Numbers 8
BBCNumbers 8:1
G. The Services of the Tabernacle (Chap. 8)8:1-4 Aaron was instructed to arrange the lamps on the golden lampstand in such a way that the light would be cast in front of the lampstand. If the light speaks of the testimony of the Holy Spirit and the lampstand speaks of Christ, then it is a reminder that the Spirit’s ministry is to glorify Christ. 8:5-13 The consecration of the Levites is described next. They were first cleansed by sprinkling with the water of purification (explained in Num. 19), by shaving their bodies with a razor, and by washing their clothes and . . . themselves (v. 7). Representatives of the people laid their hands on the heads of the Levites at the door of the tabernacle, and Aaron offered the Levites before the LORD like a wave offering. This reminds us of Rom_12:1-2, where today’s believers are to present their bodies as a living sacrifice to God. Moses then offered a burnt offering and a sin offering. 8:14-22 God repeats that He had chosen the Levites to belong to Himself instead of . . . the firstborn whom He had claimed as His own after the Exodus. The Levites were appointed to serve the priests. The consecration of the Levites took place as commanded, and they took up their service in connection with the tabernacle. 8:23-26 The Levites were to serve from twenty-five years of age to fifty (v. 24). In Num_4:3, the beginning age was said to be thirty years. Some take the reference in chapter 4 to apply to those who carried the tabernacle through the wilderness. They understand the lower age in chapter 8 to refer to service at the tabernacle after it had been set up in the Promised Land. Others understand the additional five years to be a sort of apprenticeship. Those retiring at fifty years of age no longer did heavy work but were allowed to continue in a kind of supervisory capacity (vv. 25, 26). These verses distinguish between “work” and ministry or attending to needs. The former is heavy work; the latter is overseeing. Someone has pointed out that the Levites are pictures of Christians, who are redeemed, cleansed, and set apart to serve the Lord, having no inheritance on earth.