Untitled Sermon

Exegesis

Numbers 3:40–51 ESV

40 And the Lord said to Moses, “List all the firstborn males of the people of Israel, from a month old and upward, taking the number of their names. 41 And you shall take the Levites for me—I am the Lord—instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the cattle of the people of Israel.” 42 So Moses listed all the firstborn among the people of Israel, as the Lord commanded him. 43 And all the firstborn males, according to the number of names, from a month old and upward as listed were 22,273. 44 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. The Levites shall be mine: I am the Lord. 46 And as the redemption price for the 273 of the firstborn of the people of Israel, over and above the number of the male Levites, 47 you shall take five shekels per head; you shall take them according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel of twenty gerahs), 48 and give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are over.” 49 So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those redeemed by the Levites. 50 From the firstborn of the people of Israel he took the money, 1,365 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary. 51 And Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.

Numbers 3:40 ESV

40 And the Lord said to Moses, “List all the firstborn males of the people of Israel, from a month old and upward, taking the number of their names.

Commentaries show that this census was different than the others. The others were about seeing how well off they were for the fight.

This one is about seeing how many levites were needed to collect to serve the Lord for the other tribes of God.

These Levites were to step in as substitutes for the people of Israel in service to God.

It took me a little while to figure this out, but the Cornverstone Biblical Commentary made the most sense. The ransom would be paid by the unrepresented Israelists that do not have a levite to serve in their steed.

They would be required to instead substitute in labor for money.

So ransom can therefore be used for more than just purchasing the person from sin or punishment or slavery. This is a much lighter form of the word, yet i would argue that this situation is just as serious.

The Lord takes these commitments very serious.

Numbers 3:41 ESV

41 And you shall take the Levites for me—I am the Lord—instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the cattle of the people of Israel.”

In a sense, it would seem that the Levites are being robbed of something here. Instead of the people giving of their time and cattle to the Lord, the Lord just requires this one tribe and their cattle.

I guess in a sense, the Levites are the tithe of Israel.

Numbers 3:42–43 ESV

42 So Moses listed all the firstborn among the people of Israel, as the Lord commanded him. 43 And all the firstborn males, according to the number of names, from a month old and upward as listed were 22,273.

Moses is faithful to do the census

Numbers 3:44–45 ESV

44 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. The Levites shall be mine: I am the Lord.

While the deal seems to be unfair, the last part of this verse is pretty reassuring to me.

They miss out on some things in life, but what really could be better than to be a possession of God?

Numbers 3:46–47 ESV

46 And as the redemption price for the 273 of the firstborn of the people of Israel, over and above the number of the male Levites, 47 you shall take five shekels per head; you shall take them according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel of twenty gerahs),

The Levites have took up the slack for the people’s pleasing God and working for him, but there is not enough of them to go around.

To make up the difference, the people owed a price to the work of God. The ransom is set by scripture by the Lord.

Numbers 3:48–51 ESV

48 and give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are over.” 49 So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those redeemed by the Levites. 50 From the firstborn of the people of Israel he took the money, 1,365 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary. 51 And Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.