Num 14:1

Vv 1-4: The people reject Moses and desire to return to Egypt. This was perhaps the bitterest hour in Moses’ life. They had proposed to elect a captain before, but it was when he was away. This proposal was made before his face. The people whom he had loved with passionate devotion, whose very existence was due to his intercession on the Mount when they were on the point of being destroyed, had forgotten all he had done. They actually proposed to supersede his authority and — if he would not go with them under their new-made captain — they were going to leave him to his own devices there. He fell on his face before all the assembly of the congregation (v 5). What unutterable agony stormed in his heart! Not only that he should be thus set aside, but that the anger of God should be thus provoked by the people He loved!

As he lay there, did he not feel a great sorrow as the vision of going into the land and the great prospects of his hopes started to crumble? What joyful anticipation he must have had of going into the land to which God had promised… and then suddenly the people revolt and God says, “Turn back tomorrow and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea” (Num 14:25).

Num 14:2

13 murmurings: Exo 5:21; 14:10; 15:24; 16:2; 17:2; 32:1; Num 11:1,4; 12:2; 14:2; 16:3; 20:2; 21:5. Cp Joh 6:41-43. Those who murmur without cause are soon given cause to murmur.

IF ONLY WE HAD DIED IN EGYPT!: Spiritually, they did “die in Egypt”, for they never completely left. Physically, they died in the wilderness, short of the Promised Land: vv 28,29.

Num 14:4

AND GO BACK TO EGYPT: Egypt was the symbol of sin and bondage (Joh 8:34; Rom 6:16; Tit 3:3; 2Pe 2:19). It had held their fathers in bondage, until death, and now although this generation was “free” of Egypt — physically — it still held their souls, their minds, and their hearts in bondage; and they would never really escape!

Num 14:11

Vv 10,11: “One bold push forward, and their feet would tread on their inheritance. But, as is so often the case, courage oozed out at the decisive moment, and cowardice, disguised as prudence, called for ‘further information,’ that cuckoo-cry of the fainthearted” (JSB 1:179).

Num 14:12

BUT I WILL MAKE YOU INTO A NATION GREATER AND STRONGER THAN THEY: Christ the antitypical Moses: Through Christ God did disinherit Israel, after which He made of Christ a great nation!

Num 14:16

‘THE LORD WAS NOT ABLE TO BRING THESE PEOPLE INTO THE LAND HE PROMISED THEM ON OATH; SO HE SLAUGHTERED THEM IN THE DESERT’: There are few grander passages in the Bible than that in which Moses puts away the testing suggestion as impossible. Moses pleaded with God that He would pardon the people according to the greatness of His mercy as He had been doing from the first of leaving Egypt until now. In other words, Moses would not have the rest he longed for at the sacrifice of a ray of God’s glory or of the people with whom his life was linked, though they had sadly plagued and disowned him.

And so he turned away from the open gate into this Paradise, and again chose rather to suffer with the people in their afflictions than to enjoy the pleasures of Canaan alone. Let us ponder the lesson: when a longed-for delight is within our reach, yet it will be more for the glory of God and the good of others to turn from it, let us ask grace to take the rugged path of the wilderness — even though it may mean a lonely life for forty years and a death before the promised land may be reached.

Num 14:21

EARTH: “Eretz”: sw “land” in vv 23, 24.

Num 14:23

NOT ONE OF THEM WILL EVER SEE THE LAND: Only 2 of 40 years have passed. The other 38 years would have been unnecessary if Israel had had faith!

Num 14:29

EVERY ONE OF YOU… WHO WAS COUNTED IN THE CENSUS: But the Levites were exempted from this judgment, because they were not numbered in the census (Num 26:62).

Num 14:43

THE AMALEKITES: See Lesson, Amalek.

Num 14:44

PRESUMPTION: They desired to have the promises by their own effort. But God’s presence was not with them.

Num 14:45

See Lesson, Large numbers in the OT.

Num 15:1

Num 15-20: The wilderness wanderings: This delay period marks transition from the old (Num 1-14) to the new generation (Num 21-36). A historic suspension: no progress toward the Promised Land is made here.

Num 15:15

THE COMMUNITY IS TO HAVE THE SAME RULE FOR YOU AND FOR THE ALIEN LIVING AMONG YOU; THIS IS A LASTING ORDINANCE FOR THE GENERATIONS TO COME. YOU AND THE ALIEN SHALL BE THE SAME BEFORE THE LORD: Even this early in Israel’s history, there is the suggestion that the stranger might have the right to God’s mercy as well as the Jew, as long as he is in the camp, and has performed the rites required to be part of the camp in circumcision and the acceptance of God’s laws (cp Gen 17:12, Exo 12:48). This law (cp also v 29) extended right through. The stranger, in order to be accepted within the flock of God, had to abide by every rule and ordinance of God — just as it is now.

Num 15:38

CORNERS: Heb “kanaph” = sw “wings” in Mal 4:2: The sun of righteousness with healing in his “wings”.

WITH A BLUE CORD ON EACH TASSEL: The fringe itself represented a law, because it encircled the wearer and restricted him within it. Its blue color reminded him of the sky above and the heavenly origin of the law. He could not go anywhere without seeing the heavens, God’s dwelling place, stretched out above. His clothes were all blue; his laws were all divine; and his only hope was to remember and meditate upon them always. Blue therefore represents the Divine, or heavenly, element in our garments. We are to manifest God’s love and mercy always. We must try to follow Christ’s footsteps. Christ so perfectly imitated God’s character that those who saw him, saw God. God told the Israelites that they were to be His witnesses to the heathen. The same holds true for us. The blue is a color which should increase in our garments.

“What nation under heaven can show a feature of civilisation like this? Talk of the fashions for the month. Here is a fashion for ever! whose sole object was to keep before the mind the one thing most odious of all others to the taste of the followers of Parisian models. It shows more eloquently than anything else the place which God should have in human life, according to God’s view of the matter, and His view alone is the one which will prevail with the children of wisdom. All other views are bound to become as extinct as the vegetation of the carboniferous era” (LM 81).

God here shows his awareness of human weakness and our need for constant reminder. The Israelites had to sew fringes to their garments that they might remember what God had done for them, and so that they did not go astray. There may well be ways we too could do this for ourselves, to make an association with some physical aspect of our lives which we see many times a day, and use that to remind us, so that each time we see it we think of the wonderful redemption wrought in Jesus.

It was the fringe of such a garment that the woman with the issue of blood touched: Mat 9:20.

Num 8:1

Num 8: “The light in the most holy place illuminated the furnishings: the table of shewbread, lampstand, and incense altar — as does the preaching of the Word. This, likewise, needs to shine brightly, to illuminate the elements of the Truth, which, combined together provide the fulness of the wisdom and truth of the ecclesia. The priests supervised the replenishment of oil each evening, and dressed the lamps each morning. The oil was supplied by Israel, and kept by the priests. The attention given to the lamps was designed to cause each to shine so that each contributed with its fellow, to overcome the darkness. That is our responsibility, to maintain the light of the Word, and to remove the elements of error and folly within the environment of our ecclesia. Together with the preparation of the lights, Moses reminded the Levites of their need to be cleansed (v 6). This was one of the many ceremonial cleansings which were significant of inward purity required of those who serve the Altar of Yahweh. So the principles of Yahweh were revealed in the people who provided the oil for the lamps, and the Levites who provided for the removal of sin. Both are important elements in Yahweh’s work of salvation” (GEM).

Num 8:4

// Exo 25:31.

Num 8:7

WATER OF CLEANSING: “The water is literally ‘sin-water’, ie water to cleanse from sin. This was probably taken from the laver (Exo 30:18)” (GEM). A picture of baptism: “Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin” (Psa 51:2). “And this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also — not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1Pe 3:21).

Num 8:10

See Lesson, Laying on of hands.

Num 8:19

I HAVE GIVEN THE LEVITES AS GIFTS TO AARON AND HIS SONS…: So the Levites were a gift from God — though they probably thought that they were giving themselves in service. In like manner God gave Jesus the disciples (John 17:9).

Num 8:24

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OLD OR MORE: Poss a learning period of 5 years, until reaching full age of 30 (cp Num 4:3n). Or, the age of priests when beginning service seems to have declined from 30 to 25 to 20 (cp Num 8:24,25; 1Ch 23:24-27). Poss reason: Less strength and more numbers required as duties became fixed and expanded in temple (Temple 95).

Num 1:1

Heb title: “Be-midbar” = “in the wilderness…” See Lesson, Pentateuch, Hebrew titles.

Numbers: “The book of arrested progress”.

Num 1:2

A CENSUS OF THE WHOLE ISRAELITE COMMUNITY: A head-count, based on Exo 30:12,13. Each man paid 1/2 shekel.

Num 1:5

THESE ARE THE NAMES OF THE MEN WHO ARE TO ASSIST YOU: What an wonderful honor — to be called by the LORD God Himself. Yet God knows us all by name and has the power to write our names in the book of life by His grace, and also to give us a new name (2Ti 2:19; Rev 2:13,17) — what an honor that is!

“God has given us all individual and special abilities that are different to the people we associate with. Some people seem to have more skills than we do, but they probably are just skills that are more visible to the people around them. God has a plan for your life and he has given you skills and opportunities to develop those skills so that you will be able to use them in His service.

“When God asked Moses to take a census of the Israelites, He told Moses to enlist the help of twelve men, one from each tribe, to count and register the people in their tribes. The twelve men God wanted were specifically named by Him to do this work. They were obviously men who had the skills and aptitude to do the job. There were many other people in Israel — there were the skilled workers who made the Tabernacle, there were priests, there were the men chosen as spies, there were other heads of families — but these men were chosen for this job because they had the skills to be able to do it and to do it well.

“We all have special abilities given to us by God. Let’s tune them so that when the time comes and we are called to work, we can do it well for the LORD our God” (RP).

Num 1:18

AND THEY CALLED THE WHOLE COMMUNITY TOGETHER ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE SECOND MONTH…: This was for the purpose of taking a census of the whole congregation. A census was the means by which the place of each individual would be legally fixed within the nation. Why would such a thing be necessary? (a) The whole nation might be properly ordered in regard to the sanctuary and divine worship (Num 2:32,33). (b) In the encampment itself, each tribe would be fixed in its relation to all other tribes, and each family within a tribe would be fixed in relation to all other families (Num 2:34). (c) The fighting men needed to be organized, in the event of battles upcoming. (d) The proper order might be observed in the coming invasion and settlement of the Promised Land (Jos 13:31-33). (e) Each tribe would need to be situated in its own inheritance once they reached the Promised Land.

The principles embodied in this census are carried over into the LORD’s instructions for His ecclesia in New Testament times — where “everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way” (1Co 14:40).

Num 1:46

See Lesson, Large numbers in the OT.

Num 2:1

Num 2: The divine purpose is entirely orderly. That was evident in the creative work of God in the beginning, and was repeated in the creation of a nation to bear His great Name. There was divine organization in the community which found itself in the wilderness. In the plan of the march by Israel, the first steps toward nationhood are evident. Its basis was intertribal relationships; its structure was that of a city with properly defined quarters for all, and all could be easily located; a plan of march so that it would be orderly, a plan of worship so that the peoples’ religious and secular activities would be integrated. Thus the people were constituted the Ecclesia in the wilderness. Moses set out the marching order of Israel in Num 2: (1) Judah (east), with Issachar, Zebulun (vv 1-9); (2) Reuben (south), with Simeon, Gad (vv 10-16); (3) Levi and tabernacle (v 17); (4) Ephraim (west), with Manasseh, Benjamin (vv 18-24); (5) Dan (north), with Asher, Naphtali (vv 25-31). Then follows a summary of the encampment: vv 32-34. This reveals the separation of the Levites from the community. They were to become mediators between Yahweh and His people. What a grand moment it was, when the tribes were set out in order, and the nation saw the tabernacle-presence of Yahweh in their midst!

Num 2:2

THE ISRAELITES ARE TO CAMP AROUND THE TENT OF MEETING SOME DISTANCE FROM IT: Every man’s “tent” (that is, all his family and possessions) was to be situated with reference to the “tent” of Yahweh, that is, the tabernacle of His glory. “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness” (Mat 6:33). The spiritual lesson for us is surely this: choose your home — and make all your arrangements, work and social life, and so forth — with reference to the ecclesial meeting place and the activities there. Arrange the rest of your life around the place of meeting with your God and your brothers and sisters — and you will be not far from the kingdom of God. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Mat 6:21).

EACH MAN UNDER HIS STANDARD: If we belong to Christ, then we pitch our tent under his standard: “I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself” (John 12:32).

Num 2:3

The congregation would always start their march eastward, toward the “rising of the sun” (Gen 3:24; Rev 16:12), then veer in other directions if necessary, to follow the cloud.

Num 2:18

These 3 tribes followed directly behind the ark, explaining Psa 80:1-3.

Num 2:31

THEY WILL SET OUT LAST…: “The Danites occupied a very useful place. Stragglers have to be picked up upon the march, and lost property has to be gathered from the field” (CHS).

Num 3:1

Num 3: “Having considered the order to be assumed by the worshipers in their travels through the wilderness, Moses now gives attention to the workers in the service of Yahweh. The tribe of Levi is separated for that purpose. Its members are in as distinct relation to the Book of Numbers as the priests are to the Book of Leviticus. They are appointed to guard the Tent of Meeting from any pollution from without, or to attend t it and its various parts during its travels, whilst the priests attend to the sanctuary when it is set up, and have their place therein as intercessors and worshipers.

“The Levites face outwards, guarding the Tend of the Tabernacle from pollution; the priests face inwards, leading to God. This is the essential difference between what might be termed ministry and priesthood. Both the Levites who minister or prepare for worship, and the priests who conduct that worship, are types of the saints, who both minister and act as a spiritual priesthood (Heb 13:15,16; 1Pe 2:5). The Levitical service is from God and for God, but towards men. It defines what the Scriptures call ‘ministry’. The name ‘Levi’ signifies ‘joined”, and their work was to help men in their approach to God, so that they might be joined with Him in fellowship” (Expos).

Num 3:10

ANYONE ELSE WHO APPROACHES THE SANCTUARY MUST BE PUT TO DEATH: Where strangers could be tolerated as worshipers, they were not as worship leaders. Here was a select band, chosen by God to be a special people for Himself. We also belong to a kingdom of priests and a holy people to God, though our priesthood is of a different order. We should ensure equally that the stranger does not infiltrate our leadership (cp Num 18:7; Eze 44:8; Acts 6:3,4; 1Ti 4:15,16).

Num 3:15

EVERY MALE A MONTH OLD OR MORE: In ct 20-year starting point for numbering other males (Num 1:3). Numbering of other tribes was for military purposes (hence 20 years), but Levi was “firstborn”, from birth.

Num 3:28

A discrepancy arises when we add together the totals of the three families of Levites. There are 300 more than the 22,000 given in v 39. Prob some scribe, by mistake, omitted one letter; instead of writing three (sh-lsh) hundred, he wrote six (sh-sh) hundred.

Num 3:43

Concerning the number of Levites three group totals are given, the sum of which is 22,000 (Num 3:39). The sum as given is incorrect; it should be 22,300. The number of all Israelite firstborn is given here as 22,273, with 273 being the excess above the number of the Levites (Num 3:46). It has been pointed out that this would yield at least 25 sons per family, given a population of between 2,000,000 and 3,000,000 persons. The figures do indeed appear to be difficult if taken at face value, and argue for a much smaller total population of Israel. See Lesson, Large numbers in the OT.

Num 4:1

Num 4: “Previously the Levites were counted from a month old and upwards because they were to replace the firstborn of the other tribes. However, now they are to be numbered for service, and accordingly the count is to be from thirty years and upward. This denotes a measure of maturity, and whilst it is not obligatory on Christ’s followers that they should await the age of thirty before ministering before him, it does show that maturity is required of all his followers. The duties of the various families of Levites are set forth in proper order, revealing that each has his work to do in the “ecclesia in the wilderness” in a co-operative service. Hence, as each group arrived at a new site the tabernacle was reared up in a regular and orderly fashion with the least trouble. Co-operation and order are the keynotes of effective ecclesial service today as well” (Expos).

Num 4:3

The age of priests when beginning service seems to have declined from 30 to 25 to 20 (cp Num 8:24,25; 1Ch 23:24-27). Poss reason: Less strength and more numbers required as duties became fixed and expanded in temple (Temple 95).

Num 4:5

AARON AND HIS SONS ARE TO GO IN AND TAKE DOWN THE SHIELDING CURTAIN AND COVER THE ARK OF THE TESTIMONY WITH IT: Even when it traveled, the Ark was to be separated from the common by a “veil” or “wall”. That which was holy to the LORD was to be maintained pure and separate from everything worldly and unclean.

Num 4:6

SEA COWS: Heb “tachashim”. Translated, variously, “sea cows” (NIV; WEB); “dugongs” (mg); “porpoises” (NASB); “seals” (JPS); or “badgers” (KJV; Roth). The general scholarly consensus on the word is that it is Egyptian in origin. The Arabic word “duhas” refers to a dolphin. They are common in the Red Sea; their skins are used for clothing by the Bedouin. The word has also been connected to an Egyptian word for “leather” (BDB). This is followed by NRSV and NET (“fine leather”).

Num 4:8

SEA COWS: See Num 4:6n.

Num 4:10

SEA COWS: See Num 4:6n.

Num 4:11

SEA COWS: See Num 4:6n.

Num 4:12

SEA COWS: See Num 4:6n.

Num 4:13

THEY ARE TO REMOVE THE ASHES FROM THE BRONZE ALTAR AND SPREAD A PURPLE CLOTH OVER IT: Is this pattern intended to point to Christ? Jesus is our altar (Heb 13:10), and he was arrayed just before his death in a purple robe with his crown of thorns (John 19:2,5). By contrast, all the other items seem to be covered in blue or scarlet or badgers’ skins, but this one alone in purple.

Num 4:14

SEA COWS: See Num 4:6n.

Num 4:23

TO SERVE: Or “to perform the service” (AV). This Heb phrase is, lit, “war the warfare” (cp RV and AV mg). Cp 1Ti 1:18: “fighting the good fight” of faith; life in Christ as a “warfare”, just as much as a priestly service to God!

Num 4:25

SEA COWS: See Num 4:6n.

Num 5:1

Num 5: “The law of jealousy was a most unusual, although significant, ritual. It determined the honesty and attitude of a wife under accusation. It sets before us the position of the espoused of Christ, and our relationship to Yahweh. It taught that Yahweh is a jealous God (Exo 20:5; 14:14), and Israel is His Bride (Isa 54:5). There was no provision for a wife to press a case against a husband, because the Law saw beyond natural relationships to those existing between Yahweh and His people. Though the wife might be cleansed of the accusation of adultery, her conduct to her husband was the cause of her humiliation, and to that extent she was guilty and deserving of the shame heaped upon her. Israel became guilty of spiritual adultery (Jer 3:1-3). With the temple service, etc, there was all the appearance of bearing seed — but none to the glory of the Father without the spiritual purity of His ways. Those humbled, but who have not been guilty of adultery, will be restored and bear seed. Thus the ch presents the parable of Israel provoking Yahweh to jealousy, and all who do so will find their name ‘blotted out’ from the way of joy and peace (Deu 28:17-20)” (GEM).

Num 5:11

Vv 11-31: “As the sin of adultery is particularly defiling and destructive of the relations existing between Yahweh and Israel — which are typified by the husband and his wife (Isa 54:5; Lev 20:26) — and as such sin is disruptive of the very foundations of the social order, the whole subject is dealt with in this chapter at a length proportionate to its importance. However, Scripture does not reveal one instance where this law was invoked by a jealous husband, so it is evident that it is designed to illustrate spiritual adultery and Yahweh’s viewpoint towards it.

“Considered in that light, this strange law become prophetic of Israel’s relationship with Yahweh her spiritual Husband, and His treatment of her as exhibited by the words and actions of Hosea, the prophet of enduring love.

“Through Moses, Israel was warned that it must have no other God: ‘for Yahweh, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God’ (Exo 34:14). The Law relating to the Trial of Jealousy reveals the responsibility resting upon the nation because of its privileged position as Yahweh’s bride, and the consequences of spiritual adultery” (Expos).

Num 5:12

Vv 12 – 31: The trial of jealousy. The mixing of the dust of the tabernacle floor with the water (Num 5:17) and then causing of the woman to drink of it (Num 5:24) is reminiscent of the way that the golden calf was dealt with Exo 32:20. In Exodus Israel was committing spiritual adultery and Yahweh was showing that He was a jealous God.

Num 5:17

HOLY WATER: “Waters of purification” derived from ashes of red heifer (Num 19:11-22). The only other holy water in Law.

DUST: A sharing of the curse of the woman and the serpent again (Gen 3:14,16).

Num 5:21

Vv 21,22: THIGH… ABDOMEN: Prob euphemisms for the sexual organs.

Num 6:1

See Lesson, Nazirite (poem).

The law of the Nazirite gives one the opportunity to emulate the High Priest of Israel for a period of one’s own choosing. Israel was to be a kingdom of priests, a holy nation (Exo 19:6). Typ us (1Pe 2:5,9). So Nazirite vow looked toward future, when the ordinary man could be a priest with God!

Num 6:2

IF A MAN OR WOMAN WANTS TO MAKE A SPECIAL VOW…: The law of The Nazarite is an occasion when either man or woman could dedicate himself or herself to the Lord. This marks an almost unique feature of the Law of Moses. Tabernacle service was a male preserve — at the ordinance of the Lord. However, the Nazarite vow provided women as well as men the opportunity to lead a life of dedication.

Num 6:3

Typ of High Priest, to put difference between holy and unholy (Lev 10:8-11). To think soberly (Phi 1:9,10). Example of Rechabites: Jer 35:5. Poor examples: Isa 28:7; 29:4,13; Amo 2:11,12. God is to be worshiped in spirit and truth (Joh 4:24), not in overwrought emotions.

Num 6:4

…NOT EVEN THE SEEDS OR SKINS: “Nazarites had taken, among other vows, one which debarred them from the use of wine. In order that they might not violate the obligation, they were forbidden to drink the vinegar of wine or strong liquors, and to make the rule still more clear, they were not to touch the unfermented juice of grapes, nor even to eat the fruit either fresh or dried. In order, altogether, to secure the integrity of the vow, they were not even allowed anything that had to do with the vine; they were, in fact, to avoid the appearance of evil.

“Surely this is a lesson to the Lord’s separated ones, teaching them to come away from sin in every form, to avoid not merely its grosser shapes, but even its spirit and similitude. Strict walking is much despised in these days, but… it is both the safest and the happiest. He who yields a point or two to the world is in fearful peril; he who eats the grapes of Sodom will soon drink the wine of Gomorrah. A little crevice in the sea-bank in Holland lets in the sea, and the gap speedily swells till a province is drowned. Worldly conformity, in any degree, is a snare to the soul, and makes it more and more liable to presumptuous sins.

“Moreover, as the Nazarite who drank grape juice could not be quite sure whether it might not have endured a degree of fermentation, and consequently could not be clear in heart that his vow was intact, so the yielding, temporizing Christian cannot wear a conscience void of offence, but must feel that the inward monitor is in doubt of him. Things doubtful we need not doubt about; they are wrong to us. Things tempting we must not dally with, but flee from them with speed. Better be sneered at as a Puritan than be despised as a hypocrite. Careful walking may involve much self-denial, but it has pleasures of its own which are more than a sufficient recompense” (CHS).

Num 6:5

For priests, long hair sym holiness (Lev 21:5,6).

Num 6:6

The High Priest could have no contact with the dead (Lev 21:10). Christ to the young man: “Let dead bury dead” (Mat 8:22). Do not come near “dead works” (Heb 9:14).

Num 6:19

The Nazirite receives the portion ordinarily belonging to the High Priest!

Num 6:24

Vv 24-26: All the “you’s” are singular: The priest blesses individuals, not just the community!

Num 7:1

Num 7: “When the tabernacle had been constructed and fully set up according to the pattern shown to Moses in the Mount, and when it had been anointed and sanctified with all its instruments and vessels for the service, a circumstance happened that added much grace to the dedication ceremonies of the day.

“The twelve princes of the tribes — heads of the congregation — brought to Moses a present of six covered wagons and twelve strong oxen, to be used in the service of the tabernacle. A more useful present could not in the circumstances be imagined.

“The tabernacle had to be shifted from place to place with the changes of camp while the host was on the march. Though it was a portable structure — capable of being taken to pieces — many of its parts were heavy, such as the sockets for the pillars of the courts, which would weigh about a hundredweight each. The pillars themselves would be heavy pieces of timber, and so also would be the boards of the tabernacle. The golden candlestick also would be heavy, and the table of shewbread with its golden crown and cherubim. The business of carrying them on the journeys would be very laborious.

“The princes had evidently consulted together on the matter, and had agreed jointly to make a present of the wagons to lighten the work.

“But would the present be accepted in connection with a work wholly divine? The princes may have had their doubts on this, and Moses himself may not have been clear. Whatever uncertainty may have existed was dispelled by the direction that Moses received when the princes brought their offering before the tabernacle. We read (v 89) that ‘when Moses was gone into the tabernacle of the congregation, he heard the voice of one speaking unto him from off the mercy seat that was upon the ark of the testimony from between the two cherubim.’ The message as to the wagons was this: ‘Take the offering of the princes, that they may be to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.’ [Num 7:5] Not only so, but Moses was told exactly what disposal to make of them. ‘Give them unto the Levites, to every man according to his service.’ It will be remembered that to the Levites, under the superintendence of Aaron, was assigned the work of packing up and carrying the various parts of the tabernacle while on the march and to each particular family was allotted particular parts: to the sons of Kohath, the holy vessels and furniture of the tabernacle; to the sons of Gershon, all the curtains and hangings and pins and cords; to the sons of Merari, all the boards, bars, pillars, and sockets. The distribution of the wagons was according to these services: four wagons and eight oxen were given to the sons of Merari, who had to see after all the heavy parts: two wagons and four oxen were given to the sons of Gershon, who had to carry the curtains and hangings, which must have been of some bulk to enclose a court 150 feet by 75. To the sons of Kohath, none were given, ‘because the service of the sanctuary belonging to them was that they should bear on their shoulders’ — that is, the ark, the incense altar, the table of shewbread, etc.

“Two things strike us in connection with the whole episode. God accepts co-operation in forms He has not prescribed if they are in subservient harmony with His requirements. The twelve princes were in submission to Moses and in subjection to the tabernacle and the whole law connected with it. The object of their voluntary gift was to help and further a divine work appointed. Had they brought the materials for a second tabernacle, or a second camp, we cannot but suppose that the offering would not only not have been accepted, but would have been spurned as an act of presumption, like Nadab’s and Abihu’s offering of strange fire. But being in no rivalry to the divine work, but conceived in the spirit of helpfulness and being a wise measure, God approved and accepted it.

“We see the same feature in the case of Jethro’s recommendation to Moses that he should delegate his authority in small matters to subordinate officers. God approved of the suggestion of Jethro, and it became a commandment to Moses to do as Jethro had suggested (Exo 18:13-26; De. 1:9-18). From this we may draw the useful conclusion that the arrangements we are obliged to make in this latter day in the absence of divine direction, will receive the divine sanction and favour provided they are made in the sincere spirit of desiring to help the Lord’s work, and are in harmony with the requirements of that work as specified in the word of Jesus and the apostles. The use of the printing press and the holding of meetings for lectures are of this nature. We may hope presently to hear that the Lord approves of them as a doing of our best in an age when His purpose requires that He should be silent” (LM 307-309).

Num 7:12

The order of service: V 12: 1st day: Judah V 18: 2nd day: Issachar V 24: 3rd day: Zebulun V 30: 4th day: Reuben V 36: 5th day: Simeon V 42: 6th day: Gad V 48: 7th day: Ephraim V 54: 8th day: Manasseh V 60: 9th day: Benjamin V 66: 10th day: Dan V 72: 11th day: Asher V 78: 12th day: Napthali