Year 1, Week 18, Day 1 Bible Reading Observations

Year 1, Week 18, Day 1

I have a brief observation for today’s reading of Numbers 18-19.

Today’s reading focuses on various facets of the work assigned to the Aaronic Priests. Numbers 18 records the duties that the priests were to perform. One of the chief duties listed in today’s reading pertaining to the priests was guarding the Tabernacle: “They shall keep guard over you and over the whole tent…They shall join you and keep guard over the tent of meeting…And you shall keep guard over the sanctuary and over the altar…And you and your sons with you shall guard your priesthood for all that concerns the altar" (Numbers 18: 3-7). Numbers 19 describes the work of preparing the ashes of the red heifer, which when mixed water became a means where the Israelites could experience cleansing when they become defiled from unclean situations such as touching a dead person. The mixture of the red heifer’s ashes and water was to be available for the Israelites to instantly use when they became defiled.

What struck me in today’s reading was the special relationship that the priests experienced with the LORD: “And the LORD said to Aaron, “You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel.” (Numbers 18:20). Aaron and the priests did not have an allotment of land, but they had the LORD, which was to be seen as something more precious than living in a land flowing with milk and honey. The LORD was the priest’s portion: “The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.” (Psalms 16:5-6). Without land, but with the LORD, the priests had what they needed: “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalms 16:11).

In the context of the special relationship that the priest experienced with the LORD, an irony is seen in how the priest had the important duty of guarding the Tabernacle to prevent the Israelites from directly accessing the presence of the LORD. The priests surrounded the Tabernacle and provided a buffer between the dwelling place of the LORD and the tribes that lived around the Tabernacle. The need for such a buffer for the purpose of guarding the Tabernacle is explained in the context of the Israelites being fearful of the danger of living to closely to the presence of the LORD: “And the people of Israel said to Moses, “Behold, we perish, we are undone, we are all undone. Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of the LORD, shall die. Are we all to perish?” (Numbers 17:12-13). 

The Priests of Aaron would assume the danger associated with the presence of the LORD: “You and your sons and your father's house with you shall bear iniquity connected with the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear iniquity connected with your priesthood.” (Numbers 18:1). As Israel’s sins would be transferred to the priest, the priests, in turn, would offer up the sacrifices so that pardon for sin was secured. Without such sacrifices, it would be unsafe for the Israelites to approach the Tabernacle. It was necessary for the priests to guard the Tabernacle: “They shall keep guard over you and over the whole tent, but shall not come near to the vessels of the sanctuary or to the altar lest they, and you, die…And you shall keep guard over the sanctuary and over the altar, that there may never again be wrath on the people of Israel.” (Numbers 18:3,5). This priestly duty was reminiscent of the role assigned to Adam in the Garden: “The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” (Genesis 2:15). Adam failed to keep guard over the Garden and as he was removed, Angels were posted as guards at the Garden’s entrance. Now the priests were responsible to keep the people from the presence of the LORD at the Tabernacle so that they did not harm themselves. Both the priests and the people were at danger without sacrifice.

Another aspect of the priestly duties, in addition to guarding, was providing the means of cleansing so that the presence of the LORD could be safely approached. The priest oversaw the provision for cleansing: “This is the statute of the law that the LORD has commanded: Tell the people of Israel to bring you a red heifer without defect, in which there is no blemish, and on which a yoke has never come.” (Numbers 19:2). Access to the Tabernacle for worship was a necessity, but proper cleaning from defilement was vital. Cleansing was needed for the defilement that resulted from touching a dead person: “Whoever touches a dead person, the body of anyone who has died, and does not cleanse himself, defiles the tabernacle of the LORD, and that person shall be cut off from Israel; because the water for impurity was not thrown on him, he shall be unclean. His uncleanness is still on him.” (Numbers 19:13). The mixture of water and the red heifer’s ashes for cleansing was to be always instantly available. 

The New Covenant provides a better cleansing to prepare us for service: "For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.” (Hebrews 9:13-14).

What struck you in today’s reading? What questions were prompted from today’s reading?

Pastor Joe