Just as the Bible began in a garden, with God coming down in the “cool” of the day to walk with and fellowship with Adam and Eve … so does the Book of Leviticus teach the Jewish people how to maintain such fellowship. How to “abide in God’s Tabernacle,” or “dwell in His Holy Hill!”

And then suddenly, in the Book of Numbers, a heathen King hires a well known false prophet to ruin all that fellowship potential! Yes, Balak (of the Moabites) employed Balaam to “curse” the Israelites! This story is told in Numbers chapters 22-24.

But … instead of cursing Israel (his heart’s real desire) … Balaam (under God’s constraint) instead “blesses” Israel! Three different times!

Including this astounding benediction: “How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel! As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river’s side, as the trees of lign aloes which the LORD hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters.” Numbers 24:5-6

Clearly he describes Israel and her possessions in terms of a well-watered garden! Get that word … GARDEN!

This is a later description (in my opinion) of the Garden of Eden … some day to be restored to Israel!

This is also the Book of Numbers completely agreeing with the Book of Leviticus … God’s Goal is now (and always has been) and always will be “the dear Lord living in the midst of His people in sweet communion and delight and sweetness of fellowship!”

Who would have ever thought of such symmetry, beauty, singleness of purpose … in the first five Books of the Bible?

I am writing this Lesson on Christmas Morning, 2019 … and acknowledging that the greatest Blessing/Gift/Pleasure we have as Christians is GOD LIVING IN OUR MIDST. Our being indwelt by the Holy Spirit … fellowshipping with the Almighty day in and day out! I could even say hourly, because He has promised … “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Matthew 28:20

Amen!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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I just counted. The name of the Jewish High Priest “Aaron” occurs 62 times in the Book of Leviticus! The name means “light-bringer!”

And in the Book of Numbers he is mentioned 99 times! (Yet in Deuteronomy, only 4 times, total, purposely no doubt.)

So, easy to see, “Aaron” is a key character (a “proper noun”, a personal name) tying these two Pentateuchal Books together, both Leviticus and Numbers.

And in Numbers, continuing the grand Theme of Leviticus, of the whole Mosaic Corpus really … we see God longing to be in fellowship with man, with sinful man. And for that sweet Communion to occur, blood must be shed (atonement made) … a task entrusted to the High Priest or else one of his sons.

I am trying to say that just as the Books of Genesis and Exodus led us up to the Message of Leviticus … now Numbers and Deuteronomy lead us forward from the beautiful Message of Leviticus!

And the (theological) center of Numbers (not the numerical center) just might be an event narrated in Chapter 17 of that Book.

A group (large in number) of “rebels” had attacked Aaron’s leadership! As High Priest, I mean. God judged them promptly. Then God enacted a miracle (indeed) … authenticating His appointed means of fellowshipping with human beings.

The “Lord being with His people” is this important, fundamentally so! God “tabernacling” among mankind!

“And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,Speak unto the children of Israel, and take of every one of them a rod according to the house of their fathers, of all their princes according to the house of their fathers twelve rods: write thou every man’s name upon his rod.And thou shalt write Aaron’s name upon the rod of Levi: for one rod shall be for the head of the house of their fathers. And thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle of the congregation before the testimony, where I will meet with you.And it shall come to pass, that the man’s rod, whom I shall choose, shall blossom: and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Israel, whereby they murmur against you.And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, and every one of their princes gave him a rod apiece, for each prince one, according to their fathers’ houses, even twelve rods: and the rod of Aaron was among their rods.And Moses laid up the rods before the LORD in the tabernacle of witness.And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds. And Moses brought out all the rods from before the LORD unto all the children of Israel: and they looked, and took every man his rod. And the LORD said unto Moses, Bring Aaron’s rod again before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the rebels ….” Numbers 17:1-10

A dead tree limb (a rod) came back to life, one of twelve such dead limbs! And it was the one with the name of the Tribe of “Levi” on it, Aaron’s family!

Read it again, of the dead, dry rod … “Behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds.”

Amazing!

Yes, clearly God wants the sacrificial System left in place, untampered, so that He and man can dwell together in sweet harmony.

Precious!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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Just as Leviticus has at its very heart the idea of “God’s desire to dwell with mankind” … in indescribably sweet communion … so does the Book of Numbers!

And just as Leviticus emphasizes the Priesthood (at its center) … so does the Book of Numbers. (The Priest being the man who helps facilitate that communion, fellowship.)

More particularly, in the “heart” of Leviticus (chapter 10) Aaron’s two sons (one of them potentially in line to be High Priest) sinned egregiously against the Lord God. They offered “strange fire” before God, apparently going (without authorization) into the very Holy of Holies Itself! AND GOD KILLED THEM INSTANTLY!

Why?

Because they had soiled (violated) the God treasured “picture/type/symbol” of Fellowship which God so longs to introduce to Israel! That Holy of Holies contained the very Ark of the Covenant, and the august Mercy Seat … where God lived so as to “be” in Israel’s presence!

That way of APPROACH TO ALMIGHTY GOD must be maintained at all costs! And Nadab and Abihu willfully and blatantly failed in this respect, in drawing near the Lord God.

Don’t you see Leviticus’ emphasis in all this? God with man and man with God, in sweet Harmony! That’s why the priesthood! That’s why the Tabernacle! That’s why those Offerings! That’s why those Laws about purity!

Now we look at the Book of Numbers. At its very heart (chapters 16 and 17) the High Priesthood is again under attack, under question!

We will get more specific in tomorrow’s Lesson, the Lord willing. Looking at Numbers 16 and 17 where THREE situations arise … each challenging (or proving in the face of such challenge) Aaron’s position as High Priest!

Again, this vital Communion (firstly God with man and then consequently man with God) is brought into doubt, placed under suspicion!

First, Numbers 16:1-40 … the rebellion of Korah … directed against Moses AND AARON!

Then Numbers 16:41-50 … nationwide discontent, grumbling, rebellion resulting from the Korah incident … against Moses AND AARON!

Finally Numbers 17:1-13 … God powerfully proving again that AARON AND HIS SONS (the Tribe of Levi) were to be the priests among Israel! Priests (again) to officiate the sweet Communion God desires with man!

Wow!

So … the Book of Numbers does (at its very heart) reemphasize the grand teaching of the Book of Leviticus!

So that some bright day … the Goal of all the Pentateuch (with Leviticus at its center) will be realized … “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.” Revelation 21:3

More detail tomorrow, Lord willing.

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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While vows in the Bible are not required, they are certainly allowed. As an “extra token of dedication,” one might say.

For example, Hannah “gave” her son Samuel to the Lord, fulfilling a vow she had preciously made. Look here at 1st Samuel 1:11 … “And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a MAN CHILD, then I will give HIM unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.”

A person could also give an animal to the Lord, or a piece of property. But in every case, caution was advised. Sort of a “count the cost” before you make any such promise to the Lord. Proverbs 20:25 warns: “It is a snare to the man who devoureth that which is holy, and after vows to make enquiry.”

Therefore the bulk of Leviticus chapter 27 instructs the Nation of Israel on how to redeem someone or something vowed to God, should that vow prove to be “too heavy” a load to bear.

Say a man “dedicates” his son to the Lord, to spend the years of his life in service down at the Tabernacle. But wait, the Levites now serve God at the Tabernacle! The man’s son is not needed! Therefore (in lieu of his son serving a lifetime at the Tabernacle or Temple) he could make a payment of “silver” (how much such money per case is the subject of Leviticus 27) unto the Lord … thus “buying back” that lad, and thereby releasing all involved from the vow.

And as I said, land could be redeemed that way as well.

And livestock!

All of which to me show God’s understanding/tolerance/grace regarding our human frailty.

Plus this … we have here another Bible illustration of God’s amazing Concept of REDEMPTION! Jesus redeemed us from a life of sin, Himself paying the affixed Price (His Own Blood) … designed to put us in right standing with His Father!

But … what happened in ancient Israel to all that “money/silver?” It was used to support the Tabernacle, its Priests and Levites and ministrations. In other words, God was not cheated a bit! The vow was still honored, just in a different sway. (He is a God of reason! “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD.” Isaiah 1:18)

Nowadays, vows are seldom mentioned. But should you make one (a stern promise “to tithe your income,” for example) … you had best “keep” it! Not to do so is a lot like “turning back!” And do remember Luke 9:62 … “And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

More next Lesson, the Lord willing … from the Book of Leviticus and its aftermath. Just as we looked at Genesis and Exodus prior to studying Leviticus … we now need to glance at Numbers and Deuteronomy which follow it. And see the beautiful symmetry the Holy Spirit has built into the Pentateuch.

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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Lest the Book of Leviticus end with a series of stark “curses,” the Holy Spirit has apparently opted to talk about certain rules of “redemption.”

But mostly pertaining to vows one might make unto the Lord. (Tomorrow’s Lesson will explain this in further detail.)

But today I’d like to discuss with you the general Old Testament principle of vows. A spiritual discipline not highly emphasized in the New Testament at all.

The first thing I would like to mention is that all Bible vows (best I can find) are completely voluntary. God never requires a person to make such a serious commitment … not in any heavy-handed manner.

Do not misunderstand me. The Lordship of Christ demands our total surrender to the Saviour, but not in the sense of a dozen (an arbitrary number) vows being made in the process.

The second thing I would emphasize is that that IF a person makes a vow to God (serious business) … he or she sure had better keep that thing! Never vow casually, without counting the cost.

Solomon address this: “When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. BETTER is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.” Ecclesiastes 5:4-5

Wow!

Does God take these vows lightly? Ecclesiastes again: “Suffer not thy mouth (regarding making vows) to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?”

Ignore that vow you’ve made, discontinue keeping it … and you risk angering Almighty God! You are inviting His (by disobedience of an obligation you were not required to undertake in the first place) “destroying the work of your hands!”

Now I am wondering why the New Testament has not a single Paragraph instructing us about vows. I think this: because our very word is to be iron-clad! To say it … means we’re gong to do it! 

James 5:12 explains … “But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.”

Wow!

More tomorrow, the Lord willing.

“Be careful, little tongue, what you say!”

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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