Números 3

Números 3

Barnes adds "The personal dignity of Moses, though it gave him rank as at the head of his tribe, was not hereditary. He had, and desired to have Numbers 14:12; Exodus 32:10, no successor in his office but the distant prophet like unto himself Deuteronomy 18:18. Aaron was the ancestor of a regular succession of priests." NET Note - The construction is וְאֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת (vé’elleh tolédot), which was traditionally translated “now these are the generations,” much as it was translated throughout the book of Genesis. The noun can refer to records, stories, genealogies, names, and accounts of people. Here it is the recorded genealogical list with assigned posts included. Like Genesis, it is a heading of a section, and not a colophon as some have suggested. HCSB note - Within the cultural framework of the ancient Near East, genealogical records (Hb toledoth; see note at Gen 5:1) served several purposes: (1) to provide historical connection to a pivotal point in the past; (2) to preserve familial community and organization within the larger societal structure; (3) to justify one's position within the societal structure by providing a historical precedent from within one's family line; and (4) to provide future generations with a source of pride. Moses used his records of the census to substantiate his and Aaron's authority. Numbers 3:2 These then are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. Nu 26:60 Ex 6:23 28:1 1Ch 6:3 24:1 Numbers 3 Resources - Multiples Sermons and Commentaries AARON'S ORIGINAL GENEALOGY These then are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar - So here we find 5 men who were qualified to function as priests in a nation of some 2 million Israelites! KJVSB note on Aaron's line - They alone could handle the sacrificial blood, touch the altar, and enter the tent of meeting. They were the authoritative teachers in Israel (Lev. 10:11; Deut. 24:8), and the official mediators between God and Israel. Along with such a great privilege came an immense responsibility, one that Nadab and Abihu did not meet. Firstborn (01060)(bekor) means an offspring who came first in the order of birth (animals Ge 4:4) or persons (Ge 25:13). Swanson adds that bekor means "firstborn, usually, the first male offspring, the oldest son, with the associative meaning of prominence in the clan and privileges pertaining to clan and inheritance (Ge 43:33; Ne 10:37)." The firstborn of clean animals were sacrificed to the Lord (Dt. 12:6, 17), but the firstborn males of unclean animals could be redeemed (Nu 18:15) Currid - Yahweh calls Israel his ‘first-born son’. He uses the language of a family relationship. Related Resource: Who was Eleazar in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org Who was Ithamar in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org Who were Nadab and Abihu? | GotQuestions.org Numbers 3:3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he ordained to serve as priests. the priests): Ex 28:41 40:13,15 Lev 8:2,12,30 whom he consecrated): Heb. whose hand he filled, Ex 29:1-37 Lev 8:1-9:24 Heb 7:28 Numbers 3 Resources - Multiples Sermons and Commentaries These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he ordained to serve as priests - Ordained literally means "to have one's hand filled." (Ex 28:41; 29:9, 33, 35; Lev. 8:33; 16:32) How did "fill one's hands" come to mean to be ordained? - Currid suggests "It probably developed from the act of placing a sign or symbol of office into the person’s hands. Less likely is Noth’s suggestion that it derives from money being placed into a priest’s hands as payment for his duties. It seems to have more to do with authority in office than with payment for services." Anointed (04886)(masah/maschah) is a verb which basically means to smear something on, to rub with oil, to anoint (as in setting one apart for office or function - Elisha as prophet = 1Ki 19:16, kings for office = 1Sa 9:16 = Saul,1Sa 16:12 = David, 1Ki 1:39 = Solomon) and by implication to sanctify (set aside for sacred purpose) or consecrate (dedicate for a sacred purpose) (altar = Nu 7:10; vessels for worship - Ex 29:36 = "you shall anoint it to consecrate it;" Ex 30:26, 40:9-10). In the first OT use, Jacob "anointed a pillar" and made a vow to God (Ge 31:13; Lxx = aleipho = to anoint by applying a liquid - Jesus' feet were anointed with perfume - Lk 7:38, 46). Baker adds that "The anointing was done with oil to symbolize the elevation of the person to a new position such as priest or king (2Sa 5:3)." Ordained (04390)(male) means to fill or to be full, to complete, to fulfill, to finish, to satisfy. In Lev 16:33 (also in Lev 21:10) male (Lxx = teleioo) is again used with the Hebrew word for hand (yad) in the phrase "male + yad" which as noted above is literally "fill one's hand" and in most versions is translated ordained (NJB = "installed"). NET Note - In this verse the expression is in a relative clause: “who he filled their hand” means “whose hands he filled,” or “whom he consecrated.” The idiomatic expression used here is from Lev 8; it literally is “he filled their hand” (מִלֵּא יָדָם, mille’ yadam). In the ordination service Moses placed some of the meat from the sacrifice in the hand of the ordinand, and this signified what he was going to be about—having his hand full, or being consecrated to the priesthood. There is some evidence that this practice or expression was also known in Mesopotamia. In modern ordination services a NT or a Bible may be placed in the ordinand’s hand—it is what the ministry will be about. Numbers 3:4 But Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD when they offered strange fire before the LORD in the wilderness of Sinai; and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of their father Aaron. Nadab: Nu 26:61 Lev 10:1,2 Numbers 3 Resources - Multiples Sermons and Commentaries Related Passages: Leviticus 10:1; 2+ Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them. 2 And fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD Strange Fire STRANGE FIRE CALLS DOWN WRATH OF GOD But Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD when they offered (“when they brought near,” “when they offered" - see qarab below) strange fire before the LORD in the wilderness of Sinai; and they had no children - These two priests were next in line after Aaron, but were killed without any offspring to pass on their lineage (this information is not given in the Lev 10:1-7+ account). Children were normally considered a blessing from God, but the fact that they did not have any adds to the shame of what they did NET Note on no children - The two young priests had been cut down before they had children; the ranks of the family of Aaron were thereby cut in half in one judgment from God. The significance of the act of judgment was to show that the priests had to sanctify the LORD before the people—they were to be examples that the sanctuary and its contents were distinct. Currid has an interesting comment on why the strange fire episode is mentioned - One purpose of the inclusion of this comment by the biblical writer was probably to anticipate the rebellion of Korah in Numbers 16. The act of fire being placed in censers for false worship is central to both episodes.(EPSC-Nu) Brian Bell on strange (profane) fire - Censer(firepan) - (Show Picture) The priest filled the censer with live coals from the sacred fire on the altar of burnt-offering, and having carried it into the sanctuary, there threw upon the burning coals the sweet incense, which sent up a cloud of smoke, filling the apartment with fragrance. Incense - a fragrant composition prepared by the "art of the apothecary." It consisted of 4 ingredients "beaten small”. That which was not thus prepared was called "strange incense" (Ex 30:9). It was offered along with every meat-offering; and besides was daily offered on the golden altar in the holy place, and on the great day of atonement was burnt by the high priest in the holy of holies. Profane Fire (strange fire; wrong kind of fire; unauthorized fire) In Leviticus 8,9 the priest had just been made holy. Fire just fell from heaven in a positive way (read Lev 9:22-24). Fire’s about to fall in a bad way! William’s said, Man always & immediately fails when placed in any position of responsibility & glory. Adam, Noah, Moses, Solomon, the Apostles, the Hebrew & Christian churches are all sad proofs of this fact. It sure didn’t take long for sin to enter the priesthood! Here Nadab & Abihu did what the lord had not commanded! Ex.19:22+ “Also let the priests who come near the LORD consecrate themselves, lest the LORD break out against them....Interesting - They were “devoured” by the fire; but their priestly tunics were not burnt (like the tabernacle was not burnt) (2,5)....Those who have access to God have responsibility as well as privilege. David Thompson - There is an important principle to see here. It is a very serious thing to make up your own idea of worship. It is true that usually God does not strike down a minister today with a lightning bolt, but there will be serious judgment that God will give to the minister (James 3:1). You do not want to do your own thing when it comes to worship. We must be very careful to take God’s Word and work very seriously. It is no light matter to God to be a leader when it comes to worship. NET Note on strange fire - The expression אֵשׁ זָרָה (’esh zarah, “strange fire”) seems imprecise and has been interpreted numerous ways (see the helpful summary in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC 4], 132–33). The infraction may have involved any of the following or a combination thereof: (1) using coals from some place other than the burnt offering altar (i.e., “unauthorized coals” according to J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:598; cf. Lev 16:12 and cf. “unauthorized person” [אִישׁ זָר, ’ish zar] in Num 16:40 [17:5 HT], NASB “layman”), (2) using the wrong kind of incense (cf. the Exod 30:9 regulation against “strange incense” [קְטֹרֶת זָרָה, qétoret zarah] on the incense altar and the possible connection to Exod 30:34–38), (3) performing an incense offering at an unprescribed time (B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 59), or (4) entering the Holy of Holies at an inappropriate time (Lev 16:1–2). So Eleazar ('God has helped') and Ithamar ('land of palms') served as priests in the lifetime of their father Aaron - All future (legitimate) priests would come from the families of these two sons of Aaron. Eleazar ('God has helped') would succeed Aaron as the high priest after Aaron's death in the region of Moab across the Jordan River from the promised land (Nu 20:23-29; Nu 33:38-39). Thompson - "Now according to verse 4, we learn that the two sons of Aaron who were left, Eleazar and Ithamar, could not possibly carry out all tabernacle ministry matters on their own. So what God did, according to verses 5-6, was to speak to Moses and assign the entire tribe of Levi with the responsibility of helping Aaron and his two sons in regard to worship matters." Rayburn - At the outset we are warned that carelessness or indifference in the service of a holy God can be fatal. (ED: If we really had this sober minded approach what would it do to our work for God, our worship for God?) In the lifetime is literally "in the presence of Aaron their father" or ‘before the face of Aaron." NET Note adds "The expression “in the presence of” can also mean “during the lifetime of” (see Ge 11:28). Served as priests (03547)(kahan from kohen = priest) occurs as a plural verb and means to act or function as a priest. Gilbrant - Derived from the noun kōhfin , "priest," this verb occurs twenty-three times in the Bible with the meaning "to minister as a priest." It occurs only in the Piel stem. The verb has cognates in several Semitic languages. Mostly, it occurs in Middle Hebrew and later Aramaic dialects in the same semantic range as what is found in the Hebrew Bible. Also, the verb appears in Arabic with the meaning "to prophesy," a function which rarely accompanies priestly actions in the Hebrew Bible, especially after David centralized worship in Jerusalem. Usually the verb refers to ministering as a priest of the Lord in Israel, so of Aaron and his sons (Ex 28:1, 3, 4, 41; 29:1, 44; 30:30; 31:10; 35:19; 39:41; 40:13, 15; Lev. 7:35; Num. 3:3f; Deut. 10:6; 1 Chr. 24:2) or of Aaron's descendants who succeeded him (Lev. 16:32; 1 Chr. 6:10). NIDOTTE - Perhaps the central concept of priesthood is mediation between the sphere of the divine and the ordinary world. A priest through his ritual actions and his words facilitates communication across the boundary separating the holy from the profane. The priests represented God to the people in the splendor of their clothing, in their behavior, and in oracles and instruction, while in sacrifice and intercession they represented the people to God (TDOT 7:70). Question - What is the meaning of the strange fire in Leviticus 10:1? Answer - In order to understand the phrase “strange fire,” we must review the story in Leviticus in which it appears. The first tabernacle had been erected, and Aaron was doing a lot of sacrificing per God’s instructions (Leviticus 8—9). One day, two of Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, came along and offered incense with “strange fire.” The Hebrew word translated “strange” means “unauthorized, foreign, or profane.” God not only rejected their sacrifice; He found it so offensive that He consumed the two men with fire. After Nadab and Abihu were killed, Moses explained to Aaron why God had done such a harsh thing: “This is what the LORD spoke of when he said: ‘Among those who approach me I will show myself holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honored’” (Leviticus 10:3). The exact nature of the profane fire isn’t known, but, since it was the fire that was unauthorized, it could be that Nadab and Abihu were burning the incense with fire of their own making rather than taking fire from the altar, as specified in Leviticus 16:12. Or it could have been that the two men came into the tabernacle drunk and therefore could not remember what was a violation and what was not (Leviticus 10:8–9). Whatever it was the men did to render the offering profane, it was a sign of their disregard for the utter holiness of God and the need to honor and obey Him in solemn and holy fear. Their carelessness and irreverence were their downfall. In judging Nadab and Abihu for their strange fire, God was making a point to all the other priests who would serve in His tabernacle—and later, in His temple—and to us, as well. Since this was the first time sacrifices were being offered on the altar and Israel was getting to know the living God better, when Aaron’s sons were disobedient and profane, God displayed His displeasure in no uncertain terms. God was not going to allow the disobedience of Aaron’s sons to set a precedent for future disregard of His Law. A similar story occurs in Acts 5:1–11, during the time of the early church. A husband and wife lie to Peter about some land given to the church, and they are judged with physical death because of their lie. As Peter puts it, “You have not lied just to human beings but to God” (Acts 5:4). God knows our hearts. He knows what we truly believe and our attitude toward Him. We cannot offer to Him proud “sacrifices” that are unworthy of Him. He seeks those who come to Him in humility, ready to sacrifice their pride and lay before Him humble and contrite hearts grieving for sin (Psalm 51:17). Certainly, there is grace and forgiveness and plenty of “second chances” for those who belong to Him. But God wants us to know that He is serious when it comes to His honor and glory. If there is willful disobedience in the life of a believer, then God disciplines us out of His great love for us (Hebrews 12:7–11). If such disobedience continues, God will take harsher measures until we understand how we are disappointing Him. If we continue in our disobedience even after that, then God has every right to remove us from this earth (see 1 Corinthians 11:29–30 (Source GotQuestions.org) Numbers 3:5 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, Nu 1:49-53 2:17,33 8:6-15,22-26 16:9-11 18:2-6 Ex 32:26-29 De 33:8,9 Mal 2:4 Numbers 3 Resources - Multiples Sermons and Commentaries Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying - 4x in Numbers 3 - Nu 3:5, 11, 14, 44. Numbers 3:6 "Bring the tribe of Levi near and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him. BGT Numbers 3:6 λαβὲ τὴν φυλὴν Λευι καὶ στήσεις αὐτοὺς ἐναντίον Ααρων τοῦ ἱερέως καὶ λειτουργήσουσιν αὐτῷ NET Numbers 3:6 "Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him. NLT Numbers 3:6 "Call forward the tribe of Levi, and present them to Aaron the priest to serve as his assistants. ESV Numbers 3:6 "Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. NIV Numbers 3:6 "Bring the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron the priest to assist him. keep: Nu 3:32 8:26 31:30 1Ch 23:28-32 26:20,22,26 to do the: Nu 1:50 8:11,15,24-26 Numbers 3 Resources - Multiples Sermons and Commentaries Bring the tribe of Levi near and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him - This passage makes the point that not all the Levites were priests but only the members of the family of Aaron. In this context bring near is a sacrificial word, and signifies the presenting of an offering to the Lord, in this case the "offering" being the tribe of Levi which was entirely given up to the service of the sanctuary, to be no longer their own, but the Lord's (cf NT believers in 1 Cor 6:19-20+). THOUGHT - Now believers are to "bring (themselves) near" (so to speak) as a sacrificial offering. Paul describes this in Romans 12:1-2+ "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present () paristemi = stand near) your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable (pleasing) to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed (present imperative with a negative see our need to depend on the Holy Spirit to obey) to this world, but be transformed (present imperative see our need to depend on the Holy Spirit to obey) by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." HCSB adds regarding bring near that this is "The language of God's instruction to Moses is that of an animal sacrifice formally brought before a priest. Hence the Levites were brought and set apart before the high priest Aaron to serve God's people." NET translates bring near as "present them" and notes - This refers to the ceremonial presentation in which the tribe would take its place before Aaron, that is, stand before him and await their assignments. The Levites will function more like a sacred guard than anything else, for they had to protect and care for the sanctuary when it was erected and when it was transported Brian Bell - Aaron & his sons were given the duties of the priesthood, the rest of the tribe formed the more monotonous, really repetitive, dull duties of ministry & transport. BSB - The functions of the tribe of Levi were to assist the priests in serving at the tabernacle (Nu 16:8-11), to guard the tabernacle from defilement (Nu 1:53; 3:10), to redeem the firstborn of Israel (Nu 3:12, 13, 40-43; 8:14-19), and to teach the Law (Mal 2:4-9). Bring near (offer) (07126)(qarab) means to come near or approach. It is a verb which basically indicates coming physically close. Of bringing or presenting an offering ("bringing near one's sacrifice") to the LORD and thus often translated "offer" (Lev 2:1, 4, 8, Nu 26:61, 31:50, et al). NET Note - The use of the verb קָרַב (qarav) forms an interesting wordplay in the passage. The act of making an offering is described by this verb, as was the reference to the priests’ offering of strange fire. Now the ceremonial presentation of the priests is expressed by the same word—they are being offered to God. Numbers 3:7 "They shall perform the duties for him and for the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, to do the service of the tabernacle. BGT Numbers 3:7 καὶ φυλάξουσιν τὰς φυλακὰς αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰς φυλακὰς τῶν υἱῶν Ισραηλ ἔναντι τῆς σκηνῆς τοῦ μαρτυρίου ἐργάζεσθαι τὰ ἔργα τῆς σκηνῆς NET Numbers 3:7 They are responsible for his needs and the needs of the whole community before the tent of meeting, by attending to the service of the tabernacle. NLT Numbers 3:7 They will serve Aaron and the whole community, performing their sacred duties in and around the Tabernacle. ESV Numbers 3:7 They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle. NIV Numbers 3:7 They are to perform duties for him and for the whole community at the Tent of Meeting by doing the work of the tabernacle. Nu 4:15,28,33 10:17,21 1Ch 26:20-28 Ezra 8:24-30 Isa 52:11 Numbers 3 Resources - Multiples Sermons and Commentaries LEVITES RESPONSIBLE FOR NEEDS OF AARON They shall perform (shamar) the duties for him and for the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, to do the service of the tabernacle - In other words, the tribe of Levi would service the Tabernacle to help Aaron in his priestly function.Think about this for a moment. There were upwards to 2 million Israelites and after losing his eldest two sons, there were a very small number of actual Levitical priests (Aaron and his two remaining sons)! They needed help! Matthew