Comparing the Compensation of Clergy in the Old Testament Israelite Congregation to The New Testament Church Today.

Numbers Chapter 18: Remuneration of the Priesthood

Numbers 18:1-32

Day 70. Ten weeks of “please stay at home” and “we’ll shut down everything just in case.” As I posted earlier today, “If ever there was a doubt about whether or not politicians can solve the world's problems, it has totally disappeared. They can't.” Neither can doctors. Of course, lawyers will always be around to make a good dollar from the messes that politicians and doctors make. And we just had a black man named George Floyd killed by four police officers in Minnesota with initial video showing the murder. They only got fired. And of course, there’s an outrage. Only God can solve this kind of mess, this kind of hatred. And He will unite us – in His good time and in His good way. But of course, that may be too late for some who reject Him now. In the meantime, we keep on studying. I was encouraged again today by a reader who appreciates how we try to simplify the passages here. Thank you, K.B., but I assure you, I too am benefitting from this. So much to learn and take in.  Keep on trucking.  Please comment on blog, share it, and/or ask questions that arise. Now let’s turn what God said about compensation for priests.

The Passage

This chapter (in verses 1-3) clarifies the duties of Aaron and his sons (the priesthood) verses those of the Levites (their assistants). Aaron and Sons are held responsible for any offenses related to or in connection with the sanctuary and the priesthood. But their brothers, the rest of the tribe of Levi will serve them in their duties, but they cannot go near the furnishings of the sanctuary and the altar, or both Aaron’s family and the Levites would die.

Verse 4 says that no outsider may enter the tent of meeting or go near Aaron or the priests. Verse 5 says this division of duties is intended to eliminate the wrath of the sons of Israel (the whole congregation).

In verse 6, God assures Aaron that the men He has given them as helpers are a) a gift, and b) dedicated to the Lord, for the purpose of performing their work. Verse 7 informs us that God is giving Aaron and Sons the priesthood as a bestowed gift, or honor, or present.

Then in verse 8 God continues talking to Aaron and up to verse 20, the chapter reviews the ‘remuneration’ of Aaron and Sons – that is, what they get to keep for their services that they may share with their families. And this was to go on perpetually in the future. Verse 10 tells us that the food portions of their compensation are to considered holy and eaten. In verse 12, God says He is the One giving Aaron’s family the fresh oil, fresh wine, the grain, and the first fruits.

In verses 14-15, God says that every “devoted” thing in Israel would belong to the priests. That includes all firstborns. But the firstborn of man they will need to redeem.

Verses 16-19 give more instructions about the redemption price, and what is not to be redeemed; as well as how to deal with the blood of the firstborn of an ox or a sheep or a goat.

And God reminds Aaron (in verse 20) that he and his sons are not to have any inheritance in their land nor own any portion of it, as He [God] alone is their portion and inheritance.

Then in verse 21, God turns His attention to the sons of Levi that were to help Aaron and Sons in their work. He indicates He has given them “the tithe” for their service. That tithe comes from the Israel of Israel (the whole congregation). That is their inheritance and they have no other inheritance among the sons of Israel.

Finally, in this chapter, God speaks again to Moses (verse 25). Moses was to tell the Levites that when they get the tithe from the rest of Israel, they still have to tithe on it to the Lord – a tithe of the tithe (vs. 26). They were to give the Lord the best of the tithe, and the rest was theirs (verse 31) for themselves and their families. This was their ‘compensation’ for their services in the tent of meeting.

The chapter ends by telling the Levites that doing what God asks here will clear them from any guilt or sin with respect to receiving or taking this tithe from the people. However, they were not to treat these gifts from the people as though they were common in any way. Doing so would mean they would die.

Thoughts on the Passage

After God proved to the sons of Israel that Aaron and family were indeed the divinely-appointed priests and that the Levites were to only help them, He then went about to eliminate any further wrath by specifying their separate areas of operation, their duties and responsibilities, and the process by which they were to be compensated. He also indicated what the penalty was for both the sons of Aaron and the sons of Levi if they messed this up – they would die.  Here’s the first point – God never assigns anyone any “authority” without assigning them a corresponding “responsibility”. Take note when God give you an assignment – there is no option as to how well you apply yourself to it.

The very desire of God to eliminate the wrath of the people tells me a lot about God. Not only does He give us instructions, but He cares about psychologically and emotional states. He didn’t want His people to be angry, or furious, or annoyed. That’s God’s “father-side”. As parents, we sometimes not only decide disputes among our children, but we also then try to work with those that feel they got the short end of the straw. Why do we do that – because we love them. That’s our God.

God also assures Aaron that the helpers God has given him and his sons are hand-picked, fully qualified to do the work – they’re a gift from God and dedicated to God. When God assigns you a responsibility, He knows what help you need and how much. In fact, in this case, those helpers are to be perceived by Aaron as a gift, an honor. We could well ask ourselves how we view our helpers, our workers? Do we see them as God’s gift and treat them in the appropriate manner, encouraging them, developing them, and so on?

Just to make this a little clearer:
-- Aaron and his family were part of the tribe of Levi – but only his family was given responsibility for the priesthood.
-- the Levites were one of the tribes of the congregation of Israel (or the sons of Israel) and they were given assignments as helpers to the priests.
-- the whole congregation or Israel were the ones that would go to the priests with their sacrifices and their offerings.

And then of course God has a lot to say about how Aaron and Sons, as well as the Levite helpers are to be compensated then and into the future. What’s important here is that we are to see our compensation as being provided to us by God (verse 12).

In verse 20, we see God saying to Aaron and Sons that they are not to have any other inheritance except what He provides for them as per His instructions. How do we transfer that idea over to our compensation of pastors or clergy today? I remember some time ago being part of a church board that had hired a new pastor. One issue that arose was whether to allow he and his family to stay in a house belonging to the church, or to enable him to buy his own house with reduced or interest-free loans, etc. I opted for the latter, thinking more of the pastor’s long-term needs, even past retirement. Although, studying this passage, I’m open to the possibility that I was wrong. Why did God say they were to have no other inheritance, especially land?  On the other hand, we did read earlier in the book of Leviticus, chapter 25, verse 34 that the Levites were given lands to dwell in (they just didn’t own these outright). And even after retirement, they remained contacted to the tent of meeting, and would benefit from the gifts received by the younger, active priests. Since that is not the case for our pastors today – we don’t usually keep them until they die, perhaps encouraging them to own their own property as a retirement investment isn’t such a bad idea.

David Guzik reminds us that the concept of tithing was practiced and honored by God before the Law of Moses was given as indicated in Hebrews 7:5-9.

It’s also interesting that God tells Moses, not Aaron, that the Levites had to tithe on their tithe. That wasn’t Aaron’s job to tell them. It was Moses’ responsibility. And it had to be driven home. I like the idea of a title on a tithe. I know that some churches and some charities I have been involved with take a tenth of their tithes and pass them on to other more needy organizations in observance of this idea. I like it.

[Having said that, I would point out that there is no evidence that priests themselves (Aaron and Sons) had to tithe on what came into the tabernacle. Guzik believes that it was unlikely that they would have to tithe on what they got because “because what belonged to the priests was considered holy, and not to be used by others outside the priestly families.” How do we resolve this issue then of should pastors tithe? Pastors, in my humble opinion, are not required to tithe if they are considered part of the ‘priesthood’ as we understood Aaron and Sons to be. On the other hand, if they are seen as “servants” in God’s house, then they would be required to tithe. While, for Christians, Jesus Christ is our one and only High Priest, then pastors are clearly not the present-day equivalent of Aaron. On the other hand, the New Testament in I Peter 2:9 says we are all “priests”, so either we don’t have to tithe (which is clearly not the case) or pastors are like us and they too have to tithe. No one said that the model of the Old Testament Israelite Congregation and the model of the New Testament Church would match perfectly. Thank God for that.]

One other comment I would make here is that it appears, generally speaking, that Aaron and Sons got the offerings from the sacrifices and the Levites got the tithes. However, in those days, I believe the source of both was the people of Israel. Tithes were more closely related to “first fruits” and offerings were more closely related to the various sacrifices that were required. In the modern church – we have moved away from the idea of the various sacrifices and/or the first-borns being dedicated to God’s service.  Instead, we made the idea of the “tithe” the basic donation of a believer – 10% of their earnings and even then, we argue about whether it is net or gross. [I personally believe it should be gross (before taxes) because I want to give back to God first, before I give to the government; but hey, that’s just my take – you have to decide for yourself.] And then over and above the tithe, we have our “offerings” unto God when we feel Him say, “I want you to support this or that cause.”  The matter is further complicated when we put everything in the same collection plate as we take up an “offering” – although some churches or pastors specifically refer to this so-called offering as being composed of our “tithes and offerings”.

Finally, the chapter ends by saying to the Levites that if they did what God instructed – that is, a tithe on the tithe – they would be clear of any guilt or sin with respect to them being accused of taking this ‘tithe’ from the people.  And that is why I love it when a pastor can say (in an appropriate way without bragging or shaming others, but as a means of being a role model) that he and his family are also tithing and when God directs them, are giving ‘offerings’ as well.

And, let us not forget verse 32 that indicates they had to treat that whole ‘tithe’ as special, belonging to God. Failure to do so, and misusing it in any way, would mean death.

So, here’s my questions: Have we thought about how God would have us compensate our pastors? Have we thought about what provisions we should make for them and their families now and in the future?

And if we are the ones being compensated, can God say of us, “You are clear of any guilt with respect to your compensation?”

The gems in Numbers continue to be found.  Although I do admit this was a difficult chapter. Thanks for hanging in there. Would love to have your comments on social media (if you got here by there) or preferably on the blog itself.  And if you have questions, let’s discuss them. Thanks. Until next time.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

How does our recruitment of pastors and ministers stack up against God's?

Numbers Chapter 4: The Organization of Priests – Part II

Numbers 4:1-49 The Ministry of the Levites and the Census of Working Levites

Day 37 of self-isolation. Life continues. We all have more time to reflect on what really matters – our relationship with God, our family, our health, and our service to others. Hope you are all painting a beautiful ‘landscape’ as to what your future will look like once this pandemic is over. There is no doubt that while the world would have evolved under normal circumstances, the human powers that be are taking advantage of the coronavirus to expedite changes – some of which we will not be too comfortable with, but nothing that God is not aware of and warned us about in His Word. And thus we continue to study it. Hang in there.

The Passage

Verses 1-20 are instructions to Moses to take a further census of the descendants of Kohath that are thirty years old and up to fifty years old and who “enter the service to do the work in the tent of meeting.” And then their work is described in detail.

Verses 21-28 do the same for the sons of Gershom. And the same is true for verses 29-33 for the sons of Merari.

The last section of the chapter (verses 34-49) provide the findings of each of the above counts and their total.

Thoughts on the Passage

Now I am sure many of you are saying, “Hey, can there be a more boring and repetitive chapter than Numbers 4?”  Well, I don’t know; I can’t remember. We’ll find out. But maybe, just maybe, there are some gems in this one too.

To begin with, we wonder how these sub-censuses were done in each case since Moses already had a census of those one month and up (chapter 3). Perhaps those under 30 years of age and over 50 were subtracted, or maybe they did recount. Afterall, what else was there to do in the wilderness?

But why between ages 30 and 50?  Remember, for all the other tribes it was 20 and over – those able to fight in a war. But here for the Levites, it’s between 30 and 50. Matthew Henry writes:

The service of God requires the best of our strength, and the prime of our time, which cannot be better spent than to the honour of him who is the first and best. And a man may make a good soldier much sooner than a good minister. Now, 

·       1. They were not to be employed till they were thirty years old, because till then they were in danger of retaining something childish and youthful and had not gravity enough to do the service, and wear the honour, of a Levite. They were entered as probationers at twenty-five years old, (chp. 8:24), and in David's time, when there was more work to be done, at twenty (1 Chr. 23:24), and so (Ezra 3:8); but they must be five years learning and waiting, and so fitting themselves for service; nay, in David's time they were ten years in preparation, from twenty to thirty. John Baptist began his public ministry, and Christ his, at thirty years old. This is not in the letter of it obligatory on gospel ministers now, as if they must either not begin their work till thirty years old or must leave off at fifty; but it gives us two good rules:

o   (1.) That ministers must not be novices, (1 Tim. 3:6). It is a work that requires ripeness of judgment and great steadiness, and therefore those are very unfit for it who are but babes in knowledge and have not put away childish things.

o   (2.) That they must learn before they teach, serve before they rule, and must first be proved (1 Tim. 3:10).

·       2. They were discharged at fifty years old from the toilsome part of the service, particularly that of carrying the tabernacle; for that is the special service to which they are here ordained, and which there was most occasion for while they were in the wilderness. When they began to enter upon old age, they were dismissed, 

o   (1.) In favour to them, that they might not be over-toiled when their strength began to decay. Twenty years' good service was thought pretty well for one man.

o   (2.) In honour to the work, that it might not be done by those who, through the infirmities of age, were slow and heavy. The service of God should be done when we are in the most lively active frame. Those do not consider this who put off their repentance to old age, and so leave the best work to be done in the worst time.

If only we followed these directions of God and thoughts of Henry as we lay hands on our youth to be our pastors.  Oftentimes, we act out of necessity for lack of workers, but we do so at our own peril. Many a young man has lost his way too early in ministry for one reason or another.

As you read the chapter you notice the detailed job descriptions in place for the different descendant groups. Not only what to do, but how to do it, with what to do it, and even what not to do.  For example, in verse 15 and 19, they were not to “touch the holy objects” or they would die. And in verse 20, they were not to even see the holy objects, “even for a moment, lest they die.”

Of interest to me also was verse 18 where Moses is told “Do not let the tribe of the families of the Kohathites be cut off from the among the Levites.” Matthew Henry explains this when he writes:

[This was] a solemn admonition to Moses and Aaron to beware, lest, by any negligence on their part, disorder and improprieties should creep in, and to take the greatest care that all the parts of this important service be apportioned to the proper parties, lest the Kohathites should be disqualified for their high and honorable duties. The guilt of their death would be incurred by the superintending priest, if he failed to give proper directions or allowed any irreverent familiarity with sacred things.

The family of Gershom was responsible for the curtains and their hangings (very elaborate as we remember from earlier descriptions of the tabernacle).  Finally, the family of Merari was responsible for the safe moving of all the pillars and the boards of, and around, the tabernacle.

Now I think of father Levite (or his tribe at least) having the world’s first specialized moving company. Maybe, based on this chapter, we could have called it “3 Families with No Vans”.  Instead, in total we are told, there were 8,580 men between the ages of 30 and 50 who, each time the cloud above them moved, took down the tabernacle and safely and properly, moved it to the new location where the cloud stopped.  Can you imagine the packing that needed to be done? Amazing.

David Guzik reminds us that this was not volunteer work. These men were each assigned their duties by Moses and Aaron, or those they had put in there as supervisors.

Guzik writes this:

Each of these had a role to play in doing the work of tabernacle, and God made them all dependent on each other to do that work.

i. "It is worthy of note that these Levites, although they were all equally consecrated to God, had not all exactly the same work to perform. God is not the God of all uniformity. There is a wondrous unity of plan and design in all that he does, but there is also an equally marvelous variety." (Spurgeon)

ii. Paul says the church is to work like a body - many parts, looking different, doing different jobs, meeting different needs, some more visible, some less, but all essential - and all with the same DNA code.

iii. Much trouble is caused in the service of the LORD by those who desire a different calling than they have, or who are jealous of those who have a different calling, or by those who exalt one calling and abase another. Everyone has a place and a job, and all can set themselves to do it.

Robert Jamieson says this about this chapter and its details: “It was a useful lesson, showing that God disregards nothing pertaining to His service, and that even in the least and most trivial matters, He requires the duty of faithful obedience.”

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

The God of Order and Organization.

Numbers 2:1-34 How God Wanted the Various Tribes to Camp Around the Tabernacle

Day 34 of our self-isolation. The world is slowing opening up. My daughter’s southern U.S. is opening its beaches today and some non-essential businesses as long as some precautions are taken to avoid the spread of the virus. The big issue these days seems to be those local government (municipal and state/provincial) that are encouraging “snitches” to report violations. I’m all for reporting crime. The so-called ‘crime’ these folks want reported is activity that has been banned in opposition to the Constitution in the U.S. and the Charter of Rights in Canada. At the very least they oppose our right to not be enslaved in our own homes. As I wrote on one of my social media walls, “Most Canadians know it is the foot in the door to further totalitarianism. My response and hopefully that of others will be NYET and NEIN.”

Still we press on. Today we look at Chapter 2 of Numbers which outlines for us that God cares about where we ‘stand’ and where we ‘camp’ to best perform the work and responsibilities He has for us.

The Passage

The 34 verses describe where each tribe was supposed to camp around the tent of meeting or tabernacle. They were to display their own specific banners and were to keep their distance from the tabernacle. The Levites would be in the midst of all the other camps.

Thoughts on the Passage

What was interesting to me here was that God wanted each family member to join their father’s household and then their broader family, and camp with them. There were no “sleepovers” elsewhere.  Everyone had to be in their place because everyone had to be accounted for when the time came to move camp.

Chuck Smith also points out how important it is for God to be in the center of our community. We in the western world, for the most part, have thrown God out of our communities – at least out of schools, governments, official public meetings, sports events, and to a certain extent out of our justice systems. Having “In God We Trust” or the equivalent on our coins as the U.S. still does, has almost become a hypocrisy on its own.

David Guzik tells us that the taking of Canaan, if God had His way (and He always does), would not be accomplished by a mob, but by an organized and orderly group. He tells us that God is a God of order and that there is a limit to what we can unorganized and none of nothing is done without order if it is of the Lord. (Oh, how we need to remember that at some of our church annual meetings.) Secondly, we are to accept the fact that God orders and organizes things in accordance to His wisdom, not ours.  We are to seek the wisdom of God and get on board. Guzik ends his comments on this chapter with this:

“The tribes of Israel camped around four banners, which were said to be a lion, a man, a calf, and an eagle. We find the same four creatures surrounding the throne of God in Revelation.”

Don’t know if we’ll ever get that far in our study but it is amazing to at least note that an early Old Testament book is linked to the promise of what is to come and what we are to enjoy as we’re told in the Bible’s very last book. What amazing “master writer” God is!

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

Never thought an O.T. census would mean so much.

Numbers 1:1-54 The First Census

Day 33 of self-isolation. Protests to end the shutdowns are increasing as people realize they’ve been duped, and we have over-reacted to this particular virus, as serious as it is. Most of us see light at the end of the tunnel. Most important for the Christian right now is to discern what God is saying to the world and to each of individually. We press on. Thanks for joining me in the study of Numbers.

The Passage

Verse 1 provides the time in history that this census occurred.

Verses 2-5a provide a description of how the counting is to take place and who is to be counted.

Verses 5b-16 provide the names of those who would have stood with Moses, who are called from their congregations, as the heads of divisions of Israel.

Verses 17-19 describe how Moses worked with these men to register everyone that was to be counted.

Verses 20-43 give a listing of all those counted under each tribe.

Verses 44-46 remind us that those counted were only males who were 20 years old and up, and able to go to war.  Their number in total was 603,550.

Verses 47-49 describe how the Levites were not to be counted.

Now the rest of the chapter:

⁵⁰ But you shall appoint the Levites over the ^[a]tabernacle of the testimony, and over all its furnishings and over all that belongs to it. They shall carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings, and they shall take care of it; they shall also camp around the ^[b]tabernacle. ⁵¹ So when the tabernacle is to set out, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle encamps, the Levites shall set it up. But the ^[c]layman who comes near shall be put to death. ⁵² The sons of Israel shall camp, each man by his own camp, and each man by his own standard, according to their armies. ⁵³ But the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that there will be no wrath on the congregation of the sons of Israel. So, the Levites shall keep charge of the tabernacle of the testimony.” ⁵⁴ Thus the sons of Israel did; according to all which the Lord had commanded Moses, so they did.

Footnotes:

1. Numbers 1:50 Lit dwelling place, and so throughout the ch
2. Numbers 1:50 Lit dwelling place, and so throughout the ch
3. Numbers 1:51 Lit stranger

Thoughts on the Passage

I find it interesting that these instructions from God came to Moses as he was in the “tent of meeting”. You can read more about that here: the tent of meeting.

Now it appears that the census was only of males twenty years of age and up and able to fight in an army. That no females were included may be a concern to many today, but that was not the case at the time. God wanted them to know (for He didn’t need a census to tell them) how many able-bodied men they had that could fight for Israel, preparing them perhaps for what was ahead. Matthew Henry points out that by virtue of counting all those “who were able to go out to war” (verse 3), the aged, those with bodily infirmities or chronic diseases, blind, or lame, were also excluded. God was interested in primary Israel for what was ahead.

And Moses was, of course, to have help in taking this census. Now when God says you need help, you need help. Don’t try to do it all by yourself. God will provide the help you need if you sincerely ask for it and are patient. In this case, God even names the individuals of each tribe that are supposed to help Moses. Chuck Smith says the names of those men chosen that day were very important and thus he writes:

So, let's take a look at the names of these men. In verse five Elizur is the first one and Elizur means, "my God is a rock." In verse six, Shelumiel; his name means "at peace with God." In verse seven, Nahshon means "a diviner." In verse eight, Nathaneel means "the gift of God." In verse nine, Eliab means, "my God is Father." In verse ten, Elishama means, "my God has heard" and then also in verse ten, Gamaliel means, "my God is a rewarder." And in verse eleven, Abidan means, "my Father is judge." In verse twelve, Ahiezer means "brother of health." In verse thirteen, Pagiel means "event of God." Verse fourteen, Eliasaph means "God addeth" and then the last guy, Ahira doesn't have too good a name. It is "brother, his brother is evil." So, he probably had an older brother that wasn't of too good a reputation, so he picked up the name "his brother is evil."

Imagine that, “God knew their names” and what they were like, just as He knows your name and my name, and He knows what we are like.

The text actually gives us the number of the men counted that day by tribe. Chuck Smith tells us that one needs to note how each tribe either grew or decreased in number throughout the forty years in the wilderness. We will be able to arrive at those numbers for comparison purposes when we get to the second census in the book. But for those that are impatient may I refer you to this link: men by tribe just before entering Canaan.

David Guzik speaks to this:

At the end of the Book of Numbers - 38 years later - this census is repeated. The total number of available soldiers will be almost the same - only a loss of some two thousand. But the numbers of each tribe change significantly, and there is meaning in what happened to each tribe over these critical 38 years.

David Guzik also makes some most interesting points about this census. He says it is the first step in “taking the promised land”. And when you are in the wilderness (your personal wilderness), you can come up with hundreds of schemes to get out of it – but only God’s way works. Guzik says God wanted them numbered by families because the strength of Israel was determined by looking at the strength of individual families. And that is true about the Church today – it is only as strong as we keep our individual families, in the faith. Some of us are not doing that well, are we?

Verse 46 tells us the number of able-bodied young men over 20 able to fight in an army for the Israelites was 603,550. And the Levites were excluded from that number. They had a different role to perform for God and the Israelites.

One may also ask why all the numbers of the tribes ended in 100’s or in the case of Gad’s tribe in the 50’s. There were no tribe numbers that went to units or tens. Matthew Henry suggests that earlier Moses had divided the people into 100’s and 50’s and appointed rulers over them as stated in Exodus 18:25. And thus when census time came, it was easier to count them by the number of rulers.  Makes sense to me.

Verses 50 and 51 tell us that the Levites had full charge and full responsibility for the tabernacle wherever it was moved to and wherever it was set down.  And they did the moving. They were to dismantle it and to put it together again.

Matthew Henry provides some reasons as to why God wanted the census taken. He suggests the following:
1. To prove the accomplishment of the promise He made to Abraham, that God would multiply his seed.
2. To put a difference between the true Israelites and the mixed born among them. (Only true Israelites were counted.)
3. To prepare the entire congregation for easier marching as well as to facilitate the administration of justice among them.

In verse 52, God instructs how the different tribes are to arrange themselves in the camp. They were to stick together by tribe. The Levites, however, were to be protected by these armies and in turn protect the tabernacle as they camped all around it.

Guzik reminds us that God counts things. He counts the stars and has a name for each one (Psalm 147:4; Isaiah 40:26). God even counts and knows the number of hairs on your head! (Matthew 10:30). “He who counts the stars and calls thenm all by their names, leaves nothing unarranged in his own service.” (Spurgeon)

And Moses got the sons of Israel to do all of this as God had commanded.  So, we have a good start. There was obedience to God and to the leader He had appointed, Moses.  Whatever could go wrong? Stay tuned.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

What Do Obeying God, Building a Model Airplane, and Assembling IKEA Furniture Have In Common?

Obedience to God? It Has To Be His Way, In His Specified Order, and On His Exact Timing

Exodus 40:17-33:

¹⁷ Now in the first month ^[a]of the second year, on the first day of the month, the ^[b]tabernacle was erected. 

¹⁸ Moses erected the tabernacle and ^[c]laid its ^[d]sockets, and set up its boards, and ^[e]inserted its bars and erected its pillars. 

¹⁹ He spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent ^[f]on top of it, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 

²⁰ Then he took the testimony and put it into the ark, and ^[g]attached the poles to the ark, and put the ^[h]mercy seat ^[i]on top of the ark. 

²¹ He brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up a veil for the screen, and screened off the ark of the testimony, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

²² Then he put the table in the tent of meeting on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil. 

²³ He set the arrangement of bread in order on it before the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 

²⁴ Then he placed the lampstand in the tent of meeting, opposite the table, on the south side of the tabernacle. 

²⁵ He lighted the lamps before the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

²⁶ Then he placed the gold altar in the tent of meeting in front of the veil; 

²⁷ and he burned fragrant incense on it, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 

²⁸ Then he set up the ^[j]veil for the doorway of the tabernacle. 

²⁹ He set the altar of burnt offering before the doorway of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the meal offering, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 

³⁰ He placed the laver between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing. 

³¹ From it Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet. 

³² When they entered the tent of meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 

³³ He erected the court all around the ^[k]tabernacle and the altar, and ^[l]hung up the veil for the gateway of the court. Thus Moses finished the work.

Thoughts on the Passage

In verses 17 to 29 of this passage, we see Moses overseeing the actual assembly of the Tabernacle and all its furnishings.  Then we come to the last piece, the wash basin or lave in verse 30.  He placed it in its rightful spot and poured water into it “for washing”.

Whenever Moses, Aaron, or Aaron’s sons entered the Tent of Meeting or when they approached the altar, they had to wash their hands and feet just as God had commanded Moses. Guzik says this phrase (as God had commanded) is repeated over and over again in Exodus. Obedience is central to doing the will of God and to serving Him effectively. Every command from God requires obedience, not just those we feel like complying with.  He quotes Morgan, who writes,

“It reminds us that Divine Work must always be done according to the Divine pattern, and most strictly in the Divine way. The truth is so self-evident, that it would seem needless to stress it. Yet a perpetual temptation to the mind of man is to endeavor to improve upon a Divine plan.” 

That is often our problem in the church. We try to improve on God’s way of doing things. We think we know better as to what today’s society needs. [We believe we have an in on what teenagers need to stay in the church. And we’ve often been wrong. For example, teenagers today are not telling us we have to have a certain type of music or speak the way they speak. No, instead they tell us they want each of us to be genuine and stop being hypocrites.]

The passage also indicates that priests could not properly perform their duties without this ritual cleansing which indicates that God wants service from pure hands and feet. And though Moses was not properly a priest, Psalm 99:6 tells us that God numbered him among His priests, and Matthew Henry says “the Jewish writers call him ‘the priest of the priests’ [for] what he did he did by special warrant and direction from God, rather as a prophet, or law-giver than as a priest. He set the wheels a-going, and then left the work in the hands of the appointed ministry.” Maybe some elders on church boards need to take a lesson from Moses – he gave the instructions God gave him to well-selected individuals like Bezalel and then let them do their job, and afterward, he inspected it. He had confidence in those that were selected, and he did not get in the way of the actual work.

And then we come to the last verse of this passage or section of Chapter 40 – verse 33. Here we are told that after Moses raised up the court all around the Tabernacle and the altar, and after he hung up the screen of the court gate, we read, “So Moses finished the work.”

What a great feeling that must have been knowing that he had finished the work that God gave him to do. And little did he know at the time, that this Tabernacle he had built to God’s specifications would have such incredible symbolic meaning in the future when describing the work of our High Priest, Jesus Christ. Guzik writes,

“Hebrews 9:23-24 tells us that at some point in time (after the cross), Jesus entered the heavenly reality represented on earth by the Tabernacle, and appeared in the presence of God to offer a perfect atonement for our sins. Therefore, every time before this event, when the High Priest made atonement in the earthly tabernacle, it was “play acting” – and looking forward to – the perfect atonement the Son of God would offer.”

Matthew Henry says we should note that while the Israelites were hoping they were awfully close to the Promised Land, they did not say, (my words) “hey, let’s wait to set this thing up when we get there, since we’re so close and we don’t want to take a chance of anything breaking now”. No, they wanted to obey God in every instruction. So, set it up now they did. The lesson for us being, obey God today, worship Him today – don’t wait for what we think is a perfect time, a perfect setting.

Henry also notes that not only did Moses follow all the instructions, he followed them in the precise order that God wanted him to. We often try to get ahead of God’s pattern for us by doing some of the easier or more exciting things first, leaving the hard things for later. If so, we fail to grasp the fact that the Master Designer had a reason for the order that He gave us. I am reminded of building model airplanes as a child. Many times, I did things out of the order prescribed, only to find out why that wasn’t a good idea later on. But the glue was dry.  It also happens when putting together “assembly required” furniture (like that one buys from IKEA). Don’t follow the instructions and be prepared to undo all you have done to start again. That’s the way it is with God’s pattern for your life – obey each step, obey them in order, and them at the right time.

In verse 29 we read that the altar of the burnt-offering was set up and then there’s a reference to actual offerings (the burnt offering and the meal offering) taking place right there and then at the time the altar was set up. The commentators are not in agreement as to when that actually took place with some thinking it was done some time afterward. Henry thinks “he immediately began the ceremony of [the offering’s] consecration, though it was not completed for seven days.”

The argument that it did occur right away is supported by what we read in the next two verses regarding the laver. In verse 31, we are told that Moses and Aaron and the priests washed their hands and feet and that immediately follows the placed of the laver or wash basin in verse 30. So there appears to be a precedent there for do things immediately once the furnishings required were in place. However, linguistically as I read it, it can go either way.

If Henry is right, then this is an indication that when God gives us talents, we are to use them right away, but as prescribed by God.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.