Study Desk

"So you will divide the Levites from the people of Israel. And the Levites will be Mine.

And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the people of Israel. They will do the work of the people of Israel at the meeting tent. By this they take away the sins of the people of Israel. So no trouble will come upon the people of Israel if they come near the meeting tent."

The Levites made themselves pure, putting away their sin. And they washed their clothes. Aaron gave them as a wave gift before the Lord. He did what had to be done to pay for their sin so they would be clean.

After that the Levites went in to do their work in the meeting tent in front of Aaron and his sons. So they did to the Levites just what the Lord had told Moses to do.

So Moses told the people of Israel to keep the Passover.

But there were some men who were unclean because they had touched a dead person. So they could not keep the Passover on that day. They came to Moses and Aaron that day

"Say to the people of Israel, ‘If anyone of you or your children touch a dead person and become unclean, or if you are traveling far away, even so, he may still keep the Passover to the Lord.

But if a man is clean and is not away traveling, yet does not keep the Passover, he must be cut off from his people. For he did not give the Lord's gift at the time he was to do so. That man will be guilty of his sin.

If a stranger staying with you wants to keep the Passover to the Lord and obey the Law of the Passover, he may do so. You will have one law, both for the stranger and for the one who was born in the land.'"

So they moved for the first time as the Lord had told them through Moses.

So they traveled for three days from the mountain of the Lord with the special box with the Law of the Lord in front of them looking for a place for them to rest.

So the name of that place was called Taberah, because the fire of the Lord burned among them.

So Moses said to the Lord, "Why have You been so hard on Your servant? Why have I not found favor in Your eyes, that You have laid the troubles of all these people on me?

Where am I to get meat to give to all these people? They cry in front of me, saying, ‘Give us meat so we may eat!'

So if You are going to act this way toward me, I beg You to kill me now, if I have found favor in Your eyes. Do not let me see how bad off I am."

Then I will come down and speak with you there. I will take of the Spirit Who is upon you, and will put Him upon them. Then they will carry the troubles of the people with you so you will not carry them all alone.

Say to the people, ‘Make yourselves holy for tomorrow, and you will eat meat. The Lord heard you when you cried and said, "If only someone would give us meat to eat! For it was well with us in Egypt." So the Lord will give you meat and you will eat.

But Moses said, "The people whom I am among are 600,000 on foot. And You have said, ‘I will give them meat so they may eat for a whole month.'

So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord. And he gathered seventy men from the leaders of the people, and had them stand around the meeting tent.

But two men had stayed among the tents. Their names were Eldad and Medad, and the Spirit rested upon them. They were among those who had been chosen, but had not gone out to the meeting tent. So they spoke the word of the Lord among the tents.