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Numbers 8:8-11 meaning

Verses 8 – 11 are concerned with inward purification. Since this could be done only with sacrifice, a grain offering and a sin offering were required. This was to be done in front of all the Israelites.

Along with outward purification, the Levites needed to be cleansed inwardly. To do this, the LORD instructed them to take a bull with its grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil; and a second bull you shall take for a sin offering (v. 8). The “grain offering” was connected with worship designed to bring the LORD pleasure. It was a symbol of sacrificing oneself and committing oneself to serving the LORD and a symbol of the person’s (man or woman) dedication to keeping His law.

To give a sin offering was an act of a person’s desire to be set apart to the LORD. It also represented the LORD’s acceptance of the offeror. The same is true of the believer who presents himself or herself a “living sacrifice” in service to the LORD (Romans 12:1–2).

With these offerings, Moses was then to present the Levites before the tent of meeting (v. 9). To be before the tent of meeting was to be in a very sacred place—the presence of the LORD Himself. He was also instructed to assemble the whole congregation of the sons of Israel so they could witness personally the separation of the Levites to the service of the priests and the tabernacle.

Once assembled, Moses was to present the Levites before the Lord (v. 10), and the sons of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites. The laying on of hands was indicative of an ordination ceremony which was a visible demonstration of the Levites’ separation to be dedicated to the service of worshipping the LORD.

Finally, Aaron then shall present the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering from the sons of Israel (v. 11). The wave offering symbolized an offering made to the LORD (the offering was “waved” back and forth before the LORD to signify that it belonged to the LORD. The priest would elevate the sheaf of grain up and down in a vertical motion, then side-to-side in a horizontal motion. It has been noted that this motion creates the shape of a cross (Leviticus 23:11). It was then given to the priests as a provision for their physical care, in order to sustain them (Exodus 29:26; Leviticus 7:30 – 31).

All of these activities were done so that they may qualify to perform the service of the Lord. The Levites were separated from the other Israelites in order to serve the LORD by assisting the priests and maintaining the tabernacle, the dwelling of the LORD.

Biblical Text:

⁸Then let them take a bull with its grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil; and a second bull you shall take for a sin offering. ⁹So you shall present the Levites before the tent of meeting. You shall also assemble the whole congregation of the sons of Israel, ¹⁰and present the Levites before the Lord; and the sons of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites. ¹¹Aaron then shall present the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering from the sons of Israel, that they may qualify to perform the service of the Lord.

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Book Theme

The book of Numbers is the fourth of the five books of Moses that comprise the Torah, which means “Law.” It gets its English name from the Greek Old Testament called the Septuagint (or LXX). The LXX named this book, “Arithmoi,” meaning “Numbers.” Its Hebrew name means “in the desert” or “in the wilderness.” Both names are appropriate. The Hebrew name is appropriate because Numbers covers the Israelites’ wanderings in the wilderness (or “desert”) from Sinai to the plains of Moab. The Greek name is also appropriate because of the many lists, and the numbers within those lists.

At the beginning of the book, the Israelites had been camped at Mount Sinai for about a year. The book of Exodus covered their escape from Egypt and their journey to Sinai. The LORD commanded Moses to organize the people in preparation to leave Sinai and go to the Promised Land. The book covers around 38 years of the Israelites’ journey from Egypt to the Promised Land, and describes many of Israel’s failures, including mutinies against Moses and outright disobedience to the word of the LORD. In Numbers, the LORD declares that the generation that left Egypt would die in the wilderness due to their disobedience. Only two, Joshua and Caleb, were allowed to enter the Promised Land, due to their faithfulness. Even Moses died without entering the Land due to disobedience.

The book of Numbers can be outlined in many ways. The most general outline involves the generation that leaves Egypt and the one after it, as seen below:
• Events Involving the Exodus Generation (Num. 1 – 25)
• Events Involving the Second Generation (Num. 26 – 36)

Another outline sees the book having three major divisions based on the major encampments of the Israelites:
• Israel at Sinai (Num. 1:1 – 10:10)
• Israel at Kadesh Barnea (Num. 10:11 – 19:22)
• Israel on the Plains of Moab (Num. 20:1 – 36:13)

Still another outline (the one followed here) is as follows:
• The Exodus Generation in the Wilderness (chaps. 1 – 25)
◦ The Israelites Prepare to Leave Mount Sinai (1:1 – 10:10)
◦ The Israelites Depart to Kadesh Barnea (10:11 – 14:45)
◦ The Israelites Journey to the Plains of Moab (15:1 – 22:1)
◦ The Israelites Are Confronted by Balaam the Prophet (22:2 – 25:18)
• The Second Generation Prepares to Enter the Promised Land (26:1 – 36:13)
◦ The Rules Concerning Inheritance (Num. 26:1 – 27:11)
◦ The Provision for Moses’ Successor (Num. 27:12 – 23)
◦ The Laws Concerning Offerings (Num. 28:1 – 29:40)
◦ The Laws Concerning Vows (Num. 30:1 –16)
◦ The LORD’s Judgment Against the Midianites (Num. 31:1 – 54)
◦ The Inheritance of the Eastern Tribes (Num. 32:1 – 42)
◦ The Review of the Journey to Canaan (Num. 33:1 – 56)
◦ The LORD’s Instructions Before Conquering Canaan (Num. 33:50 – 36:13)

There are two themes that flow from the book of Numbers. The first concerns the LORD’s infinite grace in light of the people’s many failures and transgressions. There is hardly a book in the Bible where the LORD had to exercise His grace to His people more often than this one. The book of Numbers contains a record of Israel’s failure after failure and the LORD’s gracious forgiveness after forgiveness. Even when He judged them, there was grace.

Second, and related to the first, the book stresses the importance of obedience. God chose the Israelites unconditionally; they were the LORD’s chosen people regardless of their behavior. However, He demanded obedience to show His people that their obedience results in blessing. God set forth a way of life for His people in the covenant He and the people entered into at Sinai (Exodus 19:5-8). The Ten Commandments made it clear that God would make the law, and that the pinnacle requirement of His law was for the people to respect and serve one another. The strong were to serve the weak. This was in stark contrast to the surrounding cultures, which centered around the strong exploiting the weak (Leviticus 18). God’s judgment brought discipline upon Israel in order to shepherd them toward living in harmony and service to one another.

Chapter Context

Now that the offerings of the tribal leaders have been made, the LORD then turned to tell Moses about another role of the priest in the tabernacle. In addition to their duties concerning sacrifices, they were also responsible for lighting the seven lamps that were in the tabernacle.

The LORD then commanded Moses to consecrate (or separate) the Levites for special service to the priests and the tabernacle. The ceremony involved inward and outward cleansing and sacrifices. Once these were done, the Levites went to the tabernacle to begin their service. Levites aged 25 to 50 were to be in service, then they were to retire.

Numbers 8 can be outlined as follows:

Lighting of the Seven Lamps (Numbers 8:1 – 4)
Consecration of the Levites (Numbers 8:5 – 26)
- The Outward Purification of the Levites (Numbers 8:5 – 7)
- The Inward Purification of the Levites (Numbers 8:8 – 11)
- The Commitment of the Levites (Numbers 8:12 – 19)
- The Work of the Levites (Numbers 8:20 – 26)

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