Tag Archives: Levites

Numbers 18-19:

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The Distinction of the Levites from the Lay People:
In response to the latest rebellions, the Lord tells them that the “Israelites may no longer approach the Meeting Tent; else they will incur guilt deserving death. Only the Levites are to perform the service of the Meeting Tent, and they alone shall be held responsible; this is a perpetual ordinance for all your generations.” (Num. 18:22-23)  And, “Any layman who draws near shall be put to death.” (Num. 18:7)  Lay people are no longer allowed to approach the Meeting Tent, but only the Levite priests can.

The Ashes of the Red Heifer:
With the death of so many people, there were many dead bodies around the camp.  Therefore, God provides the Israelites with a ritual for making “holy water” to cleanse people who have had contact with a dead body, corpse.  This holy water is made through the ashes of a red heifer cow.  This mysterious commandment is of great importance and precision, as the Lord tells Moses and Aaron: “This is the statute of the law.” (Num. 19:2)  The Lord instructs them:

“Tell the people of Israel to bring you a red heifer without defect, in which there is no blemish, and upon which a yoke has never come. And you shall give her to Elea′zar the priest, and she shall be taken outside the camp and slaughteredbefore him; and Elea′zar the priest shall take some of her blood with his finger, and sprinkle some of her blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times. And the heifer shall be burned in his sight; her skin, her flesh, and her blood, with her dung, shall be burned; and the priest shall take cedarwood and hyssop and scarlet yarn, and cast them into the midst of the burning of the heifer.” (Num. 19:2-6)

Red Hair:
There are a number of intriguing details about the sacrifice of the red heifer.  First, it must be a red cow without defect or blemish.  Much like the Passover lamb, the red heifer must be perfect.  This is a typology of Jesus.  Some have argued based on this law of the red heifer that Jesus, in fact, had red hair.  Red hair or “redness” seems to be in the genealogy of Jesus too.  The name Adam, the first man, comes from the Hebrew word (אָדוֹם) for earth or redness.  Esau, the first-born son of Isaac, is described as having been born “red, covered in hair like a fur coat.” (Gen. 25:25)  Jacob, later known as “Israel,” of course, stole Isaac’s fatherly blessing of Esau (as the first-born son) by “putting on” Esau’s garments.  Christians similarly “put on” Christ’s garments to obtain the blessing of the Heavenly Father.  Moreover, King David is also described as “ruddy” in appearance (1 Sam. 16:12).  “Ruddy” meaning having a healthy, red in appearance complexion, or possibly red-haired.  There is no physical description of Jesus as having red hair, nothing in Scripture or in the historical record, although some early iconography of Jesus does depict him with reddish hair.  Nevertheless, the Lord does instruct Moses and Aaron that the sacrificial offering, representing Christ, must be a red heifer (without blemish).  Perhaps Christ did have red hair.  More importantly, red symbolizes blood and life.  The red heifer is a symbol of blood, life and pure vitality.  It is the key ingredient in creating the “living waters,” the holy water to cure the impurity of death. Killed outside of Camp:The red heifer should be killed outside of camp.  Jesus too was killed outside the walls of the Temple and Jerusalem on the hill of Calvary.  Later, in the days of the Temple, the red heifer was killed outside of the Temple and Jerusalem, on the Mount of Olives.   

Cedar wood, Hyssop, and Scarlet Yarn:
This is the same combination of materials used also in Leviticus 14 for the curing of people with leprosy.  These ingredients are interesting as they are reminiscent (foreshadowing) of Jesus’ Crucifixion.  Jesus carried the wood of the Cross and was crucified on the wood of the Cross. Isaac had similarly carried wood to be part of his sacrifice.  Jesus had been draped in a “scarlet robe” being mocked by the Roman soldiers: “And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe upon him..” (Mt. 27:28)His death and piercing by the spear resulted in His blood (“scarlet”) coming forth from His side.  Lastly, as far as the hyssop, the soldier had used the hyssop to give Jesus a taste of vinegar or wine while He hung dying on the Cross: “so they put a sponge full of the vinegar on hyssop and held it to his mouth.” (Jn. 19:29)  The wood, hyssop and scarlet yarn are clear foreshadows of the Cross of Christ.

Living Waters / Holy Water of the Red Heifer:
“For the unclean they shall take some ashes of the burnt sin offering, and running water shall be added in a vessel; then a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon all the furnishings, and upon the persons who were there, and upon him who touched the bone, or the slain, or the dead, or the grave; and the clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day; thus on the seventh day he shall cleanse him, and he shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and at evening he shall be clean.” (Num. 19:17-19) On the third day, and then again on the seventh day they need to have the living water sprinkled upon them.

The Priest is made Unclean:
One of the more peculiar things about this ritual is that in making burning the red heifer and making the holy water, the priest himself is made ritually unclean.  It is almost as if Jesus on the Cross took on sin and became sin and death, so too, in the same way, the Levite priest becomes ritually impure in making the water that purifies.

Nine Red Heifers, and the Tenth Shall be by the Mashiach (Messiah):
In Maimonides’ Jewish Law, he claims that there were 9 red heifers offered in history, but the 10th one will be brought by the Messiah.  He writes: “Nine red heifers were offered from the time that they were commanded to fulfill this mitzvah until the time when the Temple was destroyed a second time.  The first was brought by Moses our teacher.  The second was brought by Ezra. Seven others were offered until the destruction of the Second Temple.  And the tenth will be brought by the King Moshiach; may he speedily be revealed. Amen, so may it be God’s will.” (Mishnah, Parah Adumah 3:5)  Indeed, even today the red heifer is associated with messianic fulfillment.  Jews (and Christians) looking to re-establish the Temple (ie, the Third Temple) are eagerly looking for a new red heifer to be born, so the priesthood and the animal sacrifices of Temple worship can be reinstated.

The Red Heifer Fulfilled with Jesus:
Jesus, in fact, did fulfill the prophecy and ritualization of the red heifer. He was “washed” in His tears as He wept over Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives.  Later, He was sacrificed as a sin offering outside the walls of the city and Temple, just as the red heifer was, with the wood, and the hyssop and the scarlet yarn.  The blood and water that flowed from Jesus’ side are the true “living waters” that Jesus promised: “On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and proclaimed, “If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink.  He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.’” (John 7:37-38)

The Book of Hebrews:
The author of the Book of Hebrews mentions this too, saying: “ For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ..” (Heb. 9:13-14)  The waters of Baptism and of Christ are much greater than the living waters of the red heifer.

Numbers 1-2:

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Israelites still at Mt. Sinai:
The Book of Numbers comes from the two “numberings” of the first and second generations of Israelites in the wilderness.  Numbers details the two generations wanderings, geographical and spiritual, in the wilderness of the Sinai.  The first part of the book (ch. 1-25) details the first generation in the wilderness, and the second part of the book (ch. 26-36) details the second generation in the wilderness.  The book ends (ie, the 40 years) with the Israelites at the plains of Moab at the doorstep to the Promised Land.

The Census:
The Book of Numbers opens up with a census of the people for “all the men in Israel of twenty years or more who are fit for military service.” (Num. 1:3)  Israelis arrayed in a war camp arrangement.  It is in the midst of the desert wilderness surrounded by enemies that want to kill them.  They will have to defeat enemies to take control of the Promised Land. Thus, a census is done in part to determine the number of fighting men to comprise the army of Israel.  After polling all twelve tribes of Israel: “The total number of the Israelites of twenty years or more who were fit for military service, registered by ancestral houses, was six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty.” (Num. 1:45-46)  Or: 603,550 military age men.  This seems like a very large number, especially if including women and children, which would put the camp of Israel up into the 1-2 million. Scholars debate the veracity of this number and if it should be smaller or not.

The Levites Exempted:
Yet, the amount of attention paid to the Levites and the Levitical system, the change from the Covenant at Mt. Sinai to the Levitical system and law, due to the sin of the Golden Calf, suggests there is need for caution. The Levites camp directly around the Tabernacle acting as a buffer between the “lay tribes” and Yahweh.  The Levites mediate the interaction now between Israel and God.  After the Golden Calf incident, the firstborn sons of Israel were “laicized” and now the Levite men alone are the royal priesthood.  The Levites are exempted from the census and military service.  The Levites are in charge of the “Dwelling” with all “its equipment and all that belongs to it.” (Num. 1:50)  “They shall therefore camp around the Dwelling.” “Any layman who comes near it shall be put to death.”  Only the Levites are to approach to the Dwelling (the Meeting Tent).

The War Camp:
The Israelites are arrayed in a military style war camp, surrounding the Meeting Tent to the north, south, east and west.  Each tribe is camped “each in his own division, under the ensigns of their ancestral houses” surrounding the Meeting Tent. (Num. 2:2)  The Tabernacle is in the center.  Four groups of three tribes are at each cardinal point.  To the east are Judah, Isaachar, and Zebulum; to the south are Reuben, Simeon, and Gad; to the west are Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin; and to the north are Dan, Asher, and Naphtali.  The war camp of Israel is a similar array to the Egyptian war camp as the Egyptian army surrounded the tent of Pharaoh in the middle. There is a certain amount of optimism with the Israelites as they are arrayed in a military camp prepared for conquest.

Leviticus 8-10:

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Gradations of Holiness:
Only the priests could enter in beyond the altar.  Sacred space could not be polluted.  Leviticus offers many “object lessons” reflecting the holiness and distinctness of God.  The sanctity of the presence of God is reflected in the symbols and objects of the Tabernacle.  The farther one goes into the Tabernacle, the higher the gradation of holiness and sanctity of the sacred object and the sacred space.  Once the Tabernacle is consecrated it is no longer called the Tabernacle, but now the “Tent of Meeting” or the “Meeting Tent.” Now, God will meet with His people. The name change is due to the fact that it is now an active, sanctified and consecrated sacred space, where God will commune and fellowship with His people, Israel.

Consecration of Aaron as High Priest, and his sons:
The ordination ritual of the Levitical priesthood followed certain steps: (1) washing of water; (2) vesting of Aaron the High Priest; (3) Anointing with oil on the priests, Tabernacle, altar and sacred objects; (4) vesting of Aaron’s sons; (5) Sacrifices for ordination; (6) Ordination banquet of flesh and blood sacrifices.

Priestly Ordination:
Aaron is girded with a tunic, a sash, a robe; they placed an ephod on him; a breastpiece on him, with the “Urim and Thummim” in it; a mitre on his head, attaching a gold plate, a sacred diadem on the front of the mitre over the forehead.  To enter into sacred space requires sacred attire. Over his forehead was inscribed: “Holy to Yahweh”.  The High Priest was the representative of the whole nation of Israel.  You do not enter into the presence of God in shoddy attire, so God in fact instructed Moses and Aaron how the High Priest was to dress in His presence.  The High Priestly attire in fact sounds a lot like the attire worn, later by Bishops and the Pope.  This is not coincidental.  The priestly vestments of the Old Covenant Levites are carried over into the New Covenant episcopal garb.  In the rite of ordination, the High Priest was anointed with oil and consecrated from head to foot.  They threw blood on the altar (God), on the people (Israel), and on the priests. This harkens back to the Sinai Covenant (Ex. 24) where they performed similar rites.  At the end of the ordination and consecration rituals: “And fire came forth from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat upon the altar; and when all the people saw it, they shouted, and fell on their faces.” (Lev. 9:24)

Urim and Thummim:
These are mysterious stone objects placed in the breastpiece of the High Priest.  They were apparently used as a divination device to discern the will of God.  (ie, Thummim means “innocent” or “yes” and Urim means “curse” or “no.”  It was a subjective and imprecise process.  1 Samuel 14 shows Saul casting them down to try to discern God’s will. This was a time before there were any scriptures.  For 13 months they stayed at Mt. Sinai.  There was no Old Testament, Torah, and certainly no New Testament.  There were not yet any prophets or kings.  This was an early stage of God revealing Himself to His people and revealing His will.  The Thummim and Urim would progressively give way to more divine knowledge with the Scriptures, and the prophets, and eventually to the very Word of God’s Incarnation with Jesus Christ, who will be face to face with His people.

Banquet of Flesh and Bread:
This theme of “flesh and bread” is carried throughout the Old Covenant and into the New, preparing Israel for the arrival of the Eucharist, the flesh of Christ hidden under the appearance of bread.  “Boil the flesh at the door of the tent of meeting, and there eat it and the bread that is in the basket of ordination offerings, as I commanded, saying, ‘Aaron and his sons shall eat it’” (Lev. 8:31)

Deaths of Nadab and Abihu:
Two of Aaron’s sons offered “strange fire” or “profane fire” before the Lord that had not been authorized. Because they did not follow protocol, “fire therefore came forth from the Lord’s presence and consumed them, so that they died in His presence.” (Lev. 10:2)  Being in the presence of God is a fearful and dangerous thing, something we should not take lightly.  Church, in the presence of the Body and Blood of Christ, is a holy thing. It is the new sacred space.

Leviticus 1-5:

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The Tabernacle:
Leviticus means pertaining to the Levites, that is, the book is primarily about the cultic regulations of the Levitical priesthood.  Yahweh will now have moved from Mt. Sinai to the Tabernacle.  The Tabernacle is in effect a portable Mount Sinai.  Just as Mt. Sinai was a successor to the Garden of Eden, now the Tabernacle is a new kind of Eden.  The Tabernacle is sacred space.  It is the dwelling place of God, where man can interact again with God, as in the original blueprint of Eden.  But, sacred space requires sacred actions, sacred objects, sacred vocations, and sacred procedures.  All of this would require consecration and sanctification to be ritually fit in order to be in the presence of God.  To be ritually impure in the presence of God is a death sentence.  The presence of God is a dangerous thing.  We are to have a holy fear of being in the presence of God. It is something awesome and something sacred. Leviticus introduces the sacrificial system and the notion of sacrificial atonement, thus preparing the way for the idea later ultimately, of Christ’s sacrificial atoning death.

The Five Offerings:
To prepare the priests and the people, five different ritualized sacrificial offerings can be made at the Tabernacle, as a means of atonement: (1) the Burnt Offering (2) the Grain Offering (3) The Peace Offering (4) The Sin Offering (5) the Guilt Offering.

(1) The Burnt Offering: (“holocaust”) was offered by someone seeking access, fellowship, and communion with God.  This is not about sin, but about ritual purity.  The hands were laid on the animal’s head to signify the transferal of a symbolic identity as the offerer.  It was a way to approach God and be protected from His divine wrath. Proximity to God is dangerous and fearful thing. [contrast this with the “go boldly” before God in the New Testament, ie, Heb. 4:16.  No gift necessary to access sacred space; we are the temple of God now.  That is why it is so necessary to live a holy life. We are “set apart” sacred space and temples of God.]  Nothing of the burnt offering is ever eaten, but is entirely consumed in fire and “goes up” as smoke to God.  The entire animal is given to God as a representation of the offeror’s complete self-donation to God.

(2) The Grain Offering:  also called the “Cereal Offering”.  It was an unbloody sacrifice consisting of some form of grain, possibly baked as a cake or not.  The “minhah” expressed a sort of communion between the offerer and God in the form of a “meal” presented to God.  It was made of “fine flour” with frankincense. Unleavened and with no honey. Leaven is puffed up with pride and sin. Honey is associated with pagan sacrifices. Thus, the grain offering should be unleavened and without honey, disassociating it from pride and paganism. It should contain salt. The grain offering with salt (Lev. 2:13) is like a “covenant of salt” (Num. 18:19; 2 Chron. 13:5), which is a binding covenant.  It absorbs more blood of the animal, and more importantly, breaking the covenant is like a land plowed over with salt, that is, no grain will grow. The land becomes unusable.  Thus, the covenant of salt is binding and forever.

(3) The Peace Offering:  This was an offering of “thanksgiving” or being personally thankful to God.  It represented a state of communion between God and the worshipper, a joyful sacrifice. The fat of the animal was offered to God, but the priest and the people ate the rest of the animal in a celebratory feast, accompanied with grain offerings with it.  It was a communal meal with God.  There existed a state of well-being between the offerer and God.

(4) Sin Offering:  (“hattat”) This is a sacrifice to restore communion with God through the forgiveness of sins; a “purification offering.”  The sin offering serves to cleanse the worshipper from ritual uncleanness, by inadvertent moral or ritual violations. This is for unintentional violations. This was offered on behalf of the congregation’s sins on whole.  Blood was applied to the sanctuary to maintain ritual purity against defilement. The priest ate the fatty offering. The sin offering did not cover all sins, only a purification offering for inadvertent transgressions and retain ritual purity.  This did not apply to immorality, or willful sins.  “Purification offering” would be a better title.  The offering is to “cleanse” “purify” and “to decontaminate.”  The blood is applied to decontaminate the sacred space; ritual purity.  The Virgin Mary’s sin offering (Lk. 2:24) is for ritual purity, not immorality or culpability as some Protestants argue.  Decontamination for inadvertent ritual violations.  Deliberate sin, on the other hand, there was no remedy or sacrificial offering; the sinner would be “cut off” or killed.  The blood was sprinkled seven times on the Holy of Holies and Mercy Seat (once a year on the Day of Atonement by the High Priest) and on the “horns” of the Altar and outside the Tabernacle. [Again, this is in contrast to Jesus and the New Covenant, where all is cleansed; all is forgiven; all sacred space is cleansed; made into new creations – something totally foreign to the Levitical old covenant system.  Christianity is radical: can be cleansed of all sins, even deliberate grave sins; No restrictions. God sees the perfection of the Messiah, not your sins.]

(5) Guilt Offering:  (“asham”) This could also be called a “Reparation” or “Restitution” Offering.  The guilt offering makes reparation or restitution to God for the damage done by sin. Whereas the sin offering deals with forgiveness of sin, the guilt offering deals with reparation for sin; forgiveness and reparation respectively.  In the Catholic sacrament of Reconciliation, we deal with these notions too: forgiveness and absolution, but also, penance and making amends.  The two ideas go together in the Old covenant system too.  This is “compensation” for something, such as a breach of faith unintentionally (ie, like misusing sanctuary property by accident).  The guilt offering would be “a ram without blemish” foreshadowing the sacrifice of Christ, who was without sin. Guilt/Restitution offering was done by someone who was repentant, but it did not absolve a person of immorality. Rather, it gave the person a chance to make amends.  Knowingly, defiant sin is not addressed by the sacrificial system of the Levites. For those (murder, rape, breaking the Ten Commandments), no restitution was possible, only banishment or death penalty. [We have it much better in the New Covenant, where we are truly forgiven in Christ by His Cross.  His blood covers our sins; God the Father only sees His son, not our sins; a radical notion to the Old Covenant Israelite.]