February 28 - Numbers 4:1-5:31

Good morning everyone,

I just have to say chapter four excites me a little. Why? Because I love to-do lists and being able to check things off. I love knowing exactly what the task at hand is and how it is expected to be done. I love order. Now, I know some people who would not bode well in this type of environment, but as for me and my quirky ways it would have been great.

The jobs described were to be done by the 30 to 50 years old Levites and they were expected to carry out their duties as described in every detail. Every detail! They did not get to change the way the task was to be done just because they may have felt like they had a better idea or they were just feeling a bit lazy that day. Nope! They had procedures and they were to be followed because failure to do so would be death. 

While reading about the tabernacle I have a tendency to forget just how big a structure it was and how extensive the work involved when it was time to pack up and move. The metal alone for the tabernacle weighed more than ten tons. That’s over 20,000 lbs. The total number of 30-50 year olds assigned to carefully and methodically pack it up and transport it, were 8,580 men. To put things in perspective, I live in a town that in the 2012 census counted a little over 17,000 people with 9,700 of them, men and women being between the ages of 35-55. Granted I live in one of the smaller areas in the U.S. but perhaps it can help you see just what would be involved in just the everyday life of the Levites. A people  who had huge jobs to do without the benefit of modern day technology. I imaging the women home baking bread taking care of their small areas while the kids are kicking about a primitive form of hacky sack or playing tag in the dusty streets, as they were, while the men went off to tend to the needs of the tabernacle whether setting up, tearing down or just maintenance. Just living their lives like you and me, as best as we can unto the Lord. Right?

Chapter five reiterates the need to keep the camp clean, restitution and then touches on jealousy. The test for adultery served to remove a jealous husbands suspicion, it would also serve as a deterrent for any promiscuous behavior. The intervention by the priest that is being talked about was not a “gee where were you today? Get down to the priest” type of thing. All trust between the man and woman had to be completely eroded for the man to take his wife before the priest for that type of test. Today we go for counseling when marriages are faltering, but friends …. if we would not give our spouse reason to suspect, then none of that would be necessary. It is not okay to flirt with, be alone with, text with, have confidential conversations with or any other kind of “with” with the opposite sex. The enemy will do his very best to set you up and let your hormones and testosterone do the rest. Don’t let that happen. I will say it again, don’t let that happen. We should all always try to be considerate, thoughtful and selfLESS towards our spouse. We married that person, for better for worse, because we loved them; so let’s do just that, love them and let God take care of the rest. Trust Him, He loves you, He loves me, so trust Him.

I pray you all have a super good day. To Abba be the glory.

God bless you.