(Bless YHVH the blessed One; Blessed is YHVH, the blessed One for all eternity. Blessed are you, YHVH, our Elohim, King of the Universe, you have selected us from among all the peoples, and have given us your Torah.)
Num 4:17 And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, and to Aharon, saying,
Num 4:18 “Do not
cut off the tribe of the clans of the Qehathites from among the Lĕwites,
Num 4:19 but do this to them, and they shall live and
not die when they approach the most set-apart objects: Aharon and his
sons shall go in and appoint each of them to his service and his burden.
Num 4:20 “They are not, however, to go in to watch
while the set-apart objects are being covered, lest they die.”
These are specific instructions
to the High Priest – Aaron and his sons – they are to make sure all the priests
or ‘’kohanim’’ were given an opportunity to serve in the tent of meeting – the
set apart place – the first part of the tabernacle. Only Aaron was permitted
once a year on the day of ‘’Yom ha kippurim’’ to enter the Most Set Apart
place. (the second place)
The incident of Korach –
Numbers 16 – indicates that there was some rivalry and envy amongst some of the
priests regarding their duties in the tabernacle.
According to Numbers 16:1, his lineage goes: "Korah,
the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi," making him the
great-grandson of the patriarch Levi and the first cousin of Moshhe and
Aharon.
We see in Numbers 17 YHVH confirms Aharon’s appointment
of High Priest – his staff was the only staff that budded and later found its
way as one of the three objects placed in the ark of the covenant, which
resided in the most set apart pace.
‘’Before the Temple was built,
David received instructions from the Set Apart Spirit that showed Solomon how
to divide the priests and the Levites and how they were to serve. In the
Temple, there were several classes of Levites:
- Priests (1 Chronicles 24:1-19)
- Priests' Assistants (1 Chronicles 23:4,28)
- Singers (1 Chronicles 25:7-31)
- Musicians (1 Chronicles 23:5)
- Gatekeepers (1 Chronicles 26:1-19)
- Keepers of the Treasure (1 Chronicles 26:20-28)
In addition, there were also officers and judges (1 Chronicles 26:29-32) that assigned outside responsibilities.
The priests and the Levites were divided into 24 courses within their assigned class. The length of each course was 7 days (1 Chronicles 9:25). The week of service began and ended on the Sabbath (2 Chronicles 23:8). In addition, all the priests served for 3 extra weeks during the year (Deuteronomy 16:16).
Each course of priests and Levites came on duty for a week, from one Sabbath to another. It should be made clear that not every priest and Levite in a course served every day. The service was subdivided among the various families which constituted a course. The number of families in a course varied. The singers had only one family in each course (1 Chronicles 25:7-31) whereas the other classes had up to 9 families in a course.
The Hebrew calendar has only
51 weeks in a year. Each of the 24 courses therefore served twice a year, plus
3 weeks they all served, for a total of 5 weeks during the year. Every 2 or 3
years, there is a leap year which adds a leap month. It was not certain how the
priests served these extra days.’’
Jer 33:18 ‘And for the priests, the Lĕwites, there is not to cease a man to offer burnt offerings before Me, to kindle grain offerings, and to slaughter continually.’ ”