Numbers 7 and A Visit from My Brother Jeff

Numbers 7

Finally, the Moses sets up the Tabernacle, anointed it and set it apart as holy. All its furnishings and the altar with its utensils is also set apart.

The Tabernacle was designed and built to be portable and various Levite clans were assigned to transport specific sections of it. The offerings brought by the leaders who had registered the troops were, therefore, very important.

• Two wagons and four oxen went to the responsible to care for the Tabernacle, including the sacred tent with its layers of coverings, the curtain at its entrance, the curtains of the of the courtyard, and the curtain at the courtyard entrance, the ropes and all the equipment related to their use
• Four wagons and eight oxen went to the Merarite division for their work because they were Responsible for the care of the frames supporting the Tabernacle, the crossbars, the pillars, the bases, and all the equipment related to their use, as well as the posts of the courtyard and all their bases, pegs, and ropes
• The Kohathites were not given any wagons or oxen because what they transported had to be carried by hand because they were responsible for the care of the Ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the various articles used in the sanctuary, the inner curtain, and all the equipment related to their use

It took twelve days for the dedication gifts for the altar to be brought to the Tabernacle. Each day the leader of a tribe, beginning with Nahshon son of Amminadab of the tribe of Judah, would bring their offerings:

• A silver platter weighing 3 ¼ pounds filled with grain offerings of choice flour moistened with olive oil
• A silver basin weighing 1 ¾ pounds filled with grain offerings of choice flour moistened with olive oil
• A gold container weighing four ounces, filled with incense
• A young bull, a ram and a one-year-oold male lamb for a burnt offering
• A male goat for a sin offering
• Two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five one-year-old male lambs

We are then told the totals of these offerings.

The last verse was to me the most interesting. Moses went into the Tabernacle and actually spoke with the Lord and he would here the voice of God speaking to him from between the two cherubim above the Ark’s cover, i.e., from the place of atonement.

Tomorrow, it’s Numbers 8 – 10.

A Visit from My Brother Jeff

My brother Jeff is stopping for a visit on his way down to a friend’s house. I’m expecting him any time now, so I’ll post this right away.

Until next time…