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Discover the significance of offerings, place of meeting, light, and dedication in worship according to Numbers chapters 7 and 8. Learn valuable lessons for today's worship practices.
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Worship Numbers 7 - 8
Worship BACKGROUND • Numbers is an account of the time between the Exodus and the entry into the Promised Land • The Levites have been appointed to serve the Lord and maintain the Tabernacle • Now the Tabernacle is ready and specific instructions are given to the leaders of the tribes and to the Levites regarding worship
Worship OFFERINGS • Chapter 7 is mainly concerned with the offerings made to equip the Tabernacle and to ensure it will be portable for the journey • The tribes all contribute towards providing carts and oxen for the Tabernacle (1 – 9) • These are given to the three Levite clans depending on the load they will bear • Note that the Kohathites do not have a cart. They will carry the most holy objects on their shoulders using poles (see 2 Samuel 6)
Worship OFFERINGS • All the tribes (except the Levites) now bring equal offerings to the Tabernacle (10 – 88) • Each tribe has an equal stake in the support of the sacrificial ministry of the Tabernacle • No tribe has a monopoly and no tribe is overlooked • Grain offering, burnt offering, sin offering, fellowship offering – all of the major Levitical offerings are provided for
Worship A PLACE OF MEETING • The Tabernacle was not just a place of offering • It was where God spoke to His people through Moses – the Tent of Meeting • It was a place that signified relationship • God speaks to Moses from above the Mercy Seat • This is also called the atonement cover – see Romans 3:25 “God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement through faith in His blood, to demonstrate His righteousness”
Worship A PLACE OF LIGHT (8:1 -4) • The arrangement of the lamp stand is given prominence (see also Exodus 25 and 37) • The lamp stand was made of hammered gold • God had given the design to Moses • The lamps would light the path for Moses to approach the Holy of Holies (Most Holy Place) • They help Moses to draw close to communion with God
Worship A PLACE OF DEDICATION (8:5 - 22) • The Levites need to be purified before they can serve the Lord • As a symbol of being cut off from anything unclean they shave off all of their body hair as part of the ceremony • They have hands laid on them just as an animal sacrifice would – they are living sacrifices to the Lord • We are reminded that the Levites stand as substitutionary sacrifices for the firstborn of all the tribes
Worship LESSONS FOR TODAY • All of us have a part to play in worshipping God • Sacrifices remind us that sin is serious and a holy God cannot be approached casually • Worship is our reasonable service to God – we are a kingdom of priests • There will be those who are equipped by God and set apart to help us in our worship • Our worship must be centred on Him alone • Worship is about having a relationship with God where we hear from Him as well as serve Him