Numbers 8

Jesus commanded His followers to be the light of the world. He also said that He Himself was the light of the world. Prior to either of these declarations, Israel was given a picture of these great blessings through the lampstand in the tabernacle.

Numbers 8 told us that these Old Testament lamps were to shine on something. They were “to give light in front of the lampstand,” inside the tabernacle in the holy place, so that the priests could do the tasks that God called them to do.

The priests came from the tribe of Levi, but most of the Levites were not priests, as God made clear in many places. The clans of the Levites each had their appointed tasks in connection with the tabernacle structure and contents. They had to be set apart for this important task and marked as holy.

The active Levites were cleansed by sprinkling with the water of purification. Their hair was shaved with a razor all over their bodies, their clothes were washed, and they were cleansed.

As everything was set apart by sacrifice before it could be of service, even the people, the Levites, needed more than a water ceremony in order to serve the Lord as He commanded. They needed to be associated with sacrificial cleansing involving the offering not only of grain, but the blood of the sin offering.

The Levites were brought before the tent of meeting with the whole congregation of the people of Israel assembled. The people of Israel placed their hands on the Levites, and the Levites were offered up to God for this divine service in the place of all of Israel. Then the Levites placed their hands on the bulls, and one was offered as a sin offering, the other as a burnt offering. This blood sacrifice was to make atonement for the Levites.

The Levites had their own sins. They had not fully loved their Lord with their every breath. It was necessary for them to be purified with the washing of water through sprinkling, but it was also necessary for the blood of the sacrifice to atone for what they lacked in the fullness of obedience that the Lord required.

This was the way that the Levites were separated from among the people of Israel. The Levites belonged to God in this way. They were the substitutes for the firstborn of Israel who had been spared in the day when God struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt. The Levites were a gift to the High Priest to do the service in the tent of meeting in the name of all of Israel. This was the Lord's decision. No other plan would have been safe.

This service was performed by the males of the tribe of Levi who were in the prime of their lives. They needed to be at least twenty-five years old, and they could not be over fifty years old. These were the ones who were set apart by washing and by sacrifice. These were the servants of the Lord who came to God for the rest of the congregation of His people.

In the New Testament we have one premier Servant of the Lord. He was willing to be washed ceremonially in order to be identified with us. He did not bring the blood of bulls and goats in order to be acceptable for His appointed service. He came to God as one who was well-pleasing to Him without any ceremonies. But He laid down His life as a sin offering for an entire kingdom. He has taken His rightful spot through the greatest of all blood sacrifices and through the most hearty vindication of His perfection.

He is the Light of the world, and His light shines on us. Now, by the virtue of His great light, we have become the light of the world. We have been washed with pure water and sprinkled by His blood. It is our privilege to follow this One Man in His cross-love for the unworthy. He gave Himself in the full service of consecration in the very prime of His life. We serve Him as those who have first been served by Him.