Today’s passage: Numbers 4

Helpful thoughts:

• This chapter details the responsibilities of each clan in the tribe of Levi: The Kohathites, Gershonites and Merarites.
• Aaron and his sons (The priests) were part of the Kohathite clan.  This is why they were responsible for the initial handling, care and wrapping of the most holy things before anyone else in the clan was allowed to be near or see them (Verse 15).
• With these instructions and the knowledge of which Levites were to carry what objects, the Lord had prepared Israel to move (Themselves and the tabernacle).  They were still in the wilderness and now prepared to move toward the Promised Land.

Questions to consider:

1. How do these first few chapters fit into the greater narrative of Israel’s history and journey?  Where has Israel been?  Where are they going?  Why did this instruction need to be given?
2. In what ways were the Levites and priests to protect the items of the tabernacles and therefore Israel’s relationship with God (And their reverence of Him)?  Both practically and spiritually?

Today’s passage: Numbers 3

Helpful thoughts:

• The numbering of Israel now turns to the Levites, those who were the Lord’s possession for his service.
• Like the instruction for the rest of Israel, the different clans within the Tribe of Levi are assigned positions around the tabernacle where they are to camp.
  • The Levites were to guard the tabernacle and to minister at it.
• The number of the Levite males was 273 men short of the number of firstborns in the nation.  The Lord provided for the redemption of the remaining 273.
  • The total number of firstborns in Israel was probably taken from those who had been first born since the original Passover.
  • The price of redemption for the remaining 273 firstborn males was believed to be about a year’s salary for one man.  The cost was split among all Israel (Except the Levites), so no individual man had to pay that amount.  The cost was associated with the redemption of the child, not the father paying for his own child.

Questions to consider:

1. What does the need to redeem the 273 remaining firstborns tell us about the knowledge and exactness of God?  Is He careless or lax in His work?  Does He pay attention to detail?
2. How does God’s knowledge and care of all things help us to better understand the scope of His love, His forgiveness, and His redemption of us through Jesus Christ?
3. These different clans and tribes were given different assignments from the Lord.  Should they have found joy in getting the “most important” jobs, or should they have found joy in doing the job God gave them to do?  Is the stuff of life the sweetest part of living or knowing and following the giver of life?

Today’s passage: Numbers 2

Helpful thoughts:

• In this chapter, God gives instruction on how the nation of Israel was to set up camp and how to structure themselves while they were on the move.
  • Here is a helpful visual of the way God ordered the nation.
• The tribe of Levi served as a barrier to prevent people from the other tribes gaining unapproved access to the tabernacle.  Or, another way to look at it, the Levites served the Lord and the nation by protecting and carrying the tabernacle.
• Both in camp and on the march, the tribe of Judah served to lead the nation.  King David and King Jesus would later descend from the tribe of Judah.

Questions to consider:

1. What was God’s place (His presence in the Tabernacle) among the nation of Israel?  Why were they to face the center of the camp?  Of what should these instructions have reminded the people?  How is God to be the center of our lives still today (and forever!)?
2. Who were the leading tribes in each set of three?  What reasons can you think of from the history of Genesis which seem to point toward these aspects of leadership (e.g. Judah, Reuben, Ephraim over Manasseh)?
3. What would have been some practical reasons for this instruction?  Why did it matter how Israel camped or how they moved together?  What kinds of things does God care about and how would His love for His people have motivated and articulated these laws?

Today’s passage: Numbers 1

Helpful thoughts:

• God was continuing to fulfill his promise to Abraham.  With the Law of God communicated to the people, it was now time to take a census (To number the people) as they moved forward as a new nation.
• The number of able-bodies men 20 years old and upward in every tribe but the Levites was 603,550.  This was the size of Israel’s military.  Adding the Levites and all the younger and older men, and all the women and children would have totaled somewhere close to 2 million!
  • This should have given Israel reason to trust in their God, being a faithful keeper of promises.
  • This should have given Israel a head’s up concerning what God was going to tell them to do.  They were going to be sent in to conquer Canaan.
• The Levites were not to be counted among the fighting men in the census.  To know their number would be a temptation to pull them away from their greater task, the service of the Lord.
  • Israel was not to take find their confidence in the number of warriors they possessed, but in the Lord who redeemed them and would protect them.

Questions to consider:

1. What would the world think (Or, what would the news be reporting) if there was a group of 2 million freed slaves wandering around in open country today?  How would the surrounding countries respond?  How might they be preparing for the potential arrival of these “migrants?”
2. If Israel were to count the Levites in the census, what would they be saying about their confidence in warfare?  Who was their true safety and shield?  Who was their defender?  Why was the Levites’ role more significant than to send them to the battle field to boost the number of soldiers?
3. What are some things we might cling to today, before the Lord, to make us feel safe and secure?  How can we put what is most important first?