the holy things. These wagons became the possessions of the Levites. So, very practically, Moses assigned 2 of the wagons to the Gershonites to use in transporting the tabernacle cloth and the other four wagons to the Merarites for them to use in transporting the framework of the tabernacle. The Kohathites received none because they had been commanded by God to carry the furniture on their shoulders.

Each tribal chieftain offered a silver plate, a silver bowl; both of them full of flour mingled with oil (to be used as a meat offering), a golden spoon full of incense, burnt offerings (one young bull, one ram, one lamb), a sin offering (one goat), and peace offerings (two young bulls, five rams, five male goats and five lambs). Each tribal head offered the same offering on their designated day, beginning with Judah and following an order based upon the new camping layout as it was ordered in Numbers 2.

So, by my count, there were 36 young bulls, 72 rams, 72 goats and 72 lambs (for a total of 252 animals in all) given by the tribal heads for the dedication of the altar of God.

Monday - Numbers 6 - Nazarites for the Nazarene

There is a big difference between a Nazarite and a Nazarene. A Nazarite was an individual dedicated to God for a specified length of time. He couldn't partake of the fruit of the vine. He couldn't have his hair cut. He wasn't allowed to touch dead bodies. He was required to sacrifice certain offerings to God (including his hair at the end of a temporary Nazarite term). And, if he did come into contact with a corpse by accident then that was considered to be an infraction and a violation of his vow (Numbers 6:11); he was required to restart his season of separation (Numbers 6:12). But, a Nazarene....well, a Nazarene was a person from Nazareth (Matthew 2:23).

Now, though there were many Nazarites, the only Biblical characters who were lifelong Nazarites were Samson, Samuel, and John the Baptist (Judges 13:4-5, I Samuel 1:11 and Luke 1:15). Temporary Nazarites were more common. Even the apostle Paul evidently took a couple of temporary Nazarite vows upon himself.

A Nazarite vow allowed Jews who were not of the tribe of Levi to approach closer to God than they could have done otherwise. Of course, Samson is the most famous (and infamous) of all of the Nazarites. What with his long hair, superhuman strength, womanizing and strange death, he was certainly an intriguing character. But, truly, all Nazarites... even Samson... were such for one reason and one reason only. Though it might not be immediately apparent ... every Nazarite was a Nazarite in order to point to The Nazarene. Not by their title; but by their separation (Hebrews 7:26).