Tuesday, February 10, 2015

#82. The numbering, every one according to his service (Numbers i. - iv.).

     Two numberings of Israel are recorded in the book of Numbers.  They are recorded in  chapters i.-iv.  and  xxvi.-xxvii.   Two distinct objects are in view.  In the first numbering, service is before us;  in the second, inheritance.  In both, ability to go forth to war is specified.

     In the numberings of the tribes of Israel, Levi is omitted, and Joseph is represented by both Ephraim and Manasseh, thus retaining the number twelve.  The numbering of the tribe of Levi was done separately, and is recorded in  Numb. iii. 14-29,  where a special reason for this distinction is given.

     “And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the first-born that openeth the matrix among the children of Israel, therefore the Levites shall be Mine;  because all the firstborn are Mine:  for on the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I hallowed unto Me all the firstborn of Israel, both man and beast:  Mine they shall be;  I am the Lord” (Numb. iii. 12, 13).

     The total number of the firstborn males of all Israel amounted to 22,273 (Numb. iii. 43), whereas the total number of the Levites, who were the substitutes for these firstborn, only amounted to 22,000.   This left 273 unaccounted for, and these had to be redeemed at the price of five shekels a head.  The numbering of Israel had the following objects in view:--

(1)      To discover how many of an age of twenty years and upward were able to go forth to war (Numb. i. 45).
(2)      To set apart the tribe of Levi for the service of the tabernacle (Numb.i.50).
(3)      To ensure order when Israel encamped or marched (Numb. ii. 1-34).
(4)      To settle the particular service of the three sections of the Levites (Numb. iii. 21-37).

     The tribe of Levi was sub-divided according to the sons of Levi — Gershon, Kohath and Merari.  These had their allotted places:  the Gershonites west of the tabernacle (Numb. iii. 23), the Kohathites south of the tabernacle (Numb.iii.29), the Merarites north of the tabernacle (Numb. iii. 35), leaving Moses and Aaron and his sons the east side of the tabernacle.  Each section of Levites, moreover, had its special charge.  The Gershonites had the care of the tabernacle, the hangings, the door, the court and the cords of the tabernacle.  The Kohathites had charge of the ark and all the furniture and vessels of the tabernacle.  The Merarites took charge of the boards, bars, pillars and sockets, and pins and cords of the court (Numb. iii. 21-37).

     The Lord not only regulated the position and service of each son of Levi, but every tribe had its allotted place for encampment:--

     “Every man of the children of Israel shall pitch by his own standard, with the ensign of their father’s house;  over against about the tabernacle of the congregation shall they pitch” (Numb. ii. 2).

     The ensigns of the twelve tribes are not described in the Scriptures.  Judah’s ensign, the lion, is fairly familiar to all Scripture students, but for the rest we must accept the voice of tradition for what it may be worth.  The targum of Jonathan, a paraphrase in Chaldee, gives to each tribes one of the signs of the Zodiac:--


     The witness of the stars  (Gen. i. 14-19;  Psalm xix.)  was, from Adam to Moses, the ancient testimony to the purpose of the ages.  When Israel, the people of type, sign and symbol, were formed, the significance of the twelve “signs” in the heavens was perpetuated by the tribal “ensigns”.  This important testimony is carefully explained and illustrated in Dr. Bullinger’s Witness of the Stars, and a most helpful synopsis is given in Appendix 12 of The Companion Bible.

     It will be observed that, at the four cardinal points, East, South, West and North, are symbols that also appear with the Cherubim:--

     “They four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion on the right side;  and they four had the face of an ox on the left side:  and they four also had the face of an eagle” (Ezek.i.10).
     “The first living creature was like a lion, and the second living creature like a calf, and the third living creature had a face as a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle” (Rev. iv. 7).

     The fourfold picture of the Lord Jesus, as set forth in the four Gospels, focuses the witness of the heavens, the testimony of the ensigns of Israel, and the pledge of the cherubim upon the Person and work of the Saviour:--


     Returning to the tribe of Levi and their particular service, we find careful details set out in  Numbers.iv.   It was not left to chance to decide the order in which these Levites approached their respective tasks.  Aaron and his sons come first.  These take down the vail and cover the ark with it.  Full instructions are given in  Numb. iv. 1-4  as to the covering of the various articles of tabernacle furniture:--

     “And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward:  after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it:  but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die.  These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation” (Numb.iv.15).

     The Gershonites come next, bearing the curtains, hangings, etc., as already mentioned (Numbers.iv.24-28), and last of all the Merarites:--

     “According to the commandment of the Lord, they were numbered by the hand of Moses, every one according to his service, and according to his burden” (iv.49).

     In this concluding verse we have the three underlying principles that relate to all scriptural service, viz.:--

According to  THE  COMMANDMENT  of the Lord.
According to  HIS  SERVICE.
According to  HIS  BURDEN.

     What is the supreme and only authority for service?  Surely that it be “according to the commandment of the Lord”.

The   commandment.

“He called . . . . . He gave them power” (Matt. x. 1).
“Have not I chosen you twelve?” (John vi. 70).
“Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and ordained you” (John.xv.16).

     What is true of the ministry of the twelve apostles is true of all subsequent ministry;  it must be according to the Lord’s command.  In the days of the Law, death followed transgression in service (see Numb. iv. 15, 19).  While physical death does not follow transgression in service now, who can say how much spiritual deadness results from it here, and how much loss will result there when the service is tried by fire?  If the Lord called some to be evangelists, and some to be teachers, it is surely evident that He needs both.  The criticism of friends counts for nothing in these matters.  Some have “problems” respecting the ministry of women, but the “commandments of the Lord” are plain, vide  I.Cor.xiv.34,  Titus ii. 3-5  &  I Tim. ii. 12-15.   There is an order in later ministry that is as definite as any given in  Numbers i.-iv.:--

     “God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers” (I Cor. xii. 28).
     “He gave some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers” (Eph. iv. 11).

     Whatever dispensation is in view, order is to be observed.  Apostles and prophets came first.  They were the foundation ministry of the church of the mystery (Eph. ii. 20).  Evangelists (II Tim. iv. 5) came next;  then teachers (II.Tim.ii.2).

His   service.

     “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophecy according to the proportion of faith;  or ministry, let us wait on our ministering;  or he that teacheth, on teaching;  or he that exhorteth, on exhortation;  he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity;  he that ruleth, with diligence;  he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness” (Rom. xii. 6-8).
     “If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body?  If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing?  The eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee.  God hath set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased Him” (I.Corinthian.xii.15-21).

     And yet, for example, we meet with some, eminently fitted to be the hosts of the church, who spoil a good witness by persistently trying to teach or preach.  Others, whose business abilities are demanded by the Lord, leave the church the poorer while they indulge some foolish whim of their own.

His   burden.

     “And unto one He gave five talents, to another two, and to another one:  to every man according to his several ability” (Matt. xxv. 15).
     “All these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will” (I Cor. xii. 11).
     “But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another, for every man shall bear his own burden” (Galatian vi. 4, 5).

     We have not been careful to draw attention to the different dispensations that the above scriptures represent, our idea being merely to show that, in all dispensations, true service must be accepted and regulated  according  to the  threefold  principle of  Numb. iv. 49.   Service that is not according to plan is disobedience, a waste of time and opportunity, robbing someone else of service that might have been rendered, eliminating any possibility of reward, and resulting in failure to glorify the Lord.  The appeal to apparent success, or expediency, and all the shifts of human reasoning leave us unmoved.  The word of God, unaltered, is our basis of salvation, and nothing lower or less can be the basis of our service.

     To every reader of this magazine we make a personal appeal.  See that you have your “marching orders” direct from the Word of God.  If you have, happy are you.  But if there is the slightest tampering with “His commandment”, the slightest departure from “his service”, the smallest attempt to avoid “his burden” — what kind of servants are you?

     As we have already seen, the people of Israel carried the ensigns of the cherubim, God’s great pledge that He will surely  accomplish His purposes of man’s redemption and restoration.  An obedient Israel will have the inestimable blessedness of being fellow-workers together with God.  In like manner obedient servants of God to-day may enjoy this privilege;  but what a world of tragedy is found in the closing words of the second numbering recorded in  Numbers.xxvi.:--

     “These are they that were numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered the children of Israel in the plain of Moab by Jordan near Jericho.  But among these there was not a man of them whom Moses and Aaron the priest numbered, when they numbered the children of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai.  For the Lord had said of them, They shall surely die in the wilderness.  And there was not left a man of them, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun” (Numb. xxvi. 63-65).

     I Corinthian ix. 24 - x. 13  and  I Cor. iii. 11-15  show us that Israel in the wilderness and Belshazzar in Babylon are not the only ones of whom it shall be said:  ‘Numbered . . . . . weighed . . . . . and found wanting.”

     May we truly pray the apostle’s first prayer, “Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?” (Acts ix. 6).

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