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Chapter 4: Census of Levites in the Age of Service
Yahweh established a threefold ministry of worship and service in the ordained offices of the High Priest, the chief priests, and the Levitical lesser ministers. The chief priests, the descendants of Aaron from whom the ruling high priest was selected, began their training at age twenty-five and fully assumed their duties at age thirty, serving for life. The Levite's service began at age twenty-five for an apprentice period that lasted until age thirty when the Levite was sufficiently trained and able to assume full responsibility for his assigned duties in guarding, performing his ministerial service and keeping the Sanctuary. After age fifty, the Levite was no longer personally responsible for duties.
Chapter 4 records a second census of the Levites between the ages of thirty and fifty for the purpose of establishing the numbers of men responsible for dismantling, transporting and re-assembling the Sanctuary during the march to the Promised Land.
Numbers 4:1-16: The Duties of the Kohathite Clan of Levi on the March
The chief priests were commanded to make special coverings for all the sacred items in the Sanctuary.
Question: How many coverings were placed over the Ark?
Answer: The Ark of the Covenant was covered in three layers:
- the screening curtain
- a leather covering/garment
- a blue cloth/garment
The first covering was the curtain that covered the opening between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies that was made of linen and was embroidered in scarlet, purple, and blue threads and with embroidered winged cherubim (Ex 26:31-33; 36:35). The second covering (perhaps "wrapping" is a better designation) of leather was "yellow-orange" (JPS Commentary), tahash in Hebrew, which may mean "dolphin skin" and the third covering was the "blue garment".
Question: How is the golden table prepared for transport?
Answer: A blue garment was place over the table upon which the dishes, spoons, bowls and cups for the drink offering were placed along with the weekly twelve loaves of the Bread of the Presence. The second covering was a scarlet garment and the third covering was leather. The poles were then attached to the table.
Question: How was the Menorah (lamp-stand) prepared?
Answer: It was wrapped with a blue garment with all its accessories and was then covered in leather.
Question: How was the golden Incense Altar prepared?
Answer: It was wrapped with a blue garment and then with a leather covering before its carrying poles were attached.
Question: What was the last preparation in the Holy Place before moving to prepare the sacred furniture in the courtyard?
Answer: A blue garment was made to contain the remainder of the sacred vessels used in the Holy Place.
Question: How was the sacrificial altar in the courtyard prepared?
Answer: After removing the ashes and cleaning the altar, the altar was first covered with a red-purple garment upon which was placed the altar's sacred accessories. Next, everything was wrapped in leather and the poles were attached.
Notice that the order of preparation moves from the most sacred space of the Holy of Holies to next holiest space of the Holy Place and finally to those sacred furnishings in the third most holy space in the courtyard of the Sanctuary.
Numbers 4:17-20: Yahweh's Special Instructions to Moses Concerning the Safety of his Clan
Moses, Aaron and his surviving two sons were members of the Kohathite clan. It is unusual that the Kohathites are listed first since they are the second clan in the hierarchical order of the birth of Levi's sons who are the clan ancestors. Kohath was the second son of Levi. The order of clans in Chapter 4 contrasts with the order of the first Levitical census in 3:14-39 where the clan of the first-born son Gershon was mustered first (3:17).
Virgin in Prayer (Sassoferrato)
Question: How was the Ark to be covered for transport?
Answer: It was to be veiled with three coverings: the embroidered curtain, a covering of leather, and on top of those coverings a solid blue veil.
Question: Catholic Christians acknowledge the Virgin Mary as the Ark of the New Covenant. Whenever Mary appears to those of us on earth, what color is her veil?
Answer: According to those privileged to receive a vision of the Virgin Mary, she is always covered by a blue veil.
Numbers 4:21-28: The Duties of the Gershonites on the March
Question: What were the Gershonites to carry on the march?
Answer: They were to carry:
- The coverings for the Tabernacle
- The entrance curtain that separated the Tabernacle from the courtyard
- The entrance curtain that covered the entrance to the Sanctuary
- The fabric panels that made covered the framework of the Sanctuary and the cords that bound the panels to their frames
Numbers 4:29-33: The Duties of the Merarites on the March
Question: What are the duties of Aaron's youngest priestly son, Ithamar?
Answer: Ithamar will personally supervise the clans of Gershonites and Merarites in the dismantling and transportation of the Sanctuary and the reassembly when they make camp again.
He was also in charge of the wagons uses to transport the parts of the Sanctuary (Num 7:8). In Exodus 38:21 Ithamar kept the records for the expenditures associated with building the Sanctuary.
Numbers 4:34-49: The Second Census of the Levite Adult Males
Summary of the Role of the Levites:
- The Levites replaced the first-born sons of Israel as men whose lives are wholly dedicated to God's service.
- In place of the first-born sons of Israel, the Levites are given to Aaron and his sons (the chief priests) as lesser ministers and as representatives of Israel.
- The Levites are responsible for guarding the Sanctuary, for dismantling the Sanctuary when Israel was ready to begin the march, for carrying the Sanctuary and its sacred items, and for reassembling the Sanctuary when the Israelites set up camp.
- The chief priests, who are the descendants of Aaron and Levites of the clan of Kohath, have the responsibility to guard their own unique priestly duties.
Question: How was the hierarchy of the Old Covenant Church established?
Answer: Moses was the covenant mediator and the supreme figure of authority. Aaron was the anointed High Priest and his sons served as the chief priests and liturgical ministers of the Sanctuary. Aaron's eldest surviving son, Eleazar, administered the leaders of the Levitical clans whose male members served as lesser ministers. The Levitical lesser ministers were under the supervision of the chief priests. It was their duty to guard and care for the Sanctuary but they could not officiate at the liturgical services, offer sacrifice or forgive the sins of the people in the rituals of blood sacrifice. Each tribe was administered by seventy elders who served as heads of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens, serving as permanent judges over minor tribal disputes. All major civil and religious cases were referred to Moses.
Question: How does the hierarchy of the Old Covenant Church compare to the New Covenant hierarchy of the Vicar of Christ, the universal Magisterium (bishops), priests and deacons? Who is the High Priest/King and covenant mediator? Who serves as the Vicar of the Priest-King of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth? What is the line of hierarchy and supreme authority within the Roman Catholic Church and from whom do we trace this line of supreme authority down through the centuries? See CCC 871-76, 1541-43, 1569, 1571.
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This lesson concerns Part II of Moses' first homily (Dt 4:1-40). Moses begins his teaching (Dt 4:1) with an exhortation for Israel to live in obedience to the commandments of God. He will offer this teaching in the context of wisdom-the wisdom of divine Law that will set Israel apart from other nations of the world. However, in this second half of the first homily, beginning with the last chronological event of Israel's apostasy at Baal-Peor, the events are not presented in chronological order. The lessons the Israelites must learn associated with the events in this section are more important than the order of events.
Moses Preaching to the Israelites
Several events are mentioned in reverse chronological order from the last encampment near Beth-Peor to the Creation event (Dt 4:1-32), and then Moses returns to a short chronology of events to conclude his first homily by referring to Moses' first experience of Yahweh in the incident of the burning bush/tree, the Exodus liberation and the people's vision of Yahweh on Mt. Sinai (Dt 4:33-40).
The reverse order chronology of 4:1-32:
- Beth-Peor/Baal-Peor
- The events at Sinai (in order)
- The Creation event
Chronological events mentioned in the conclusion of Moses' homily in Dt 4:33-40:
- The burning bush
- The Exodus liberation
- Theophany at Sinai
Central theme of Part I of Moses first homily:
- Israel's victory over her enemies and her prosperity in the Promised Land is assured if the Israelites will have faith in God and be obedient to His Law that is the heart of the Sinai Covenant.
Central themes of Part II of Moses' first homily are found in Deuteronomy 4:1 and verse 9:
- To have life, the Israelites must "hear," "see," and "do" God's Law.
- They must teach the Law to succeeding generations.
These themes are summarized in 4:9: But take care, as you value your lives! Do not forget the things which you yourselves have seen, or let them slip from your heart as long as you live; teach them, rather, to your children and to your children's children (Dt 4:9).
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Deuteronomy 4:1-8
The Historical Prologue Continued: An Appeal for Obedience and Extolling the Wisdom of the Law
When Moses returned from his two forty-day experiences with God on Mt. Sinai (Ex 24:18; 32:15-16; 34:28-29), he returned with more than the two tablets of the Law engraved by the finger of God. He also returned with the Oral Tradition of the Law taught to him by God that was not written down and with the authority to teach the covenant people of God. It was with this divinely ordained teaching authority that he addressed the people in his last three homilies.
The use of the verb "to teach/ to instruct" in Deuteronomy 4:1 and 5 illustrates Moses' mission to be the "teacher of the Law." Moses is considered Israel's the first teacher of the Law. This is the role for which he is best remembered in Jewish tradition. In the Second Temple period (during the time Jesus lived), the teaching authority of the hierarchy of the Old Covenant Church was referred to as "the chair of Moses," just as the teaching authority of the New Covenant Church is called "the chair of Peter" (see Mt 23:2).
Question: In addition to "life" what else does God promise will be a blessing if the Israelites keep/guard His laws into put them into practice in the Promised Land?
Answer: Wisdom.
Question: What will happen if future generations of Israelites have the wisdom to continue to live according to God's laws?
Answer: The Israelites will win the admiration of the surrounding nations for their wisdom and prudence
Question: God's presence with Israel distinguished His people from all other nations of the earth (verse 7), but what else distinguished Israel from all the other nations?
Answer: The Law God personally communicated to Israel and God's divine revelation of wisdom in the Law also singled them out from the other nations.
The uniqueness of Israel as a nation is tied to:
- Israel's proximity to her extraordinary God.
- The unique Laws He has given Israel to bind her to Him as His covenant people.
- The wisdom imparted to Israel through God's divine Law
Deuteronomy 4:9-20
The Warning to be Obedient to God based upon Israel's Past Experiences at Horeb/ Mt. Sinai
Question: How was every generation to relive the experience of the Exodus?
Answer: Every person in every generation was to relive the Exodus experience, the covenant formation and the giving of the Law at Sinai in their observance of the feast days of the liturgical calendar and in the daily reading of the Torah, as though it happened to them.
In the holy feast days and in the reading of the Torah those events are made present for every generation.
Question: Is every generation of the New Covenant people of God expected to relive the event of Jesus' covenant formation with the New Covenant faithful in the Last Supper and the events of His death, burial and resurrection? How does the Church make those events present to every generation of New Covenant believers?
Answer: In the observance of the holy days of the Church's Liturgical calendar and in the sacrifice of the Mass.
"Standing" in the presence of God is the privilege of the righteous covenant member, just as those who are in a state of grace are summoned to come forward and to stand before the altar when they come forward to receive the Eucharist.
Deuteronomy 4:21-24 Moses' Warning to be Obedient to the Covenant with Yahweh and Another Warning not to Worship Idols
For a third time Moses repeated: "Yahweh was angry with me because of you" (see Dt 1:37; 3:26). He is referring to the incident of the water from the rock at Kadesh in Numbers 20:6-12 and God's judgment that Moses and Aaron could not enter the Promised Land because they did not believe they could assert God's holiness in calling on the rock to give water. Instead, Moses defied God's command by striking the rock: 'For you both rebelled in the desert of Zin when the community disputed with me and when I ordered you to assert my holiness before their eyes by means of the water.' (These were the Waters of Meribah of Kadesh, in the desert of Zin) (Num 27:14).
Question: What information did Moses reveal to the community that did he did not make clear to them previously when he mentioned the rock at Kadesh?
Answer: He will die before they cross the Jordan River.
Moses' announcement must have been devastating to the new generation who had only known Moses as the leader of their people. He concluded this passage by imploring the people to be obedient to the covenant and not to worship idols, and he warned the people '... for Yahweh your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God' (Dt 4:24).
Deuteronomy 4:25-28 Moses' Warning of the Judgment of a Covenant Lawsuit for Covenant Failure
In this third warning, Moses turns his attention to when the Israelites are settled in the Promised Land and when future generations of Israelites begin to fail to "remember"- when they drift away from their covenant obligations, and when they are tempted to worship the pagan gods of their Gentile neighbors.
Question: What does Moses say will be the first sign of Israel's apostasy?
Answer: He warned them that the first corrupt action they will take will be to make and worship false images-violating the hallmark prohibition of the commandments.
Moses' Promise of Restoration for those who Repent and Return to Yahweh
Question: What hope does Moses offer if future generations of the covenant people should suffer this judgment?
Answer: Moses promises restoration if they will repent their sins and return to Yahweh, because God is faithful to His covenant with His people.
Moses outline of Israel's blessings for fulfilling her covenant obligations, the judgment she can expect for covenant failures and the restoration promised for repentance will become a reoccurring four part pattern in the books of the prophets:
- Part I: Yahweh and his people enter into a Covenant relationship. Yahweh will bind this people to Himself in the blessings of security and prosperity in return for obedience to the commands and prohibitions of the covenant.
- Part II: Israel ignores the Laws of the covenant; they rebel by going their own way and break their covenant bond to Yahweh.
- Part III: God sends His holy prophet to call His people back to Him. Failing in this mission the prophet calls down a Covenant Lawsuit which results in a covenant judgment-punishment meant to bring about repentance and restoration.
- Part IV: In response to repentance, Yahweh restores His people and takes them back into the covenant relationship they had first enjoyed.
The Conclusion of Moses' First Homily and
the end of the Historical Prologue of the Covenant Treaty
Deuteronomy 4:32-40 Moses' Appeal for the People to be Obedient to the Commandments Based on the Fact that Yahweh is the Only God and Yahweh has Chosen to Love Israel
Concluding his first homily, Moses argues that past history demonstrates the truth of monotheism by asking four rhetorical questions (verses 32-34). It is the belief in only one God and the Law He personally spoke to His people that made the religion of the Israelites unique in the entire ancient world.
Deuteronomy 4:41-43 Moses Establishes the Cities of Refuge
Cities of refuge were first mentioned in the Book of the Covenant in Exodus 21:12-14. In Numbers 35:16-35 the conditions that qualified someone to receive refuge for manslaughter are given in great detail as well as defining what conditions determined homicide as opposed to manslaughter. In this passage, the three cities of refuge in the Transjordan are named. In Joshua 20:1-9, the conditions determining homicide and manslaughter will be repeated and six cities of refuge will be named: three on the east side of the Jordan River in the Transjordan and three cities on the west side of the Jordan River in Canaan.
Moses' Second Homily Part I:
Moses' Teaching on the Decalogue
Deuteronomy 4:44-49 Introduction to the Second Homily: A Review of the Time and Place
Question: What is the significance of Moses "teaching" the law (verse 44) and not just reading the commands and prohibitions that were previously written down? Where did he get the knowledge to understand and teach God's law?
Answer: God not only gave Moses the Decalogue, the laws he recorded in the Book of the Covenant (Ex 20:22-23:33) and the other civil, social and religious laws in Leviticus and Numbers, but he also received knowledge and understanding from the sacred Oral teaching (Tradition) God gave him as well as the authority to teach. It was an authority that was passed on his successors in the hierarchy of the Old Covenant Church who, as Jesus referred to in Matthew 23:1, sat on the authoritative "chair of Moses." There was no private interpretation of the Law within the community apart from the authoritative teaching of the Old Covenant Church.
Question: In every case, who is the authoritative interpreter of Sacred Scripture and what is His vehicle for guarding the right interpretation of the message today in the Final Age of man? See Lk 10:16; Eph 4:4-6; 1 Pt 1:20-21 and CCC 85-86, 96-100, 111, 171, 174-75.
Answer: The Holy Spirit is the authoritative interpreter of Sacred Scripture, since the human writers wrote only by His inspiration. Interpretation, therefore, must be based on the whole body of the holy text, and if interpretation causes conflict with other passages, the interpretation is in error.
The hierarchy of the Catholic Church (the Pope and the Magisterium of bishops) is the divinely authorized vehicle for safeguarding the right interpretation of the Scriptures, as Jesus told His divinely appointed ministers, the Apostles, "who ever hears you hears me" (Lk 10:16).
CHALLENGE: “The value of Christ’s sacrifice was infinite. He paid it all. Thus there is no role for penance in the Christian life.”
DEFENSE: The value of Christ’s death on the cross was infinite—more than enough to pay for all the sins of mankind. But even after God has forgiven the eternal consequences of our sins, he still wants us to experience some negative consequences.
When a child misbehaves, there need to be consequences. If parents never applied any discipline, the child would never learn his lesson. Scripture uses parental discipline as an image to express how God relates to us: “The Lord disciplines him whom he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives” (Heb. 12:6).
He “disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness” (Heb. 12:10). That’s why we do penance. If we learn how to say no to ourselves, we’ll be better able to say no to temptation.
Christ expects us to do penance. When Jesus was asked why his disciples did not fast, he said they would fast in the future (Mark 2:18–20). Thus he told the disciples, “When you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites” (Matt. 6:16). He didn’t say, “if you fast,” but “when you fast.”
In Acts, the early Christians put this into practice (Acts 13:2, 14:23). By practicing fasting and other forms of penance, we embrace the spiritual. Penance also provides us with the opportunity to express sorrow for our sins. We have an innate need to mourn when something tragic has occurred, and that includes our own sins.
To insist a person not feel or show any grief for sin would be unnatural and would short-circuit responses that God built into us. There is “a time to weep . . . a time to mourn” (Eccles. 3:4).
Jimmy Akin, A Daily Defense: 365 Days (Plus One) to Becoming a Better Apologist
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