5 Again the Lord spoke to Moses , saying , 6 "Take the Levites from among the sons of Israel and cleanse them. 7 "Thus you shall do to them, for their cleansing : sprinkle purifying water on them, and let them use a razor over their whole body and wash their clothes , and they will be clean . 8 "Then let them take a bull e e with its grain offering , fine flour mixed with oil ; and a second bull you shall take for a sin offering . 9 "So you shall present the Levites before the tent of meeting . You shall also assemble the whole congregation of the sons of Israel , 10 and present the Levites before the Lord ; and the sons of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites . 11 "Aaron 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 . 12 "Now the Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the bulls ; then offer the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering to the Lord , to make atonement for the Levites . 13 "You shall have the Levites stand before Aaron and before his sons so as to present them as a wave offering to the Lord . 14 "Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the sons of Israel , and the Levites shall be Mine. 15 "Then after that the Levites may go in to serve the tent of meeting . But you shall cleanse them and present them as a wave offering ; 16 for they are wholly given to Me from among the sons of Israel . I have taken them for Myself instead of every first issue of the womb , the firstborn of all the sons of Israel . 17 "For every firstborn among the sons of Israel is Mine, among the men and among the animals ; on the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for Myself. 18 "But I have taken the Levites instead of every firstborn among the sons of Israel . 19 " I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the sons of Israel , to perform the service of the sons of Israel at the tent of meeting and to make atonement on behalf of the sons of Israel , so that there will be no plague among the sons of Israel by their coming near to the sanctuary ." 20 Thus did Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the sons of Israel to the Levites ; according to all that the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites , so the sons of Israel did to them. 21 The Levites , too, purified themselves from sin and washed their clothes ; and Aaron presented them as a wave offering before the Lord . Aaron also made atonement for them to cleanse them. 22 Then after that the Levites went in to perform their service in the tent of meeting before Aaron and before his sons ; just as the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites , so they did to them.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Numbers 8:5-22
Commentary on Numbers 8:5-26
(Read Numbers 8:5-26)
Here we have directions for the solemn ordination of the Levites. All Israel must know that they took not this honour to themselves, but were called of God to it; nor was it enough that they were distinguished from others. All who are employed for God, must be dedicated to him, according to the employment. Christians must be baptized, ministers must be ordained; we must first give ourselves unto the Lord, and then our services. The Levites must be cleansed. They must be clean that bear the vessels of the Lord. Moses must sprinkle the water of purifying upon them. This signifies the application of the blood of Christ to our souls by faith, that we may be fit to serve the living God. God declares his acceptance of them. All who expect to share in the privileges of the tabernacle, must resolve to do the service of the tabernacle. As, on the one hand, none of God's creatures are his necessary servants, he needs not the service of any of them; so none are merely honorary servants, to do nothing. All whom God owns, he employs; angels themselves have their services.