Nu 6: Nazarites and Blessing

       There are two subjects in Numbers 6: the Nazarite and the blessing.

       Nazarites were people who chose to make a particular holiness vow to God. It is voluntary and isn’t required to prove one’s faith. Why does anyone make a particular vow? Some do it for tradition, some of zeal, some even for appearances. Some feel it is right to do.

       Regardless of motivation, the Nazarite abstained from anything remotely related to grapes or alcohol. During the days of the Nazarite’s vow, s/he wouldn’t shave or trim her/himself. The Nazarite couldn’t go near a dead body, not even that of a close relative.

       “Nazarite” comes from ryzn naziyr, which means a consecrated one, devoted, or even untrimmed. (I love my Strong’s concordance and my Online Bible, or did you notice?)

       The only Nazarite I find by name in the Old Testament is Samson. Did he ever screw up on the Nazarite rules! You’ll find his story in Judges 13+.

       The second part of the chapter, verses 22-27, is the lovely blessing the priests are to use over the children of Israel.

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless [Krb barak] the children of Israel, saying unto them, The LORD bless [Krb barak] thee, and keep [rmv shamar] thee: The LORD make his face shine [rwa 'owr] upon thee, and be gracious [Nnx chanan] unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace [Mwlv shalowm]. And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless [Krb barak] them.

       I recommend that you  get familiar with the word barak. It is used 330 times in the Old Testament. It is a root word and is related to such names as Baruch, Jeremiah’s faithful scribe.

       Shamar is another important word, used 468 times. “Face” and “countenance” are the same word, Mynp paniym.In these verses, the LORD’s face/countenance is mentioned twice. Two of the blessing’s six verbs involve the LORD’s face. One third of the blessing involves God shining upon the children of Israel and lifting His face upon them. I’m reminded of other places in the Bible where God looks at us (II Chronicles 16:9; I Peter 3:12).

       Here’s something exciting. “Give,” in “give thee peace,” is Mws suwm. This particular word means to put, place, set and appoint. I sense this version of peace is something meant to be established and permanent. That’s the kind of peace I want.      

       Exegetically, this blessing was for the children of Israel. Hermeneutically, I believe it still applies today for those who love God, whether Jew or Gentile. I love to hear it prayed over people. If you have no one to pray it over you, pray it over yourself. In closing, I’ll write it with blanks for you to fill in your name.

The LORD bless _____,

and keep _____:

The LORD make his face shine upon _____,

and be gracious unto _____:

The LORD lift up his countenance upon _____,

and give _____ peace.

Shalom!

Numbers 4: the Kohathites

Numbers 4: 19a But thus do unto [the Kohathites], that they may live, and not die,

       Who were the Kohathites? Why were they warned that they could die if they approached the most holy things?

       Kohath was a direct descendant of Levi and the grandfather of Aaron.

       Ge 46:11 And the sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

       Ex 6:18 And the sons of Kohath; Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel: and the years of the life of Kohath were an hundred thirty and three years.

       The Kohathites were Levites and relatives of Aaron but not descendants of Aaron. Because they were descendants of Levi they were included in the service of the tabernacle.  Numbers 4 directs them to do service, but they can’t touch or look upon the holy tabernacle items. The sons of Aaron had to cover everything first.

       Upon a second (or third) reading of Numbers 4, verse 18 jumps out:

         Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites:

       The word for “cut off” [trk karath] means anything from breaking a covenant to cutting off a body part to failing. Most likely it is in the sense of breaking a covenant. (It seems to be a word like our English “set.” It has lots of definitions and the meaning is derived from context.)

       Could it be that God was anticipating future disagreements or entitlement disputes? God made provision for all of Levi’s descendants, not just the priests. The priests did have a slightly different “salary,” so to speak, but the other Levites were not to be excluded.

       We see similar guidelines for the descendants of Levi’s sons Gershon and Merari. They are Levites and entitled to the benefits of the family line, but they are not part of the priestly line.

       Of note, one Levites census was for Levites 30-50 years old. It seems the age limit was 30-50 years old for priestly and ancillary service for the work of the tabernacle, but then in Numbers 8, it says 25-50 years old. If I discover anything conclusive, I'll let you know. Maybe the 5 years are kind of a training period?

Have a day full of good "Numbers!"

Nu. 2-4: on micromanagement

       Numbers 2 gives the layout of the tribes’ camps about the tabernacle.

       Numbers 3:1-14 introduces the census of the Levites, with a reference to Nadab and Abihu. [I’ll come back to that.] Because all the firstborn belong to God, the Levites will replace the firstborn of all the tribes of Israel.

       Numbers 3:13 Because all the firstborn are mine; for on the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I hallowed unto me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast: mine shall they be: I am the LORD.

       Moses counts the Levites, every male of one month old or older. There aren’t enough Levites to cover all of the firstborn of Israel, so they collect money from the tribes to cover them. This is given to Aaron and his sons per God’s command.

       A few days ago, I wrote about when God says “if.” To get at the heart of scripture, to see God’s heart, character and motivation, I recommend you also take note of other specific words when God says them. Two more are “because” and “lest.” God says "because" in 3:13. Did you find “lest” in chapter 4? If you have a different translation, you will have to look harder for key concepts like “lest.” You’ll have to think of do/don’t do…or else. If you use a Strong’s concordance (I highly recommend), you can look up “lest,” find the verse in the concordance and then look it up in your translation. All right, I’ll tell you.

       Numbers 4:18-20 Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites: But thus do unto them, that they may live, and not die, when they approach unto the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in, and appoint them every one to his service and to his burden: But they shall not go in to see when the holy things are covered, lest they die.

       [More on the Kohathites later.]
       I was impressed by something in chapters 3-4. Talk about micromanagement! As a rule, I don’t like being micromanaged. As I think about it, it occurs to me that maybe I dislike it so much because I might possibly have that tendency. I’m blessed right now to have two bosses that aren’t micromanagers. They trust me to do my job. You have no idea how freeing it is to be trusted as competent. When you don't have to keep answering for every action, you can actually act!

       Having said that, why is God micromanaging? Is it possible that God didn’t trust the Levites to do their jobs? Ouch! God knows the past; He knows the future.

       Isaiah 46:9-10 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:

       It follows that God knows how far Israel would fall, so He is careful to give such detail, lest people die. [To borrow from C.S. Lewis' concept, Aslan is not a tame lion.]
Therefore: Man micromanages=could be bad. God micromanages=bad sign but good intent!

       Which brings me to Nadab and Abihu.