Hello, this is Father Paul and I'm glad we're taking this journey together to read the Bible
in a year.
Yesterday we heard about the census of the children of Israel and how they were commanded
to be split into four groups and to camp around the tabernacle of meeting.
But the tribe of Levi was not counted among the census.
Today we're going to hear about how the tribe of Levi itself is going to go through its
own census as commanded by the Lord and how they're going to be divided into three groups,
each group with its own specific task and responsibility.
Alright, let's begin.
Today's reading is from Numbers chapters 3 and 4.
Chapter 3 Now these are the records of Aaron and Moses
when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai, and these are the names of the sons of Aaron.
Nadab the firstborn, Anabihu, Eleazar, and Ethamar.
These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he consecrated to
minister as priests.
Nadab and Anabihu had died before the Lord when they offered profane fire before the
Lord in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children, so Eleazar and Ethamar ministered
as priests in the presence of Aaron their father.
And the Lord spoke to Moses saying, Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before
Aaron the priest, that they may serve him.
And they shall attend to his needs and the needs of the whole congregation before the
tabernacle of meeting, to do the work of the tabernacle.
Also they shall attend to all the furnishings of the tabernacle of meeting, and to the needs
of the children of Israel, to do the work of the tabernacle.
And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons.
They are given entirely to him from among the children of Israel.
So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall attend to their priesthood.
But the outsider who comes near shall be put to death.
Then the Lord spoke to Moses saying, Now behold, I myself have taken the Levites from among
the children of Israel, instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the children of Israel.
Therefore the Levites shall be mine, because all the firstborn are mine.
On the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to myself
all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast.
They shall be mine, I am the Lord.
Then the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai saying, Number the children of Levi
by their father's houses, by their families.
You shall number every male from a month old and above.
So Moses numbered them according to the word of the Lord as he was commanded.
These were the sons of Levi by their names, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families, Lebni and Shimei.
And the sons of Kohath by their families, Amram, Izzahar, Hebron, and Uziol.
And the sons of Merari by their families, Maali and Moshi.
These are the families of the Levites by their father's houses.
From Gershon came the family of the Lebnites and the family of the Shemites.
These were the families of the Gershonites.
Those who were numbered according to the number of all the males from a month old and above.
Of those who were numbered there were 7500.
The families of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle westward.
And the leader of the father's house of the Gershonites was Ilyasav, the son of Lael.
The duties of the children of Gershon in the tabernacle of meeting included the tabernacle,
the tent with its covering, the screen for the door of the tabernacle of meeting, the
screen for the door of the court, the hangings of the court which are around the tabernacle
and the altar, and their cords according to all the work relating to them.
From Kohath came the family of the Amramites, the family of the Izzarites, the family of
the Hebronites, and the family of the Uziolites.
These were the families of the Kohathites.
According to the number of all the males from a month old and above, there were 8600 keeping
charge of the sanctuary.
The families of the children of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle.
And the leader of the father's house of the families of the Kohathites was Eliezapan,
the son of Uziol.
Their duty included the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the utensils of the
sanctuary with which they ministered, the screen, and all the work relating to them.
In Eliezer the son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the leaders of the Levites,
with oversight of those who kept charge of the sanctuary.
From Mirari came the family of the Malites and the family of the Mushites.
These were the families of Mirari.
And those who were numbered according to the number of all the males from a month old and
above were 6200.
The leaders of the father's house of the families of Mirari was Zuriel the son of Abihal.
These were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle.
And the appointed duty of the children of Mirari including the boards of the tabernacle,
its bars, its pillars, its sockets, its utensils, all the work relating to them and the pillars
of the court all around with their sockets, their pegs, and their cords.
Moreover those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east before the tabernacle
of meeting were Moses, Aaron, and his sons keeping charge of the tabernacle to meet the
needs of the children of Israel.
But the outsider who came near was to be put to death.
All who were numbered of the Levites whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the commandment
of the Lord by their families all the males from a month old and above were 22000.
Then the Lord said to Moses, number all the firstborn males of the children of Israel
from a month old and above and take the number of their names.
And you shall take the Levites for me, I am the Lord, instead of all the firstborn among
the children of Israel and the livestock of the Levites, instead of all the firstborn
among the livestock of the children of Israel.
So Moses numbered all the firstborn among the children of Israel as the Lord commanded
him, and all the firstborn males according to the number of names from a month old and
above of those who were numbered of them were 22273.
Then the Lord spoke to Moses saying, take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among
the children of Israel and the livestock of the Levites instead of their livestock.
The Levites shall be mine, I am the Lord.
And for the redemption of the 273 of the firstborn of the children of Israel who are more than
the number of the Levites, you shall take five shekels for each one individually.
You shall take them in the currency of the shekel of the sanctuary, the shekel of twenty
geras.
And you shall give the money with which the excess number of them is redeemed to Aaron
and his sons.
So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those who were redeemed
by the Levites.
From the firstborn of the children of Israel he took the money 1365 shekels according to
the shekel of the sanctuary.
And Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons according to the word of the
Lord as the Lord commanded Moses.
Chapter 4 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron saying,
Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the children of Levi, by their families, by
their father's house, from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, all who
entered the service to do the work in the tabernacle of meeting.
This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of meeting relating to the
most holy things.
When the camp prepares to journey, Aaron and his sons shall come and they shall take down
the covering veil and cover the ark of the testimony with it.
Then they shall put on it a covering of badger skins and spread over that a cloth entirely
of blue and they shall insert its poles.
On the table of showbread they shall spread a blue cloth and put on it the dishes, the
pans, the bowls and the pitchers for pouring.
And the showbread shall be on it.
They shall spread over them a scarlet cloth and cover the same with a covering of badger
skins and they shall insert its poles.
And they shall take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand of the light with its lamps,
its wick-trimmers, its trays and all its oil vessels with which they service it.
Then they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of badger skins and put it on
a carrying beam.
Over the golden altar they shall spread a blue cloth and cover it with a covering of
badger skins and they shall insert its poles.
Then they shall take all the utensils of service with which they minister in a sanctuary, put
them in a blue cloth, cover them with a covering of badger skins and put them on a carrying
beam.
And they shall take away the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it.
They shall put on it all its implements with which they minister there, the fire pans,
the forks, the shovels, the basins and all the utensils of the altar.
And they shall spread on it a covering of badger skins and insert its poles.
And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings
of the sanctuary, when the camp is set to go, then the sons of Kohath shall come to
carry them, but they shall not touch any holy thing lest they die.
These are the things in the tabernacle of meeting which the sons of Kohath are to carry.
The appointed duty of Eliezer the son of Aaron the priest is the oil for the light, the sweet
incense, the daily grain offering, the anointing oil, the oversight of all the tabernacle,
of all that is in it, with the sanctuary and its furnishings.
Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron saying, Do not cut off the tribe of the families of
the Kohathites from among the Levites, but do this in regard to them, that they may live
and not die when they approach the most holy things.
Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint each of them to his service and his task,
but they shall not go in to watch while the holy things are being covered lest they die.
Then the Lord spoke to Moses saying, Also take a census of the sons of Gershon by their
father's house, by their families, from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old.
We shall number them, all who enter to perform the service, to do the work in the tabernacle
of meeting.
This is the service of the families of the Gershonites in serving and carrying.
They shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the tabernacle of meeting with its covering,
the covering of badger skins that is on it, the screen of the door of the tabernacle of
meeting, the screen of the door of the gate of the court, the hangings of the court which
are around the tabernacle and altar, and their cords, all the furnishings for their service,
and all that is made for these things, so shall they serve.
Aaron and his sons shall assign all the service of the sons of the Gershonites, all their
tasks and all their service, and you shall appoint to them all their tasks as their duty.
This is the service of the families of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of meeting,
and their duties shall be under the authority of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
As for the sons of Mirari, you shall number them by their families and by their father's
house from 30 years old and above even to 50 years old, you shall number them, everyone
who enters the service to do the work of the tabernacle of meeting.
And this is what they must carry as all their service for the tabernacle of meeting, the
boards of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, and the pillars around the court
with their sockets, pegs, and cords, with all the furnishings and all their service,
and you shall assign to each man by name the items he must carry.
This is the service of the families of the sons of Mirari, as all their service for the
tabernacle of meeting under the authority of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
And Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of the congregation numbered the sons of the Quathais by their
families and by their father's house from 30 years old and above even to 50 years old,
everyone who entered the service for work in the tabernacle of meeting, and those who
were numbered by their families were 2750.
These were the ones who were numbered of the families of the Quathais, all who might serve
in the tabernacle of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment
of the Lord by the hand of Moses.
And those who were numbered of the sons of Gershon by their families and by their father's
house from 30 years old and above even to 50 years old, everyone who entered the service
for work in the tabernacle of meeting, those who were numbered by their families by their
father's house were 2630.
These are the ones who were numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, of all who
might serve in the tabernacle of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to
the commandment of the Lord.
Those of the families of the sons of Mirari who were numbered by their families by their
father's house from 30 years old and above even to 50 years old, everyone who entered
the service for work in the tabernacle of meeting, those who were numbered by their
families were 3200.
These are the ones who were numbered of the families of the sons of Mirari, whom Moses
and Aaron numbered according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses.
All who were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses, Aaron and the leaders of Israel numbered
by their families and by their father's houses from 30 years old and above even to
50 years old, everyone who came to do the work of service and the work of bearing burdens
in the tabernacle of meeting, those who were numbered were 8580.
According to the commandment of the Lord, they were numbered by the hand of Moses, each
according to his service and according to his task.
Thus were they numbered by him as the Lord commanded Moses.
I hope you enjoyed today's reading as much as I did and I look forward to seeing you
again tomorrow to continue on our journey.
God bless you and have a great day.