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N U MBERS 1 9
property among the people of Israel. I am your
share and your allotment. 21 As for the tribe of
Levi, your relatives, I will compensate them for
their service in the Tabernacle. Instead of an allotment of land, I will give them the tithes from
the entire land of Israel.
22 “From now on, no Israelites except priests
or Levites may approach the Tabernacle. If they
come too near, they will be judged guilty and
will die. 23 Only the Levites may serve at the Tabernacle, and they will be held responsible for
any offenses against it. This is a permanent law
for you, to be observed from generation to generation. The Levites will receive no allotment
of land among the Israelites, 24 because I have
given them the Israelites’ tithes, which have
been presented as sacred offerings to the Lord.
This will be the Levites’ share. That is why I said
they would receive no allotment of land among
the Israelites.”
25 The Lord also told Moses, 26 “Give these instructions to the Levites: When you receive from
the people of Israel the tithes I have assigned
as your allotment, give a tenth of the tithes you
receive—a tithe of the tithe—to the Lord as a sacred offering. 27 The Lord will consider this offering to be your harvest offering, as though it were
the first grain from your own threshing floor or
wine from your own winepress. 28 You must present one-tenth of the tithe received from the Israelites as a sacred offering to the Lord. This is
the Lord’s sacred portion, and you must present
it to Aaron the priest. 29 Be sure to give to the
Lord the best portions of the gifts given to you.
30 “Also, give these instructions to the Levites:
When you present the best part as your offering, it will be considered as though it came from
your own threshing floor or winepress. 31 You Levites and your families may eat this food anywhere you wish, for it is your compensation for
serving in the Tabernacle. 32 You will not be considered guilty for accepting the Lord’s tithes
if you give the best portion to the priests. But be
• Giving
NU MB E R S 1 8 :2 5 -2 6
Giving to God never ends. As the Levites
received money to support themselves
for God’s work, so they also were to
give money to God. “Tithe of the tithe”
is a powerful concept. We give as we
have received; we share as others have
shared with us. Think of the strength that
lies in such a chain of continual giving.
In practicing this principle, everyone is
included in giving as well as in receiving.
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careful not to treat the holy gifts of the people
of Israel as though they were common. If you
do, you will die.”
The Water of Purification
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
2 “Here is another legal requirement
commanded by the Lord: Tell the people of Israel to bring you a red heifer, a perfect animal
that has no defects and has never been yoked
to a plow. 3 Give it to Eleazar the priest, and it
will be taken outside the camp and slaughtered
in his presence. 4 Eleazar will take some of its
blood on his finger and sprinkle it seven times
toward the front of the Tabernacle.* 5 As Eleazar
watches, the heifer must be burned—its hide,
meat, blood, and dung. 6 Eleazar the priest must
then take a stick of cedar,* a hyssop branch,
and some scarlet yarn and throw them into the
fire where the heifer is burning.
7 “Then the priest must wash his clothes and
bathe himself in water. Afterward he may return
to the camp, though he will remain ceremonially unclean until evening. 8 The man who burns
the animal must also wash his clothes and
bathe himself in water, and he, too, will remain
unclean until evening. 9 Then someone who is
ceremonially clean will gather up the ashes of
the heifer and deposit them in a purified place
outside the camp. They will be kept there for the
community of Israel to use in the water for the
purification ceremony. This ceremony is performed for the removal of sin. 10 The man who
gathers up the ashes of the heifer must also
wash his clothes, and he will remain ceremonially unclean until evening. This is a permanent
law for the people of Israel and any foreigners
who live among them.
11 “All those who touch a dead human body
will be ceremonially unclean for seven days.
12 They must purify themselves on the third and
seventh days with the water of purification;
then they will be purified. But if they do not
do this on the third and seventh days, they will
continue to be unclean even after the seventh
day. 13 All those who touch a dead body and do
not purify themselves in the proper way defile
the Lord’s Tabernacle, and they will be cut off
from the community of Israel. Since the water
of purification was not sprinkled on them, their
defilement continues.
14 “This is the ritual law that applies when
someone dies inside a tent: All those who enter
that tent and those who were inside when the
death occurred will be ceremonially unclean
for seven days. 15 Any open container in the tent
that was not covered with a lid is also defiled.
16 And if someone in an open field touches the
corpse of someone who was killed with a sword
or who died a natural death, or if someone
19
19:4 Hebrew the Tent of Meeting. 19:6 Or juniper.