Love Israel

Guest (Male): Shalom, and welcome to Veahavta Yisrael, a Hebrew phrase which means you shall love Israel. We hope you'll stay with us for the next 30 minutes as our teacher, Dr. Baruch, shares his expository teaching from the Bible. Dr. Baruch is the senior lecturer at the Zera Abraham Institute based in Israel. Although all courses are taught in Hebrew at the institute, Dr. Baruch is pleased to share this weekly address in English. To find out more about our work in Israel, please visit us on the web at loveisrael.org. That's one word, loveisrael.org. Now, here's Baruch with today's lesson.

Dr. Baruch Korman: Well, the focus of this coming chapter is going to be on the priesthood and what they are called to do. And we're going to see that these priests, and we're talking about the household of Aaron, these priests are called to minister specifically first at what's called the Ohel Moed, the tent of meeting or the appointed tent. And then later on, we have another name we use the term Mishkan for the Tabernacle. And ultimately, we know that this Tabernacle became what was known as the sanctuary or the temple that was established in Jerusalem.

So with all of that said, take out your Bible and look with me, if you would, to the book of Numbers and chapter 18. Now notice how we begin. And again, there is an emphasis on the priesthood where it says, "And the Lord said to Aharon, that is Aaron the high priest, you and your sons, and the house of your father with you, for they shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary."

We're talking about that place that is connected to worship. We're called to do something here, and that is to recognize the sanctity, the holiness, that it has been set apart for a purpose. And that purpose is related to worshipping God. And the leaders of that are indeed that house of Aaron, that is the priests.

And notice what it says, "And you shall bear the iniquity of the holy place, you and your sons with you, and you shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood." Meaning this, if things are done at the Tabernacle, the tent of meeting, the holy place, the sanctuary, if things are done there improperly and there is iniquity, it is going to be on the priest. They are going to be judged. They are going to be punished for that.

Why? Because they are called to bring the order of God to that place. And this just tells us something that I think is highly ignored today. And what is that? That there should be an order for worship. And that order for worship is found in the scriptures. It doesn't originate with man. It originates with God, what God says.

And anytime there is a violation of that, and this is what we're talking about when we use the word "Avon" or iniquity, whenever there's iniquity in the sanctuary or as it says here among the priesthood, we're going to find that Aaron and his family are going to suffer because of that. Let's move on to verse two where it says, "Also your brother, the tribe of Levi."

So we're seeing something here. He's speaking about your brothers, and who's he referring to? All those of the tribe of Levi. It says, "And your brother and also from the tribe of Levi, from the tribe of your father, that they shall draw near with you." That's literally what it says, that they shall draw near with you and they shall be joined unto you.

Now, this word for joining is the same word for a Levite. What does the Levite do? Well, another way that we can think of this word is to escort, walk alongside. But here's what's important. The Levites, they walked alongside of the priest, but they were in subjectness to them, meaning they didn't do what they wanted. They were there to assist the priests. They were the priests' servants.

And this is what's being admonished to us in verse two. So again, let's read that verse. "Also your brothers from the tribe of Levi, from the tribe of your father that draws near with you, they shall join unto you." For what purpose? "That they shall serve you, you and your sons with you, before the tent." And we have the word "HaEdut" for the tent of testimony, or this word can also be for the tent of witness, meaning this: they are called to provide the example, to oversee and to show the children of Israel what type of testimony or witness they should have in worshipping God.

A very important truth. God wants to be worshipped, but he wants to be worshipped according to the order that he established. So we're not just free to choose whatever songs we want, whatever manner of worship we choose. No, that is a violation. That's what we're learning here. Worship needs to be subjected to the instructions of God.

This is a very important point that I believe is greatly violated today, unfortunately. So they come before the tent of that witness. Now, who's going to witness? God is. It's a tent of his testimony. It is the tent where God's going to bear witness of his presence, his powers, and the outcome of when we worship him in the way that he demands to be worshipped.

Let's move on to verse three. It says, "They shall guard or keep your rotation." Now, so many Bibles, when I was going over this section with my wife, we looked at the English and what it said in her Bible, and it was very different. In fact, this word "Mishmeret" is translated several different ways in her Bible. She was using the New King James, and they really don't capture what the actual word is.

So let me do so at this time. Look at verse three. "They shall guard or keep your rotation." Now, this is a word, sometimes it's translated "charge," it's a keeping, what you're called to keep, what you're called to do, what God is admonishing you to carry out. So this is what we need to see. And they, that is the priests and the Levites together, they shall guard or keep your charge. And then it says "the charge," same word "Mishmeret," "the charge of all" and we have the word "HaOhel" which relates to that tent.

And this tent, it's also called the tent of meeting or the Tabernacle. It is a place of worship. And it says here they're supposed to keep the charge, meaning they're supposed to enforce what God says ought to be done at that place. There can be no debate. There can be no disagreement. What the priests have received from God, they're supposed to carry out. This is what's being strongly emphasized.

So this "Mishmeret," this charge of the tent. And then it says, "but," and it's a strong word of emphasis, "but to the holy vessels and the altar they shall not draw near." Now, what this is speaking about here, if we look at the context, we're talking about the Levites. Now the priests do go near to the altar. They are there in almost every place other than the Holy of Holies. We'll talk more about that later.

But we find the Levites don't draw near. And if they do, it says "Velo Yamutu," meaning this: if they don't draw near, then they will not die. And it says, "also they, also you." Now, why is that there? Well, to tell us something. It is to put a degree of responsibility and authority on the priests. You're supposed to make sure that these Levites don't go in the wrong place.

There are areas where it is forbidden for them to travel. Now, if they are assisting the priest and they are assisting him in doing his work, then they can escort him there. But in a general sense, if they just choose to go into this place, well, what's going to happen? They will die. And it says, "also you," meaning this: if you allow it, you are also going to bear the consequences of their sin. That's why it says, "also them, also you." And the "you" there is in the plural, meaning you all, all the priests.

Now let's go to our next verse, verse four, where it says, "And they that will join unto you, what are they supposed to do? To keep this rotation, this charge of the tent of meeting for all Avodat HaOhel, all the service." Now that word can be related to worship as well. "Avodah," if we want to say worship, we say "Avodat Hashem," the service of the Lord.

So it says here they shall keep the charge of the tent of meeting for all the, we might say, service or worship that goes on in the tent, that Tabernacle. And then it tells us again, "Vezar," meaning a foreigner, and that's literally what it is, or a stranger. What does that mean? One that is not of the Levite. One who's not a priest or a Levite, they cannot be there. It says, "and a stranger shall not go near unto you."

Don't let someone who's not a Levite draw near unto you. Why? It's going to tell us. Look at the next verse, verse five. "And you shall keep the holy charge." That is that rotation, what you're supposed to do, that service. You are called to keep it. You are to keep the charge of the altar. And it says again, if it is truly kept properly according to the instructions of God, then it says, "there will not be any," and I don't know how your Bible translates it, it's a word "Katsef."

What is that? Well, I've shared this word with you before. It has to do with an animal that's very angry and what does it do? It's froth at the mouth. It gets that white substance that shows how angry it is. And it says here, it uses that same term where it promises us, look at the text. It says, "and there will no longer be any anger upon the children of Israel."

Now, this shows us something. It shows us that if the worship is done properly, God won't be angry with his people. But if it's the consequence of something else, or in contrast to proper worship, if we worship God improperly, what can we expect? His anger to be upon his people. That's the principle that we're learning here.

Move on to verse six. "And I," and I want to translate this literally, where it says "VaAni Hine," which means "And I behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites from the midst of the children of Israel, for you a gift," meaning I'm supplying, I'm giving them unto you. They are given unto the Lord to serve the worship of the tent of meeting.

So God is providing them as a gift in order that they serve and carry out their work where? At the tent of meeting, that appointed place. Now, it's very, very important that we see that the tent of meeting is called "Ohel Moed." "Moed" is that same word that we use for the appointed days of the Lord. We're talking about these festivals.

And in the same way that the festivals need to be kept according to the word of God, what he's telling us is worship needs to be kept according to the word of God. Now, there's some implications. Recently I was talking with some individuals about an offering. Now Messiah would go up for the festivals. Now he was without sin, but did he need to bring a sacrifice? Well, not for sin, but the holiday itself required an offering.

So Messiah would do this. And in one case, and I'm speaking about John chapter five, what we see here is the Messiah. What did he do? Well, it says by the sheep. Now, most Bibles will say by the sheep gate, but it doesn't say that in the Hebrew text. It says by the sheep. And what is the implication? Well, normally people would come up to Jerusalem to keep the festival.

And they would be required to offer up an offering, what's called a "Korban." Why? Because they wanted to draw near to God. A "Korban" is related to that word for drawing near to. So what we see is that they would go and select a sheep or a calf or some sacrificial animal that they would offer unto the Lord in order to draw near to God.

What Messiah did was so beautiful because we need to remember something. We are the sheep of his pasture. We belong to him if we're in that covenantal relationship with him. So what does he do? He goes by the sheep, but he doesn't choose a sheep. He continues and he comes to that place Bet Chesed, and what did he do? Well, he saw a man there.

But this man couldn't walk. He had been in that condition a long time. We're told 38 years. What does Messiah do? He heals him. And the next thing we're told is that this man and Yeshua meet each other where? In the temple. What's the takeaway? Well, this is what Messiah does. This is his work, his ministry. He works in our life in order that we can be brought near to God.

And when we're brought into God's presence, what are we going to do? We're going to worship him. We're going to adore him. We're going to serve him. That is the heart of this passage. So look again at verse six, where it says, "And I, behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites from the midst of the children of Israel for you as a gift. They are given unto the Lord to serve and the worship at the tent of meeting." So it's the work or worship at the tent of meeting.

Look now to verse seven. "And you and your sons, meaning all the priests with you, you shall keep your priesthood for everything relating to the altar and for the," and not just the outside altar, but notice what it says here, "U mibet laparochet." That is what's on the other side of that veil. Now we know something: in Hebrews chapter four, it says that we shall draw near to God, that we will find help in times of need.

And that is because of the work of Messiah. What did he do? Well, we don't have to speculate. We know. If you look, for example, at Matthew chapter 27, when Messiah died upon that tree, we know something. We know that the veil, that "Parochet," what we're talking about here, and that location where it says the house of the veil or the "Parochet," that veil was torn in two from top to bottom.

Now, man couldn't do that. That shows that God is at work, that God was at work in providing us through the work of Messiah and the shedding of his blood that we have access to God, that we can draw near to him. This is what we're talking about here. Look again at verse six. "And I," it's God bringing it about, "behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites from the midst of the children of Israel for you as a gift. I have given unto the Lord to serve and the worship at the tent of meeting," to serve there in regard to the worship that was done at the tent of meeting.

Verse seven: "And you and your sons, meaning all the priests with you, they shall keep your priesthood for everything of the altar and also for the house of that veil. And you shall serve and do the work as a gift I have given you your priesthood." So it's a gift that we're able to serve God. That's what he says.

And look at the end of verse seven. "But the foreigner or the stranger," that means one who is not of the tribe of Levi, it says, "if they should come near, what's going to happen? That one who comes near, he is going to die." Why? God doesn't change. We have to learn to do it his way. If we want to be blessed, if we want to experience God, if we want to know the goodness of God, we have to follow things according to his instructions.

And this is what the priests are learning, and they're going to find out there's a benefit from that. And we're going to find out what that benefit is in a moment. Look now to verse eight. "And the Lord spoke to Aaron, I behold, I have given to you this charge," and then we have a word "Trumot." "Trumot" are donations.

Now, I believe some Bibles will call them the heave offering. I don't know why. It's the basic Hebrew word for donations. And this is the section that we're coming to. We're going to find something. We're going to find that the priests and also his family, they are going to benefit from the offerings of the people.

Why? Well, they serve there and a workman is worthy of his wages. So they're going to benefit to some limited degree. It's going to be a significant degree, but nevertheless, let's look at the text, verse seven. "And you and your sons with you, they shall keep your priesthood for everything concerning the altar and also that house of the veil, that is the Bet Parochet. And you shall serve and this is a gift, this worship is a gift I have given to the priest. And no stranger or foreigner can draw near. If he does draw near and he's not of that family, he will be put to death."

Look at verse eight. "And the Lord spoke to Aaron, I behold, I am giving to you the charge of these offerings, these donations for every holy thing of the children of Israel. To you I have given them for," now, most Bibles will say a portion, but that's not what it says. If you look at this word, it's the word "Mashchah." It comes from that same root "Meshichah," which is an anointing, meaning this: when things are done right among the children of Israel and the priests are the ones that are to enforce that, they know and been taught, that's what this is happening now, they know and have been taught the way of the Lord.

And when they do it, they are going to be blessed. That's what the scripture is saying. So all of these things are going to be a blessing, these donations for everything that is set apart by the children of Israel. To you I have given them for, not a portion, but for an anointing for your sons.

And this promise, notice what it says. It tells us that it is a "Chok Olam," meaning a kingdom statue. This is drawing us near to a kingdom expectation. Now, what is the primary thing that's going to be done in the kingdom? Very simple. Worship. We are going to worship God for what he's done in the past and for what he's done in bringing us into that kingdom experience and what he's going to do at the end of the age in establishing that kingdom. All of that is related to why we're going to worship him. And this is what we're talking about in this passage.

So look again. It says, "for all the sanctified things of the children of Israel, holy things of the children of Israel, to you I am giving them for an anointing for your sons," and it says here "LeChok Olam," for an everlasting law. Verse nine: "This will be to you," and notice what it says, "from the Holy of Holies from the fire, every one of their offerings and their grain offering and their sin offering and their guilt offering which," and this is a word of response.

Now, Bibles translate it a variety of ways. But it's a word to respond. Now, let me give you the origin of this word so we know it. It's the same word if we say the word "Tshuvah" in Hebrew, it relates to repentance. What is repentance? A response. One encountering the truth of God, that is God's standards. When we know what they are, we respond. What is that? We do them. We take seriously what God commands us to do. That's this word here that we're talking about.

"Which," some Bibles say they will render, but it's their response to me from the Holy of Holies it shall be to you and to your son, meaning this is of the utmost importance. This is related to the Holy of Holies. Now, when we hear that term, the Holy of Holies, what comes into your mind? Well, what should come to your mind is the presence of God. That's what the Holy of Holies was about, that God dwelt in this place.

So when he says this shall be of the Holy of Holies, it's saying it's something of great significance that relates to the presence of God. It's how you can experience God, in other words. Now let's look at verse 10. It says, "In the Holy of Holies you shall eat." Now, this is a very important truth. So when they would eat from these offerings, these donations, these things, they would eat at them or eat of them where? Well, as it says here. Look at verse 10: "In the Holy of Holies you shall eat."

And it warns us again: "Kol zachar," every male he shall eat with him and it says holy it will be for you, meaning what you're receiving you need to realize that it belongs to God and that God is providing it as a blessing, that God is doing this for you for your faithful service. God is not a stingy God. God is a God of generosity. And he's showing the children of Israel this very truth in this passage.

So all of this is of the Holy of Holies, and you eat it in the Holy of Holies. And you recognize God. Every male of the priests, it says he shall eat it and be holy unto the Lord. That's what we're called to be. Verse 11: "And this shall be for you," and then we have the word "Trumat Matnam," which means "this shall be to you a donation from their gift," meaning their offerings, "and from their wave offerings of the children of Israel. To you I have given them and to your sons and," not just to the sons, but also it says, "and to your daughters with you."

And he's done this how? Notice it says for a kingdom statue, meaning this is also going to be done in the kingdom of God. It's going to be done as a kingdom experience. Everyone who's pure in your house, he shall eat it. Now, what's the requirement? We have to be pure. Now, this is a very simple principle that's being taught. I've made mention several times in different teaching that when God sees that which is pure, he will bless. When he sees something that's impure, he will punish.

So what we're being told here is this: if we're in that pure state, we're going to be blessed. We're going to be a recipient of these things. And what things are we talking about? Well, not just these offerings, but move, if you would, to the next verse, verse 13, where it says, "the first fruits of all which is in your land that they will bring to the Lord, to you it will be. For everyone who's pure in your house, they shall eat it."

So everyone who's pure, understand this connection to being pure and receiving a blessing from God. God's going to provide for those who are pure. This is what it says. They shall eat it. Verse 14: "And everything," and notice this next word "Cherem," well, this is a devoted thing, thing that is not for us but rather it is donated to God.

But notice what it says here: "Every devoted thing in Israel to you it will be." Now, you know what this tells us? It tells us that God shares. Isn't that a marvelous thought, that God shares? And there's a message in here. In the same way that God, those devoted things that at one time, when they were taking the land, these were the things that were utterly destroyed, things that no one benefited from.

But now under the priesthood, God is going to share things with his people. Why? This is who he is. This is a testimony of his grace, of his generosity, of his favor, that we're going to benefit from these things that were once forbidden for us. But now under the priesthood when—and here's the key, don't miss this—it is only when worship is done properly.

And all those who—and this is a very important biblical truth. And what is that? Well, oftentimes we want to be inclusive. We just say, "Come and serve." But this isn't how God is. God set apart. And what we're going to talk about next week is how God sets apart certain ones for unique service and others he doesn't. Now, does that mean God doesn't love everyone? Of course he loves everyone, but he is free to use them as he sees fit.

And he's not going to use everyone in the same way. So for those who are of the priests, those who are of the Levites, they have that call upon them in order that they come alongside and lead the people in worshipping God and to be a force to change things. What do I mean change things? Very simply, those things that are "Tamei," they're called to make them pure. Those things that are defiled, unclean, unacceptable to God, sources of God's punishment.

Well, the priests, when they do things right, proper, correct, according to God's instruction, what then can they experience? A change. God is going to take that which was at one time forbidden and he is going to use it. He is going to receive it and not only that, he is going to share it with his people. Who are his people? Well, in this case, under the Old Testament Levitical law, we see something that is he shares it with only those representations of that unique tribe, the tribe of Levi. And he uses the priests from the household of Aaron to be the leaders of worship.

And you're going to learn something else: those priests were not just leaders of worship, but they were also teachers. We have this idea of a teaching priest. What does that come from? It comes from the household of Aaron. And we see godly men like Ezra, who was known for teaching. And what was that all about? One thing: setting things in order.

This is what's precious to God. If God's going to bless, if God's going to give, if God's going to be generous, if God's going to put forth his favor on someone, what has to be done? It must be followed according to his word. And that's why it just makes good sense to submit to God, to listen to him, to study his word and to see what he requires.

When we do that, it is going to save us from so much anxiety, problems, obstacles, punishment, humiliation. Instead of being humbled, there's a difference. So when we do things our way, it's going to bring upon us a punishment. We are going to be made humble. What does that mean? We're going to be brought low. But when we are obedient, when we are listening to God, when we are doing things God's way, what can we expect? We can expect something much more beneficial. And that is this: we're going to be drawn into his presence. We're going to experience him.

Worship is going to become a natural response. We're not going to be taught; it is going to be something that is natural for that covenant believer, that one who is in God, that one who has that relationship. They are going to respond because they are going to see the Holy One of Israel. They are going to glimpse upon the glory of God. Now, they don't see God; they see the glory of God. And that is going to cause them to worship God how Messiah taught: in spirit and in truth.

So God wants to bring change into your life. If you want to experience his change, and we need his change, we have to do it his way. We have to be very, very responsive—let me say it differently—very, very obedient in doing things according to scriptural truth. When we do, we find that things go so much better in our life. That's why we want to do something, and I'll close with this: we want to be people that agree with God.

I have said many, many times: if you agree with God, you'll never regret it. But if God forbid you are rebellious or I am rebellious and we disagree with God, we say "no" to him, "we're going to do it our way," that is a formula for failure. It is a formula for stress, anxiety, problems, and destruction visiting you. Don't be deceived by the enemy. Don't follow his lies. Don't follow his darkness. But believe in the one who is light. Who is that? As the scripture says, God is light. His son is the light of the world. Step into the light. Experience his glory, do his will, and you're going to be rejoicing and praising God and worshipping him for the goodness of God that you will be a recipient of. Well, I'll close with that. And until next week, Shalom from Israel. May God bless you.

Guest (Male): Well, we hope you will benefit from today's message and share it with others. Please plan to join us each week at this time and on this channel for our broadcast of loveisrael.org. Again, to find out more about us, please visit our website, loveisrael.org. There you will find articles and numerous other lectures by Baruch. These teachings are in video form. You may download them or watch them in streaming video. Until next week, may the Lord bless you in our Messiah Yeshua, that is Jesus, as you walk with him. Shalom from Israel.