CHAPTER 3

(1490 B.C.)

THE SONS OF AARON

¹These also are the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that the LORD spoke with Moses in Mount Sinai.

²And these are the names of the sons of Aaron; Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

³These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the Priests which were anointed, whom he consecrated to minister in the Priests office.

⁴And Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD, when they offered strange fire before the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children: and Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the Priests office in the sight of Aaron their father. (God cannot abide sin in any form, and when its sin against the Cross, as was the sin of Nadab and Abihu, it is most grievous indeed. The tragedy is, this sin, the sin of strange fire, is being committed today as never before; and the results are the same, death [Gal. 5:2-4].)

THE LEVITES

⁵And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,

⁶Bring the Tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the Priest, that they may minister unto him. (As we will find out in this Chapter, Grace entrusted the Levites with the Tabernacle and its vessels when on the march, and Love apportioned to each the load suited to his strength.)

⁷And they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation before the Tabernacle of the congregation, to do the service of the Tabernacle. (The Holy Spirit had originally said of the Tribe of Levi, through the Patriarch Jacob, O my soul, come not thou into their secret, which spoke of the evil of their hearts in all its unrighteousness; yet the Lord could bring Levi into His Secret, and unite him to His Assembly. He could take him out of his habitation, wherein were instruments of cruelty, and bring him into the Tabernacle to be occupied with the holy instruments and vessels that were there. Only the Grace of God could do such a thing!)

⁸And they shall keep all the instruments of the Tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the Children of Israel, to do the service of the Tabernacle (this same charge is given to all Believers presently).

⁹And you shall give the Levites unto Aaron and to his sons: they are wholly given unto him out of the Children of Israel.

¹⁰And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall wait on their Priests office: and the stranger (Gentile) who comes near shall be put to death (because they were not under the Abrahamic Covenant).

THE SUBSTITUTE

¹¹And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,

¹²And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the Children of Israel instead of all the firstborn that opens the matrix among the Children of Israel: therefore the Levites shall be mine (it seems that the Lord had originally planned to use the firstborn of every family as the Priestly Tribe; but, due to a series of events, the Grace of God would give the Tribe of Levi that high and holy honor.

Concerning this, Mackintosh says: In Faiths arithmetic, God is the only significant figure; and having Him, you may add as many ciphers as you please. If all your Faith is in the Living God, it ceases to be a question of your need, and resolves itself into a question of His Sufficiency);

¹³Because all the firstborn are Mine; for on the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I hallowed unto Me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast: Mine shall they be: I am the LORD.

DUTIES ASSIGNED TO THE LEVITES

¹⁴And the LORD spoke unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying,

¹⁵Number the Children of Levi after the house of their fathers, by their families: every male from a month old and upward shall you number them. (Whereas the numbering of all the other Tribes began at 20, it began at one month old regarding the boy babies of the Levites.)

¹⁶And Moses numbered them according to the Word of the LORD, as he was commanded.

¹⁷And these were the sons of Levi by their names; Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari.

¹⁸And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families; Libni, and Shimei.

¹⁹And the sons of Kohath by their families; Amram, and Izehar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

²⁰And the sons of Merari by their families; Mahli, and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to the house of their fathers.

²¹Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites, and the family of the Shimites: these are the families of the Gershonites:

²²Those who were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, even those who were numbered of them were seven thousand and five hundred.

²³The families of the Gershonites shall pitch behind the Tabernacle westward.

²⁴And the chief of the house of the father of the Gershonites shall be Eliasaph the son of Lael.

THE CHARGE

²⁵And the charge of the sons of Gershon in the Tabernacle of the congregation shall be the Tabernacle, and the tent, the covering thereof, and the hanging for the door of the Tabernacle of the congregation,

²⁶And the hangings of the court, and the curtain for the door of the court, which is by the Tabernacle, and by the Altar round about, and the cords of it for all the service thereof. (The Gershonites were in charge of the things listed, as it regards the Tabernacle. It was their responsibility for taking down this part of the Tabernacle, whenever the Holy Spirit desired that the Camp of Israel be moved. They were responsible, as well, for re-erecting it. Also, it was their duty to protect it and maintain it when it was erected.)

THE KOHATHITES

²⁷And of Kohath was the family of the Amramites, and the family of the Izeharites, and the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites: these are the families of the Kohathites.

²⁸In the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were eight thousand and six hundred, keeping the charge of the Sanctuary.

²⁹The families of the sons of Kohath shall pitch on the side of the Tabernacle southward.

³⁰And the chief of the house of the father of the families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan the son of Uzziel.

³¹And their charge shall be the Ark, and the Table, and the Candlestick, and the Altars, and the vessels of the Sanctuary wherewith they minister, and the hanging, and all the service thereof.

³²And Eleazar the son of Aaron the Priest shall be chief over the chief of the Levites, and have the oversight of them who keep the charge of the Sanctuary. (As the Tabernacle proper was the charge of the Gershonites, the sacred vessels which went inside of the Tabernacle were the charge of the Kohathites.)

THE MERARITES

³³Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites, and the family of the Mushites: these are the families of Merari.

³⁴And those who were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were six thousand and two hundred.

³⁵And the chief of the house of the father of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail: these shall pitch on the side of the Tabernacle northward.

³⁶And under the custody and charge of the sons of Merari shall be the boards of the Tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and the sockets thereof, and all the vessels thereof, and all that serves thereto,

³⁷And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords.

³⁸But those who encamp before the Tabernacle toward the east, even before the Tabernacle of the congregation eastward, shall be Moses, and Aaron and his sons, keeping the charge of the Sanctuary for the charge of the Children of Israel; and the stranger (Gentile) who comes near shall be put to death.

³⁹All who were numbered of the Levites, which Moses and Aaron numbered at the Commandment of the LORD, throughout their families, all the males from a month old and upward, were twenty and two thousand. (The charge of the Merarites consisted of everything not included in that of the Gershonites and the Kohathites. It must be understood that there was a greater dignity in carrying a lowly pin of the Tabernacle than in wielding the mighty scepter of Egypt.)

REDEMPTION

⁴⁰And the LORD said unto Moses, Number all the firstborn of the males of the Children of Israel from a month old and upward, and take the number of their names. (One should be careful to note the Divine order of all things, and that neither Moses nor the Levites were to deviate one iota from that which had been instructed.)

⁴¹And you shall take the Levites for me (I am the LORD) instead of all the firstborn among the Children of Israel; and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstlings among the cattle of the Children of Israel.

⁴²And Moses numbered, as the LORD commanded him, all the firstborn among the Children of Israel.

⁴³And all the firstborn males by the number of names, from a month old and upward, of those who were numbered of them, were twenty and two thousand two hundred and threescore and thirteen (the number was 22,273; this does not refer to all the firstborn of the Children of Israel, which would have numbered much higher, but rather to those baby boys which had been born since coming out of Egypt, a time frame of about 13 months).

THE LEVITES

⁴⁴And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,

⁴⁵Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the Children of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle; and the Levites shall be Mine: I am the LORD.

⁴⁶And for those who are to be redeemed of the two hundred and threescore and thirteen of the firstborn of the Children of Israel, which are more than the Levites;

⁴⁷You shall even take five shekels apiece by the poll, after the shekel of the Sanctuary shall you take them: (the shekel is twenty gerahs:)

⁴⁸And you shall give the money (about $30 in 2004 currency), wherewith the odd number of them is to be redeemed, unto Aaron and to his sons.

⁴⁹And Moses took the redemption money of them who were over and above them who were redeemed by the Levites:

⁵⁰Of the firstborn of the Children of Israel took he the money; a thousand three hundred and threescore and five shekels, after the shekel of the Sanctuary (a little over $8,000 in 2004 currency):

⁵¹And Moses gave the money of them who were redeemed unto Aaron and to his sons, according to the Word of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses. (It must have been perfectly beautiful to mark Gods workers in the wilderness. Each one was at his post, and each moved in his Divinely appointed sphere. Hence, the moment the cloud was lifted up, and the order issued to strike, every man knew what he had to do, and he addressed himself to that and to nothing else. No man had any right to think for himself in these capacities: Jehovah thought for all. Unfortunately, far too many in the modern Church are attempting to push the Lord aside, and to serve in the place of the Lord, in effect, doing the thinking for the people. This the Lord can never accept, because He Alone is the Head of the Church. He will never abrogate that position [Col. 1:17-19].)