Numbers 8:5-26 comments: the service of the Levites

 

Numbers 8:5 ¶  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 6  Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them. 7  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. 8  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. 9  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: 10  And thou shalt bring the Levites before the LORD: and the children of Israel shall put their hands upon the Levites: 11  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. 12  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. 13  And thou shalt set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them for an offering unto the LORD. 14  Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the children of Israel: and the Levites shall be mine. 15  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. 16  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. 17  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. 18  And I have taken the Levites for all the firstborn of the children of Israel. 19  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. 20  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. 21  And the Levites were purified, and they washed their clothes; and Aaron offered them as an offering before the LORD; and Aaron made an atonement for them to cleanse them. 22  And after that went the Levites in to do their service in the tabernacle of the congregation before Aaron, and before his sons: as the LORD had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did they unto them. 23  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 24  This is it that belongeth unto the Levites: from twenty and five years old and upward they shall go in to wait upon the service of the tabernacle of the congregation: 25  And from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting upon the service thereof, and shall serve no more: 26  But shall minister with their brethren in the tabernacle of the congregation, to keep the charge, and shall do no service. Thus shalt thou do unto the Levites touching their charge.

 

The purification of the Levites is interesting. The leper was told to shave his hair in Leviticus 14. Some sources report that ancient Egyptians shaved their entire bodies because of their disgust over lice and other vermin which infested people in a world without modern sanitation practices. But, here is a ritual shaving and washing of clothes to render one clean physically and clean by obedience to God’s law.

As the Hebrew priest needed to cleanse his outward appearance for service so the Christian must have God Himself cleanse his inside to be of any use to God. Baptism is an ordinance as an outward sign of an inward change.

Mark 16:16  He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

 

1Peter 3:21 ¶  The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

 

14  Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the children of Israel: and the Levites shall be mine.

 

This verse has been used to preach separation from the world but these are the Levites being separated from their Hebrew brethren. As all Christians represent a holy priesthood committed to God we are to have no separate caste of priests. The offices of what we call a Pastor, what the Bible calls a Bishop, and Deacon are not hereditary and are not based on one’s tribal or family status but are open to all and any Christian who is prepared spiritually by God for that office.

1Peter 2:5  Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

 

1Titus 3:1  This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.

 

17  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.

 

The Levites are substitutes for the firstborn of all Israel. God makes this startling statement that in killing the firstborn of Egypt he sanctified, set them apart, for Himself. Does this mean that by virtue of His actions they were saved by Him? Another way of putting the question is could this mean that we shall see the firstborn of man and beast from this event in Heaven? This requires the questions to be considered that Christians have argued about from the beginning. First, do the innocent babies of the unsaved go to Heaven? Second, is there a place in the Heavenly realm for animals who know no sin?

I am sure that you have your own opinions about this. But, notice God’s mercy for the Assyrian children in the book of Jonah. Is God not merciful for those innocent babes and for His creatures?

Jonah 4:11  And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?

 

But, historically many have believed that only the children of believers will go to Heaven and many fundamentalists will insist there are no animals in the spiritual world regardless of Bible verses to the contrary.

From age 25 to 50 the Levites would perform their service. After 50 they still ministered but did nothing taxing physically, as Matthew Henry noted in his commentary.