PM Feb 19th Num 6

February 19^th     Numbers 6        The Nazarite

1: And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2: Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the LORD: 3: He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried. 4: All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk. 5: All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no rasor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the LORD, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow. 6: All the days that he separateth himself unto the LORD he shall come at no dead body. 7: He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die: because the consecration of his God is upon his head. 8: All the days of his separation he is holy unto the LORD. 9: And if any man die very suddenly by him, and he hath defiled the head of his consecration; then he shall shave his head in the day of his cleansing, on the seventh day shall he shave it. 10: And on the eighth day he shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons, to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: 11: And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, and make an atonement for him, for that he sinned by the dead, and shall hallow his head that same day. 12: And he shall consecrate unto the LORD the days of his separation, and shall bring a lamb of the first year for a trespass offering: but the days that were before shall be lost, because his separation was defiled. 13: And this is the law of the Nazarite, when the days of his separation are fulfilled: he shall be brought unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: 14: And he shall offer his offering unto the LORD, one he lamb of the first year without blemish for a burnt offering, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish for a sin offering, and one ram without blemish for peace offerings, 15: And a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, and wafers of unleavened bread anointed with oil, and their meat offering, and their drink offerings. 16: And the priest shall bring them before the LORD, and shall offer his sin offering, and his burnt offering: 17: And he shall offer the ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD, with the basket of unleavened bread: the priest shall offer also his meat offering, and his drink offering. 18: And the Nazarite shall shave the head of his separation at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall take the hair of the head of his separation, and put it in the fire which is under the sacrifice of the peace offerings. 19: And the priest shall take the sodden shoulder of the ram, and one unleavened cake out of the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them upon the hands of the Nazarite, after the hair of his separation is shaven: 20: And the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the LORD: this is holy for the priest, with the wave breast and heave shoulder: and after that the Nazarite may drink wine. 21: This is the law of the Nazarite who hath vowed, and of his offering unto the LORD for his separation, beside that that his hand shall get: according to the vow which he vowed, so he must do after the law of his separation.

The Priests blessing

22: And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 23: Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them, 24: The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: 25: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: 26: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. 27: And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.

Numbers 7        The Dedication of the Tabernacle

1: And it came to pass on the day that Moses had fully set up the tabernacle, and had anointed it, and sanctified it, and all the instruments thereof, both the altar and all the vessels thereof, and had anointed them, and sanctified them; 2: That the princes of Israel, heads of the house of their fathers, who were the princes of the tribes, and were over them that were numbered, offered: 3: And they brought their offering before the LORD, six covered wagons, and twelve oxen; a wagon for two of the princes, and for each one an ox: and they brought them before the tabernacle. 4: And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 5: Take it of them, that they may be to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; and thou shalt give them unto the Levites, to every man according to his service. 6: And Moses took the wagons and the oxen, and gave them unto the Levites. 7: Two wagons and four oxen he gave unto the sons of Gershon, according to their service: 8: And four wagons and eight oxen he gave unto the sons of Merari, according unto their service, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. 9: But unto the sons of Kohath he gave none: because the service of the sanctuary belonging unto them was that they should bear upon their shoulders. 10: And the princes offered for dedicating of the altar in the day that it was anointed, even the princes offered their offering before the altar. 11: And the LORD said unto Moses, They shall offer their offering, each prince on his day, for the dedicating of the altar. 12: And he that offered his offering the first day was Nahshon the son of Amminadab, of the tribe of Judah: 13: 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: 14: One spoon of ten shekels of gold, full of incense: 15: One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 16: One kid of the goats for a sin offering: 17: 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 Nahshon the son of Amminadab. 18: On the second day Nethaneel the son of Zuar, prince of Issachar, did offer: 19: He offered for his offering one silver charger, the weight whereof was an hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: 20: One spoon of gold of ten shekels, full of incense: 21: One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 22: One kid of the goats for a sin offering: 23: 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 Nethaneel the son of Zuar. 24: On the third day Eliab the son of Helon, prince of the children of Zebulun, did offer: 25: His offering was one silver charger, the weight whereof was an hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: 26: One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense: 27: One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 28: One kid of the goats for a sin offering: 29: 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 Eliab the son of Helon. 30: On the fourth day Elizur the son of Shedeur, prince of the children of Reuben, did offer: 31: His offering was one silver charger of the weight of an hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: 32: One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense: 33: One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 34: One kid of the goats for a sin offering: 35: 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 Elizur the son of Shedeur. 36: On the fifth day Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai, prince of the children of Simeon, did offer: 37: His offering was one silver charger, the weight whereof was an hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: 38: One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense: 39: One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 40: One kid of the goats for a sin offering: 41: 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 Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. 42: On the sixth day Eliasaph the son of Deuel, prince of the children of Gad, offered: 43: His offering was one silver charger of the weight of an hundred and thirty shekels, a silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: 44: One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense: 45: One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 46: One kid of the goats for a sin offering: 47: 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 Eliasaph the son of Deuel. 48: On the seventh day Elishama the son of Ammihud, prince of the children of Ephraim, offered: 49: His offering was one silver charger, the weight whereof was an hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: 50: One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense: 51: One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 52: one kid of the goats for a sin offering: 53: 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 Elishama the son of Ammihud. 54: On the eighth day offered Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, prince of the children of Manasseh: 55: His offering was one silver charger of the weight of an hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: 56: One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense: 57: One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 58: One kid of the goats for a sin offering: 59: 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 Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. 60: On the ninth day Abidan the son of Gideoni, prince of the children of Benjamin, offered: 61: His offering was one silver charger, the weight whereof was an hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: 62: One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense: 63: One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 64: One kid of the goats for a sin offering: 65: 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 Abidan the son of Gideoni. 66: On the tenth day Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai, prince of the children of Dan, offered: 67: His offering was one silver charger, the weight whereof was an hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: 68: One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense: 69: One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 70: One kid of the goats for a sin offering: 71: 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 Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. 72: On the eleventh day Pagiel the son of Ocran, prince of the children of Asher, offered: 73: His offering was one silver charger, the weight whereof was an hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: 74: One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense: 75: One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 76: One kid of the goats for a sin offering: 77: 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 Pagiel the son of Ocran. 78: On the twelfth day Ahira the son of Enan, prince of the children of Naphtali, offered: 79: His offering was one silver charger, the weight whereof was an hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: 80: One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense: 81: One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 82: One kid of the goats for a sin offering: 83: 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 Ahira the son of Enan. 84: This was the dedication of the altar, in the day when it was anointed, by the princes of Israel: twelve chargers of silver, twelve silver bowls, twelve spoons of gold: 85: Each charger of silver weighing an hundred and thirty shekels, each bowl seventy: all the silver vessels weighed two thousand and four hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary: 86: The golden spoons were twelve, full of incense, weighing ten shekels apiece, after the shekel of the sanctuary: all the gold of the spoons was an hundred and twenty shekels. 87: All the oxen for the burnt offering were twelve bullocks, the rams twelve, the lambs of the first year twelve, with their meat offering: and the kids of the goats for sin offering twelve. 88: And all the oxen for the sacrifice of the peace offerings were twenty and four bullocks, the rams sixty, the he goats sixty, the lambs of the first year sixty. This was the dedication of the altar, after that it was anointed. 89: And when Moses was gone into the tabernacle of the congregation to speak with him, then he 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: and he spake unto him.

Numbers 8        The Lighting of the Lamps

1: And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2: Speak unto Aaron, and say unto him, When thou lightest the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light over against the candlestick. 3: And Aaron did so; he lighted the lamps thereof over against the candlestick, as the LORD commanded Moses. 4: And this work of the candlestick was of beaten gold, unto the shaft thereof, unto the flowers thereof, was beaten work: according unto the pattern which the LORD had shewed Moses, so he made the candlestick.

The Levites purified

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.

In the next three chapters we have a number of interesting passages. First we have the case of a Nazarite vow. Second we have the blessing of the priests and the dedication of the Tabernacle. This includes the lighting of the lamps and finally the Levites are purified for the service of the Lord. First we find that the Lord makes a special provision for the dedication of men who have upon them the Nazarite Vow. This can be on both men or women and it involves a number of specific rituals and practises that were quite unique. The first thing is that the person is separated unto the Lord or dedicated to the Lord for his use and service. It was a voluntary dedication of complete abstinence to alcohol and even from grapes fresh or dried. During the time of his dedication he or she is not to cut their hair. During this time of the vow the person must not come near a dead body. He must not touch a dead body even if his family die. If however he finds that he has inadvertently touched a dead body then he is to shave his head. (The shaving of the head was forbidden in the Law normally) And then after eight day he is to offer a sin offering and a burnt offering. Later when the time of the vow is completed he is to bring a lamb, a ewe, a ram and a meal offering and the priest is to offer this because his holiness was defiled. The hair that is shaved off is to be burnt on the fire. We see these things worked out in the Life of Samson the judge of Israel who are a Nazarite from birth all his life. And we also see that Paul shaved his head because he had had a vow. Next the Lord describes the blessing that Aaron was the state over Israel.

The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:

The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:

The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

When the Tabernacle was completed the Lord told Moses to dedicate the whole thing to the LORD. the heads of the tribes came one by one and gave the animals for offerings and the money that was collected according to the number of the tribes. It took many days for all the offerings to be made and when everything was finished Moses went into the Tabernacle and the LORD spoke to him from the Mercy seat. Next the Lord told Moses to tell Aaron to light the seven lamps. Next the Lord turned his attention to the tribe of the Levites. Their special responsibility was to minister in the Tabernacle. The Levites were washed, shaved all over and offerings were offered for their cleansing. The Levites were taken by the Lord instead of the first born who were redeemed from Egypt. All men from 30 – 50 were eligible to serve the Lord. those over 50 were not required to serve but they took a responsibility to see that things were done correctly in the Tabernacle.