Bible Talks

Narrator: Chris Genthree
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Numbers 6:21-7:8921This is the law of the Nazarite who hath vowed, and of his offering unto the Lord for his separation, beside that that his hand shall get: according to the vow which he vowed, so he must do after the law of his separation. 22And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 23Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them, 24The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: 25The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: 26The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. 27And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them. 1And it came to pass on the day that Moses had fully set up the tabernacle, and had anointed it, and sanctified it, and all the instruments thereof, both the altar and all the vessels thereof, and had anointed them, and sanctified them; 2That the princes of Israel, heads of the house of their fathers, who were the princes of the tribes, and were over them that were numbered, offered: 3And they brought their offering before the Lord, six covered wagons, and twelve oxen; a wagon for two of the princes, and for each one an ox: and they brought them before the tabernacle. 4And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 5Take it of them, that they may be to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; and thou shalt give them unto the Levites, to every man according to his service. 6And Moses took the wagons and the oxen, and gave them unto the Levites. 7Two wagons and four oxen he gave unto the sons of Gershon, according to their service: 8And four wagons and eight oxen he gave unto the sons of Merari, according unto their service, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. 9But unto the sons of Kohath he gave none: because the service of the sanctuary belonging unto them was that they should bear upon their shoulders. 10And the princes offered for dedicating of the altar in the day that it was anointed, even the princes offered their offering before the altar. 11And the Lord said unto Moses, They shall offer their offering, each prince on his day, for the dedicating of the altar. 12And he that offered his offering the first day was Nahshon the son of Amminadab, of the tribe of Judah: 13And his offering was one silver charger, the weight thereof was an hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them were full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: 14One spoon of ten shekels of gold, full of incense: 15One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 16One kid of the goats for a sin offering: 17And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Nahshon the son of Amminadab. 18On the second day Nethaneel the son of Zuar, prince of Issachar, did offer: 19He offered for his offering one silver charger, the weight whereof was an hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: 20One spoon of gold of ten shekels, full of incense: 21One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 22One kid of the goats for a sin offering: 23And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Nethaneel the son of Zuar. 24On the third day Eliab the son of Helon, prince of the children of Zebulun, did offer: 25His offering was one silver charger, the weight whereof was an hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: 26One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense: 27One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 28One kid of the goats for a sin offering: 29And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Eliab the son of Helon. 30On the fourth day Elizur the son of Shedeur, prince of the children of Reuben, did offer: 31His offering was one silver charger of the weight of an hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: 32One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense: 33One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 34One kid of the goats for a sin offering: 35And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Elizur the son of Shedeur. 36On the fifth day Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai, prince of the children of Simeon, did offer: 37His offering was one silver charger, the weight whereof was an hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: 38One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense: 39One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 40One kid of the goats for a sin offering: 41And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. 42On the sixth day Eliasaph the son of Deuel, prince of the children of Gad, offered: 43His offering was one silver charger of the weight of an hundred and thirty shekels, a silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: 44One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense: 45One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 46One kid of the goats for a sin offering: 47And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Eliasaph the son of Deuel. 48On the seventh day Elishama the son of Ammihud, prince of the children of Ephraim, offered: 49His offering was one silver charger, the weight whereof was an hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: 50One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense: 51One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 52One kid of the goats for a sin offering: 53And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Elishama the son of Ammihud. 54On the eighth day offered Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, prince of the children of Manasseh: 55His offering was one silver charger of the weight of an hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: 56One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense: 57One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 58One kid of the goats for a sin offering: 59And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. 60On the ninth day Abidan the son of Gideoni, prince of the children of Benjamin, offered: 61His offering was one silver charger, the weight whereof was an hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: 62One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense: 63One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 64One kid of the goats for a sin offering: 65And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Abidan the son of Gideoni. 66On the tenth day Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai, prince of the children of Dan, offered: 67His offering was one silver charger, the weight whereof was an hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: 68One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense: 69One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 70One kid of the goats for a sin offering: 71And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. 72On the eleventh day Pagiel the son of Ocran, prince of the children of Asher, offered: 73His offering was one silver charger, the weight whereof was an hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: 74One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense: 75One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 76One kid of the goats for a sin offering: 77And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Pagiel the son of Ocran. 78On the twelfth day Ahira the son of Enan, prince of the children of Naphtali, offered: 79His offering was one silver charger, the weight whereof was an hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: 80One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense: 81One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 82One kid of the goats for a sin offering: 83And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Ahira the son of Enan. 84This was the dedication of the altar, in the day when it was anointed, by the princes of Israel: twelve chargers of silver, twelve silver bowls, twelve spoons of gold: 85Each charger of silver weighing an hundred and thirty shekels, each bowl seventy: all the silver vessels weighed two thousand and four hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary: 86The golden spoons were twelve, full of incense, weighing ten shekels apiece, after the shekel of the sanctuary: all the gold of the spoons was an hundred and twenty shekels. 87All the oxen for the burnt offering were twelve bullocks, the rams twelve, the lambs of the first year twelve, with their meat offering: and the kids of the goats for sin offering twelve. 88And all the oxen for the sacrifice of the peace offerings were twenty and four bullocks, the rams sixty, the he goats sixty, the lambs of the first year sixty. This was the dedication of the altar, after that it was anointed. 89And when Moses was gone into the tabernacle of the congregation to speak with him, then he heard the voice of one speaking unto him from off the mercy seat that was upon the ark of testimony, from between the two cherubims: and he spake unto him. (Numbers 6:21‑7:89)
Just as the Nazarite looked forward to the day when his Nazaiteship would end, so there is a day coming when the godly in Israel will enter into the full fruits of that worous work accomplished by the true Nazarite, the Lord Jesus, at the cross. What rejoicing will then be theirs when the Spirit is poured out upon them from on high. (Ezek. 39:2929Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord God. (Ezekiel 39:29).) All blessing comes finally through Christ, and Christ alone, for both Israel and the Church have failed in their separation to God.
It is because of this truly faithful Nazarite, the Lord Jesus, that the blessings at the end of our chapter are brought in. How sweet and precious they are; His keeping, His grace shining upon. Israel and giving them peace, and then Jehovah’s name put upon them as the assurance of this blessing. These are the purposes of God for Israel, but how sadly they have failed to lay hold of them. He also has purposes of blessing for us (the Church) in this day, and may we all seek to walk in the sunshine of His face so that we may prove these blessings which are now ours in Christ. Truly He has put His name upon us—“And ye are complete in Him.” Col. 2:1010And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: (Colossians 2:10).
It is beautiful, in the seventh chapter, to find each of the twelve tribes offering to the Lord. The offering of the oxen and carts for the Lord’s service was done together — that is, in groups of two tribes—and then all of them together came to present them to the Lord before the tabernacle. Moses, however, did not take them without first asking the Lord what he should do. The Lord then told him to accept them. It is beautiful to see this waiting on the Lord on the part of Moses, and this unity among the tribes too. How good it would be if there were more waiting on the Lord today, and also lona; “'striving togettir for the faith of the gospel” (Phil. 1:2727Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; (Philippians 1:27)), is happy service and submission to the Word of God. We are living in days of independency; each goes his own way, and too often does not stop to consider-what God has spoken in His Word. Let us see that our service flows from communion with the Lord at all times.
After this offering for the Lord’s service, each of the tribes offered their gifts for the dedication of the altar. It is lovely to see this happy unity displayed again, even in these gifts, for they all gave the same. How sweet it would be, in our worship, if each one rose up to the privileges that are his, to give to the Lord that which is really due to Him (1 Chron. 29:1414But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee. (1 Chronicles 29:14)). Too often everything is left to one or two, and so many are silent instead of praising. Things in Israel are seen here in their sweet freshness at the beginning, as they were seen in the Church on the day of Pentecost, but how soon departure came in. Before long, one wanted a place above another in Israel’s history, as well as in the Church’s history, for such is man! He always seeks a place for himself. It may be in business, or in education, or even among the people of God. Pride comes in so insidiously, seeking the place for self which belongs to Christ alone.
The Lord (Jehovah) then spoke to Moses, as He had promised, from above the mercy seat, between the cherubim. Through the blood of the sacrifices the way had been opened up for God to commune with His people and instruct them—not now the thunderings of the law, but just to speak to them as His people.
ML 08/05/1951