the golden lampstand
Numbers 7
The Leaders Bring Gifts to the Sacred Tent
1When Moses had finished setting up the sacred tent, he dedicated it to the LORD, together with its furnishings, the altar, and its equipment. 2Then the twelve tribal leaders of Israel, the same men who had been in charge of counting the people, came to the tent 3with gifts for the LORD. They brought six strong carts and twelve oxen–one ox from each leader and a cart from every two. 4The LORD said to Moses, 5” Accept these gifts, so the Levites can use them here at the sacred tent for carrying the sacred things.”
6Then Moses took the carts and oxen and gave them to the Levites, 7-8who were under the leadership of Ithamar son of Aaron. Moses gave two carts and four oxen to the Gershonites for their work, and four carts and eight oxen to the Merarites for their work. 9But Moses did not give any to the Kohathites, because they were in charge of the sacred objects that had to be carried on their shoulders.
10On the day the altar was dedicated, the twelve leaders brought offerings for its dedication. 11The LORD said to Moses, ” Each day one leader is to give his offering for the dedication.”
12-83So each leader brought the following gifts:
silver bowl
a silver bowl that weighed over three pounds and a silver sprinkling bowl weighing almost two pounds, both of them filled with flour and olive oil as grain sacrifices and weighed according to the official standards;
a small gold dish filled with incense;
"Ram and Goat" painting by Moya.
a young bull, a full-grown ram, and a year-old ram as burnt offering sacrifices to please the LORD; a goat as a sacrifice for sin; and two bulls, five full-grown rams, five goats, and five rams a year old as offerings of well-being, sacrifices to ask the LORD’s blessing.
The tribal leaders brought their gifts and offerings in the following order:
On the first day Nahshon from Judah,
on the second day Nethanel from Issachar,
on the third day Eliab from Zebulun,
on the fourth day Elizur from Reuben,
on the fifth day Shelumiel from Simeon,
on the sixth day Eliasaph from Gad,
on the seventh day Elishama from Ephraim,
on the eighth day Gamaliel from Manasseh,
on the ninth day Abidan from Benjamin,
on the tenth day Ahiezer from Dan,
on the eleventh day Pagiel from Asher,
on the twelfth day Ahira from Naphtali.
84-88And so when the altar was dedicated to the LORD, these twelve leaders brought the following gifts:
twelve silver bowls and twelve silver sprinkling bowls, weighing a total of about sixty pounds, according to the official standards;
twelve gold dishes filled with incense and weighing about three pounds;
twelve bulls, twelve full-grown rams, and twelve rams a year old as sacrifices to please the LORD, along with the proper grain sacrifices;
twelve goats as sacrifices for sin;
and twenty-four bulls, sixty full-grown rams, sixty goats, and sixty rams a year old as sacrifices to ask the LORD’s blessing.
89Whenever Moses needed to talk with the LORD, he went into the sacred tent, where he heard the LORD’s voice coming from between the two winged creatures above the lid of the sacred chest.
Psalm 80:1-3 (New International Version)
Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel,
you who lead Joseph like a flock;
you who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forthbefore Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.
Awaken your might;
come and save us.Restore us, O God;
make your face shine upon us,
that we may be saved.
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Numbers 8
Aaron Puts the Gold Lamps in Place
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2 Peter 1:16-19 (New International Version)
We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.
And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
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1The LORD said to Moses, 2” Tell Aaron to put the seven lamps on the lampstand so they shine toward the front.”
3Aaron obeyed and placed the lamps as he was told. 4The lampstand was made of hammered gold from its base to the decorative flowers on top, exactly like the pattern the LORD had described to Moses.
The light of the candlestick points to both the Lord Jesus Christ, who said,
“I am the light of the world” (John 9:5),
and to the spoken and written Word of God, as David said,
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105).
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Music:
“Jesus, the Light of the World” from the South African Gaither Homecoming. I think it will raise your spirits if you sing along!
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Instructions for Ordaining the Levites
5The LORD said to Moses:
6The Levites must be acceptable to me before they begin working at the sacred tent. So separate them from the rest of the Israelites 7and sprinkle them with the water that washes away their sins. Then have them shave their entire bodies and wash their clothes.
8They are to bring a bull and its proper grain sacrifice of flour mixed with olive oil. And they must bring a second bull as a sacrifice for sin.
9Then you, Moses, will call together all the people of Israel and have the Levites go to my sacred tent, 10where the people will place their hands on them. 11Aaron will present the Levites to me as a gift from the people, so that the Levites will do my work.
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Reflection:
from Matthew Henry’s Commentary, first published in 1721:
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.
What is your service for God today?
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12After this, the Levites are to place their hands on the heads of the bulls. Then one of the bulls will be sacrificed for the forgiveness of sin, and the other to make sure that I am pleased. 13The Levites will stand at my altar in front of Aaron and his sons, who will then dedicate the Levites to me.
14This ceremony will show that the Levites are different from the other Israelites and belong to me in a special way. 15After they have been made acceptable and have been dedicated, they will be allowed to work at my sacred tent. 16They are mine and will take the place of the first-born Israelite sons. 17When I killed the oldest sons of the Egyptians, I decided that the first-born sons in each Israelite family would be mine, as well as every first-born male from their flocks and herds. 18But now I have chosen these Levites as substitutes for the first-born sons, 19and I have given them as gifts to Aaron and his sons to serve at the sacred tent. I will hold them responsible for what happens to anyone who gets too close to the sacred tent.
The Levites Are Dedicated to the LORD
"Levites at the Temple" papercut by Canadian-Israeli artist Naomi Spiers
20Moses, Aaron, and the other Israelites made sure that the Levites did everything the LORD had commanded. 21The Levites sprinkled themselves with the water of forgiveness and washed their clothes. Then Aaron brought them to the altar and offered sacrifices to forgive their sins and make them acceptable to the LORD. 22After this, the Levites worked at the sacred tent as assistants to Aaron and his sons, just as the LORD had commanded.
23The LORD also told Moses, 24-25” Levites who are between the ages of twenty-five and fifty can work at my sacred tent. But once they turn fifty, they must retire. 26They may help the other Levites in their duties, but they must no longer be responsible for any work themselves. Remember this when you assign their duties.”
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THE WORK IS PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT AND/OR OTHER APPLICABLE LAW. ANY USE OF THE WORK OTHER THAN AS AUTHORIZED UNDER AN APPROPRIATE LICENSE OR COPYRIGHT LAW IS PROHIBITED.
Contemporary English Version (CEV) Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society
Images courtesy of:
menorah. http://www.templeinstitute.org/vessel_images/menorah.jpg
antique Gorham silver bowl. http://cdn2.ioffer.com/img/1119078000/_i/7176444/1.jpg
frankincense. http://www.billcasselman.com/frankincense_captioned.jpg
Moya. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Pvx48mS6384/SH6bWyxU5AI/AAAAAAAAAQg/E90fX3PrfVI/s400/RAMGOAT.JPG
Ark of the Covenant / “sacred chest.” http://www.wildolive.co.uk/images/ark.jpg
golden candlestick. http://gbcdecatur.org/files/GoldenCandlestick.jpg
Spiers. http://www.artcnet.com/media/Spiers_media/Levites_Temple_sml.jpg
