Day 31: Numbers 5-8

Summaries:
God tells Moses that the unclean are to be expelled from the camp, that those who wrong a felow man are to confess, restore, and give one fifth back, and that if a woman is suspected of adultery (or her husband is jealous), she is to be put to a test of impurity (5). The God gives Moses the laws concerning nazarite vows, where one dedicates himself to the Lord, including abstaining from wine, not cutting his hair, nor entering a place where a dead person is. God also gives the the ritual for dedication, as well as the priestly blessing for Aaron and his sons to bless the Israelites, which I have quoted below (6). Once the Dwelling was complete, each of the 12 princes of Israel, the heads of the ancestral houses, brought an offering, and each offering is listed (7). Before the Levites serve in the Dwelling, they are purified, by water of remission, shaving their bodies, washing their clothes, and by Aaron offering them as a wave offering before the lord, and by this, they belong to God (8).

Reflections:
There is a great richness in the formation of the Levitical priests. I like reading about their formation, how they are made sacred, and how their are essentially offerings to God in the place of the first-borns of all the Israelites, and so they have the great responsibility of serving God with their entire lives.

I've always liked the blessing that I quoted below, and I like the fact that it is still used in the Church today, it is has such a great history, as being given by God to Moses for the first priests and the Israelites.

Quotes:
Number 6:24-26 - "The LORD bless you and keep you! The LORD let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! The LORD look upon you kindly and give you peace!"