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Expanded Comments |
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| 1 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, |
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| 2 Take the sum of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, after their families, by the house of their fathers, |
Sons of Kohath – Meaning "Ally" or "Comrade"; type of the Ancient Worthies. F129
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| 3 From thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all that enter into the host, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation. |
From thirty years – The time when a Jew became of age, and therefore when John and Jesus began their ministries. B58; R561:6*
No Levite was permitted to engage in the work of the Tabernacle under the age of 30. R1161:2
Not until Jesus attained the age of 30 was he the full-grown man, ready for sacrifice. R1682:5
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| 4 This shall be the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation, about the most holy things: |
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| 5 And when the camp setteth forward, Aaron shall come, and his sons, and they shall take down the covering veil, and cover the ark of testimony with it: |
Aaron – Type of The Christ. T38
Shall come – This should not be misunderstood to mean that he and the underpriests never went in thither during succeeding days; but only once a year for the purpose of atonement. T91
And his sons – Representing the members of Christ's Body. T36
The covering vail – Type of the death of the human body. T22
And cover the ark – Type of The Christ. T121
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| 6 And shall put thereon the covering of badgers' skins, and shall spread over it a cloth wholly of blue, and shall put in the staves thereof.
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Of badgers' skins – Typifying that spiritual things are hidden from the unconsecrated. T127; R1365:1
Wholly of blue – Symbol of faithfulness. T30
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| 7 And upon the table of showbread they shall spread a cloth of blue, and put thereon the dishes, and the spoons, and the bowls, and covers to cover withal: and the continual bread shall be thereon: |
Upon the table – Type of the Church as a whole, including Jesus. T115
Shewbread – Representing the Word of God, spiritual food. T115; R5621:6
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| 8 And they shall spread upon them a cloth of scarlet, and cover the same with a covering of badgers' skins, and shall put in the staves thereof. |
A cloth of scarlet – Symbol of the blood of the ransom. T34, T109
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| 9 And they shall take a cloth of blue, and cover the candlestick of the light, and his lamps, and his tongs, and his snuffdishes, and all the oil vessels thereof, wherewith they minister unto it: |
The candlestick – Type of the complete Church. T115
Of the light – Type of the spirit of truth. T116
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| 10 And they shall put it and all the vessels thereof within a covering of badgers' skins, and shall put it upon a bar. |
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| 11 And upon the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with a covering of badgers' skins, and shall put to the staves thereof: |
The golden altar – Type of the Church in the present sacrificing condition. T120
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| 12 And they shall take all the instruments of ministry, wherewith they minister in the sanctuary, and put them in a cloth of blue, and cover them with a covering of badgers' skins, and shall put them on a bar: |
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| 13 And they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth thereon: |
A purple cloth – Symbol of royalty. T34
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| 14 And they shall put upon it all the vessels thereof, wherewith they minister about it, even the censers, the fleshhooks, and the shovels, and the basins, all the vessels of the altar; and they shall spread upon it a covering of badgers' skins, and put to the staves of it. |
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| 15 And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it: but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation. |
Shall not touch – None except those who are walking in the footsteps of Jesus could have a deep, full appreciation of the divine plan. R4876:1, R1365:1, R2002:5
Lest they die – Because these things illustrated something greater and more important to come later. T12
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| 16 And to the office of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest pertaineth the oil for the light, and the sweet incense, and the daily meat offering, and the anointing oil, and the oversight of all the tabernacle, and of all that therein is, in the sanctuary, and in the vessels thereof. |
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| 17 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, |
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| 18 Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites: |
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| 19 But thus do unto them, that they may live, and not die, when they approach unto the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in, and appoint them every one to his service and to his burden: |
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| 20 But they shall not go in to see when the holy things are covered, lest they die. |
But they – Representing justified believers. T19
Not go in to see – The curtains were kept down. They were forbidden to look in when the priest lifted the curtain and passed under it. R3053:6
Only New Creatures can enter into and see spiritual things. R3054:1
The holy things – Typifying the things of the New Creature, begotten of the Spirit. T19
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| 21 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, |
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| 22 Take also the sum of the sons of Gershon, throughout the houses of their fathers, by their families; |
The sons of Gershon – Meaning "Refugees" or "Rescued"; type of those of mankind saved during the Millennium. F129
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| 23 From thirty years old and upward until fifty years old shalt thou number them; all that enter in to perform the service, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation. |
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| 24 This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, to serve, and for burdens: |
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| 25 And they shall bear the curtains of the tabernacle, and the tabernacle of the congregation, his covering, and the covering of the badgers' skins that is above upon it, and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, |
For the door – Typifying the death of the human will. T22
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| 26 And the hangings of the court, and the hanging for the door of the gate of the court, which is by the tabernacle and by the altar round about, and their cords, and all the instruments of their service, and all that is made for them: so shall they serve. |
Of the court – Typifying the condition of justification. T19
Gate of the court – "I am the way" (John 14:6); I am the door" (John 10:9). There is only one way of access to God. T18
And by the altar – The Brazen altar, type of the ransom sacrifice. T22
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| 27 At the appointment of Aaron and his sons shall be all the service of the sons of the Gershonites, in all their burdens, and in all their service: and ye shall appoint unto them in charge all their burdens. |
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| 28 This is the service of the families of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of the congregation: and their charge shall be under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. |
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| 29 As for the sons of Merari, thou shalt number them after their families, by the house of their fathers; |
The sons of Merari – Meaning "Bitterness"; type of the Great Company, saved so as by fire through bitter experiences. F129
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| 30 From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old shalt thou number them, every one that entereth into the service, to do the work of the tabernacle of the congregation. |
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| 31 And this is the charge of their burden, according to all their service in the tabernacle of the congregation; the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and sockets thereof, |
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| 32 And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords, with all their instruments, and with all their service: and by name ye shall reckon the instruments of the charge of their burden. |
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| 33 This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service, in the tabernacle of the congregation, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. |
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| 34 And Moses and Aaron and the chief of the congregation numbered the sons of the Kohathites after their families, and after the house of their fathers, |
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| 35 From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation: |
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| 36 And those that were numbered of them by their families were two thousand seven hundred and fifty. |
Those that were numbered – 17,160 Levites to 5 priests (Exod. 28: 1), showing much larger proportion saved in next age compared with Gospel age priests. R443:1
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| 37 These were they that were numbered of the families of the Kohathites, all that might do service in the tabernacle of the congregation, which Moses and Aaron did number according to the commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses. |
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| 38 And those that were numbered of the sons of Gershon, throughout their families, and by the house of their fathers, |
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| 39 From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation, |
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| 40 Even those that were numbered of them, throughout their families, by the house of their fathers, were two thousand and six hundred and thirty. |
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| 41 These are they that were numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, of all that might do service in the tabernacle of the congregation, whom Moses and Aaron did number according to the commandment of the LORD. |
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| 42 And those that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, throughout their families, by the house of their fathers, |
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| 43 From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation, |
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| 44 Even those that were numbered of them after their families, were three thousand and two hundred. |
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| 45 These be those that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses. |
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| 46 All those that were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the chief of Israel numbered, after their families, and after the house of their fathers, |
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| 47 From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that came to do the service of the ministry, and the service of the burden in the tabernacle of the congregation, |
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| 48 Even those that were numbered of them, were eight thousand and five hundred and fourscore. |
Of them – Of the Levites, representing all believers. T 118
Were 8,580 – Of whom only five, or one in 1,716, were sacrificing priests; possibly this is also typical. T118
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| 49 According to the commandment of the LORD they were numbered by the hand of Moses, every one according to his service, and according to his burden: thus were they numbered of him, as the LORD commanded Moses. |
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