Levites to Be Priesthood
1Now these are the records of the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2These then are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 3These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he ordained to serve as priests. 4But Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord when they offered strange fire before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai; and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of their father Aaron.
5Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 6“Bring the tribe of Levi near and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him. 7They shall perform the duties for him and for the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, to do the service of the tabernacle. 8They shall also keep all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, along with the duties of the sons of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle. 9You shall thus give the Levites to Aaron and to his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the sons of Israel. 10So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons that they may keep their priesthood, but the layman who comes near shall be put to death.”
11Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 12“Now, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the sons of Israel instead of every firstborn, the first issue of the womb among the sons of Israel. So the Levites shall be Mine. 13For all the firstborn are Mine; on the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, from man to beast. They shall be Mine; I am the Lord.”
14Then the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15“Number the sons of Levi by their fathers’ households, by their families; every male from a month old and upward you shall number.” 16So Moses numbered them according to the word of the Lord, just as he had been commanded. 17These then are the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon and Kohath and Merari. 18These are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shimei; 19and the sons of Kohath by their families: Amram and Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel; 20and the sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their fathers’ households.
21Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites and the family of the Shimeites; these were the families of the Gershonites. 22Their numbered men, in the numbering of every male from a month old and upward, even their numbered men were 7,500. 23The families of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle westward, 24and the leader of the fathers’ households of the Gershonites was Eliasaph the son of Lael.
Duties of the Priests
25Now the duties of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting involved the tabernacle and the tent, its covering, and the screen for the doorway of the tent of meeting, 26and the hangings of the court, and the screen for the doorway of the court which is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its cords, according to all the service concerning them.
27Of Kohath was the family of the Amramites and the family of the Izharites and the family of the Hebronites and the family of the Uzzielites; these were the families of the Kohathites. 28In the numbering of every male from a month old and upward, there were 8,600, performing the duties of the sanctuary. 29The families of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the southward side of the tabernacle, 30and the leader of the fathers’ households of the Kohathite families was Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. 31Now their duties involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, and the utensils of the sanctuary with which they minister, and the screen, and all the service concerning them; 32and Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was the chief of the leaders of Levi, and had the oversight of those who perform the duties of the sanctuary.
33Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites; these were the families of Merari. 34Their numbered men in the numbering of every male from a month old and upward, were 6,200. 35The leader of the fathers’ households of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to camp on the northward side of the tabernacle. 36Now the appointed duties of the sons of Merari involved the frames of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, all its equipment, and the service concerning them, 37and the pillars around the court with their sockets and their pegs and their cords.
38Now those who were to camp before the tabernacle eastward, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, are Moses and Aaron and his sons, performing the duties of the sanctuary for the obligation of the sons of Israel; but the layman coming near was to be put to death. 39All the numbered men of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the command of the Lord by their families, every male from a month old and upward, were 22,000.
31Now these are those whom David appointed over the service of song in the house of the Lord, after the ark rested there. 32They ministered with song before the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, until Solomon had built the house of the Lord in Jerusalem; and they served in their office according to their order. 33These are those who served with their sons: From the sons of the Kohathites were Heman the singer, the son of Joel, the son of Samuel, 34the son of Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Eliel, the son of Toah, 35the son of Zuph, the son of Elkanah, the son of Mahath, the son of Amasai, 36the son of Elkanah, the son of Joel, the son of Azariah, the son of Zephaniah, 37the son of Tahath, the son of Assir, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, 38the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, the son of Israel. 39Heman’s brother Asaph stood at his right hand, even Asaph the son of Berechiah, the son of Shimea, 40the son of Michael, the son of Baaseiah, the son of Malchijah, 41the son of Ethni, the son of Zerah, the son of Adaiah, 42the son of Ethan, the son of Zimmah, the son of Shimei, 43the son of Jahath, the son of Gershom, the son of Levi. 44On the left hand were their kinsmen the sons of Merari: Ethan the son of Kishi, the son of Abdi, the son of Malluch, 45the son of Hashabiah, the son of Amaziah, the son of Hilkiah, 46the son of Amzi, the son of Bani, the son of Shemer, 47the son of Mahli, the son of Mushi, the son of Merari, the son of Levi. 48Their kinsmen the Levites were appointed for all the service of the tabernacle of the house of God.
11And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; 13until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. 14As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; 15but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, 16from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
1) How does calling blend worship and work?
2) Why does unity require distinct functions?
3) How does service maintain holiness in community?
God Speaks Now to Job
1Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said,
2“Who is this that darkens counsel
By words without knowledge?
3Now gird up your loins like a man,
And I will ask you, and you instruct Me!
4Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell Me, if you have understanding,
5Who set its measurements? Since you know.
Or who stretched the line on it?
6On what were its bases sunk?
Or who laid its cornerstone,
7When the morning stars sang together
And all the sons of God shouted for joy?
8“Or who enclosed the sea with doors
When, bursting forth, it went out from the womb;
9When I made a cloud its garment
And thick darkness its swaddling band,
10And I placed boundaries on it
And set a bolt and doors,
11And I said, ‘Thus far you shall come, but no farther;
And here shall your proud waves stop’?
God’s Mighty Power
12“Have you ever in your life commanded the morning,
And caused the dawn to know its place,
13That it might take hold of the ends of the earth,
And the wicked be shaken out of it?
14It is changed like clay under the seal;
And they stand forth like a garment.
15From the wicked their light is withheld,
And the uplifted arm is broken.
16“Have you entered into the springs of the sea
Or walked in the recesses of the deep?
17Have the gates of death been revealed to you,
Or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?
18Have you understood the expanse of the earth?
Tell Me, if you know all this.
19“Where is the way to the dwelling of light?
And darkness, where is its place,
20That you may take it to its territory
And that you may discern the paths to its home?
21You know, for you were born then,
And the number of your days is great!
22Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,
Or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,
23Which I have reserved for the time of distress,
For the day of war and battle?
24Where is the way that the light is divided,
Or the east wind scattered on the earth?
25“Who has cleft a channel for the flood,
Or a way for the thunderbolt,
26To bring rain on a land without people,
On a desert without a man in it,
27To satisfy the waste and desolate land
And to make the seeds of grass to sprout?
28Has the rain a father?
Or who has begotten the drops of dew?
29From whose womb has come the ice?
And the frost of heaven, who has given it birth?
30Water becomes hard like stone,
And the surface of the deep is imprisoned.
31“Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades,
Or loose the cords of Orion?
32Can you lead forth a constellation in its season,
And guide the Bear with her satellites?
33Do you know the ordinances of the heavens,
Or fix their rule over the earth?
34“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
So that an abundance of water will cover you?
35Can you send forth lightnings that they may go
And say to you, ‘Here we are’?
36Who has put wisdom in the innermost being
Or given understanding to the mind?
37Who can count the clouds by wisdom,
Or tip the water jars of the heavens,
38When the dust hardens into a mass
And the clods stick together?
39“Can you hunt the prey for the lion,
Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
40When they crouch in their dens
And lie in wait in their lair?
41Who prepares for the raven its nourishment
When its young cry to God
And wander about without food?
Peril in Transporting the Ark
1Then David consulted with the captains of the thousands and the hundreds, even with every leader. 2David said to all the assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you, and if it is from the Lord our God, let us send everywhere to our kinsmen who remain in all the land of Israel, also to the priests and Levites who are with them in their cities with pasture lands, that they may meet with us; 3and let us bring back the ark of our God to us, for we did not seek it in the days of Saul.” 4Then all the assembly said that they would do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.
5So David assembled all Israel together, from the Shihor of Egypt even to the entrance of Hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim. 6David and all Israel went up to Baalah, that is, to Kiriath-jearim, which belongs to Judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, the Lord who is enthroned above the cherubim, where His name is called. 7They carried the ark of God on a new cart from the house of Abinadab, and Uzza and Ahio drove the cart. 8David and all Israel were celebrating before God with all their might, even with songs and with lyres, harps, tambourines, cymbals and with trumpets.
9When they came to the threshing floor of Chidon, Uzza put out his hand to hold the ark, because the oxen nearly upset it. 10The anger of the Lord burned against Uzza, so He struck him down because he put out his hand to the ark; and he died there before God. 11Then David became angry because of the Lord’s outburst against Uzza; and he called that place Perez-uzza to this day. 12David was afraid of God that day, saying, “How can I bring the ark of God home to me?” 13So David did not take the ark with him to the city of David, but took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. 14Thus the ark of God remained with the family of Obed-edom in his house three months; and the Lord blessed the family of Obed-edom with all that he had.
13But Jeroboam had set an ambush to come from the rear, so that Israel was in front of Judah and the ambush was behind them. 14When Judah turned around, behold, they were attacked both front and rear; so they cried to the Lord, and the priests blew the trumpets. 15Then the men of Judah raised a war cry, and when the men of Judah raised the war cry, then it was that God routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. 16When the sons of Israel fled before Judah, God gave them into their hand. 17Abijah and his people defeated them with a great slaughter, so that 500,000 chosen men of Israel fell slain. 18Thus the sons of Israel were subdued at that time, and the sons of Judah conquered because they trusted in the Lord, the God of their fathers. 19Abijah pursued Jeroboam and captured from him several cities, Bethel with its villages, Jeshanah with its villages and Ephron with its villages.
Death of Jeroboam
20Jeroboam did not again recover strength in the days of Abijah; and the Lord struck him and he died.
21But Abijah became powerful; and took fourteen wives to himself, and became the father of twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. 22Now the rest of the acts of Abijah, and his ways and his words are written in the treatise of the prophet Iddo.