Reflections on Numbers 8

Numbers 08 (Contemporary English Version)

1. The LORD said to Moses,
   
2. "Tell Aaron to put the seven lamps on the lampstand so they shine toward the front."
   
3. Aaron obeyed and placed the lamps as he was told.
   
4. The lampstand was made of hammered gold from its base to the decorative flowers on top, exactly like the pattern the LORD had described to Moses.
   
5. The LORD said to Moses:
   
6. The Levites must be acceptable to me before they begin working at the sacred tent. So separate them from the rest of the Israelites
   
7. and sprinkle them with the water that washes away their sins. Then have them shave their entire bodies and wash their clothes.
   
8. They are to bring a bull and its proper grain sacrifice of flour mixed with olive oil. And they must bring a second bull as a sacrifice for sin.
   
9. Then you, Moses, will call together all the people of Israel and have the Levites go to my sacred tent,
   
10. where the people will place their hands on them.
    
11. Aaron will present the Levites to me as a gift from the people, so that the Levites will do my work.
    
12. After this, the Levites are to place their hands on the heads of the bulls. Then one of the bulls will be sacrificed for the forgiveness of sin, and the other to make sure that I am pleased.
    
13. The Levites will stand at my altar in front of Aaron and his sons, who will then dedicate the Levites to me.
    
14. This ceremony will show that the Levites are different from the other Israelites and belong to me in a special way.
    
15. After they have been made acceptable and have been dedicated, they will be allowed to work at my sacred tent.
    
16. They are mine and will take the place of the first-born Israelite sons.
    
17. When I killed the oldest sons of the Egyptians, I decided that the first-born sons in each Israelite family would be mine, as well as every first-born male from their flocks and herds.
    
18. But now I have chosen these Levites as substitutes for the first-born sons,
    
19. and I have given them as gifts to Aaron and his sons to serve at the sacred tent. I will hold them responsible for what happens to anyone who gets too close to the sacred tent.
    
20. Moses, Aaron, and the other Israelites made sure that the Levites did everything the LORD had commanded.
    
21. The Levites sprinkled themselves with the water of forgiveness and washed their clothes. Then Aaron brought them to the altar and offered sacrifices to forgive their sins and make them acceptable to the LORD.
    
22. After this, the Levites worked at the sacred tent as assistants to Aaron and his sons, just as the LORD had commanded.
    
23. The LORD also told Moses,
    
24. "Levites who are between the ages of twenty-five and fifty can work at my sacred tent. But once they turn fifty, they must retire.
    
25. (SEE 8:24)
    
26. They may help the other Levites in their duties, but they must no longer be responsible for any work themselves. Remember this when you assign their duties."
    
    

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    Chapter 4 gives the tabernacle assignments of the various Levite clans. Now the Levites are ceremonially cleansed in preparation for their tasks with the tabernacle. Aaron and his sons, though Levites, were assigned as priests and had already been dedicated. This ritual cleansing did not include them, but rather was overseen by them.  God explained again that He had taken the Levites for Himself in place of the firstborn of all Israel. Explaining further He says, "I consecrated them to Myself on the day I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt." (8:17) Taking the Levites for Himself, the Lord then gave them to Aaron and his sons to perform work at the tabernacle.
    
    Verse 22 tells us that following the ceremonial cleansing the "Levites came to do their work at the tent of meeting in the presence of Aaron and his sons." These ceremonies took place at the tabernacle which was setup. Was this work the Levites came to do "at the tent of meeting" to begin the task of taking down the tabernacle for transport or were they other duties of assisting Aaron and his son related to the tabernacle while it was setup? This is not clear. Adding to the uncertainty of the nature of this work is the instructions in verses 24 and following. The minimum age a Levite could begin work at the tabernacle is given as 25 instead of 30 as mentioned earlier. Is this because the work mentioned here is light work around the tabernacle and the assignment of transporting the tabernacle mentioned before was heavier work and thus the minimum for it was 30?
    
    The bulk of the chapter is about the Levites, but a brief mention is made in the opening verses about setting up the lamps in the tabernacle. It was to be set up so that its light was thrown forward lighting the front of the lampstand.