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 law of the Nazarite and the three things that a Nazarite is not
allowed to do and they are not to drink wine, not to shave his head and not to come near
anything dead and how he must live according to these stipulations for the entire time
of his vow.
And today we're going to hear about how the leaders of the tribes are to come and make
offerings before the Lord and also about the consecration of the Levites in the service
of the Tabernacle.
Alright, let's begin.
Today's readings are from Numbers 7 and 8.
Chapter 7 Now it came to pass when Moses had finished
setting up the Tabernacle that he anointed it and consecrated it and all its furnishings,
and the altar and all its utensils, so he anointed them and consecrated them.
Then the leaders of Israel, the heads of their fathers' houses who were the leaders of the
tribes and over those who were numbered, made an offering.
And they brought their offering before the Lord, six covered carts and twelve oxen, a
cart for every two of the leaders and for each one an ox.
And they presented them before the Tabernacle.
Then the Lord spoke to Moses saying, Accept these from them that they may be used in doing
the work of the Tabernacle of meeting, and you shall give them to the Levites, to every
man according to his service.
So Moses took the carts and the oxen and gave them to the Levites.
Two carts and four oxen he gave to the sons of Gershon according to their service, and
four carts and eight oxen he gave to the sons of Merari according to their service, under
the authority of Ethamar the son of Aaron the priest.
But to the sons of Kohath he gave none, because theirs was the service of the holy things
which they carried on their shoulders.
Now the leaders offered the dedication offering for the altar when it was anointed, so the
leaders offered their offering before the altar.
For the Lord said to Moses, They shall offer their offering one leader each day for the
dedication of the altar.
And the one who offered his offering on the first day was Nashon the son of Amin Adab
from the tribe of Judah.
His offering was one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels,
and one silver bowl of seventy shekels according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them
full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering.
One gold pan of ten shekels full of incense, one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb
in its first year as a burnt offering.
One kid of the goats as a sin offering, and for the sacrifice of peace offerings two oxen,
five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year.
This was the offering of Nashon the son of Amin Adab.
On the second day, Nithanel the son of Zuwar, leader of Issachar presented an offering.
For his offering he offered one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty
shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels according to the shekel of the sanctuary,
both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering.
One gold pan of ten shekels full of incense, one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb
in its first year as a burnt offering.
One kid of the goats as a sin offering, and as the sacrifice of peace offerings two oxen,
five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year.
This was the offering of Nithanel the son of Zuwar.
On the third day, Eliab the son of Halon, leader of the children of Zebulun presented
an offering.
His offering was one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels,
and one silver bowl of seventy shekels according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them
full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering.
One gold pan of ten shekels full of incense, one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb
in its first year as a burnt offering.
One kid of the goats as a sin offering, and for the sacrifice of peace offerings two oxen,
five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year.
This was the offering of Eliab the son of Halon.
On the fourth day, Eleazar the son of Shidur, leader of the children of Reuben presented
an offering.
His offering was one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels,
and one silver bowl of seventy shekels according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them
full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering.
One gold pan of ten shekels full of incense, one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb
in its first year as a burnt offering.
One kid of the goats as a sin offering, and as the sacrifice of peace offerings two oxen,
five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year.
This was the offering of Eleazar the son of Shidur.
On the fifth day, Shilumiel the son of Zuri Shadai, leader of the children of Simeon presented
an offering.
His offering was one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels,
and one silver bowl of seventy shekels according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them
full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering.
One gold pan of ten shekels full of incense, one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb
in its first year as a burnt offering.
One kid of the goats as a sin offering, and as the sacrifice of peace offerings two oxen,
five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year.
This was the offering of Shilumiel the son of Zuri Shadai.
On the sixth day, Eliasap the son of Deoel, leader of the children of Gad presented an
offering.
His offering was one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels,
and one silver bowl of seventy shekels according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them
full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering.
One gold pan of ten shekels full of incense, one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb
in its first year as a burnt offering.
One kid of the goats as a sin offering, and as the sacrifice of peace offerings two oxen,
five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year.
This was the offering of Eliasap the son of Deoel.
On the seventh day, Elishamah the son of Amihud, leader of the children of Ephraim presented
an offering.
His offering was one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels,
and one silver bowl of seventy shekels according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them
full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering.
One gold pan of ten shekels full of incense, one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb
in its first year as a burnt offering.
One kid of the goats as a sin offering, and as the sacrifice of peace offerings two oxen,
five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year.
This was the offering of Elishamah the son of Amihud.
On the eighth day, Gamaliel the son of Pedazur, leader of the children of Manasseh presented
an offering.
His offering was one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels,
and one silver bowl of seventy shekels according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them
full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering.
One gold pan of ten shekels full of incense, one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb
in its first year as a burnt offering.
One kid of the goats as a sin offering, and as the sacrifice of peace offerings two oxen,
five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year.
This was the offering of Gamaliel the son of Pedazur.
On the ninth day, Abidan the son of Gideoni, leader of the children of Benjamin presented
an offering.
His offering was one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels,
and one silver bowl of seventy shekels according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them
full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering.
One gold pan of ten shekels full of incense, one young bull, one ram, one male lamb in
its first year as a burnt offering.
One kid of the goats as a sin offering, and as the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen,
five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year.
This was the offering of Abidan the son of Gideoni.
On the tenth day, Ahazer the son of Amishadai, leader of the children of Dan presented an
offering.
His offering was one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels,
and one silver bowl of seventy shekels according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them
full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering.
One gold pan of ten shekels full of incense, one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb
in its first year as a burnt offering.
One kid of the goats as a sin offering, and as the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen,
five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year.
This was the offering of Ahazer the son of Amishadai.
On the eleventh day, Pagyal the son of Okran, leader of the children of Asher, presented
an offering.
His offering was one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels,
and one silver bowl of seventy shekels according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them
full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering.
One gold pan of ten shekels full of incense, one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb
in its first year as a burnt offering.
One kid of the goats as a sin offering, and as the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen,
five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year.
This was the offering of Pagyal the son of Okran.
On the twelfth day, Ahira the son of Enan, leader of the children of Naphtali, presented
an offering.
His offering was one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels,
and one silver bowl of seventy shekels according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them
full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering.
One gold pan of ten shekels full of incense, one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb
in its first year as a burnt offering.
One kid of the goats as a sin offering, and as the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen,
five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year.
This was the offering of Ahira the son of Enan.
This was the dedication offering for the altar from the leaders of Israel when it was anointed.
Twelve silver platters, twelve silver bowls, and twelve gold pans.
Each silver platter weighed one hundred and thirty shekels, and each bowl seventy shekels.
All the silver of the vessels weighed two thousand four hundred shekels according to the shekel of the sanctuary.
The twelve gold pans full of incense weighed ten shekels apiece according to the shekel
of the sanctuary.
All the gold of the pans weighed one hundred and twenty shekels.
All the oxen for the burnt offering were twelve young bulls, the rams twelve, the male lambs
in their first year twelve, with their grain offering, and the kids of the goats as a sin
offering twelve.
And all the oxen for the sacrifice of peace offerings were twenty four bulls, the rams
sixty, the male goats sixty, and the lambs in their first year sixty.
This was the dedication offering for the altar after it was anointed.
Now when Moses went into the tabernacle of meeting to speak with him, he heard the voice
of one speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the testimony
from between the two sherabim.
Thus he spoke to him.
Chapter 8 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak
to Aaron and say to him, When you arrange the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light
in front of the lampstand.
And Aaron did so, he arranged the lamps to face toward the front of the lampstand, as
the Lord commanded Moses.
Now this workmanship of the lampstand was hammered gold.
From its shaft to its flowers it was hammered work, according to the pattern which the Lord
had shown Moses, so he made the lampstand.
Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Take the Levites from among the children of Israel
and cleanse them ceremonially.
Thus you shall do to them to cleanse them.
Sprinkle water of purification on them, and let them shave all their body, and let them
wash their clothes, and so make themselves clean.
Then let them take a young bull with its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, and
you shall take another young bull as a sin offering.
And you shall bring the Levites before the tabernacle of meeting, and you shall gather
together the whole congregation of the children of Israel.
So you shall bring the Levites before the Lord, and the children of Israel shall lay
their hands on the Levites.
And Aaron shall offer the Levites before the Lord like a wave offering from the children
of Israel, that they may perform the work of the Lord.
Then the Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the young bulls, and you shall
offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to the Lord to make atonement
for the Levites.
Then you shall stand the Levites before Aaron and his sons, and then offer them like a wave
offering to the Lord.
Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the children of Israel, and the Levites shall
be mine.
After that the Levites shall go in to service the tabernacle of meeting.
So you shall cleanse them and offer them like a wave offering.
For they are wholly given to me from among the children of Israel.
I have taken them for myself instead of all who open the womb, the firstborn of all the
children of Israel.
For all the firstborn among the children of Israel are mine, both man and beast.
On the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified them to
myself.
I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn of the children of Israel.
And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the children
of Israel to do the work of the children of Israel in the tabernacle of meeting, and to
make atonement for the children of Israel, that there be no plague among the children
of Israel when the children of Israel come near the sanctuary.
Thus Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel did to the Levites,
according to all that the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so the children of
Israel did to them.
And the Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes.
Then Aaron presented them like a wave offering before the Lord.
And Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them.
After that the Levites went in to do their work in the tabernacle of meeting before Aaron
and his sons, as the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.
Then the Lord spoke to Moses saying, This is what pertains to the Levites.
From twenty-five years old and above, one may enter to perform service in the work of
the tabernacle of meeting.
And at the age of fifty years, they must cease performing this work and shall work no more.
They may minister with their brethren in the tabernacle of meeting to attend to needs,
but they themselves shall do no work.
Thus you shall do to the Levites regarding their duties.
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.