Num 7:1 | KingComments | STEP | Numbers 6, at the dedication of the Nazirites, is about voluntariness, but also about rules on how such voluntariness should happen. In Numbers 7 we have no rules. Here everything happens voluntarily, out of the desire to give God something for the sanctuary and the dedication of the altar. Everything is out of love; it is the reaction of the heart of the people. Why do we go back in the first verse to the setting up of the tabernacle that already happened in Exodus 40, a month earlier? Because this is in keeping with the arrangement by the Holy Spirit of these books. What is mentioned here, is perfectly in keeping with the book of Numbers. The overview below shows the sequence of events until the start of the wilderness journey: First month, Day 1: Setting up the tabernacle finished ( ) Laws for the offerings ( ) Offerings for the altar ( ) Ordination of the priesthood ( ) First month, Day 8 Dedication of the priests finished ( ) First month, Day 12: Offerings for the altar finished ( ) Dedication of the Levites ( ) First month, Day 14: Second Passover ( ) Second month, Day 1: Start census ( ) Second month, Day 14: Passover for the unclean ( ) Second month, Day 20: The cloud is lifted, the journey starts ( ) The leaders see the setting up of the tabernacle. This works a reaction with them. They realize that God is coming to dwell in their midst – God’s dwelling has the emphasis in Exodus – and that then service to Him can begin, now that the people have arrived in the wilderness. They come with their offering on the right day to encourage the service to Him in the wilderness. God accepts these gifts and determines what gifts are given to whom. The service that is done for Him is controlled by Him. These offerings have to do with the service in the tabernacle, the testimony to the outside world. The leaders have understood that the Levites can use help when carrying the tabernacle through the wilderness. In the tabernacle, not only priestly service is performed, it is also carried through the wilderness. So it is with the church. We come together to serve God as priests, but it is also God’s purpose that we express in our testimony in the world all that we have received in blessings. Leaders give covered carts. What we have to transport are not things we show off. In pairs, they bring one cart. This points to the search for fellowship in the service with the aim of encouraging God’s work in the church. The leaders represent those among the believers who are in charge.

‏ Numbers 7:1

Introduction

Numbers 6, at the dedication of the Nazirites, is about voluntariness, but also about rules on how such voluntariness should happen. In Numbers 7 we have no rules. Here everything happens voluntarily, out of the desire to give God something for the sanctuary and the dedication of the altar. Everything is out of love; it is the reaction of the heart of the people.

The Offering of the Leaders

Why do we go back in the first verse to the setting up of the tabernacle that already happened in Exodus 40, a month earlier? Because this is in keeping with the arrangement by the Holy Spirit of these books. What is mentioned here, is perfectly in keeping with the book of Numbers.

The overview below shows the sequence of events until the start of the wilderness journey:

First month, Day 1:

Setting up the tabernacle finished (Exo 40:2)

Laws for the offerings (Num 7:1)

Offerings for the altar (Num 7:3)

Ordination of the priesthood (Lev 8:1)

First month, Day 8

Dedication of the priests finished (Lev 9:1)

First month, Day 12:

Offerings for the altar finished (Num 7:78)

Dedication of the Levites (Num 8:5)

First month, Day 14:

Second Passover (Num 9:2)

Second month, Day 1:

Start census (Num 1:1)

Second month, Day 14:

Passover for the unclean (Num 9:11)

Second month, Day 20:

The cloud is lifted, the journey starts (Num 10:11)

The leaders see the setting up of the tabernacle. This works a reaction with them. They realize that God is coming to dwell in their midst – God’s dwelling has the emphasis in Exodus – and that then service to Him can begin, now that the people have arrived in the wilderness. They come with their offering on the right day to encourage the service to Him in the wilderness. God accepts these gifts and determines what gifts are given to whom. The service that is done for Him is controlled by Him.

These offerings have to do with the service in the tabernacle, the testimony to the outside world. The leaders have understood that the Levites can use help when carrying the tabernacle through the wilderness. In the tabernacle, not only priestly service is performed, it is also carried through the wilderness. So it is with the church. We come together to serve God as priests, but it is also God’s purpose that we express in our testimony in the world all that we have received in blessings.

Leaders give covered carts. What we have to transport are not things we show off. In pairs, they bring one cart. This points to the search for fellowship in the service with the aim of encouraging God’s work in the church. The leaders represent those among the believers who are in charge.