- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Tabernacle skin coverings carried in ox carts - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
THE ENCAMPMENT: (con't.)
(Nu 3-4, 9:15-23, 10:11-17)
7. the Levites camped around the tabernacle between the taberncle and the tribes (1:50, 53)
- on the east were Moses, Aaron the High Priest, and Aaron's sons, the priests (3:38)
- --points to our High Priest (see comments in post #2, on Lev 1, NT Parallels, 6th parallel, here)
- on the south were the Kohathites (3:29)
- on the west were the Gershonites (3:23)
- on the north were the Merarites (3:35)
8. duties of the Levites were:
1) to be permanently on guard, ready to put to death any unauthorized person approaching the tabernacle (1:51, 3:10, 38, 18:7)
- the presence of God must not be defiled by their sin (19:13, 20)
- the Jews say that afterwards a golden sword was hung over the door of the Temple (see Ge 3:24) on which was engraved, "The stranger that comes nigh shall be put to death." (see 1Co 11:29-30)
- picture of Christ, our Priest, who judges (Jn 5:22, 27, 9:29; Ac 10:42-43) and puts to eternal death all strangers to him, whose sins have not been cleansed by his blood (Lk 19:27; Mt 25:41)
- the high priest and his sons were responsible for the care of the interior furnishings of the tabernacle, the holy things (4:5-14)
- the Kohathites were responsible for the care of the sanctuary (3:28, 31, 4:15-20)
- the Gershonites were responsible for the care of the tabernacle and tent, its coverings and curtains (3:25-26, 4:24-28)
- the Merarites were responsible for the care of the framework of the tabernacle and the courtyard (3:36-37, 4:31-33)
- picture of our Priest who did the heavy work of atoning for our sin (Lk 22:41-44)
- the ark went first, ahead of all the divisions (10:33), carried by the Kohathites (4:15) on poles (Ex 25:12-15)
- the first (east) division behind the ark was Judah whose standard was the lion (10:14-16)
- --picture of Christ (Rev 5:5), the captain of the LORD'S army (Josh 5:13-15; cf 2Sa 5:24) and the author (captain) of our salvation leading many sons to glory (Heb 2:10)
- --the LORD is a warrior (Ex 15:3; Ps 24:8)
- behind the first division was the tabernacle (10:17), carried by the Gershonites and the Merarites (4:25-26, 31-32) who had 6 oxcarts and 12 oxen to pull the carts (7:3, 7-8), then followed the second division (10:18-20)
- behind the second division were the tabernacle interior furnishings, the holy things (10:21), carried by the Kohathites (4:15), and
- the third and fourth divisions brought up the rear (10:22-28)
- they did not move aimlessly in the wilderness, their paths were directed by God (9:23) whose presence they acknowledged in the tabernacle
11. Moses offered prayer for victory over their enemies when the ark set out, and prayer for peace at home when the ark came to rest (10:35-36)
PERSONAL APPLICATION: We should begin and end every journey, as well as every day, with prayer for direction, provision and preservation from evil (Mt 6:13).
12. God's provision for Israel was complete for 40 years in three standing miracles: the cloud (Nu 9:15-22), the manna (Ex 16:35; Josh 5:12) and the water (1Co 10:4)
PERSONAL APPLICATION: We can trust God for our complete provision, both spiritually (Ro 8:32; Php 4:19) and materially (Mt 6:25-34) if we seek his kingdom and his righteousness.
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