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Well you can turn in your Bibles 
to Numbers chapter 18. Numbers chapter 18. We're actually 
going to take up chapters 18 and 19. I'm only going to read 
chapter 18. And this all may create more questions tonight 
than I will be able to answer or solve. It's difficult dealing 
with large narrative blocks. of material, and I would say 
doubly difficult, even in the sense that it's in Old Covenant 
Israel. I think I have a bit more familiarity, 
as I'm sure all of us do, with the Roman Empire and the days 
in which the apostles lived. than the priestly functions and 
the Levitical functions and the tabernacle and the temple that 
we find in the Old Testament. So it'll be a cursory survey 
and then some practical observations. But again, not every jot and 
tittle of the passage. So I do want to read, however, 
chapter 18. As I said, we'll put 18 and 19 together. I'll 
give you an overview of how I think these chapters function together 
and in the larger context. So beginning in Numbers 18 at 
verse 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. 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. 
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. 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, 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. 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. 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. "'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. "'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. "'In a most holy place you shall 
eat it. "'Every male shall eat it. "'It 
shall be holy to you. "'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. all the best 
of the oil, all the best of the new wine and the grain, their 
first fruits which they offer to the Lord, I have given them 
to you. Whatever first ripe fruit is 
in their hand, in their land, which they bring to the Lord 
shall be yours. Everyone who is clean in your 
house may eat it. Every devoted thing in Israel 
shall be yours. 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. and those redeemed of the devoted 
things, and 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 20 geras. 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. "'and their flesh shall be yours, 
"'just as the wave breast and the right thigh are yours. "'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.' "'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. 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. Hereafter the children of Israel shall not come near 
the tabernacle of meeting, lest they bear sin and die. 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. 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. Then the Lord spoke to Moses, 
saying, 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. 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 wine press. 
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. 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. 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 wine press. You 
may eat it in any place, you and your households, for it is 
your reward for your work in the tabernacle of meeting. and 
you shall bear no sin because of it, when you have lifted up 
the best 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. Amen. As I said, chapter 19, 
I think goes along with this. And again, I think that'll be 
clear as we move through this particular section. But the first 
thing that I want to make sure we understand is that I think 
chapters 16 to 19 are a unit or a subset within the narrative 
itself. Remember that the whole emphasis 
in the book is on God's guidance of the children of Israel through 
the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night. We see that in 
Exodus chapter 40, and then we see it specifically in Numbers 
9, 15 to 23. So what we have in the book of Numbers is a movement 
from point A to point B. They come out of the land of 
Egypt, they are moving now to the land of Canaan, the land 
of promise, in accordance with God's word to Abraham, Isaac, 
and Jacob. So ideally, God's guidance would 
be such, and his presence would be such, that the children of 
Israel would march faithfully and dutifully through the wilderness 
to their destination. But all along the way, of course, 
realistically, they sin, they rebel, and they engage in all 
forms of wickedness against God. So here in this subsection, beginning 
in chapter 16, we see an emphasis on the vindication of Aaron's 
priesthood. So go back for just a moment 
to Numbers chapter 16. There's a challenge to the leadership. This isn't the first time. In 
Numbers chapter 12, there was a challenge of Moses' leadership 
by Moses' own family. It was led by Miriam and by Aaron. Well, here in number 16, you've 
got outsiders, not within Moses' family, but outsiders in terms 
of his family, but insiders in terms of the covenant community 
that offer up a challenge against Aaron and then against Moses. So you have Korah and his rebellion, 
which seems to be specifically targeted against Aaron, and then 
you have Dathan and Abiram, and their challenge is specifically 
targeted against Moses. And I think that that's evident 
as you read through that narrative. I don't want to duplicate all 
of that here, but notice specifically in number 16 at verse 3, this 
is Korah's rebellion. The accusation comes. Verse three, 
they gathered together against Moses and Aaron and said to them, 
you take too much upon yourselves for all of the congregation is 
holy. Every one of them and the Lord 
is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves 
above the assembly of the Lord? So basically what Korah wants 
to do is he wants to function as a priest before God. He wants 
to offer up sacrifice. He wants to engage in that particular 
task that is confined uniquely to Aaron and to his family. Notice Moses sees that and he 
specifically addresses it in verse 11. So Korah's rebellion 
involved a challenge of Aaron's priesthood. Korah wants to engage in priesthood. So, of course, the particular 
challenge or contest is to function as a priesthood. Korah and his 
men get their censers, load them up with fire, bring them out, 
and present them to the Lord. Aaron would do likewise, and 
whichever one that the Lord received would be the one that was, in 
fact, the servant of God. Well, of course, God judges Korah, 
and then Dathan and Abiram and their company does it through 
fire, and he does it through the earth, opening up and swallowing 
those wretched, vile, horrible sinners that challenged God. 
This wasn't just mutiny against Moses and Aaron, but Moses puts 
his finger on the situation in verse 11. Therefore, you and 
all your company are gathered together against the Lord. To 
fight against God's ordained servants is to fight against 
the Lord. And all throughout the Pentateuch, 
Moses and Aaron specifically have been highlighted as God's 
servants. They are not the ones that have 
sort of ordained themselves or imposed themselves upon the nation 
of Israel. Rather, God does that all the 
way back in the book of Exodus. Well then of course we have God's 
wrath then poured out upon the children of Israel in the latter 
part of chapter 16. So beginning in verse 41 all 
the way to verse 50. So God judges the children of 
Israel for their complaining. Aaron, functioning as the God-ordained 
priest, does what a priest does. Notice in verse 48, And he stood 
between the dead and the living, so the plague was stopped. So 
Korah's rebellion failed. Korah's censors were not accepted. Now, in this time of crunch or 
this time of hardship or judgment, Aaron effectively intercedes 
on behalf of the children of Israel, again, vindicating his 
priesthood. And then, of course, in chapter 
17, you have the budding of Aaron's rod. That was a miraculous display 
of God's power once again to vindicate, to demonstrate, and 
to evidence that Aaron was God's man for the priesthood. It wasn't 
to be divvied up to non-Aaron family people. It was rather 
confined to that particular family. So that's the connection then 
with chapters 18 and 19. It shouldn't surprise us that 
in chapter 18, God threw Moses, but specifically to Aaron. Notice 
how 18.1 starts. Then the Lord said to Aaron. 
We see that emphasis in most of chapter 18, all the way up 
to verse 25. Then the Lord spoke to Moses. 
Now, typically God speaks to Moses. There are occasions like 
here where God speaks to Aaron. He does as well in the Nadab 
and Abihu incident in Leviticus chapter 10. But it's not common. It is unique that God speaks 
specifically to Aaron. And as He speaks to Aaron, it 
is completely obvious why He is doing so. This concerns priesthood. So again, it vindicates Aaron 
and his sons as being the rightful men to serve and function as 
the priests in God's tabernacle. So that's the connection with 
chapters 16 and 17 and chapter 18 and then 19. So 18, the duties of priests 
and Levites. Chapter 19, the laws of purification. That goes hand-in-hand with the 
priestly function to make sure that the children of Israel are 
clean or holy such that they can approach the tabernacle of 
God. In fact, notice how chapter 17 
ends. Verse 10 says, And the Lord said to Moses, Bring Aaron's 
rod back before the testimony, to be kept as a sign against 
the rebels, that you may put their complaints away from me, 
lest they die. Thus did Moses, just as the Lord 
had commanded him, so he did. So the children of Israel spoke 
to Moses, saying, Surely we die, we perish, we all perish. Whoever 
even comes near the tabernacle of the Lord must die. Shall we 
all utterly die? They're afraid. Terror has been 
struck into that. They are learning what Moses 
is going to specify, Deuteronomy 4, 24, and the Apostle specifies 
in the book of Hebrews, in chapter 12, verse 29. Our God is a consuming 
fire. They had witnessed the judgment 
of God. They had seen the effective intercession 
of Aaron. But they had also seen the destruction 
of Korah and Dathan and Debirah. Now, of course, chapter 19 ends 
with the remedy on how persons can, in fact, draw near to the 
tabernacle. That's where the laws of purification 
come to play. the red heifer that is killed 
and then burned, and then the ashes that are mixed with water, 
that's the purification rite applied by the priest to the 
children of Israel such that they can, in fact, draw near 
to God and commune with Him. So let's go to chapter 18. We'll 
give just some an overview and then we'll look at in some detail 
at verses 1 to 7. So basically what you have is 
the duties of priests and Levites in chapter 18 verses 1 to 7. 
Then you have the support of the priests in chapter 18 verses 
8 to 20. Then you have the support of 
the Levites in chapter 18 in verses 21 to 24. Then the tithe 
of the tithes. The Levites themselves must tithe 
a portion of what they receive that it can go to the priests. 
Then in chapter 19, you have the preparation of the waters 
of purification in verses 1 to 10, and then the application 
of the waters of purification in verses 11 to 22. And again, 
that resolves the tension or the concern expressed by the 
children of Israel in chapter 17, verses 12 to 13. So this 
isn't just a random sort of hodgepodge of material that an editor is 
throwing in there to keep us on our toes. It is a unit, a 
very tightly and strictly argued unit, that is to vindicate Aaron's 
priesthood and to demonstrate that Moses and Aaron are, in 
fact, God's representatives, God's ordained servants. Now, if you happen to have the 
Cambridge Wide Margin Goatskin Leather Bible, there happens 
to be a typo. Notice in verse 11, it has, everyone 
who is clean in your house may eat it. Everyone should be capitalized. Just a little bit of interesting 
information there, at least as I understand it, capitalization 
for the first letter. Just thought I'd get that out 
now. So notice in verses 1 to 7, the duty specifically. Again, the address is made to 
Aaron and it says, you and your sons and your father's house 
with you. So there's a distinction that 
is working. You and your sons and your father's 
house with you. Verse two says your brethren 
of the tribe of Levi. So same tribe, but the family 
of Aaron is the priestly family. It's not all the Levites that 
function as priests. The priests happen to be Levites, 
but not every Levite functions as a priest. So note the responsibility 
given to Aaron specifically as priest. 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. Now John Gill, 
I'm going to give a lengthy quote here because I think he gets 
at what is being said here, shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary, 
the blame of any evil committed there, the punishment of it. 
These are stewards of the tabernacle. These are men that are specifically 
tasked even up to and including the implementation of lethal 
force to protect the tabernacle. Now, again, we need to get in 
our heads Deuteronomy 4.24 and Hebrews 12.29 that our God is 
a consuming fire, and that worship is supposed to be according to 
God's command. It's not according to the worshippers' 
sort of hankerings or feelings or emotions. Rather, he needs 
to submit specifically to the way that God has purposed himself 
to be worshipped. So, Gil says, the blame of any 
evil committed there, the punishment of it, the priests, Aaron and 
his sons, if they did not perform the duty of their office aright, 
he in the most holy place, and they in the holy place, and at 
the altar a burnt offering in the court, and the Levites, if 
they did not take care to watch in the tabernacle, and keep out 
strangers and polluted persons. And thou, and thy sons with thee, 
shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood, be answerable for 
any sins, errors, and mistakes that should be committed by them 
in the discharge of their office, through their own remissness, 
or not taking care that the Levites did their duty. This shows that 
the office of priesthood, though honorable, was burdensome, and 
not to be envied, and that the people needed not to be under 
such terrible apprehensions as they were, lest they should come 
too near the sanctuary as to be in danger of death, since 
it lay upon the priests and Levites especially to take care thereof, 
and who, if negligent, would suffer." In other words, they 
are the stewards responsible for the protection of this holy 
place. And intriguingly, if you go back to the book of Genesis 
in chapter 2, Genesis chapter 2, you've probably heard me say 
before when dealing with Adam in the narrative in Genesis chapter 
2, that his primary function was not agrarian. His primary 
function was not as a farmer. His primary function was as a 
priest. The garden was a temple, it was 
a sanctuary. It's where God met with his people. And so Adam had a specific task, 
and that specific task was to guard the sanctuary. Notice in 
verse 15, then the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden 
of Eden to tend and keep it. Again, we typically think about 
gardening. We think about vegetation. We 
think about pruning and all of those sorts of things related 
to agrarian activity. But the primary emphasis here 
is upon guarding the temple sanctuary. Don't let Say for instance, talking 
snakes approach your wife and draw her astray. And then note 
the same language that is used in Genesis chapter 3 at verse 
24. So he drove out the man and he 
placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden and a flaming 
sword which turned every way to guard the way to the tree 
of life. So, God's holy place on earth, 
now we know that God is immense, that means He fills everything, 
that God is omnipresent, He's not just, you know, sort of up 
there in heaven. When you talk about God's holy 
place on earth, we don't mean that it contains Him, we don't 
mean that it has Him in it. but rather it is a representation, 
it is an emblem, it is a visible representation of God's presence 
among His people. So the cloud by day, the fire 
by night, the tabernacle as its operative, as the sacrifices 
are being made, as the high priest goes into the Holy of Holies 
on the Day of Atonement, God is there. And if God is there, 
that place must be sacred, or it is sacred, and therefore must 
be treated as such, and it must be protected. So then notice, 
as we move on in chapter 18, the distinction is obvious. The distinction between Aaron 
and his sons with the brethren of the tribe of Levi. And again, 
this is precisely the sin and the rebellion of Korah. Korah 
was a Kohathite. Korah had the task of dealing 
with the external furnishings. He had the task of putting up 
and taking down the tabernacle. The Kohathites are addressed 
in Numbers chapter 4 in verses 1 to 20. We see that connection 
specified concerning Korah with Kohath in Numbers chapter 16. And so, what he had, he wasn't 
content with. What he had, he wasn't satisfied 
with. What he had wasn't enough. He 
wanted to be a priest. And so, you get the logic of 
this section in Numbers 18. God is addressing the sons of 
Aaron and their priestly activity, and then the Levites and their 
activity, connected very directly and closely with the priesthood, 
of course, but not as priests, rather servants or support to 
the priests. This makes the connection obvious 
here. So the legislation of chapter 
18 is directly connected to the events of chapter 16 and 17, 
further vindicating the priesthood of Aaron alone. And then the 
relationship between the priests and the Levites. Notice in verse 
3a, remember he's talking to Aaron. They, the Levites, they 
shall attend to your needs and all the needs of the tabernacle. 
So they certainly had access, but not in the ministerial sense 
where they as priests took the slaughtered animal, poured the 
blood on the altar, and engaged in the cutting up ceremony, the 
burning sum to the Lord, and then taking the rest and eating 
it either with the worshippers, if it was a peace offering, or 
themselves, according to the legislation that you find in 
Leviticus chapters 1 to 7. So there is this delineation, 
they shall attend to your needs and all the needs of the tabernacle. 
Notice, but they shall not come near the articles of the sanctuary 
and the altar, lest they die, they and you also. They, because 
they put their filthy hands in a place where they weren't supposed 
to, and you, because you didn't stop them. You didn't keep them 
from engaging in that activity. Remember the instance of Uzzah? 
There's probably a couple of things going on there. The priests 
were supposed to carry the Ark of the Covenant, not put it on 
an ox cart. But when that ox cart did falter, 
and then that Ark of the Covenant started to fall, Uzzah stuck 
out his hand and touched it. What happened to Uzzah? God killed 
him. Why? Because he wasn't authorized 
to touch it. Now, we read that, we say, that 
seems a bit severe, that seems a bit harsh. Not at all. We're 
dealing with the thrice holy God of heaven and earth. And 
if he tells us not to touch something, then we're not to touch something. 
And if he gives us detailed legislation on how and why we're not supposed 
to touch something, then we're really supposed to not touch 
that something. So it's not harsh, it's not capricious, 
it's not arbitrary, it's according to the mind and will of God. 
And if we ask the question, well, why is that? I don't know. God's 
mind and will is infinite, eternal, and unchangeable. Not sure that 
I can get into the mind of God and tell you why it is thus, 
but simply that it is thus, and as a result, the worshiper must 
be faithful and obedient. So I think what we see here is 
what we've talked about many times as the regulative principle 
of worship. The priests have a specific function. 
The Levites have a specific function. You color outside the lines and 
God will kill you. That's the promise. That's the 
judgment. That's the stipulation. So now 
knowing this, let's not duplicate the error that we saw with Korah 
and his rebellion in Numbers 16 and verse 3. In other words, this is a message 
to all Israel to respect God's ordained means for the external 
function in terms of the setting up and the taking down and the 
transportation of the tabernacle to the internal function of the 
priest cutting animals up, giving up some to God, and then participating 
in the rest for himself. The gravity of the distinction 
is seen in this penal sanction attached. Lest they die, they 
and you also. And then the demand. Notice the 
Levites and the outer elements of the tabernacle. That's their 
responsibility. 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. So you see the Kohathites, for 
instance, the otherites that functioned as Levites, they had 
functions. There were specific directions 
with reference to the tabernacle itself. Notice then we've got 
the priests and the ministry within the tabernacle according 
to verse 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. Probably a nod to 
what just happened in the tragedy in chapters 16 and 17, but probably 
a nod to the Day of Atonement. The Day of Atonement was calculated 
for the remission of the sins of the people of God. Remember 
on the Day of Atonement, that one day out of the year when 
the high priest alone would go into the Holy of Holies. He would 
go in there with blood, and he would pour that blood on the 
mercy seat for his sin, for the sins of the covenant community 
as a whole, for the actual tabernacle and the altar itself. Some might 
ask, why is that? Because the contagion of sin 
is nowhere more seen than in the altar of atonement for sin. It had to be expiated. And then 
he takes the second goat and he lays his hands upon that goat, 
actually presses his hands upon that goat and confesses the transgressions 
of Israel and then sends that goat out into the wilderness. 
So God is saying that if this tabernacle functions accordingly 
and properly, it will avert the wrath of God upon the sinful 
children of Israel. There is a mechanism in place, 
there are means in place for atonement. for atonement for 
sin, and as well, purification for uncleanness, ritual law or 
legislation for holiness. It doesn't mean without spot, 
without purity. It means separation. So all these 
things are built into the Old Covenant system to provide a 
way of access for the children of Israel to get near their God. Remember that tension, how chapter 
17 ends. We can't go near it. Chapters 
18 and 19 says, yes you can, but you need to do so through 
the regulated worship of God. You do so through the priesthood. You do so through the waters 
of purification. You do so through the sacrificial 
system. You don't just wander in. If 
you just wander in and you're an outsider, you're going to 
be put to death. Now, if you go back to Numbers 
chapter 1, Genesis in my head now, Numbers chapter 1, look 
at verses 51 to 53. And when the tabernacle is to 
go forward, the Levite shall take it down. And when the tabernacle 
is to be set up, the Levite shall set it up. The outsider who comes 
near shall be put to death. See, they had the ability to 
execute lawless men that would try to approach the sacred place 
of God. Going on, verse 52, the children 
of Israel shall pitch their tents, everyone by his own camp, everyone 
by his own standard, according to their armies. If you go to 
chapter 2, you see On the east side, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun. On the south side, Reuben, Simeon, 
and Gad. On the west side, Ephraim, Manasseh, 
and Benjamin. And on the north side, Danasher 
and Naphtali. But notice specifically verse 
53 in chapter 1. But the Levites shall camp around 
the tabernacle of the testimony, that there may be no wrath on 
the congregation of the children of Israel. And the Levites shall 
keep charge of the tabernacle of the testimony. So basically 
you have all the tribes surrounding the tabernacle or the Tent of 
Meeting, but you have the priests and the Levites right there next 
to it in close proximity, authorized to use deadly force should anybody 
wander in unawares. So God takes worship seriously. He takes the approach to God 
seriously. So you see the specific direction 
given there, and then notice in verse seven, or verse six, 
rather, in chapter 18. 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. They're a gift to you given 
by the Lord. So the priests received the gift 
of the Levites to help the priests along with what Gil calls, and 
I don't think without accuracy, a burdensome task. You know, James uses this same 
logic in James chapter 3. He says, my brethren, let not 
many of you become teachers. Why? Because it's really hard 
work, because you have to keep a long schedule. No, because 
we shall incur a stricter judgment. In other words, with responsibility, 
or with privilege rather, comes responsibility. And so here, 
the privilege is, oh, we've got this class of Levites to help 
us out. Yeah, the responsibility is, 
if you mess up, you're dead. you will be judged and judged 
sorely, and that is precisely what God is communicating. So 
when we look at this, we have to understand that worship isn't 
sort of a corollary in the book of Numbers. Worship isn't something 
that's kind of a sideline observation along the way. We ought to just 
stop for a moment and thank God and do our religious thing. It's central. Why? Because people 
historically have moved from one geographic location to another. But what we find in the book 
of Numbers is not the emphasis on the geographical movement 
of a people from one location to another, but it's all predicated 
on the fact that God is their God. that God promised their 
fathers that He would give them this land. That He promised to 
these very people that He would be in their midst. He promised 
these people that He would be present by way of cloud during 
the day and fire by night. The whole book is religiously 
oriented. The whole book is theologically 
oriented. You're not just supposed to see 
movement from point A to point B. You're supposed to see the 
centrality of worship and underscoring the fact that God is worthy. 
So then notice chapter 18 verses 8 to 20, the support of the priests. Basically what he says here is 
that when the children of Israel offer up their offerings, except 
for the burnt offering, the burnt offering was to be consumed wholly. 
There's no leftovers, there's no bit of meat there for the 
priests. But every other offering the 
priests got to eat. Why? Because they didn't get 
tribal lands. This is what God says in verse 
20. There's no inheritance for you in terms of a tribal land 
allotment. Look at verse 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. In other 
words, their whole calling and orientation was Godward. So therefore, 
God is their portion in law. They don't have tribal allotments, 
they don't keep animals, they don't have farmland. So how do 
they live? They don't live on love and fresh 
air. They live based on the offerings offered up by the children of 
Israel. Certain portions were specified directly for God, but 
then other portions were specified for the priests. In the peace 
offering, the worshipper himself got to participate in that also, 
along with the priest. So this is the emphasis there 
in terms of the support for these priests. They are a vital cog 
in the wheel that is covenant Israel, and therefore they need 
to eat. Don't deprive them of those things 
necessary. Actually, he's just telling Aaron 
how it's going to be. And then notice tithes for the 
support of the Levites. How do the Levites live? Same 
sort of a thing. They don't get allotments of 
land. They don't get big farms. They don't get lots and lots 
of livestock. No. How do they live? They live 
based on the portion that is given by the people of God in 
terms of tithing. And that's the emphasis there 
in verses 21 to 24. And then the chapter ends by 
highlighting, with reference to the Levites, that you need 
to tithe as well. You've received this as, you 
know, portion of a tithe given by the worshipers in Israel. 
Now from that, that's considered your income, so therefore you 
tithe from that. You take a tenth of that, and 
you offer it up to God, and that portion goes to the priest. So 
you've got an emphasis here on the gravity of the priesthood, 
the necessity of the priesthood, the gravity of the Levites, and 
the necessity of the Levites. You've got as well distinction. 
You're not supposed to collapse every Levite into the priestly 
class. That was the no-no of Korah and 
his rebellion. But what you do have then is 
this group of men that have as their primary task the facilitating 
of the very worship of the living and true God. Therefore, they 
need to eat. Paul invokes this passage in 
1 Corinthians 9. The men laboring in the temple, 
in tabernacle, don't they have a right to participate in the 
offerings given? You don't muzzle an ox while 
it treads out the corn. You cough up. That's what he's 
telling the church in Koran. Paul tells Timothy the same sort 
of a thing in 1 Timothy chapter 5. You don't muzzle an ox, and 
you give double honor to those who are worthy. So the people 
of God, charged with the service of God, do not live on love and 
fresh air. They gotta eat. Their kids need 
shoes. Now, again, I'm not here saying, 
oh, I need a raise. I'm just giving you what the text says. 
We got this class of men dedicated, devoted to, and very much walking a tightrope, I mean, 
imagine having just witnessed fire and earth opening up. Imagine just having witnessed 
Korah's rebellion and Dathan and Dabira. You manage to get 
through that and then all the children of Israel whine and 
complain. Look again at chapter 16. Chapter 16, they've seen death, 
destruction, decimation of these godless rebel sinners that challenged 
the Lord by challenging his servants. All that happens, and then in 
verse 41, on the next day, all the congregation of the children 
of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron. Wow, you guys 
really haven't learned much, have you? They complained against 
Moses and Aaron. Why did Corah and Dathan, I'm 
sorry, the name is escaping me, Abiram, why did they get judged 
for questioning the leadership of Moses and Aaron? So the next 
day, They complain against Moses and Aaron. And then just look 
at how not smart these people are. You have killed the people 
of the Lord. No, Moses and Aaron didn't send 
fire out of heaven. Moses and Aaron didn't open up 
the earth to swallow up these rebels. And as well, they're 
trying to introduce this sort of axe to grind that Moses and 
Aaron have with the Lord. You have killed the people of 
the Lord. No, they weren't the people of 
the Lord. They were rebel, vile, wretches 
who deserved the fire of God from heaven, and they deserved 
that earth opening up to swallow them all. So, all that to say, 
if you're a priest, chillin' in Israel, after seeing all of 
this, you're probably not reveling in job security. You're probably 
thinking, you know, this is tenuous at best. I need to be very careful 
on how I proceed. So then God comes to Aaron and 
says, yep, that's exactly right. You need to be very careful on 
how you proceed. So understanding the gravity 
of the task, I hope that nobody in Israel said, well, it's not 
fair that they get some of the tithes and offerings. Well, what 
do you expect them to do? They don't get tribal land. They 
don't get their own farms. They don't get all those things 
that you have a right and privilege to. So that's the flow or the 
logic there in Numbers 18. The laws of purification and 
the red heifer, it's tough, brethren. I mean, it's a strange thing 
on this side of redemptive history, trying to figure out the significance 
behind it. The significance behind it, as 
I understand it, is that God commanded it. God commands it, 
how it's supposed to be done in verses 1 to 10, and how it's 
to be applied practically in verses 11 to 22. Basically, impurity associated 
with death, purification rite itself, and then I think chapter 
19 ends on a bit of a warning and a bit of a reminder. But 
the man who is unclean, verse 20, 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. It shall be, excuse 
me, a perpetual statute for that. He who sprinkles the water of 
purification shall wash his clothes, and he who touches the water 
of purification shall be unclean until evening. Whatever the unclean 
person touches shall be unclean and the person who touches it 
shall be unclean until evening. So basically what it does is 
it links us back to that section in 17, 12 and 13 when they said 
we can't come near. Yeah you can. through a properly 
functioning priesthood, through the support of the Levites, and 
through the laws of purification that are given, not just here, 
but the legislation as a whole in terms of how does a sinful 
Israelite approach into the presence of a holy God. The Pentateuch, 
up until this point, has taught us through a bloody knife and 
a smoking altar. Blood atonement is the way of 
remission. Blood atonement is the way of 
approach. And the way that that blood atonement is wrought is 
through the priests ordained by God. Aaron functioned in that 
capacity, and it was consolidated to his family. So that is, again, 
probably, oh, what about this? The covenant of salt is interesting. 
I don't know. Interpreters take it as preservative 
or perpetuity. Basically, this covenant of salt 
is not another farther step according to 2nd London 7.3, but it's probably 
speaking in terms of perpetuity, I favor that, or preservative. You know, salt has that function. 
And perpetuity and the language of forever that you find in old 
covenant texts are governed by the Old Covenant. So because 
something is forever in the Old Covenant, it's forever in the 
Old Covenant. It's not forever in the New Covenant. 
So if somebody reads, you know, the sacrifices in Leviticus 1 
to 7, and it says this is an ordinance to be observed forever, 
That doesn't mean us. It means forever, as long as 
the old covenant is in play. The laws that are positive in 
nature are governed specifically by the covenant that they find 
themselves in. Well, just a couple of concluding 
thoughts. I actually thought that would have been 10 minutes. 
So we'll just run quickly through a few things. As it's warming 
up, is it getting warmer here now? Is it? OK. All right, good. All right, so the priority of 
worship, again, remember, they're not just moving from point A 
to point B. They're moving in the presence of God. They're 
about worship. The structure in chapter one 
with the priests and the Levites right near the holy articles 
and then those other tribes sort of surrounding that camp, it 
reflects the centrality of God in their midst. This is a religious 
endeavor. This is a theological enterprise. It's not just, hey, there's some 
nice land over there in Canaan, let's go get it. as well the 
responsibility of the priesthood and the Levites. The priesthood 
obviously sacrifices, the priesthood intercedes, the priesthood mediates, 
the priesthood also regulates worship in the tabernacle, and 
the priesthood protects it. That's a pretty hardcore statement. 
They had the ability to use lethal force against criminal offenders. And I don't think it means, you 
know, the Canaanites that might want to come and visit the holy 
things of the God of Israel. It meant Israelites that were 
going into places where they ought not to have. I think that's 
what happened in Adab and Abihu. There's some question. We've 
covered this. in Leviticus chapter 10, why did God kill Nadab and 
Abihu? Later on in chapter 10, there's 
a prohibition against intoxication for priests, so some suggest 
that Nadab and Abihu perhaps were, you know, had been drinking 
a little bit and they were a little bit, what's the word, messed 
with in the head, and it was probably that. Well, the text 
is pretty conspicuous. They offered up profane fire, 
which God had not commanded. So at the very root of it, they 
did something that was strange in terms of the legislation that 
had been given. But when we get to the Day of 
Atonement, Leviticus chapter 16, it connects the Day of Atonement 
with the sin of Nadab and Abihu. It could be that Nadab and Abihu 
went into the Holy of Holies unauthorized. it could be that 
they went into that place, profane fire, into that place where they 
weren't supposed to go. So God kills that. That, we see 
that connection in Leviticus 16. I wouldn't die on that interpretation, 
but I think it has some merit and some weight. So the bottom 
line is that the priests needed to protect and to guard that 
sacred space the way that Adam was tasked to do in Genesis 2.15, 
failed to do, so then a cherubim is given the job and he executes 
it successfully. The Levites were responsible 
for the setting up and the taking down of the tabernacle. The Levites 
were responsible for transporting. The Levites were responsible 
to support the priests. Don't miss that. I have given 
them to you. They're not to usurp the priests. They're not to challenge the 
priests. They're not to want to become 
priests. No. The division of labor is 
God-wrought, God-ordained, and good. And all of this would hopefully 
converge upon anybody that might still have a little bit of Korah 
in their heart to say, you know what? It really is a nice job 
to set up the tabernacle, to take down the tabernacle, and 
to be able to go home and kiss my wife on the forehead when 
I get home. Because those priests, man, anybody colors out of the 
lines there and they're dead. So that is probably, you know, 
the hortatory or the exhortation instruction in this section as 
well. Go ahead. Yeah, the text never gets into 
those details. That's why I say it's very difficult 
on this side of redemptive history to know the inner workings of 
how it all went. I would imagine that the Holy 
of Holies wasn't constituted as a full-on sacred Holy of Holies 
sacred space while it was being put up. It's once it's constructed 
and it's in order, then it takes on that nature or characteristic. 
That would be my guess. So the support of the priesthood, 
and then the laws of purification address the problems of uncleanness 
and unholiness, problems of sinfulness addressed by the sacrificial 
system, obviously. And then, of course, the danger 
involved. Don't color outside the lines. Our God is a consuming fire. 
And I think ultimately all of this points us to our great High 
Priest, our Lord Jesus Christ, who not only functions as the 
High Priest of the New Covenant, but he's also the Lamb of God 
who takes away the sin of the world. He's also the promoter 
of true worship. Remember with that woman at the 
well? God is spirit and those who worship must worship in spirit 
and in truth. So Jesus promotes true worship 
and Jesus protects true worship. Jesus protects it by his spirit 
and the apostles and their written word on how we're to conduct 
ourselves in the house of the living God. Well, let's pray. 
Our Father in heaven, thank you for your word. Thank you for 
what we find in the book of Numbers all throughout that shows the 
emphasis on your presence with your people, on the glory of 
God displayed, and on the holiness and the righteousness and the 
consuming fire that you are. Lord, I pray that we would receive 
the lessons from passages like these, that as we gather together 
on the Lord's day, we would come with reverence in our hearts, 
with a right fear of God. May it always be mingled with 
that gospel joy and that presence and comfort of the Holy Spirit. 
We read of those churches in the book of Acts, that they continued 
in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit. 
May that be true of us. May it be true of our church. 
May it be true of all churches that gather together each and 
every Sunday. We ask that you would go with 
us now, watch over us in the remainder of the week, bless 
the ladies on the flight, and bring them home safely. And we 
pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. I'd say any questions, but I 
probably don't have questions. It's not as much as I know from 
those two chapters. Can I just ask a question? Sure. Yes, go ahead. I'm just thinking 
about how the priests were not on that land. which I understand, 
and then you look at the last, in the 20th century, how we made 
parsnages for pastors because it really was frowned upon for 
them to have private property, I guess. Is that right? You know 
what I mean? Because they didn't even have, 
they didn't, They didn't have anything, like they were actually 
quite poor. And it was looked upon as quite holy that they 
were. Like it was quite a, not holy, 
but I don't know the right word for it. It was like a mixed up. You're in this for souls. You're 
in this for, you know, this is a call. This is a call, yeah. I think while there may be similarities 
between the priesthood and pastoring, it's not an exact parallel. No, I don't think it is either, 
but it's just weird that that's what people did, even though 
they might not have done it in any other area, but they seem 
to... The Old Testament priesthood, 
when it came to paying the pastors. I've noticed that when pastors... And I'm not complaining. Whenever 
I give observations, other people can't go to that mass. I don't 
have an extra budget. Just make this observation. All the people out there, other 
pastors, it just has seemed interesting to me that when it comes to the 
pastoral ministry, when it's about time spent, things to be done, it's a job, 
and you're expected to perform as a job. When it comes to pay 
and benefits, it's your calling. We're in this for souls. You 
know what I mean? We navigate, you know, on one 
hand, you gotta work because we're paying you, you gotta work, 
great. But if you ask for a raise, but 
don't you do this because you know Jesus? Well, yeah. It's a guilt manipulation. I don't know. It's actually been 
a very stingy thing, actually, in a lot of churches. And people 
will say, oh, yeah, no, our pastor, no, he wouldn't get that much 
money, blah, blah, blah. And it's like, really? Well, 
what do you mean? Like, he should be paid well. 
I mean, I don't think, you know, there's obvious abuse. You know, 
no pastor needs a plane or a mansion. You know, there's a pastor, he's 
a health wealth guy, he's called Creflo Dollar. Did he really 
get born with that name? Because if so, that was a lucky 
stroke. I mean, to be a health wealth prosperity guy named Creflo 
Dollar, that just doesn't get any better. Yeah, I mean, there's 
obvious abuse on the one hand, in terms of extravagance, and 
that sort of thing. But there is, I think, imbalance 
otherwise, too. I think it's getting better, 
in general. I do think it's getting better. 
But just when I think over this last century, it's been considered 
pious for the pastors to struggle. And they literally didn't have 
much. I remember in the early 60s when 
my dad was a pastor, my mom and dad, they planted a church and 
people had to give them clothes for the babies, food. It was 
definitely very different. Whereas now, I think it's changed. 
I don't think it's such a prime time. well, because they do take them 
out of poverty, okay? And they live in a common shack. They share a car. At least when 
I was growing up, the priests all lived in, well, sometimes 
they wanted to put a couple of them. And then they all shared 
a car, and the nuns would share the car. And they only wore the 
same outfit. You just didn't get, I would 
imagine that because they're paralleling, the Roman Catholic 
priesthood is very much dependent upon a Levitical priesthood model, 
or an Aaronic priesthood model. Because they still sacrifice, 
they're still the ones that go to the tabernacle. I mean, they 
have all that. So, you know, in their defense, 
they're going all the way. It's not like they're living 
like Creflo Dollar, and still try to maintain the concept of 
an old covenant priest. But yeah, that's an interesting 
observation, and I think there are obviously still churches 
that would have mansions or parsonages, property like at Guadalmarada, 
to both pastors live on site, where the church building is. 
You know, which is fine, I think that would be fine, but then 
I wouldn't want them to have to do that. I wouldn't want something 
to come out of their salary for that. I would want them then 
to be able to invest somewhere else, because what do they do 
when they retire, you know? That's just their... They just 
keep on getting paid. Oh, do they? Yeah, it's called 
emeritus. All the pastors that are, and the widows, like if 
the pastor dies, the widows are all taken care of. There's lots 
of money in my retirement. I call it during the week. You put numbers on the board. Another question related to that. So time is in the Old Testament. It doesn't carry over to the 
New Testament. But the concept does. Can you 
detail? I could, but not right now. Yeah, 
there's a few different things to consider with that particular 
question. I've got notes on it. I'd want 
to review the notes before I just spoke off the cuff. Is that OK? Yeah. And so the priests were 
only heir and sons. He was the high priest and only 
his sons. Well, then, perpetually the sons of. And grandsons. That's 
right. That's right. Yeah. Yes. You should go into business, 
be a financial consultant to churches.