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Numbers 7

The Leaders Bring Gifts to the Sacred Tent

    ⁶Then Moses took the carts and oxen and gave them to the Levites, ^7-8who were under the leadership of Ithamar son of Aaron. Moses gave two carts and four oxen to the Gershonites for their work, and four carts and eight oxen to the Merarites for their work. ⁹But Moses did not give any to the Kohathites, because they were in charge of the sacred objects that had to be carried on their shoulders.

    ¹⁰On the day the altar was dedicated, the twelve leaders brought offerings for its dedication. ¹¹The LORD said to Moses, " Each day one leader is to give his offering for the dedication."

    ^12-83So each leader brought the following gifts:

   a silver bowl that weighed over three pounds and a silver sprinkling bowl weighing almost two pounds, both of them filled with flour and olive oil as grain sacrifices and weighed according to the official standards;

   a small gold dish filled with incense;

   a young bull, a full-grown ram, and a year-old ram as sacrifices to please the LORD; ^[b] a goat ^[c] as a sacrifice for sin; and two bulls, five full-grown rams, five goats, and five rams a year old as sacrifices to ask the LORD's blessing. ^[d] The tribal leaders brought their gifts and offerings in the following order:

   On the first day

   Nahshon from Judah,

   on the second day

   Nethanel from Issachar,

   on the third day

   Eliab from Zebulun,

   on the fourth day

   Elizur from Reuben,

   on the fifth day

   Shelumiel from Simeon,

   on the sixth day

   Eliasaph from Gad,

   on the seventh day

   Elishama from Ephraim,

   on the eighth day

   Gamaliel from Manasseh,

   on the ninth day

   Abidan from Benjamin,

   on the tenth day

   Ahiezer from Dan,

   on the eleventh day

   Pagiel from Asher,

   on the twelfth day

   Ahira from Naphtali.

    ^84-88And so when the altar was dedicated to the LORD, these twelve leaders brought the following gifts:

   twelve silver bowls and twelve silver sprinkling bowls, weighing a total of about sixty pounds, according to the official standards;

   twelve gold dishes filled with incense and weighing about three pounds;

   twelve bulls, twelve full-grown rams, and twelve rams a year old as sacrifices to please the LORD, along with the proper grain sacrifices;

   twelve goats as sacrifices for sin;

   and twenty-four bulls, sixty full-grown rams, sixty goats, and sixty rams a year old as sacrifices to ask the LORD's blessing.

    ⁸⁹Whenever Moses needed to talk with the LORD, he went into the sacred tent, where he heard the LORD's voice coming from between the two winged creatures above the lid of the sacred chest.

Numbers 8

Aaron Puts the Gold Lamps in Place

    ³Aaron obeyed and placed the lamps as he was told. ⁴The lampstand was made of hammered gold from its base to the decorative flowers on top, exactly like the pattern the LORD had described to Moses.

Instructions for Ordaining the Levites

    ⁶The Levites must be acceptable to me before they begin working at the sacred tent. So separate them from the rest of the Israelites ⁷and sprinkle them with the water that washes away their sins. Then have them shave their entire bodies and wash their clothes.

    ⁸They are to bring a bull and its proper grain sacrifice of flour mixed with olive oil. And they must bring a second bull as a sacrifice for sin.

    ⁹Then you, Moses, will call together all the people of Israel and have the Levites go to my sacred tent, ¹⁰where the people will place their hands on them. ¹¹Aaron will present the Levites to me as a gift from the people, so that the Levites will do my work.

    ¹²After this, the Levites are to place their hands on the heads of the bulls. Then one of the bulls will be sacrificed for the forgiveness of sin, and the other to make sure that I am pleased. ¹³The Levites will stand at my altar in front of Aaron and his sons, who will then dedicate the Levites to me.

    ¹⁴This ceremony will show that the Levites are different from the other Israelites and belong to me in a special way. ¹⁵After they have been made acceptable and have been dedicated, they will be allowed to work at my sacred tent. ¹⁶They are mine and will take the place of the first-born Israelite sons. ¹⁷When I killed the oldest sons of the Egyptians, I decided that the first-born sons in each Israelite family would be mine, as well as every first-born male from their flocks and herds. ¹⁸But now I have chosen these Levites as substitutes for the first-born sons, ¹⁹and I have given them as gifts to Aaron and his sons to serve at the sacred tent. I will hold them responsible for what happens to anyone who gets too close to the sacred tent. ^[e]

The Levites Are Dedicated to the LORD

    ²³The LORD also told Moses, ^24-25" Levites who are between the ages of twenty-five and fifty can work at my sacred tent. But once they turn fifty, they must retire. ²⁶They may help the other Levites in their duties, but they must no longer be responsible for any work themselves. Remember this when you assign their duties."

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Light

(Luke 8.16-18)

   You don't light a lamp and put it under a clay pot or under a bed. Don't you put a lamp on a lampstand? ²²There is nothing hidden that will not be made public. There is no secret that will not be well known. ²³If you have ears, pay attention!

    ²⁴Listen carefully to what you hear! The way you treat others will be the way you will be treated--and even worse. ²⁵Everyone who has something will be given more. But people who don't have anything will lose what little they have.

Another Story about Seeds

   God's kingdom is like what happens when a farmer scatters seed in a field. ²⁷The farmer sleeps at night and is up and around during the day. Yet the seeds keep sprouting and growing, and he doesn't understand how. ²⁸It is the ground that makes the seeds sprout and grow into plants that produce grain. ²⁹Then when harvest season comes and the grain is ripe, the farmer cuts it with a sickle. ^[a]

A Mustard Seed

(Matthew 13.31,32; Luke 13.18,19)

   What is God's kingdom like? What story can I use to explain it? ³¹It is like what happens when a mustard seed is planted in the ground. It is the smallest seed in all the world. ³²But once it is planted, it grows larger than any garden plant. It even puts out branches that are big enough for birds to nest in its shade.

The Reason for Teaching with Stories

(Matthew 13.34,35)

A Storm

(Matthew 8.23-27; Luke 8.22-25)

    ³⁸Jesus was in the back of the boat with his head on a pillow, and he was asleep. His disciples woke him and said, "Teacher, don't you care that we're about to drown?"

    ³⁹Jesus got up and ordered the wind and the waves to be quiet. The wind stopped, and everything was calm.

    ⁴⁰Jesus asked his disciples, "Why were you afraid? Don't you have any faith?"

    ⁴¹Now they were more afraid than ever and said to each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"