The laws of Tithing and purification speak about the maintenance of God’s house and the work of ministry – purification. The fulfilment of course is found in Christ and the support of His body – the Church.
Numbers 18: Duties of Priests and Levites
1 So the LORD said to Aaron, "You and your sons and your father's house with you shall bear iniquity connected with the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear iniquity connected with your priesthood.
2 And with you bring your brothers also, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may join you and minister to you while you and your sons with you are before the tent of the testimony.
3 They shall keep guard over you and over the whole tent, but shall not come near to the vessels of the sanctuary or to the altar lest they, and you, die.
4 They shall join you and keep guard over the tent of meeting for all the service of the tent, and no outsider shall come near you.
5 And you shall keep guard over the sanctuary and over the altar, that there may never again be wrath on the people of Israel.
6 And behold, I have taken your brothers the Levites from among the people of Israel. They are a gift to you, given to the LORD, to do the service of the tent of meeting.
7 And you and your sons with you shall guard your priesthood for all that concerns the altar and that is within the veil; and you shall serve. I give your priesthood as a gift, and any outsider who comes near shall be put to death."
8 Then the LORD spoke to Aaron, "Behold, I have given you charge of the contributions made to me, all the consecrated things of the people of Israel. I have given them to you as a portion and to your sons as a perpetual due.
9 This shall be yours of the most holy things, reserved from the fire: every offering of theirs, every grain offering of theirs and every sin offering of theirs and every guilt offering of theirs, which they render to me, shall be most holy to you and to your sons.
10 In a most holy place shall you eat it. Every male may eat it; it is holy to you.
11 This also is yours: the contribution of their gift, all the wave offerings of the people of Israel. I have given them to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it.
12 All the best of the oil and all the best of the wine and of the grain, the firstfruits of what they give to the LORD, I give to you.
13 The first ripe fruits of all that is in their land, which they bring to the LORD, shall be yours. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it.
14 Every devoted thing in Israel shall be yours.
15 Everything that opens the womb of all flesh, whether man or beast, which they offer to the LORD, shall be yours. Nevertheless, the firstborn of man you shall redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem.
16 And their redemption price (at a month old you shall redeem them) you shall fix at five shekels in silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs.
17 But the firstborn of a cow, or the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat, you shall not redeem; they are holy. You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar and shall burn their fat as a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
18 But their flesh shall be yours, as the breast that is waved and as the right thigh are yours.
19 All the holy contributions that the people of Israel present to the LORD I give to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due. It is a covenant of salt forever before the LORD for you and for your offspring with you."
20 And the LORD said to Aaron, "You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel.
21 "To the Levites I have given every tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service that they do, their service in the tent of meeting,
22 so that the people of Israel do not come near the tent of meeting, lest they bear sin and die.
23 But the Levites shall do the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, and among the people of Israel they shall have no inheritance.
24 For the tithe of the people of Israel, which they present as a contribution to the LORD, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance. Therefore I have said of them that they shall have no inheritance among the people of Israel."
25 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
26 "Moreover, you shall speak and say to the Levites, 'When you take from the people of Israel the tithe that I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall present a contribution from it to the LORD, a tithe of the tithe.
27 And your contribution shall be counted to you as though it were the grain of the threshing floor, and as the fullness of the winepress.
28 So you shall also present a contribution to the LORD from all your tithes, which you receive from the people of Israel. And from it you shall give the LORD's contribution to Aaron the priest.
29 Out of all the gifts to you, you shall present every contribution due to the LORD; from each its best part is to be dedicated.'
30 Therefore you shall say to them, 'When you have offered from it the best of it, then the rest shall be counted to the Levites as produce of the threshing floor, and as produce of the winepress.
31 And you may eat it in any place, you and your households, for it is your reward in return for your service in the tent of meeting.
32 And you shall bear no sin by reason of it, when you have contributed the best of it. But you shall not profane the holy things of the people of Israel, lest you die.'"
Numbers 19: Laws for Purification
1 Now the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,
2 "This is the statute of the law that the LORD has commanded: Tell the people of Israel to bring you a red heifer without defect, in which there is no blemish, and on which a yoke has never come.
3 And you shall give it to Eleazar the priest, and it shall be taken outside the camp and slaughtered before him.
4 And Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, and sprinkle some of its blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times.
5 And the heifer shall be burned in his sight. Its skin, its flesh, and its blood, with its dung, shall be burned.
6 And the priest shall take cedarwood and hyssop and scarlet yarn, and throw them into the fire burning the heifer.
7 Then the priest shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp. But the priest shall be unclean until evening.
8 The one who burns the heifer shall wash his clothes in water and bathe his body in water and shall be unclean until evening.
9 And a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and deposit them outside the camp in a clean place. And they shall be kept for the water for impurity for the congregation of the people of Israel; it is a sin offering.
10 And the one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening. And this shall be a perpetual statute for the people of Israel, and for the stranger who sojourns among them.
11 "Whoever touches the dead body of any person shall be unclean seven days.
12 He shall cleanse himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day, and so be clean. But if he does not cleanse himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not become clean.
13 Whoever touches a dead person, the body of anyone who has died, and does not cleanse himself, defiles the tabernacle of the LORD, and that person shall be cut off from Israel; because the water for impurity was not thrown on him, he shall be unclean. His uncleanness is still on him.
14 "This is the law when someone dies in a tent: everyone who comes into the tent and everyone who is in the tent shall be unclean seven days.
15 And every open vessel that has no cover fastened on it is unclean.
16 Whoever in the open field touches someone who was killed with a sword or who died naturally, or touches a human bone or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.
17 For the unclean they shall take some ashes of the burnt sin offering, and fresh water shall be added in a vessel.
18 Then a clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water and sprinkle it on the tent and on all the furnishings and on the persons who were there and on whoever touched the bone, or the slain or the dead or the grave.
19 And the clean person shall sprinkle it on the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day. Thus on the seventh day he shall cleanse him, and he shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and at evening he shall be clean.
20 "If the man who is unclean does not cleanse himself, that person shall be cut off from the midst of the assembly, since he has defiled the sanctuary of the LORD. Because the water for impurity has not been thrown on him, he is unclean.
21 And it shall be a statute forever for them. The one who sprinkles the water for impurity shall wash his clothes, and the one who touches the water for impurity shall be unclean until evening.
22 And whatever the unclean person touches shall be unclean, and anyone who touches it shall be unclean until evening."
Things to think about…
1. Aaron and Levi represent the spiritual leadership of Israel. There were consequences if they approached the holy things in an unholy manner – usually death, Num 18:3. Aaron and his line were to bear the iniquity of issues concerning the sanctuary and the priesthood. Aaron of course would have taken note of this personal address because he led Israel astray spiritually by allowing =sanctioning the building of the gold calf. He had also witnessed the judgement of his grandsons Nadab and Abihu for offering profaned incense in direct rebellion against the Lord’s prescription. The application for pastors and elders and those within senior leadership of the church is obvious. This passage reminds me of James 3:1 ‘let not many among you teach, knowing there is a more strict judgement’. Pray for me and the elders of CBC that we lead with integrity, grace and truth. We have seen in recent years within both the Protestant the Catholic church what happens when there is no accountability or fear of God within the ministry.
2. Aaron and the Levites were to have the first fruits. In this case it was the tithe. This is representative of our devotion to Christ. Christ is to have the best and as a result we should reflect this through our offering of service, finances and time. He promises to maintain and bless our cause as we do so.
3. Redemption – or the buy-back price plays a big part in Num 18. Everything that was born both clean and unclean needed to be redeemed. This is representative of our need to be bought. In our case our sin had to be paid for as this makes us ‘unclean’ before the Lord. This is why Aaron and the Levites had no inheritance in the land, Num 18:21-24, they were to live as those who were redeemed – paid for. We live before the Father waiting for our heavenly inheritance for the same reason – this is not our home, we have been redeemed by the blood of Christ and wait for the heavenly inheritance.
4. Num 19:1-10 speaks about the Red Heifer being an offering for sin for the entirety of Israel. The Jews today are seeking to fulfil this law of purification when they build the third temple. They believe a spotless red heifer will become available at that time. Jesus is our red heifer folks. His red blood has paid for our impurity – hallelujah! Pray that as we minister to the Jewish people through One for Israel that they see Christ being the fulfilment of this passage.
5. Everyone who touched a dead body was unclean. They needed to be made clean with water and sprinkled on the third and seventh day, Num 19:19. Christ rose on the third day and rested on the seventh which we celebrate every Sunday. He is our perpetual water of life that makes us clean. We are all dead spiritually without His water of life making us clean. Anyone not washed in this water is still unclean, Num 19:20. Be washed and see others washed with Christ, the water of life.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Sermon:-“Living by faith” – Galatians 3:1-14
a. Abraham was called the friend of God and was considered righteous before the Law of Moses was ever in existence. How was this possible?
b. The Galatians had started well and had accepted and believed the gospel that Paul had preached. Miracles had occurred in their midst. They had ‘fuel in the tank’. What had happened where Paul says “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you”, vs 1.
c. Jay used the example of his old ute not starting because of the fuel. He said imagine if he had been driving around a few months and then decided to try and start the car without fuel again. It would be foolish. How can we, like the Galatians, do the same with respect to faith and the influence and power of the Holy Spirit.
d. Pray for the gospel and your gospel witness to all those who live and work alongside of you.
Prayer Points
1. Continue to pray and Andy in Ipswich hospital and for Sally as she continues to battle Alzheimer’s. Give thanks for Andy’s brother Tad and a loving husband and example of Christ – Richard.
2. The processing of our insurance claim and the repurchasing of equipment.
3. That those who are new to the church are encouraged and settle in well into the church.
4. That we be bold in our witnessing for Christ. Pray for a heart to see those around you saved.
5. Pray for Kids@church and our Youth group.
6. How you can serve in ministry this year.
7. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. The blessing of our Mother’s Day event on Saturday. Big thanks to Suzanne Willey and many other women who made the day a success. A special mention to Katelyn Gillert who was a great blessing in sharing on her role as a mother as well as a daughter.
2. Young adult’s ministry – keep praying as this ministry grows.
3. Kids@Church ministry is a great blessing. Pray for Rosie and balancing her teaching, family and church worlds.
4. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Church information session 28th May after the morning service.
2. Remember to check your duty rosters for term 2.
3. Community Day Saturday 24th June at Church. More details to follow.
4. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
5. Tune in again this week on our youtube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for May...
Q. 8. Who are they? A. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Bible References – Matthew 28:19; 1 Corinthians 13:14; 1 Peter 1:2; Jude 20-21.
“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known” Jer 33:3
