Numbers 8

1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

2 Speak to Aaron, and say to him, When thou lightest the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light over against the candlestick.

3 And Aaron did so; he lighted the lamps of it over against the candlestick, as the LORD commanded Moses.

4 And this work of the candlestick [was of] beaten gold, to its shaft, to the flowers of it, [was] beaten work: according to the pattern which the LORD had showed Moses, so he made the candlestick.

5 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

6 Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them.

7 And thus shalt thou do to them, to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of purifying upon them, and let them shave all their flesh, and let them wash their clothes, and [so] make themselves clean.

8 Then let them take a young bullock with his meat-offering, [even] fine flour mingled with oil, and another young bullock shalt thou take for a sin-offering.

9 And thou shalt bring the Levites before the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt convene the whole assembly of the children of Israel:

10 And thou shalt bring the Levites before the LORD: and the children of Israel shall put their hands upon the Levites:

11 And Aaron shall offer the Levites before the LORD [for] an offering of the children of Israel, that they may execute the service of the LORD.

12 And the Levites shall lay their hands upon the heads of the bullocks: and thou shalt offer the one [for] a sin-offering, and the other [for] a burnt-offering, to the LORD, to make an atonement for the Levites.

13 And thou shalt set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them [for] an offering to the LORD.

14 Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the children of Israel: and the Levites shall be mine.

15 And after that shall the Levites go in to perform the service of the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt cleanse them, and offer them [for] an offering.

16 For they [are] wholly given to me from among the children of Israel; instead of such as open every womb, [even instead of] the first-born of all the children of Israel, have I taken them to me.

17 For all the first born of the children of Israel [are] mine, [both] man and beast: on the day that I smote every first-born in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for myself.

18 And I have taken the Levites for all the first-born of the children of Israel.

19 And I have given the Levites [as] a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the tabernacle of the congregation, and to make an atonement for the children of Israel: that there may be no plague among the children of Israel, when the children of Israel come nigh to the sanctuary.

20 And Moses, and Aaron, and all the congregation of the children of Israel, did to the Levites according to all that the LORD commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did the children of Israel to them.

21 And the Levites were purified, and they washed their clothes; and Aaron offered them [as] an offering before the LORD; and Aaron made an atonement for them to cleanse them.

22 And after that went the Levites in to perform their service in the tabernacle of the congregation before Aaron, and before his sons: as the LORD had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did they to them.

23 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

24 This [is it] that [belongeth] to the Levites: from twenty and five years old and upward they shall go in to wait upon the service of the tabernacle of the congregation:

25 And from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting upon the service [of it], and shall serve no more:

26 But shall minister with their brethren in the tabernacle of the congregation, to keep the charge, and shall do no service. Thus shalt thou do to the Levites concerning their charge.

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Numbers 8 Commentary

Chapter 8

The lamps of the sanctuary. (1-4) Consecration of the Levites, and their service. (5-26)

Verses 1-4 Aaron himself lighted the lamps, thus representing his Divine Master. The Scripture is a light shining in a dark place, ( 2 Peter. 1:19 ) the tabernacle, which had no window, would have been without the lamps. The work of ministers is to light these lamps, by expounding and applying the word of God. Jesus Christ is the only Light of our dark, sinful world; and by his atonement, by his word and the Holy Spirit, he diffuses light around.

Verses 5-26 Here we have directions for the solemn ordination of the Levites. All Israel must know that they took not this honour to themselves, but were called of God to it; nor was it enough that they were distinguished from others. All who are employed for God, must be dedicated to him, according to the employment. Christians must be baptized, ministers must be ordained; we must first give ourselves unto the Lord, and then our services. The Levites must be cleansed. They must be clean that bear the vessels of the Lord. Moses must sprinkle the water of purifying upon them. This signifies the application of the blood of Christ to our souls by faith, that we may be fit to serve the living God. God declares his acceptance of them. All who expect to share in the privileges of the tabernacle, must resolve to do the service of the tabernacle. As, on the one hand, none of God's creatures are his necessary servants, he needs not the service of any of them; so none are merely honorary servants, to do nothing. All whom God owns, he employs; angels themselves have their services.

Taken from Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Concise)

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO NUMBERS 8

In this chapter orders are given for the lighting the seven lamps of the candlestick, Nu 8:1-4; and for the consecration of the Levites to their office, by a purification of them, Nu 8:5-8; by a separation of them from the children of Israel, and the imposition of their hands on them, and of the hands of the Levites on the offerings offered for them, Nu 8:9-15; and being thus given to the Lord, and claimed as his, instead of the firstborn of Israel, they are given to Aaron and his sons to do service in the tabernacle, Nu 8:16-22; and their age at which they were to enter into service and cease from it is fixed, Nu 8:23-26.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible