Immerse: Beginnings Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 231
8:5-26
N u mbers
219
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now set the Levites apart from the rest of
the people of Israel and make them ceremonially clean. Do this by sprinkling them with the water of purification, and have them shave their entire
body and wash their clothing. Then they will be ceremonially clean. Have
them bring a young bull and a grain offering of choice flour moistened
with olive oil, along with a second young bull for a sin offering. Then assemble the whole community of Israel, and present the Levites at the entrance of the Tabernacle. When you present the Levites before the Lord,
the people of Israel must lay their hands on them. Raising his hands, Aaron
must then present the Levites to the Lord as a special offering from the
people of Israel, thus dedicating them to the Lord’s service.
“Next the Levites will lay their hands on the heads of the young bulls.
Present one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to the Lord,
to purify the Levites and make them right with the Lord. Then have the
Levites stand in front of Aaron and his sons, and raise your hands and
present them as a special offering to the Lord. In this way, you will set
the Levites apart from the rest of the people of Israel, and the Levites will
belong to me. After this, they may go into the Tabernacle to do their work,
because you have purified them and presented them as a special offering.
“Of all the people of Israel, the Levites are reserved for me. I have
claimed them for myself in place of all the firstborn sons of the Israelites;
I have taken the Levites as their substitutes. For all the firstborn males
among the people of Israel are mine, both of people and of animals. I set
them apart for myself on the day I struck down all the firstborn sons of the
Egyptians. Yes, I have claimed the Levites in place of all the firstborn sons
of Israel. And of all the Israelites, I have assigned the Levites to Aaron and
his sons. They will serve in the Tabernacle on behalf of the Israelites and
make sacrifices to purify the people so no plague will strike them when
they approach the sanctuary.”
So Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel dedicated the Levites, carefully following all the Lord’s instructions to Moses. The Levites
purified themselves from sin and washed their clothes, and Aaron lifted
them up and presented them to the Lord as a special offering. He then offered a sacrifice to purify them and make them right with the Lord. After
that the Levites went into the Tabernacle to perform their duties, assisting
Aaron and his sons. So they carried out all the commands that the Lord
gave Moses concerning the Levites.
The Lord also instructed Moses, “This is the rule the Levites must
follow: They must begin serving in the Tabernacle at the age of twenty-
five, and they must retire at the age of fifty. After retirement they may
