One Year Bible Readings and Commentary for Saturday, March 5th
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Today, we see the preparations that needed to be made for the tabernacle when it is was on the move. The Kohahites, one of the families of the Levites, were in charge of everything related to most sacred objects.
'The tabernacle of meeting was a portable temple or house of God. Because Israel journeyed through the wilderness on their way to the promised land, they needed a temple or house of God that could move with them. The tabernacle of meeting was a temple in a tent. The various pieces of furniture had to be properly packed for moving." (Guzik)
The Ark of the Covenant was one of the most holy thing in the Tabernacle. It was so holy that there were loops attached to it and poles were inserted, so it would not be touched by human hands. The priests led by Elezar, Aaron's son, were in charge of all of the furnishings of the tabernacle including: the oil for the lamp, incense, daily grain offering, and anointing oil.
"The Kohathites were not to even look at the holy things as the priests covered them and prepared them for moving. They had a specific role to fulfill in their work for the LORD and were not to go beyond that role. The penalty for going beyond what God had appointed could be death." (Guzik)
The next family of Levi mentioned were the Gershonites. They were responsible for carrying things from the tabernacle like: curtains, the tabernacle itself, and other curtains and coverings.
The duties of the Merarites were primarily to carry loads. They carried frames, door posts, pegs, ropes and bases. They did the "grunt" work, which was every bit as important as the other work.
When all the men included iu the registration from the Levites counted it totaled 8,580. One can see how much work needed to be done. Since the Tabernacle was the length of two football fields and its width was one half of a football field, you can see why!
As we begin in chapter 5 of Numbers, we see the commandments related to purity. First of all those who had diseases or had contact with the dead had to be removed from the camp.
We could consider these three sources of uncleanness as an analogy of humanity’s sin nature, inherited from Adam. A leper does not choose leprosy, but inherits it, so our sin nature is not chosen – but inherited from Adam. We choose individual acts of sin, but our sin nature was inherited. (Guzik)
The New Jerusalem – the eventual, ultimate dwelling place of God with His people – will have nothing unclean within (Revelation 21:27).
For New Testament Christians it is hard for us to grasp all of these purity laws,, and all of the preparations which needed to be made for the tabernacle. It should make us be even more grateful for the sacrifice Jesus made for our sin, so that we would be clean. Our purity comes from inside our heart, where sin dwells. He has made us clean from the inside out.
Next, the Lord gives commandments for when someone wrongs another person in the community. They must confess their sin and pay the person what they owed them plus 20%. If the person wronged is killed, they must make restitution to the person's family, or to the priest if there are not relatives.
Finally, the Lord gives to Moses instructions pertaining to marriage. The first regulation deals with if the husband is suspicious that his wife has committed infidelity though he or no one else has seen it. As a test, the priest makes the woman drink bitter water. If she is guilty the water would cause her abdomen to swell, and she would become infertile.
“This law was given partly to deter wives from adulterous practices, and partly to secure wives against the rage of their hard-hearted husbands, who otherwise might upon mere suspicions destroy them, or at least put them away.” (Poole)
Over time, the judgment of God would be evident. If she came down with some type of internal disease, especially affecting her womb, it would be seen as evidence of her guilt. But if she was free from disease, and continued to bear children, it would be seen as vindication.
Now the Sadducees, who didn't believe in the resurrection, tried to trap Jesus. The gave him a scenario where a man's wife died, he remarried, and this happened seven times. They asked him which of the 7 woman was his true wife.
The Sadducees were well educated, sophisticated, influential and wealthy. They did not believe in immortality, spirits, or angels. The purpose of their question was to make the idea of resurrection seem absurd. Guzik
Jesus says they Sadducees are lacking two critical things. They don't know the scriptures, or the power of God. By doubting the resurrection, they are essentially saying there is something God can't do. Jesus also gives us a rare glimpse of life in heaven, as he says we will not be married, but we will be like angels in heaven.
Knowing that the resurrection of the dead is true doesn’t answer all of our questions. There are mysteries that remain, but they don’t take away from the basic truth of the resurrection. Guzik
Next the Pharisees try to trip him up by asking him what is the most important coomandment. Jesus famously says,
“The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. 30 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ 31 The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[e] No other commandment is greater than these.”
I love the simplicity of Jesus' statement. Love God and love others. Love God with all you've got and love others, as you love yourself. Most people love themselves and know what it means to love others as they love themselves. But some who have a REALLY low self esteem might struggle with this. It reminds us of the saying that when we accept God's unconditioal love, we can love ourselves.
Another way to look at this is we have our vertical relationship with God, and our horizontal relationship with our neighbors. If you think about it, this makes the sign of the cross. Jesus completely loved His Father and He completely loved himself and others like you and me!
Now it was time for Jesus to ask a question. He quoted from David in the psalms, one of the most revered persons in the Jewish faith. From Psalm 101 it says, "The Lord said to my lord".
Jesus is not only the Son of David but also the Lord of David. As Revelation 22:16 says, He is both the root and offspring of David. With this question Jesus challenged the religious leaders, asking them “do you understand this truth about the Messiah?” (Guzik)
"What Now" Study Questions:
The priests assembling the tabernacle paint a picture of teamwork that we should imitate in the church today. What is your role in the body and how are you fulfilling that role?
The Psalmist concludes today's psalm by praising the eternal nature of God. As you consider the temporal nature of this world, praise God for His eternal existence and dominion!
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