Here is the offering of the chiefs for the service of the tabernacle. Notice first when it is done - not till the tabernacle is fully set up. When all things are done both about the tabernacle itself, and the camp of Israel which surrounds it, according to the directions given, then they begin their presents, probably about the eighth

The priests are appointed solemnly to bless the people in the name of the Lord. It is part of their work. In this way God gives great comfort and satisfaction to the people, who look upon the priest as God's mouth to them. Though the priest of himself has no power to bless, yet being commanded by God, the prayer

The Nazarites are devoted to the Lord during the time of their vow, and probably spend much of their time studying the law and instructing others. They are separate not only from others, but from what they themselves were before and after. Every Israelite is bound to love God with all his heart, but the Nazarites by their own actions

The sin of adultery is rebelling against God and what He commands. It is sinning against the spouse, robbing them of their honour and violating the covenant made with them. Nothing pollutes the mind and conscience more than this sin does. It is a sin which great care is taken by the sinners to conceal. We can learn from these

This expelling of the unclean out of the camp is a sign of: what the leadership of the church ought to do: they must separate between the precious and the evil, lest others should be infected and defiled. It is for the glory of Christ and the edification of His church that those who are openly and incorrigibly evil should

We have here an account of the numbers of the three families of the Levites, that is, of the men, between thirty years old and fifty. Notice that the Kohathites are, in all, 8,600 from a month old and upwards; but of these there are only 2,750 serviceable men, not even a third. The Gershonites, in all, 7,500, and of

The Gershonites are in charge of all the drapery of the tabernacle, the curtains, and hangings, and the coverings of badgers' skins. These they are to take down when the cloud moves, and the ark and the rest of the holy things are carried away, to pack up and bring with them, and then to set up again, where the

Of the other tribes, those that are numbered to go forth to war are from twenty years old and upward, but of the Levites only from thirty to fifty; for the service of God requires the best of our strength, and the prime of our time. They are entered as probationers at twenty-five years old, (ch. 8:24); but they must

The first-born are numbered from a month old. If there are 22,000 first-born males, we may suppose there are as many females. It is a sign of God’s goodness and blessing, that they are not only kept alive, but greatly increased, in a barren wilderness.The number of the first-born, and that of the Levites, by a special providence, come pretty

The Levites are here delivered to Aaron, that he might know what he has, and employ them accordingly. Every male from a month old and upward is numbered. The rest of the tribes are numbered only from twenty years old and upwards, and of them only those that are able to go forth to war; but the Levites count both