Blessed are You, YHVH our Elohim, You have set us apart by Your commandments and have commanded us to actively study Your Torah. Please YHVH, our Elohim, sweeten the words of Your Torah in our mouths and in the mouths of all Your people Israel. May You open our eyes to see marvellous truths from Your Torah. Thank You for calling us who were once gentiles excluded from the citizenship of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise having no expectation and without Elohim- but now through the blood of Messiah we have gained access into the covenants and have obtained citizenship into the commonwealth of Israel. Blessed are You, YHVH, Who teaches Torah to His people Israel. Blessed are You, YHVH, Giver of the Torah.
So why Levites?
YHVH chooses
His instruments of deliverance.
Eph
3:9 and to make all see how this secret is administered, which for ages
past has been hidden in Elohim who created all through יהושע Messiah,[b]
Footnote: bSee Joh_1:3.
Eph 3:10 so that now, through the assembly,(not the church, but a restored Israel guided by a Levitical priesthood) the many-sided wisdom of Elohim might be known to the principalities and authorities in the heavenlies, (YHVH does not change Mal 3:6)
Eph 1:9 having made known to us the secret
of His desire, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in
Him,
Eph 1:10 to administer at the completion of
time, to gather together in one all in Messiah, both which are in the heavens
and which are on earth, in Him,
Eph 1:11 in whom also we did obtain an
inheritance, being previously ordained according to the purpose of Him working
all matters according to the counsel of His desire,
Eph 2:11 Therefore remember that you, once
nations[c] in the flesh, who are called ‘the uncircumcision’ by what is called
‘the circumcision’ made in the flesh by hands, Footnote: cSee 1Co_12:2.
Eph 2:12 that at that time you were without
Messiah, excluded from the citizenship of Yisra’ěl and strangers from the
covenants of promise, having no expectation and without Elohim in the
world.
Eph 2:13 But now in Messiah יהושע
you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of the
Messiah.
Some Torah teachers believe the events of this
parashah take place during the second half of the tribulation as preparation for
the return of Messiah.
Jer 33:14 See, the days are coming,’ declares יהוה,
‘when I shall establish the good word which I have promised to the house of
Yisra’ěl and to the house of Yehuḏah: Jer 33:20 “Thus said יהוה,
‘If you could break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night, so
that there be not day and night in their season,
Jer 33:21 then My covenant could also be broken
with Dawiḏ My servant – so that he shall not have a son to reign upon his
throne – and with the Lěwites, the priests, My attendants.
Jer 33:22 As the host of the heavens is not
counted, nor the sand of the sea measured, so I increase the descendants of
Dawiḏ My servant and the Lěwites who attend upon Me.’ ”
So then, what about the ‘’Renewed covenant’’? It has
been described by some to ‘’restore the old covenant or restore the ancient
paths – Jer 6:16-19 – The Torah of YHVH –
Then why the Apostolic Scriptures?
Their purpose too, was to show us a way back to the ancient paths – Mat 5:17-19.
ואלה תולדת אהרן
Num 3:1 And
these are the generations of Aharon and Mosheh when יהוה spoke with
Mosheh on Mount Sinai.
Num 3:2 And these are the names of the sons of
Aharon: Naḏaḇ, the first-born, and Aḇihu, El‛azar, and Ithamar.
Num 3:3 These are the names of the sons of
Aharon, the anointed priests, whom he ordained to act as priests.
Num 3:4 And Naḏaḇ and Aḇihu had died before יהוה when they
brought strange fire before יהוה in the Wilderness of Sinai. And they had
no children. So El‛azar and Ithamar acted as priests in the presence of Aharon
their father.
Duties of the Levites
Num 3:5 And יהוה spoke to
Mosheh, saying,
Num 3:6 “Bring the tribe of Lěwi near, and set
them before Aharon the priest, and they shall serve him,
Num 3:7 and shall guard his duty and the
duty of all the congregation before the Tent of Appointment, to do the service
of the Dwelling Place.
Num 3:8 “And they shall guard all the
furnishings of the Tent of Appointment, and the duty of the children of
Yisra’ěl, to do the service of the Dwelling Place.
Num 3:9 “And you shall give the Lěwites to
Aharon and his sons. They are the given ones, נתונם נתונם given to him from among the children of
Yisra’ěl. (Mat 5:17-19)
Num 3:10 “And appoint Aharon and his sons, and
they shall guard their priesthood. And the stranger who comes near shall be put
to death.”
Num 3:11 And יהוה spoke to
Mosheh, saying,
Num 3:12 “Now look, I Myself have taken the
Lěwites from among the children of Yisra’ěl instead of every first-born who
opens the womb among the children of Yisra’ěl. And the Lěwites shall be
Mine,
Num 3:13 because all the first-born are Mine.
On the day that I struck all the first-born in the land of Mitsrayim, I set
apart to Myself all the first-born in Yisra’ěl, both man and beast. They are
Mine, I am יהוה.”
Num 3:14
And יהוה spoke to Mosheh in the Wilderness of Sinai, saying,
Num 3:15 “Register the children of
Lĕwi(joined to) by their fathers’ houses, by their clans. Register every male
from a month old and above.”
Num 3:16 So Mosheh registered them
according to the word of יהוה, as he had been commanded.
Num 3:17 And these
were the sons of Lĕwi by their names: Gĕreshon, and Qehath,(beginning of wisdom
and instruction) and Merari.
Num 3:18 And these are the names of
the sons of Gĕreshon by their clans: Liḇni and Shimʽi.
Num 3:19 And the sons of Qehath by
their clans: Amram and Yitshar, Ḥeḇron and Uzzi’ĕl.
Num 3:20 And the sons of Merari by
their clans: Maḥli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Lĕwites by their
fathers’ houses.
Num 3:21 From Gĕreshon came the clan
of the Liḇnites and the clan of the Shimʽites. These were the clans of
the Gĕreshonites.
Num 3:22 Their registered ones,
according to the number of all the males from a month old and above, their
registered ones were seven thousand five hundred.
Num 3:23 The clans of the
Gĕreshonites were to camp westward, behind the Dwelling Place,
Num 3:24 and the leader of the
fathers’ house of the Gĕreshonites: Elyasaph, son of La’ĕl.
Num 3:25 And the duty of the children of Gĕreshon in
the Tent of Meeting was the Dwelling Place, and the tent with its covering, and
the covering of the door of the Tent of Meeting,
Num 3:26 and the screens of the courtyard and the
covering of the door of the courtyard, which is around the Dwelling Place and
the altar, and their cords, according to all its service.
Num 3:27 And from Qehath came the
clan of the Amramites, and the clan of the Yitsharites, and the clan of the Ḥeḇronites, and the clan of the
Uzzi’ĕlites. These were the clans of the Qehathites.
Num 3:28 In number, all the males,
from a month old and above, were eight thousand six hundred, guarding the duty
of the set-apart place.
Num 3:29 The clans of the children of Qehath(meaning
to ally oneself - implying obedience also the beginning of wisdom and obedience)
were to camp on the south side of the Dwelling Place.
Num 3:30 And the leader of the fathers’ house of the
clans of the Qehathites was Elitsaphan, son of Uzzi’ĕl.
Num 3:31 And their duty was the ark, and the table,
and the lampstand, and the altars, and the utensils of the set-apart place used
in the service, and the covering, and all its service.
Num 3:32 And Elʽazar, son of Aharon the priest, was to be chief over the
leaders of the Lĕwites, with oversight of those who guard the duty of the
set-apart place.
Num 3:33 From Merari came the clan
of the Maḥlites and the clan of the
Mushites. These were the clans of Merari.
Num 3:34 And the number of their
registered ones, all the males from a month old and above, were six thousand
two hundred.
Num 3:35 And the leader of the
fathers’ house of the clans of Merari was Tsuri’ĕl,
son of Aḇiḥayil. These were to camp on
the north side of the Dwelling Place.
Num 3:36 And the appointed duty of the children of
Merari was the boards of the Dwelling Place, and its bars, and its columns, and
its sockets, and its utensils, and all its service,
Num 3:37 and the columns of the courtyard all around,
with their sockets, and their pegs, and their cords.
Num 3:38 And those who were to camp before the
Dwelling Place on the east, before the Tent of Meeting, were Mosheh and Aharon,
and his sons, guarding the duty of the set-apart place, and the duty of the
children of Yisra’ĕl. But the stranger who came near was to be put to death.
Num 3:39 All the registered ones of
the Lĕwites, whom Mosheh and Aharon registered at the command of יהוה, by their
clans, all the males from a month old and above, were twenty-two thousand.
Num 3:40 And יהוה said to
Mosheh, “Register all the first-born males of the children of Yisra’ĕl from a
month old and above, and take the number of their names.
Num 3:41 “And you shall take the
Lĕwites for Me – I am יהוה – instead of all the first-born among the children of Yisra’ĕl,
and the livestock of the Lĕwites instead of all the first-born among the
livestock of the children of Yisra’ĕl.”
Num 3:42 And Mosheh registered all
the first-born among the children of Yisra’ĕl as יהוה had commanded him.
Num 3:43 And all the first-born
males, by the number of names, from one month old and above of their registered
ones, were twenty-two thousand two hundred and seventy-three.
Num 3:44 And יהוה spoke to
Mosheh, saying,
Num 3:45 “Take the Lĕwites instead
of all the first-born among the children of Yisra’ĕl, and the livestock of the
Lĕwites instead of their livestock. And the Lĕwites shall be Mine, I am יהוה.
Num 3:46 “And for the ransom of the
two hundred and seventy-three of the first-born of the children of Yisra’ĕl,
who are more than the number of the Lĕwites,
Num 3:47 you shall take five sheqels
for each one, head by head – take it by the sheqel of the set-apart place, the
sheqel of twenty gĕrahs.
Num 3:48 “And you shall give the
silver, the ransom of those who are in excess among them, to Aharon and his
sons.”
Num 3:49 And Mosheh took the ransom
silver from those who were over and above those who were ransomed by the
Lĕwites.
Num 3:50 From the first-born of the
children of Yisra’ĕl he took the silver, one thousand three hundred and
sixty-five pieces, according to the sheqel of the set-apart place. (273x5shekels)
Num 3:51 And Mosheh gave their
ransom silver to Aharon, and to his sons, according to the word of יהוה, as יהוה had commanded
Mosheh.
Num 4:1 And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, and to Aharon, saying,
Num 4:2 “Take a census of the sons of Qehath from
among the children of Lĕwi, by their clans, by their fathers’ house,
Num 4:3 from thirty years old and above, even to
fifty years old, all who enter the service to do the work in the Tent of
Meeting.
Num 4:4 “This is the service of the
sons of Qehath in the Tent of Meeting, the most set-apart matters:
Num 4:5 “At the breaking of camp,
Aharon and his sons shall come, and they shall take down the covering veil and
cover the ark of the Witness with it,
Num 4:6 and shall put on it a
covering of fine leather, and spread over that an all-blue wrapper,(techlet)
and shall insert its poles.
Num 4:7 “And on the table of
showbread they shall spread a blue wrapper, and shall put on it the dishes, and
the ladles, and the bowls, and the jars for pouring, and the showbread on it.
Num 4:8 “And they shall spread over
them a scarlet (tola-at—Yesh 1:18)wrapper, and cover the same with a covering
of fine leather, and shall insert its poles,
Num 4:9 and shall take a blue
wrapper and cover the lampstand of the light, with its lamps, and its snuffers,
and its trays, and all its oil vessels, by which they serve it.
Num 4:10 “And they shall put it with
all its utensils in a covering of fine leather, and put it on a bar.
Num 4:11 “And over the golden altar
they shall spread a blue wrapper, and cover it with a covering of fine leather,
and shall insert its poles,
Num 4:12 and shall take all the
utensils of service with which they serve in the set-apart place, and shall put
them in a blue wrapper, cover them with a covering of fine leather, and put
them on a bar,
Num 4:13 and shall remove the ashes
from the altar, and spread a purple wrapper over it,
Num 4:14 and shall put on it all its
utensils by which they serve there: the fire holders, the forks, and the
shovels, and the basins, and all the utensils of the altar, and shall spread on
it a covering of fine leather, and insert its poles.
Num 4:15 “And when Aharon and his sons have finished
covering the set-apart objects and all the furnishings of the Set-apart
Place at the breaking of camp, then the sons of Qehath shall come to lift them,
but let them not touch that which is set-apart, lest they die. These matters
are the burden of the sons of Qehath in the Tent of Meeting.
Num 4:16 “And the oversight of Elʽazar, son of Aharon the
priest, is the oil for the light, and the sweet incense, and the daily grain
offering, and the anointing oil, and the oversight of all the Dwelling Place
and all that is in it, with the set-apart place and its furnishings.”
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.”
Midrash:
This Torah portion reminds us that YHVH selects and calls a special group
of people to minister to Him. Even among these Levites some are called to
minister to Him personally and some are not – Koathites. Even among the
Koathites only one – the high priest - is allowed into His presence once a year
on the day of Yom Ha Kippurim.
Today the Koathites seem to have been “cut off” and
have been replaced by rabbi’s and pastors and all kinds of various priests and self-appointed
men and women who claim to be personally called by YHVH.
Yet YHVH still appoints those who must represent Him
and proclaim His entire counsel– Eph 4:11-16. Who confirm all the teachings of
the Torah.
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.’ ”
For the past few millennia a huge spiritual vacuum has
been created because YHVH’s people have abandoned His Torah and its
instructions. This vacuum has been
filled by religious men and women teaching all kinds of idolatrous
abominations.
Gal 1:8
However, even if we, or a messenger out of heaven, bring a ‘Good News’
to you beside what we announced to you, let him be accursed.
Gal 1:9
As we have said before, and now I say again, if anyone brings a ‘Good
News’ to you beside what you have received, let him be accursed.
Isa 43:9 All the nations shall be assembled,
and the peoples be gathered. Who among them declares this, and show us former events?
Let them give their witnesses, to be declared right; or let them hear and say,
“It is truth.”
Isa 43:10 “You are My witnesses,” declares יהוה, “And My
servant whom I have chosen, so that you know and believe Me, and understand
that I am He. Before Me there was no Ěl formed, nor after Me there is
none.
Isa 43:11 “I, I am יהוה, and
besides Me there is no saviour.
Rom 8:4
so that the righteousness of the Torah should be completed in us who do not
walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Rom 8:5
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the matters
of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the matters
of the Spirit.
Rom 8:6
For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and
peace.
Rom 8:7
Because the mind of the flesh is enmity towards Elohim, for it does not subject
itself to the Torah of Elohim, neither indeed is it able,
Rom 8:8
and those who are in the flesh are unable to please Elohim.
Rom 8:9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of Elohim dwells in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Messiah, this one is not His.
Gal 5:19 And the works of the flesh are well-known, which are these:
adultery[a], whoring, uncleanness, indecency, Footnote: aSome manuscripts omit adultery.
Gal 5:20 idolatry, drug sorcery, hatred, quarrels, jealousies, fits of rage, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions,
This world including all its inhabitants have been thoroughly soaked and drenched with the spirit of idolatry. What is the cure? – There is no cure – only death – Gal 2:20
Jer 30:11 For I am with you,’ declares יהוה, ‘to save you. Though I make a complete end of all nations[a]
where I have scattered you, yet I do not make a complete end of you. But I
shall reprove you in judgment, and by no means leave you unpunished.’ Footnote:
aSee Jer_46:28, Isa_34:2, Isa_45:17, Dan_2:44, Amo_9:8,
Hag_2:22.
Jer 30:12 “For thus said יהוה, ‘Your breach is incurable, your wound is grievous.
Jer 30:13 No one pleads your cause, to bind up. There are no
healing medicines for you.
Jer 30:14 All those loving you have forgotten you, they do not
seek you. For I struck you as an enemy strikes, with cruel chastisement,
because your crookedness (idolatry) is great, your sins have increased.
Jer 30:15 Why do you cry about your breach? Your pain is
incurable. Because of your many crookednesses, because your sins have
increased, I have done this to you.
Jer 30:16 However, all those who devour you shall be devoured.
And all your adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity. And those
who exploit you shall be exploited, and all who prey upon you I shall make a
prey.
Jer 30:17 For I restore health to you and heal you of your
wounds,’ declares יהוה, ‘for they have called you
an outcast saying, “This is Tsiyon, no one is seeking her.” ’
Jer 30:18 “Thus said יהוה, ‘See, I turn back the captivity of Ya‛aqoḇ’s tents, and have compassion on his dwelling places.
And the city shall be built upon its own mound, and the palace stand on its
right place.
Jer 30:19 And out of them shall arise thanksgiving and the voice
of those who are laughing. And I shall increase them, and they shall not
diminish. And I shall esteem them, and they shall not be small.
Jer 30:20 And his children shall be as before, and his
congregation shall be established before Me. And I shall punish all who oppress
them. Jer 30:21 And his Prince shall be from him, and his Ruler
shall come from among him. And I shall bring him near, and he shall approach
Me, for who is this who pledged his heart to approach Me?’ declares יהוה. Jer 30:22 And you shall be My people, and I shall
be your Elohim.’ ”
Jer 30:23 See, the storm of יהוה shall go forth in a rage, a whirling storm! It bursts upon the head of the wrong. Jer 30:24 The burning displeasure of יהוה shall not turn back until He has done and established the purposes of His heart. In the latter days you shall understand it.[b] Footnote: bSee Jer_23:20.
The world is about to find out how evil and widespread idolatry is and how much YHVH loves and protects His people – even if it comes with severe chastisement.
Blessed
are you YHVH, our Elohim, King of the Universe, you have given us your Torah of
truth, and have planted everlasting life within our midst. Blessed are you,
YHVH giver of the Torah – Amein.