Numbers 8

1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,

2 Speak unto Aaron and say unto him, When thou lightest the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light over against the face of the lampstand.

3 And Aaron did so; he lighted the lamps thereof over against the face of the lampstand, as the LORD commanded Moses.

4 And this work of the lampstand was of beaten gold, from the shaft thereof unto the flowers thereof; it was beaten work; according unto the pattern which the LORD had showed Moses, so he made the lampstand.

5 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,

6 Take the Levites from among the sons of Israel, and cleanse them.

7 And thus shalt thou do unto them, to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of atonement for sin upon them, and let them shave all their flesh, and let them wash their clothes, and be clean.

8 Then let them take a young bullock with his present, even fine flour mingled with oil, and another young bullock shalt thou offer as sin.

9 And thou shalt offer the Levites before the tabernacle of the testimony, and thou shalt gather the whole congregation of the sons of Israel together;

10 and thou shalt bring the Levites before the LORD, and the sons of Israel shall put their hands upon the Levites;

11 and Aaron shall offer the Levites before the LORD for a wave offering of the sons of Israel, and they shall serve in the ministry of the LORD.

12 And the Levites shall lay their hands upon the heads of the bullocks; and thou shalt offer the one as the sin, and the other as a burnt offering, unto the LORD, to reconcile the Levites.

13 And thou shalt cause the Levites to present themselves before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them for an offering unto the LORD.

14 And thou shalt separate the Levites from among the sons of Israel; and the Levites shall be mine.

15 Thus shall the Levites go in to minister in the tabernacle of the testimony; and thou shalt cleanse them and wave them for an offering.

16 For they are completely given unto me from among the sons of Israel, instead of each one that opens the womb; instead of the firstborn of all the sons of Israel, I have taken them for myself.

17 For all the firstborn of the sons of Israel are mine, both of man and of animals; from the day that I smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for myself.

18 And I have taken the Levites for all the firstborn of the sons of Israel.

19 And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the sons of Israel, that they may serve the ministry of the sons of Israel in the tabernacle of the testimony and reconcile the sons of Israel, that there be no plague in the sons of Israel when the sons of Israel come near unto the sanctuary.

20 And Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the sons of Israel did to the Levites according unto all that the LORD commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did the sons of Israel unto them.

21 And the sin was removed from the Levites, and they washed their clothes; and Aaron offered them for a wave offering before the LORD; and Aaron reconciled them to cleanse them.

22 And thus went the Levites in to serve in their ministry in the tabernacle of the testimony before Aaron and before his sons; in the manner that the LORD had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did they unto them.

23 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,

24 This regarding the Levites from twenty-five years old and upward, they shall go in to serve in the host of the tabernacle of the testimony.

25 And from the age of fifty years they shall return from their ministry unto the host and shall never serve again,

26 but shall serve with their brethren in the tabernacle of the testimony, to stand guard, even though they do not serve in the ministry. Thus shalt thou do unto the Levites touching their charge.

Numbers 8 Commentary

Chapter 8

The lamps of the sanctuary. (1-4) Consecration of the Levites, and their service. (5-26)

Verses 1-4 Aaron himself lighted the lamps, thus representing his Divine Master. The Scripture is a light shining in a dark place, ( 2 Peter. 1:19 ) the tabernacle, which had no window, would have been without the lamps. The work of ministers is to light these lamps, by expounding and applying the word of God. Jesus Christ is the only Light of our dark, sinful world; and by his atonement, by his word and the Holy Spirit, he diffuses light around.

Verses 5-26 Here we have directions for the solemn ordination of the Levites. All Israel must know that they took not this honour to themselves, but were called of God to it; nor was it enough that they were distinguished from others. All who are employed for God, must be dedicated to him, according to the employment. Christians must be baptized, ministers must be ordained; we must first give ourselves unto the Lord, and then our services. The Levites must be cleansed. They must be clean that bear the vessels of the Lord. Moses must sprinkle the water of purifying upon them. This signifies the application of the blood of Christ to our souls by faith, that we may be fit to serve the living God. God declares his acceptance of them. All who expect to share in the privileges of the tabernacle, must resolve to do the service of the tabernacle. As, on the one hand, none of God's creatures are his necessary servants, he needs not the service of any of them; so none are merely honorary servants, to do nothing. All whom God owns, he employs; angels themselves have their services.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO NUMBERS 8

In this chapter orders are given for the lighting the seven lamps of the candlestick, Nu 8:1-4; and for the consecration of the Levites to their office, by a purification of them, Nu 8:5-8; by a separation of them from the children of Israel, and the imposition of their hands on them, and of the hands of the Levites on the offerings offered for them, Nu 8:9-15; and being thus given to the Lord, and claimed as his, instead of the firstborn of Israel, they are given to Aaron and his sons to do service in the tabernacle, Nu 8:16-22; and their age at which they were to enter into service and cease from it is fixed, Nu 8:23-26.