The Living Bible (46 page)

Numbers
7

Moses anointed and sanctified each part of the Tabernacle, including the altar and its utensils, on the day he finished setting it up.
²
 Then the leaders of Israel—the chiefs of the tribes, the men who had organized the census—brought their offerings.
³
 They brought six covered wagons, each drawn by two oxen—a wagon for every two leaders and an ox for each one; and they presented them to the Lord in front of the Tabernacle.

    
^4-5
 “Accept their gifts,” the Lord told Moses, “and use these wagons for the work of the Tabernacle. Give them to the Levites for whatever needs they may have.”

    
⁶
 So Moses presented the wagons and the oxen to the Levites.
⁷
 Two wagons and four oxen were given to the Gershon division for their use,
⁸
 and four wagons and eight oxen were given to the Merari division, which was under the leadership of Ithamar, Aaron’s son.
⁹
 None of the wagons or teams was given to the Kohath division, for they were required to carry their portion of the Tabernacle upon their shoulders.

    
¹⁰
 The leaders also presented dedication gifts on the day the altar was anointed, placing them before the altar.
¹¹
 The Lord said to Moses, “Let each of them bring his gift on a different day for the dedication of the altar.”

    
¹²
 So Nahshon, the son of Amminadab of the tribe of Judah, brought his gift the first day.
¹³
 It consisted of a silver platter weighing three pounds and a silver bowl of about two pounds, both filled with grain offerings of fine flour mixed with oil.
¹⁴
 He also brought a tiny
*
gold box of incense which weighed only about four ounces.
¹⁵
 He brought a young bull, a ram, and a male yearling lamb as burnt offerings;
¹⁶
 a male goat for a sin offering;
¹⁷
 and for the peace offerings two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male yearling lambs.

    
^18-23
 The next day Nethanel, the son of Zuar, chief of the tribe of Issachar, brought his gifts and offerings. They were exactly the same as Nahshon had presented on the previous day.
*

    
^24-29
 On the third day Eliab, the son of Helon, chief of the tribe of Zebulun, came with his offerings—the same as those presented on the previous days.
*

    
^30-35
 On the fourth day the gifts were presented by Elizur, son of Shedeur, chief of the tribe of Reuben; his gifts and offerings were the same as those given on the previous days.
*

    
^36-41
 On the fifth day came Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai, chief of the tribe of Simeon, with the same gifts.
*

    
^42-47
 The next day it was Eliasaph’s turn, son of Deuel, chief of the tribe of Gad. He, too, offered the same gifts and sacrifices.
*

    
^48-53
 On the seventh day, Elishama, the son of Ammihud, chief of the tribe of Ephraim, brought his gifts, the same as those presented on the previous days.
*

    
^54-59
 Gamaliel, son of Pedahzur, prince of the tribe of Manasseh, came the eighth day with the same offerings.
*

    
^60-65
 On the ninth day it was Abidan the son of Gideoni, chief of the tribe of Benjamin, with his gifts, the same as those offered by the others.
*

    
^66-71
 Ahiezer, the son of Ammishaddai, brought his gifts on the tenth day. He was the chief of the tribe of Dan and his offerings were the same as those on the previous days.
*

    
^72-77
 Pagiel, son of Ochran, chief of the tribe of Asher, brought his gifts on the eleventh day—the same gifts and offerings as the others.
*

    
^78-83
 On the twelfth day came Ahira, son of Enan, chief of the tribe of Naphtali, with his offerings; they were identical to those brought by the others.
*

    
^84-86
 So, beginning the day the altar was anointed, it was dedicated by these gifts from the chiefs of the tribes of Israel. Their combined offerings were as follows:

    
12 silver platters (each weighing about three pounds);

    
12 silver bowls (each weighing about two pounds); (so the total weight of the silver was about sixty pounds);

    
12 gold trays (the trays weighing about four ounces apiece); (so the total weight of gold was about three pounds).

    
⁸⁷
 For the burnt offerings they brought:

    
12 bulls, 12 rams,

    
12 yearling male goats (with the grain offerings that accompanied them).

    
For sin offerings they brought:

    
12 male goats.

    
⁸⁸
 For the peace offerings they brought:

    
24 young bulls,

    
60 rams, 60 male goats,

    
60 male lambs one year old.

    
⁸⁹
 When Moses went into the Tabernacle to speak with God, he heard the Voice speaking to him from above the place of mercy over the Ark, between the statues of the two Guardian Angels.

Numbers
8

The Lord said to Moses,
²
 “Tell Aaron that when he lights the seven lamps in the lampstand, he is to set them so that they will throw their light forward.”

    
³
 So Aaron did this.
⁴
 The lampstand, including the floral decorations on the base and branches, was made entirely of beaten gold. It was constructed according to the exact design the Lord had shown Moses.

    
^5-6
 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now set apart the Levites from the other people of Israel.
⁷
 Do this by sprinkling water of purification upon them, then having them shave their entire bodies and wash their clothing and themselves.
⁸
 Have them bring a young bull and a grain offering of fine flour mingled with oil, along with another young bull for a sin offering.
⁹
 Then bring the Levites to the door of the Tabernacle as all the people watch.
¹⁰
 There the leaders
*
of the tribes shall lay their hands upon them,
¹¹
 and Aaron, with a gesture of offering, shall present them to the Lord as a gift from the entire nation of Israel. The Levites will represent all the people in serving the Lord.

    
¹²
 “Next, the Levite leaders
*
shall lay their hands upon the heads of the young bulls and offer them before the Lord; one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering, to make atonement for the Levites.
¹³
 Then the Levites are to be presented to Aaron and his sons, just as any other gift to the Lord is given to the priests!
¹⁴
 In this way you will dedicate the Levites from among the rest of the people of Israel, and the Levites shall be mine.
¹⁵
 After you have sanctified them and presented them in this way, they shall go in and out of the Tabernacle to do their work.

    
¹⁶
 “They are mine from among all the people of Israel, and I have accepted them in place of all the firstborn children of the Israelites: I have taken the Levites as their substitutes.
¹⁷
 For all the firstborn among the people of Israel are mine, both men and animals; I claimed them for myself the night I killed all the firstborn Egyptians.
¹⁸
 Yes, I have accepted the Levites in place of all the eldest sons of Israel.
¹⁹
 And I will give the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons. The Levites will carry out the sacred duties required of the people of Israel in the Tabernacle, and will offer the people’s sacrifices, making atonement for them. There will be no plague among the Israelites—as there would be if the ordinary people entered the Tabernacle.”

    
²⁰
 So Moses and Aaron and all the people of Israel dedicated the Levites, carefully following Jehovah’s instructions to Moses.
²¹
 The Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes, and Aaron presented them to the Lord in a gesture of offering. He then performed the rite of atonement over them to purify them.
²²
 After that they went into the Tabernacle as assistants to Aaron and his sons; everything was done just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

    
^23-24
 The Lord also instructed Moses, “The Levites are to begin serving in the Tabernacle at the age of twenty-five, and are to retire at the age of fifty.
^25-26
 After retirement they can assist with various light duties in the Tabernacle, but will have no regular responsibilities.”

Numbers
9

Jehovah gave these instructions to Moses while he and the rest of the Israelis were on the Sinai peninsula, during the first month of the second year after leaving Egypt:
^2-3
 “The people of Israel must celebrate the Passover annually on April first,
*
beginning in the evening. Be sure to follow all of my instructions concerning this celebration.”

    
^4-5
 So Moses announced that the Passover celebration would begin on the evening of April first, there in the Sinai peninsula, just as the Lord had commanded.
^6-7
 But as it happened, some of the men had just attended a funeral and were ceremonially defiled by having touched the dead, so they couldn’t eat the Passover lamb that night. They came to Moses and Aaron and explained their problem and protested at being forbidden from offering their sacrifice to the Lord at the time he had appointed.

    
⁸
 Moses said he would ask the Lord about it,
⁹
 and this was God’s reply:
¹⁰
 “If any of the people of Israel, now or in the generations to come, are defiled at Passover time because of touching a dead body, or if they are on a journey and cannot be present, they may still celebrate the Passover, but one month later,
¹¹
 on May first,
*
beginning in the evening. They are to eat the lamb at that time, with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
¹²
 They must not leave any of it until the next morning, and must not break a bone of it, and must follow all the regular instructions concerning the Passover.

    
¹³
 “But anyone who is not defiled, and anyone who is not away on a trip, and yet refuses to celebrate the Passover at the regular time, shall be excommunicated from the people of Israel for refusing to sacrifice to Jehovah at the proper time; he must bear his guilt.
¹⁴
 And if a foreigner is living among you and wants to celebrate the Passover to the Lord, he shall follow all these same instructions. There is one law for all.”

    
¹⁵
 On the day the Tabernacle was raised the Cloud covered it; and that evening the Cloud changed to the appearance of fire, and stayed that way throughout the night.
¹⁶
 It was always so—the daytime Cloud changing to the appearance of fire at night.
¹⁷
 When the Cloud lifted, the people of Israel moved on to wherever it stopped, and camped there.
¹⁸
 In this way they journeyed at the command of the Lord and stopped where he told them to, then remained there as long as the Cloud stayed.
¹⁹
 If it stayed a long time, then they stayed a long time. But if it stayed only a few days, then they remained only a few days; for so the Lord had instructed them.
^20-21
 Sometimes the fire-cloud stayed only during the night and moved on the next morning. But day or night, when it moved, the people broke camp and followed.
²²
 If the Cloud stayed above the Tabernacle two days, a month, or a year, that is how long the people of Israel stayed; but as soon as it moved, they moved.
²³
 So it was that they camped or traveled at the commandment of the Lord; and whatever the Lord told Moses they should do, they did.