This chapter records gifts and offerings brought by the leaders of the tribes of Israel. These things were brought in connection with the dedication of the altar of sacrifice (v11). The gifts are described in v1-9 and then the offerings in v10-88,
Concerning the leaders,
they are the same men who aided in the census in Num. 1:4-16. They were chosen from the tribes and perhaps
by the tribes as well.
Concerning their
gifts, they brought six carts and twelve oxen.
These were to be used by the Levites who moved the tabernacle and
everything related to it whenever the people moved from camp to camp. Moses gave two carts and four oxen to the
sons of Gershon who moved all the hangings, both of the tabernacle and of the
courtyard. He gave four carts and eight
oxen to the sons of Merari who moved all the boards, bars and pillars of the
tabernacle and the court. They received
the additional carts because the load was heavier.
The sons of Kohath
did not receive any carts. They carried
the holy items used in worship and all these had poles and were to be carried
by men and not placed on carts. David
failed to remember this when he first tried to move the Ark of the Covenant to
Jerusalem (2 Sam. 6:1-11). It resulted
in the death of a man who sought to steady the Ark on the cart. These holy items were to be treated properly.
Concerning the
offerings, v10-88 contain a record of the twelve leaders bringing exactly the
same offering, one leader per day for twelve days. Along with the animals for sacrifice and the
grain offerings each man brought a silver platter, silver bowl and a gold
pan. You may find this lengthy list,
repeated twelve times, to be a bit redundant.
But I would suggest that, for one thing, God wanted to honor each gift
and giver. And further, there was a
record of identical gifts with no sense of better or lesser gifts from one
tribe to another. This was a great national event, at the foot of Mt. Sinai, as
each tribe committed themselves to the altar of sacrifice. Twelve tribes, one altar! That was God’s plan from the start and would
become true in the land at the time that He chose Jerusalem and Mt. Moriah as
the place for the altar.
One thing I find
interesting in these lists of names is the meaning of the names. Let me just
mention two that might have caught your eye here or back in Ch. 1. They both end with “Shaddai.” The name God gave to Abraham in Gen. 17:1 was
“El Shaddai,” God Almighty. So notice Zurishaddai
in v36 whose name means “my rock is Almighty.”
“Rock” refers to God and this name reminds us that our God is a Rock unlike
the rocks of other nations (Deut. 32:31). Ammishaddai in v66 whose name
means “my kinsman is Almighty.” “Kinsman”
is a reference to the hoped for Savior promised by God who would come from
Israel. More on this in Num. 10.
Please note v89. The altar having been dedicated meant that sacrifices for sin could be offered to God. Thus Moses could now meet with God in the
tabernacle. There was no need to go to
Mt. Sinai or to meet in Moses’ own tent (Ex. 33:7-11). He met God in the place where God graciously
dwelt among the people of Israel. And God spoke to Moses. Israel was His people; He was their God. Hallelujah!
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