| << Num 17 | |
| This is the New King James text of the passages. |
Numbers 18-20
Listen 
The priestly order is described (Numbers 18:1-7)
1 Then the LORD said to Aaron: “You and your sons and your father’s house with you shall bear the iniquity related to the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear the iniquity associated with your priesthood.
2 Also bring with you your brethren of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may be joined with you and serve you while you and your sons are with you before the tabernacle of witness.
3 They shall attend to your needs and all the needs of the tabernacle; but they shall not come near the articles of the sanctuary and the altar, lest they die—they and you also.
4 They shall be joined with you and attend to the needs of the tabernacle of meeting, for all the work of the tabernacle; but an outsider shall not come near you.
5 And you shall attend to the duties of the sanctuary and the duties of the altar, that there may be no more wrath on the children of Israel.
6 Behold, I Myself have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel; they are a gift to you, given by the LORD, to do the work of the tabernacle of meeting.
7 Therefore you and your sons with you shall attend to your priesthood for everything at the altar and behind the veil; and you shall serve. I give your priesthood to you as a gift for service, but the outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”
This chapter and Leviticus 10:8 (see notes) are the only two occasions when God speaks to Aaron directly - not through Moses. After the rebellion of Korah in Numbers 16 (see notes), the one who desired to assume the priesthood, it is appropriate to firmly establish who's who here. Verse 5 is probably a reference to that failed attempt, "And you shall attend to the duties of the sanctuary and the duties of the altar, that there may be no more wrath on the children of Israel." As a matter of fact, Aaron's role was further validated in Numbers 17 (see notes) when his rod was the only one that budded. This chapter flows from the events of chapter 17.
Aaron and his sons were the only Levites who served as priests; the remaining Levites supported them in the priesthood. Look at Numbers 18:2, "Also bring with you your brethren of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may be joined with you and serve you while you and your sons are with you before the tabernacle of witness."
Let's talk about tithing (Numbers 18:8-32)
8 ¶ And the LORD spoke to Aaron: “Here, I Myself have also given you charge of My heave offerings, all the holy gifts of the children of Israel; I have given them as a portion to you and your sons, as an ordinance forever.
9 This shall be yours of the most holy things reserved from the fire: every offering of theirs, every grain offering and every sin offering and every trespass offering which they render to Me, shall be most holy for you and your sons.
10 In a most holy place you shall eat it; every male shall eat it. It shall be holy to you.
11 ¶ “This also is yours: the heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel; I have given them to you, and your sons and daughters with you, as an ordinance forever. everyone who is clean in your house may eat it.
12 ¶ “All the best of the oil, all the best of the new wine and the grain, their firstfruits which they offer to the LORD, I have given them to you.
13 Whatever first ripe fruit is in their land, which they bring to the LORD, shall be yours. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it.
14 ¶ “Every devoted thing in Israel shall be yours.
15 ¶ “Everything that first opens the womb of all flesh, which they bring to the LORD, whether man or beast, shall be yours; nevertheless the firstborn of man you shall surely redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem.
16 And those redeemed of the devoted things you shall redeem when one month old, according to your valuation, for five shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs.
17 But the firstborn of a cow, the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat you shall not redeem; they are holy. You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar, and burn their fat as an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma to the LORD.
18 And their flesh shall be yours, just as the wave breast and the right thigh are yours.
19 ¶ “All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer to the LORD, I have given to you and your sons and daughters with you as an ordinance forever; it is a covenant of salt forever before the LORD with you and your descendants with you.”
20 ¶ Then the LORD said to Aaron: “You shall have no inheritance in their land, nor shall you have any portion among them; I am your portion and your inheritance among the children of Israel.
21 ¶ “Behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work which they perform, the work of the tabernacle of meeting.
22 Hereafter the children of Israel shall not come near the tabernacle of meeting, lest they bear sin and die.
23 But the Levites shall perform the work of the tabernacle of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be a statute forever, throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.
24 For the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer up as a heave offering to the LORD, I have given to the Levites as an inheritance; therefore I have said to them, “Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.’ ”
25 ¶ Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
26 “Speak thus to the Levites, and say to them: ‘When you take from the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them as your inheritance, then you shall offer up a heave offering of it to the LORD, a tenth of the tithe.
27 And your heave offering shall be reckoned to you as though it were the grain of the threshing floor and as the fullness of the winepress.
28 Thus you shall also offer a heave offering to the LORD from all your tithes which you receive from the children of Israel, and you shall give the LORD’S heave offering from it to Aaron the priest.
29 Of all your gifts you shall offer up every heave offering due to the LORD, from all the best of them, the consecrated part of them.’
30 Therefore you shall say to them: “When you have lifted up the best of it, then the rest shall be accounted to the Levites as the produce of the threshing floor and as the produce of the winepress.
31 You may eat it in any place, you and your households, for it is your reward for your work in the tabernacle of meeting.
32 And you shall bear no sin because of it, when you have lifted up the best of it. But you shall not profane the holy gifts of the children of Israel, lest you die.’ ”
When Korah, Dathan and Abiram tried to rebel against Moses, Moses was insistent that he had not lorded his position over them. In particular, he had taken nothing from them, not even "one donkey" in Numbers 16:15 (see notes). The remaining verses of this chapter clearly establish that the Levites will be supported by the rest of Israel with their tithes and other offerings. Twelve tribes, 600,000 men, would maintain the support of some 22,000 Levite men and their families. The wording in this chapter may seem confusing as to whom exactly is being referenced here, Aaron and his sons or all of the Levites. This passage regards all the Levites as we see in verse 6, "Behold, I Myself have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel; they are a gift to you, given by the LORD, to do the work of the tabernacle of meeting." We get additional perspective on that from verses 20-21 where we see a transition in references from the "priests" to the "Levites." In other words, the Levites served as priest assistants. These verses pertain to the provisions of the Levites as a whole.
The Levites are to be supported by the various offerings brought by the people. Included were:
These arrangements formed a covenant of salt (verse 19), an indissoluble arrangement. "All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer to the LORD, I have given to you and your sons and daughters with you as an ordinance forever; it is a covenant of salt forever before the LORD with you and your descendants with you." This "covenant of salt" is only referenced one other time in the Old Testament - II Chronicles 13:5 (see notes). It is apparently a reference to the preservation i.e. the permanence of a covenant.
The support of the Levites is in view beginning in verse 20 through the end of the chapter. They are to be supported by the other tribes. Verses 21-24 specifically refer to the tithe in Israel. Other laws regarding tithing are found in Leviticus 27:30–32 (see notes), Deuteronomy 12:17–19 (see notes), and Deuteronomy 14:22–29 (see notes).
Help! I've touched a dead body! (Numbers 19)
1 Now the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,
2 “This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD has commanded, saying: ‘Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring you a red heifer without blemish, in which there is no defect and on which a yoke has never come.
3 You shall give it to Eleazar the priest, that he may take it outside the camp, and it shall be slaughtered before him;
4 and Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, and sprinkle some of its blood seven times directly in front of the tabernacle of meeting.
5 Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight: its hide, its flesh, its blood, and its offal shall be burned.
6 And the priest shall take cedar wood and hyssop and scarlet, and cast them into the midst of the fire burning the heifer.
7 Then the priest shall wash his clothes, he shall bathe in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp; the priest shall be unclean until evening.
8 And the one who burns it shall wash his clothes in water, bathe in water, and shall be unclean until evening.
9 Then a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and store them outside the camp in a clean place; and they shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for the water of purification; it is for purifying from sin.
10 And the one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until evening. It shall be a statute forever to the children of Israel and to the stranger who dwells among them.
11 ¶ “He who touches the dead body of anyone shall be unclean seven days.
12 He shall purify himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then he will be clean. But if he does not purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not be clean.
13 Whoever touches the body of anyone who has died, and does not purify himself, defiles the tabernacle of the LORD. That person shall be cut off from Israel. He shall be unclean, because the water of purification was not sprinkled on him; his uncleanness is still on him.
14 ¶ “This is the law when a man dies in a tent: All who come into the tent and all who are in the tent shall be unclean seven days;
15 and every open vessel, which has no cover fastened on it, is unclean.
16 Whoever in the open field touches one who is slain by a sword or who has died, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.
17 ¶ “And for an unclean person they shall take some of the ashes of the heifer burnt for purification from sin, and running water shall be put on them in a vessel.
18 A clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water, sprinkle it on the tent, on all the vessels, on the persons who were there, or on the one who touched a bone, the slain, the dead, or a grave.
19 The clean person shall sprinkle the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day; and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, wash his clothes, and bathe in water; and at evening he shall be clean.
20 ¶ “But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself, that person shall be cut off from among the assembly, because he has defiled the sanctuary of the LORD. The water of purification has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean.
21 It shall be a perpetual statute for them. He who sprinkles the water of purification shall wash his clothes; and he who touches the water of purification shall be unclean until evening.
22 Whatever the unclean person touches shall be unclean; and the person who touches it shall be unclean until evening.’ ”
If this chapter was written directly upon the heels of the plague that killed 14,700 in Numbers 16 (see notes), as would appear to be the case, there were a lot of dead bodies lying around in the camp of Israel. To touch any one of them was to be ceremonially unclean. One would assume that many were lying dead in the vicinity of the tabernacle as well, since the rebellion of Numbers 16-17 took place on the south side there. The reason for putting this law here is found in verse 20; if anyone is unclean, he defiles the sanctuary. Moses had also mixed the blood of calves with hyssop, scarlet wool and water to sprinkle the people and the scroll of the covenant (Exodus 24:6-8, see notes), so this red heifer ceremony was not completely foreign to them. Mixed with water, the ashes of an unblemished red heifer, burnt in its entirety "outside the camp," imparted levitical purification (Hebrews 9:13, see notes). This red-heifer ritual was probably conducted to ceremonially clean up in the aftermath of Korah's rebellion. Again, perhaps because of Korah's attempt to usurp priestly authority, notice who's performing the red-heifer ritual here, Aaron's son Eleazar; it's a family thing. Probably this is to clearly establish among the Israelites who they might expect to see as the next High Priest.
Notice verse 2 says, "bring you a red heifer without blemish, in which there is no defect and on which a yoke has never come." These first 10 verses get frequent mention among Christian and Jewish scholars today. It is felt by many that a new temple built in Israel today must be purified just like this, with the ashes of a red heifer. While we have many red heifers that fit the criteria here in America, it apparently happens very rarely in Israel that a red heifer is born. When it appears that one is born in Israel, many take this as a sign that the Messianic kingdom is right around the corner. Perhaps the significance of this is taken out of context. The real significance of the red heifer was to use the ashes to ceremonially purify those who had contacted a dead body. They could not come into contact with the Tabernacle without this cleansing. So, it would appear that the object is the purification of the people, not the Tabernacle.
As you can see in this chapter, purification after contact with a dead body was absolutely mandatory. To decline the ritual cleansing was to "be cut off from among the assembly" (verse 20). Bring on the red heifer!
Here's the dividing point between the beginning of the 40-year wilderness wandering and the end of the wandering. We've just traveled in time from the second year out of Egypt to the fortieth year between chapters 19 and 20. During that time, a whole generation of men have died off according to the decree of Numbers 14:26-38 (see notes). The events during this time are not recorded, but for a recap of where they were for those 38+ years, Moses lists the locations in Numbers 33 (see notes). It is in that passage that we see the time frame for this chapter as we note Aaron's death here in verses 22-29 and are told in Numbers 33:38-39 (see notes) that his death occurred in the first day of the fifth month of the fortieth year. |
Wow! 38+ years have just flown by! (Numbers 20:1-13)
1 Then the children of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the Wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh; and Miriam died there and was buried there.
2 ¶ Now there was no water for the congregation; so they gathered together against Moses and Aaron.
3 And the people contended with Moses and spoke, saying: “If only we had died when our brethren died before the LORD!
4 Why have you brought up the assembly of the LORD into this wilderness, that we and our animals should die here?
5 And why have you made us come up out of Egypt, to bring us to this evil place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates; nor is there any water to drink.”
6 So Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and they fell on their faces. And the glory of the LORD appeared to them.
7 ¶ Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
8 “Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals.”
9 So Moses took the rod from before the LORD as He commanded him.
10 ¶ And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?”
11 Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank.
12 ¶ Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”
13 ¶ This was the water of Meribah, because the children of Israel contended with the LORD, and He was hallowed among them.
We've just jumped ahead 38+ years. This is substantiated in Numbers 33:36 (see notes) where we see that Kadesh, in the desert of Zin, was their destination at the end of their 38+ years of wandering. A generation has died off; entry into Canaan is imminent. The death of Moses' sister, Miriam, is recorded in verse 1. It is commonly believed that she is the sister identified in Exodus 2:4 (see notes) who kept an eye on Moses while he was floating in the river and subsequently fetched Moses' own mother to care for the child on behalf of Pharaoh's daughter. If that premise is correct, Miriam is pushing 130 years old at this point.
We have a whole new batch of adults following Moses, and now and they're thirsty. They issue a long, detailed complaint to Moses which, again, calls into question his leadership abilities in verse 3-5. Let's flashback to the incident with their parents back 40 or so years earlier. I refer to Exodus 17:3 (see notes), "And the people thirsted there for water, and the people complained against Moses, and said, “Why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?" You will recall that God told Moses to strike the rock with his rod. When he did, enough water for everyone gushed forth. However, God is specific on this occasion to tell Moses to speak to the rock. But in a fit of rage, Moses smacks the rock with his rod instead of just speaking to the rock as God commanded. He gets water, but some bad news from God as a result of his disobedience in verse 12, "Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, 'Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.'" The Hebrew word here is plural so as to be correctly understood, "Y'all shall not bring this congregation into the land," meaning Moses and Aaron. Don't feel too sorry for Moses; he is, after all, 120 years old at this point; Aaron is 123...and the last 40 years would have definitely been their most difficult. Later on in this chapter, Aaron dies.
"Meribah" in verse 13 is a transliteration from the Hebrew word meaning "to strive" or "to quarrel." The Hebrews did "strive" with Moses and Aaron on this occasion.
Esau's people are still bitter (Numbers 20:14-21)
14 ¶ Now Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom. “Thus says your brother Israel: ‘You know all the hardship that has befallen us,
15 how our fathers went down to Egypt, and we dwelt in Egypt a long time, and the Egyptians afflicted us and our fathers.
16 When we cried out to the LORD, He heard our voice and sent the Angel and brought us up out of Egypt; now here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your border.
17 Please let us pass through your country. We will not pass through fields or vineyards, nor will we drink water from wells; we will go along the King’s Highway; we will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left until we have passed through your territory.’ ”
18 ¶ Then Edom said to him, “You shall not pass through my land, lest I come out against you with the sword.”
19 ¶ So the children of Israel said to him, “We will go by the Highway, and if I or my livestock drink any of your water, then I will pay for it; let me only pass through on foot, nothing more.”
20 ¶ Then he said, “You shall not pass through.” So Edom came out against them with many men and with a strong hand.
21 Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his territory; so Israel turned away from him.
The Edomites were the descendants of Esau, Jacob's brother. Jacob was the father of Israel. Thinking that since Jacob and Esau had patched things up several hundred years ago, Moses sends messengers to the Edomites requesting peaceful passage through their land. Obviously they've revived their bitterness over that whole soup thing between Jacob and Esau (Genesis 25:27-34, see notes). Israel is headed up the east side of the Jordan from the Sinai Peninsula. Through Edom is a shortcut to their destination, but the Edomites refuse to let them pass through their land. As a result, they head northeast to pass around Edom on their way to Canaan. Israel would, over the next few centuries, have constant problems with the Edomites.
Note these later conflicts with the Edomites:
Later on, these prophets prophesied concerning Edom:
For an overview of the history of the Edomites, see the commentary on the Book of Obadiah by clicking here.
Aaron dies a hero's death at the ripe old age of 123 (Numbers 20:22-29)
22 ¶ Now the children of Israel, the whole congregation, journeyed from Kadesh and came to Mount Hor.
23 And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in Mount Hor by the border of the land of Edom, saying:
24 “Aaron shall be gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land which I have given to the children of Israel, because you rebelled against My word at the water of Meribah.
25 Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up to Mount Hor;
26 and strip Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son; for Aaron shall be gathered to his people and die there.”
27 So Moses did just as the LORD commanded, and they went up to Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation.
28 Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there on the top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain.
29 Now when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, all the house of Israel mourned for Aaron thirty days.
Here we have 8 verses detailing the death of Aaron and transference of his authority to his son, Eleazar. He is implicated in the anger-at-the-rock incident at Meribah along with Moses as the reason he must die, but he is 123 at the time. The ritual accompanying his passing is a little strange. And...verse 28 seems a little cold when it says, "Moses stripped Aaron of his garments." Of course, if Aaron were to die in those fancy high-priest clothes, I guess they'd be defiled. He received a great ceremony; they officially mourned for 30 days after his death. We get a perspective of the time frame from Numbers 33:38-39 (see notes), "Then Aaron the priest went up to Mount Hor at the command of the LORD, and died there in the fortieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, on the first day of the fifth month. Aaron was one hundred and twenty-three years old when he died on Mount Hor." So...three go up into the mountain, and two come down - Moses and the new High Priest Eleazar.