"Nothing is more generally known than our duties which belong to Christianity; and yet, how amazing is it, nothing is less practiced?” (George Whitefield).
Duties
In Genesis God elected a people, in Exodus He redeemed them, in Leviticus He sanctified them, and in Numbers He directed them. Numbers takes up the story where Leviticus left off. Leviticus described the believer’s worship and Numbers their walk. Leviticus covers only one month, but Numbers stretches over thirty-nine years. God is the author of order, not confusion; and this is seen in the way He organizes the people. Chapter three deals with the organization of the Priests.
At the time of the first Passover, God instructed every Israelite family to dedicate their first born son to Him. They were set apart to assist Moses and Aaron in ministering to the people (vv. 1-4). When the LORD talked with Moses on Mount Sinai, Aaron’s four sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, were the ones to be ordained as priests. But the LORD killed Nadab and Abihu in the Sinai Desert when they used fire that was unacceptable in their offering to the LORD. This was only a temporary thing as we now find God choosing all the men from the tribe of Levi to replace the first born sons. These men called Levites, were set apart to care for the tabernacle and to minister to the people (vv. 5-13). All the Priests had to belong to the tribe of Levi but not all Levites were priests. These Levites were to be 25 years old before entering service.
Aaron and his descendants were appointed to the priesthood. There is a tremendous contrast between the priesthood of Aaron in the Old Testament and the priesthood of Christ in the New Testament. Aaron and his descendants were the only ones who could carry out the duties of the priests and approach God’s dwelling place (vv. 14-37). Now that Christ is our High Priest and our mediator with God, anyone who follows Him is also called a priest (I Peter 2:5, 9). Consequently all Christians may come into God’s presence without fear because God’s own Son encourages His followers to do so.
Application
To be able to go directly to the Lord in prayer is a great privilege that people in the Old Testament knew nothing about. As a Christian I have the full advantage of taking everything to Him in prayer. It is so easy for me to try to work things out in my own strength or talk to other people about my problems rather than going to the Lord about everything. Lord help me to be a person of prayer.
Numbers 3:1-37 (English Standard Version)
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The Levites Assignments
Numbers 3:1–37
» View this passage in NIV (Bible Gateway)
"Nothing is more generally known than our duties which belong to Christianity; and yet, how amazing is it, nothing is less practiced?” (George Whitefield).
In Genesis God elected a people, in Exodus He redeemed them, in Leviticus He sanctified them, and in Numbers He directed them. Numbers takes up the story where Leviticus left off. Leviticus described the believer’s worship and Numbers their walk. Leviticus covers only one month, but Numbers stretches over thirty-nine years. God is the author of order, not confusion; and this is seen in the way He organizes the people. Chapter three deals with the organization of the Priests.
At the time of the first Passover, God instructed every Israelite family to dedicate their first born son to Him. They were set apart to assist Moses and Aaron in ministering to the people (vv. 1-4). When the LORD talked with Moses on Mount Sinai, Aaron’s four sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, were the ones to be ordained as priests. But the LORD killed Nadab and Abihu in the Sinai Desert when they used fire that was unacceptable in their offering to the LORD. This was only a temporary thing as we now find God choosing all the men from the tribe of Levi to replace the first born sons. These men called Levites, were set apart to care for the tabernacle and to minister to the people (vv. 5-13). All the Priests had to belong to the tribe of Levi but not all Levites were priests. These Levites were to be 25 years old before entering service.
Aaron and his descendants were appointed to the priesthood. There is a tremendous contrast between the priesthood of Aaron in the Old Testament and the priesthood of Christ in the New Testament. Aaron and his descendants were the only ones who could carry out the duties of the priests and approach God’s dwelling place (vv. 14-37). Now that Christ is our High Priest and our mediator with God, anyone who follows Him is also called a priest (I Peter 2:5, 9). Consequently all Christians may come into God’s presence without fear because God’s own Son encourages His followers to do so.
Application
To be able to go directly to the Lord in prayer is a great privilege that people in the Old Testament knew nothing about. As a Christian I have the full advantage of taking everything to Him in prayer. It is so easy for me to try to work things out in my own strength or talk to other people about my problems rather than going to the Lord about everything. Lord help me to be a person of prayer.
Numbers 3:1-37 (English Standard Version)
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