Read Numbers 3
The Levites
3 This is the account of the family of Aaron and Moses at the time the Lord spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai.
2 The names of the sons of Aaron were Nadab the firstborn and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 3 Those were the names of Aaron’s sons, the anointed priests, who were ordained to serve as priests. 4 Nadab and Abihu, however, died before the Lord when they made an offering with unauthorized fire before him in the Desert of Sinai. They had no sons, so Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests during the lifetime of their father Aaron.
5 The Lord said to Moses, 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron the priest to assist him. 7 They are to perform duties for him and for the whole community at the tent of meeting by doing the work of the tabernacle. 8 They are to take care of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, fulfilling the obligations of the Israelites by doing the work of the tabernacle. 9 Give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are the Israelites who are to be given wholly to him. 10 Appoint Aaron and his sons to serve as priests; anyone else who approaches the sanctuary is to be put to death.”
11 The Lord also said to Moses, 12 “I have taken the Levites from among the Israelites in place of the first male offspring of every Israelite woman. The Levites are mine, 13 for all the firstborn are mine. When I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, I set apart for myself every firstborn in Israel, whether human or animal. They are to be mine. I am the Lord.”
14 The Lord said to Moses in the Desert of Sinai, 15 “Count the Levites by their families and clans. Count every male a month old or more.” 16 So Moses counted them, as he was commanded by the word of the Lord.
17 These were the names of the sons of Levi:
Gershon, Kohath and Merari.
18 These were the names of the Gershonite clans:
Libni and Shimei.
19 The Kohathite clans:
Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.
20 The Merarite clans:
Mahli and Mushi.
These were the Levite clans, according to their families.
21 To Gershon belonged the clans of the Libnites and Shimeites; these were the Gershonite clans. 22 The number of all the males a month old or more who were counted was 7,500. 23 The Gershonite clans were to camp on the west, behind the tabernacle. 24 The leader of the families of the Gershonites was Eliasaph son of Lael. 25 At the tent of meeting the Gershonites were responsible for the care of the tabernacle and tent, its coverings, the curtain at the entrance to the tent of meeting, 26 the curtains of the courtyard, the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard surrounding the tabernacle and altar, and the ropes—and everything related to their use.
27 To Kohath belonged the clans of the Amramites, Izharites, Hebronites and Uzzielites; these were the Kohathite clans. 28 The number of all the males a month old or more was 8,600. The Kohathites were responsible for the care of the sanctuary. 29 The Kohathite clans were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle. 30 The leader of the families of the Kohathite clans was Elizaphan son of Uzziel. 31 They were responsible for the care of the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the articles of the sanctuary used in ministering, the curtain, and everything related to their use. 32 The chief leader of the Levites was Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest. He was appointed over those who were responsible for the care of the sanctuary.
33 To Merari belonged the clans of the Mahlites and the Mushites; these were the Merarite clans. 34 The number of all the males a month old or morewho were counted was 6,200. 35 The leader of the families of the Merarite clans was Zuriel son of Abihail; they were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. 36 The Merarites were appointed to take care of the frames of the tabernacle, its crossbars, posts, bases, all its equipment, and everything related to their use, 37 as well as the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs and ropes.
38 Moses and Aaron and his sons were to camp to the east of the tabernacle, toward the sunrise, in front of the tent of meeting. They were responsible for the care of the sanctuary on behalf of the Israelites. Anyone else who approached the sanctuary was to be put to death.
39 The total number of Levites counted at the Lord’s command by Moses and Aaron according to their clans, including every male a month old or more, was 22,000.
40 The Lord said to Moses, “Count all the firstborn Israelite males who are a month old or more and make a list of their names. 41 Take the Levites for me in place of all the firstborn of the Israelites, and the livestock of the Levites in place of all the firstborn of the livestock of the Israelites. I am the Lord.”
42 So Moses counted all the firstborn of the Israelites, as the Lordcommanded him. 43 The total number of firstborn males a month old or more, listed by name, was 22,273.
44 The Lord also said to Moses, 45 “Take the Levites in place of all the firstborn of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites in place of their livestock. The Levites are to be mine. I am the Lord. 46 To redeem the 273 firstborn Israelites who exceed the number of the Levites, 47 collect five shekels for each one, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs.48 Give the money for the redemption of the additional Israelites to Aaron and his sons.”
49 So Moses collected the redemption money from those who exceeded the number redeemed by the Levites. 50 From the firstborn of the Israelites he collected silver weighing 1,365 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel.51 Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, as he was commanded by the word of the Lord.
Go Deeper
As you read Numbers 3, recall the Israelites are embarking on their journey to God’s promised land for them. Their exodus requires significant organizational instructions which are often recorded as “the Lord spoke to Moses.” Thus far, the Lord has instructed the Israelite tribes to be counted, and the specific location of each tribe determined, (except for the tribe of Levi.) Today’s reading reveals God’s plan for the role of this tribe. Aaron and his two sons were designated by God as the priests for the Israelites, but it was impossible for them to handle all the religious needs of the tribes.
God directed Moses to gather the Levites, setting them aside to serve the priests (Aaron and his sons) and accomplish the daily work of the tabernacle. As details of the specific duties are assigned, God’s instructions are clear and precise. Take note of Moses’ obedient response to God’s words. Without hesitation (or offering another perspective), he followed God’s directions totally and precisely: from separating the Levites, to counting every Levite male one month old or more, to registering the first-born Israelite males, to collecting a redemption payment for extra Israelite males not covered by the Levite number, and to giving the redemption payment to Aaron. Moses’ obedience reflects his wholehearted trust in God – the God who provides, rescues, brings order, who knows and redeems. His full obedience serves as a great encouragement and challenge for us.
As in many Old Testament passages, this chapter offers a shadow of God’s salvation plan. The Levites were set aside for lives devoted to practical service to God in place of each first-born Israelite male, who were previously designated as God’s possession after the rescue from Egypt. In other words, they served as a substitute for the other tribes, fulfilling the obligation of the first-born males. This act of substitution is a shadow of Jesus’ substituting His life for ours, sacrificing his life by dying in our place.
Second Corinthians 5:21 describes it this way: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” God’s plan to substitute His own Son and redeem us will be revealed throughout our reading of Numbers and other Old Testament books, often in shadows pointing us to Jesus. As we read, let’s ask God to open our eyes and hearts to catch glimpses of His incredible redemption story fulfilled in Jesus. Then, let’s respond with thanks!
Questions
- How does Moses’ totally obedient response to God’s words challenge your obedience to God?
- How does your trust in God influence your obedience to Him?
- What does Jesus’ substitution of His life for yours mean to you? How can you express your thankfulness to Him today?
Did You Know?
It was the job of the Levites to serve the needs of Aaron and the priests, but according to Deuteronomy 24:8 the Levites has another important job: teaching and explaining the Word of God to the Israelites.
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8 thoughts on “Numbers 3”
I like to think of these chapters as important information given on God’s divine spreadsheet, complete with names, numbers, and responsibilities of each tribe/clan. How he organizes his people is purposeful and intentional as each one would carry out necessary assignments. As we read the pages of scripture there are countless instructions on how we are to live in fellowship with God and our fellow man. Let’s determine to be on mission with our Heavenly Father, determining to do it his way.
45 “The Levites are to be mine. I am the Lord.“
Yes, it is so interesting to read over and over about the special place, role, and responsibilities of the Levites. Not sure how to think about this through our present day lend of “equality”, “privilege”, etc.
PS – As we work through Numbers with its many references to “Count the ___”, I can’t help myself to think of the Sesame Street Muppet character, Count van Count, who took such joy in counting things. He would have had a blast!
I was scratching my head on this reading as the numbers in Numbers were not adding up. I researched a little more and came across this explanation (https://cornerstonebaptistchurch.com.au/numbers-3-many-levites-count/) that makes sense of the two different number counts. Both numbers are right. How awesome is that! Often times we see things that appear to contradict each other and we find both are right provided moee information makes sense of both sides. I think that is the key, fully understanding both sides, both points of view.
Thank you Jesus for allowing me to keep an open mind, seeing both sodes, both points of view and peering in woth Your love to every situation!
Interesting!
God has a plan
God has every detail put in motion to make His plan happen. He works all things out for His glory and honor. “God set up the priesthood (and event that occurred at Mt. Sinai), He divided the tribe of Levi into two main divisions: Priests and non- priests. The Priests performed the rituals and did the teaching of the Law, and they were called “Priests”, or in Hebrew, cohanim. The non-priests (the remainder of the tribe of Levi) went by the title of “the Levites”; this was those who did the blue collar work around the Tabernacle and later the Temple.” Tom Bradford, Torah Class.
God thank You for Your details. Thank You for my eyes of understanding being opened and enlightened. God You are so amazing in the beauty of this world around me, even though this is temporary. I am so grateful, thankful and blessed with all the good and not so good. God I give You my all, help my knowledge of You grow. Help my unbelief become belief in Your truth and interigrity. God thank You for this day, these minutes and my eyes/ears and mouth to exclaim Your glory in Jesus name amen.
WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is such a great glimpse into what was to come, God’s plan for salvation.
Also I loved how the study portion stated:
“Moses’ obedience reflects his wholehearted trust in God – the God who provides, rescues, brings order, who knows and redeems. His full obedience serves as a great encouragement and challenge for us.”
God doesn’t call us to perfection but he does call us to obedience and to abide in him. When we do so, we become vessels for him to use for his kingdom. This is such an encouragement and challenge for me to live in surrendered obedience to God in and with all things.
Agree and Amen!
I’d say that my obidence to god is wavery. My trust in him is large but I’d say that temptations and deceptions of this world can get me de railed. I like how locked in Moses was to helping organize this all. It’s powerful what organization and obidence with the lord can do !
Also I was 2 weeks behind in these readings. Glad to finally catch up lol