Parashat B'Midbar

Wilderness: more uninhabited or uncultivated land than desert as such; sometimes it was desert, other times it would have been more like plains or even semi-forested areas. It represents the uncharted territory we encounter on our way home from exile. When we are in such times of unclarity, we need first and foremost to listen to what YHWH wants to tell us through them. The literal meaning of b’midbar is "place of words or speaking", so it is place where there are no words unless they are spoken. Nowadays someone’s word is considered more proveable or enforceable if it is put in writing, but to YHWH, a word that is spoken is a word that is alive. He gives it more prominence, so we must not diminish its significance. We cannot ignore it like a book that we could close and put on a shelf. We need to learn how to listen and hear what is actually being said rather than what we expect to hear or want to hear. Most people do not think enough, but when YHWH has already told us how to think about something (whether through the Torah or through the authorities He has placed over us), it is not our turn to think. After He tells us what to do, think about the right way to do it. We can learn to listen in smaller "places of the word". Whenever you feel like you are in a place of isolation, start listening carefully. YHWH told us the purposes for the wilderness in Deut. 8:16. It is to feed us with food our fathers did not know--new insights and nuances that even the patriarchs did not notice, because they were all individuals, but now He has a whole people operating as one unit. We hear and see much more if all of us are paying attention. In our case, the wilderness is a place for revelation of something ancient that our more recent ancestors did not want to know. If we all gather as much "manna" as we are meant to, we will have all the nourishment that any of us needs. As we each gather our omer, we discover where we are most valuable in the community. Deut. 8 also says the wilderness is to make us humble (anah), which does not mean pretending to have no strengths, but to be "grounded"--in touch with where we are standing, having a realistic appraisal of our strengths as well as our weaknesses, always acknowledging that our strengths come from YHWH. Never give up. Certainly there are times to withdraw and regroup, but only so we can go back and win the battle we were losing. Magnify the things you are better at, and learn where you are most valuable to the community and the Kingdom, so that the rest of us can learn what you know. But the root meaning of anah is "to pay attention". As with the Sabbath, it is often easier to tune in to Him when we step outside our ordinary routines. As He got Moshe’s attention in the wilderness (Ex. 3:2; 1 Kings 19:3ff), so He wants to get ours so we can tune in to what He is saying and be honest about who we are and where we are, compared to where we should be. He also used the wilderness to get Eliyahu’s attention, also at Mt. Sinai. He had to shake him at first, but that was not what spoke to him. He wanted to speak to him on the more intimate level, both individually and corporately, for this is where He espoused Israel as His bride. (Yirmeyahu 2:2) When we gather for His appointments--the parallel to the tent here--we are in a place to hear from Him. If we still cannot, it is crucial to depend on someone else who does. Deut. 8:16 also says the wilderness is to test us, as He did with Yahshua there (Mat. 4), since other voices besides YHWH’s are there as well. But Yahshua’s response was the very words that YHWH had given to Israel in the wilderness. The test is not so He will know what we are, but so we will know where we stand and where we need to improve. Each such reckoning equips us to move on to the next "station" at which we "camp". Thus far, not enough of Israel is gathered to even leave Goshen, but there are many ways we can learn to hear even there so we are ready to move on out, and the more we learn now, the less likely we are to need 40 years in the wilderness again this time. All we should need are the 11 hours it takes to fly to Israel! Eliyahu also came to the wilderness of Sinai when he felt alone against an adversary, and he, too, was fed unexpected food there. He could not hear clearly anywhere else, but YHWH asked him why he was there, when he had a job to do elsewhere. After several cataclysmic demonstrations of the violence of nature, where YHWH finally spoke to him was literally in a "pulverizing whisper". YHWH teaches uys from the smallest things, so do not waste time seeking grandiose experiences. Learn to hear from the tiniest whisper. This is what the study of YHWH’s word is to do to us: As we break it down into its most basic parts, it does the same to us. What is He teaching us by what occurs? To stop looking to tornadoes, firestorms, and earthquakes for answers, and to examine what we ourselves are doing. There were others who feared YHWH, but they were well-hidden, because He does not keep treasure in plain sight when there are adversaries around. Eliyahu should have been looking for them instead of pitying himself. Another purpose of the wilderness given in Deut. 8:16 is to make us pleasing to Himself in the end. Like a wife who had been under an illegal authority, He needs to re-train us in what He really wants. People used to try hard to please their parents and teachers, though the world is such that we seldom see this anymore. But the wilderness time is about learning to please YHWH, so we do not bring into His Land anything that does not please Him. We should want to please our mentors, and be pleasant people in general, because this pleases YHWH too. We can know if we are there by whether we are involved in bringing the Word--talking about it, bringing what "manna" you have gathered so you will be worthy to eat from the pooled supply. Even if you owed Him nothing (but you do), you should bring it just because it helps set everything in order again. When He is pleased, watch out, world! What He wants to do through Israel is beyond anything we can imagine. Who would believe the kings of the earth would send treasure to Jerusalem to be used for the Temple? But some have already done so. When we have tuned in to His voice and the wilderness has done its work, we will be home where He can again walk among us--just as it was back in Eden. When the Northern Kingdom wanted to be just like the Gentiles, YHWH said He would bring us into the wilderness of the peoples and plead His case face to face as He did with our ancestors. (Y’hezq’el/Ezek. 20:30ff) He would make us His flock again and purge the rebels out from among us so they will not enter His Land. We pay attention to those who have the knowledge we need for the journey we really want to take. And there are those among the Jews who have been hearing from the Torah all along. Learn from them about who YHWH is, what Israel truly is, and your place in it and responsibilities toward it. But a word is useless if no one is listening. We will never see the value in going into the wilderness if we think we are already in the Promised Land--the lie that Christianity has told us. It has not all been done for us. We have been given an example, but there must be a response of action on our part when we hear. Otherwise there is no reason to hear. Do not stop with understanding what you hear about yourself; do something about it. "Hear, O Israel" is not just a mental exercise; it is the kind of listening you would exercise if a dying pirate was about to tell you where he had hidden his treasure. Most of those "diagnosed" with attention-deficit disorder simply have no one holding their feet to the fire and requiring that they listen. Multi-tasking makes us less efficient, for we cannot focus on doing anything well. B’Midbar is about listening. Look how much we have culled from just one verse; how much more is there in the rest? If we quiet our own minds and hear what YHWH is saying, we will be pleasing to Him. Second month: This is the first new moon within the time of "counting the omer (measure)" between Firstfruits and Shavuoth--a time to take account and consider the significance of our names and which giftings are among each congregation (as per Ephesians 4), which is exactly what is taking place here:

Lift up the heads: Here it specifically refers to a census, but it is an idiom for paying direct attention to someone, for better or for worse. (Gen. 40:13, 19) Before He lets us come all the way to His Home, YHWH promised to bring us out from among the peoples into the wilderness, and judge us face to face (Y’hezq’El 20:4, 30-38), and purge out the rebels, just as Moshe put in place those he knew by experience to be fearers of YHWH and wise enough to make the right decisions. (Ex. 18:21) We are not yet separated out from all others, but He is separating out communities even while we are still in exile, as He did in Goshen. Head count: literally, "for their skulls". Names have to do with who we are, and this is how Israelites are taken into account. YHWH reckons us by which house we are part of. For the sake of the nation, it is important that each one be in his proper place, so his or her gift can be in use in the proper proportion to the rest. This is a prerequisite for Messiah’s Kingdom being ready for His return. This verse is the key to the origanization YHWH wants. It is how Israel was organized in ancient times. Extended families were led by a patriarch. SInce the pattern was disrupted, it is no longer so easy to tell who our brothers are, so Yahshua said the family in Israel now consists of those who do the will of His Father (Mat. 12:46ff) and who listen to YHWH’s words and do them, and thus are able to really hear what He is telling us. (Luke 8:19ff, alluding to Ex. 24:7) To these we must give more loyalty than our biological families.

No upper limit is given here as there is with those entering the priesthood (4:3), but we can deduce from Lev. 27:3 that the norm was from 20 to 60 years of age. But the clear significance is that those who do not fight for Israel, but only "warm pews", are not counted, and thus on the practical level "do not count" to YHWH. Armies have many positions. Not all are on the front lines. The important point is that we each do our part.

Tribe: literally, "branch" (as upholding the family tree) or "rod", a symbol of authority.

Son: or descendant. The names listed are not necessarily direct fathers, but are sometimes the most illustrious person in his lineage, who had brought the most honor to the particular family line.

7. "From Yehudah, Nachshon [enchanter], son of Amminadav [my relatives are generous];

The "whisperer" or "wizard" (nachshon) sets the tone for which type of generosity is described here--the type that leads Yehudah today to give away their ancestral Land that YHWH has said must never be given away or sold permanently.

9. "From Z'vulun, Eliav [my Elohim is a Father] the son of Chelon [very capable];

10. "Of the sons of Yoseyf,
from Efrayim, Elishama [my Elohim heard] the son of Ammihud [my people are splendid];
from Menashe, Gam'liel [El has dealt bountifully with me] the son of Pedahtzur [the Rock has ransomed];

Verse 2 speaks of the number of the names themselves. The numeric value of Menashe’s name in Hebrew is 395--5 more than the number of the years of punishment of the Northern Kingdom, according to Hoshea 4. Five, the number of books in the Torah, makes the name of the one who means "forgetful" measure up. Elishama was Y’hoshua’s grandfather. (1 Chron. 7:26-27)

12. "From Dan, Akhiezer [my brother helps] the son of Ammishaddai [my kinsman is enough];

13. "From Asher, Pagiel [El has met me] the son of Ochran [troubled];

14. "From Gad, Eliasaf [Elohim has added] the son of DeuEl [know El!];

15. "From Nafthali, Akhira [my brother is evil] the son of Enan [having eyes]."

Nafthali's brother was Dan, the one considered to be the ancestor of the False Messiah. Maybe this is why his name meant his brother was evil! An odd name, to be sure, but Yaaqov’s brother was evil as well. But Ra was one of the Egyptians’ elohim. This man was born in Egypt to parents who were slaves, so it may be that they had no choice in what to name him. Their master might have named him after Ra, or they might have just named him thoughtlessly, as some Jews today name their children Christopher ("bearer of Christ"--essentially meaning a Christian missionary).

Of these 24 names (not counting the 12 tribal names), all but four are based on either "El" (Elohim) or the relationship to some other member of their family. This is appropriate, because they were personally responsible, before Elohim, for the welfare of their entire tribe. They are distinguished as individuals, yet their importance is chiefly related to how they benefit the whole congregation. Even by their names, they provide for the congregation from which they were selected. They were not brought in from outside seminaries and paid to lead. They were home-grown and chosen by one who knew they were worthy to lead. Moshe chose them as well as leaders under them of tens, fifties, and hundreds. (Ex. 18:21) Such leaders must be in place again so that Yahshua has an orderly Kingdom awaiting Him to bring home to His Land. The tribes of the sons of the servant-girls are listed after Rachel's sons and Leah's sons.

Specified: or "hand-picked".

The heads of each house had to give an accounting for each head w/ithin their household. Registered: or "declared their birth". There was another census right at the time of Yahshua’s birth that also focused on the house and lineage, and this made it manifestly clear that he was the rightful king at the time when this counted most.

The reason such a numbering was frowned on by YHWH in David’s day (2 Shmu’el 24) is that David apparently did not obey Exodus 30:12ff and take up the half-sheqel Temple tax from those who were about to become killers so as to redeem them from bloodguilt. "Mustered" has the numeric value of 184 in Hebrew, and the first word in Scripture wit this value is "eastward" (Gen. 2:8), which also means "toward the ancient"--which is exactly where we are headed, and for this reason, it also means "in a progressive direction".

21. those who were mustered among them (the tribe of Reuven) were 46,500.

Mustered: the word can mean "numbered", "registered", "cared for", or "visited". It suggests that Moshe took great care to hand-pick these people by visiting them right at their tents. All of the counts are rounded to the nearest hundred except those that are right at an increment of 50.

From: literally, "for", as consistently below as well.

24. From the sons of Gad, their genealogies by their clans, by the households of their fathers, according to the number of the names, every male from twenty years old and upward---all who were able to go out to [the] army--

25. those who were mustered among them (the tribe of Gad) were 45,650.

26. From the sons of Yehudah, their genealogies by their clans, by the households of their fathers, according to the number of the names, every male from twenty years old and upward--all who were able to go out to [the] army--

27. those who were mustered among them (the tribe of Yehudah) were 74,600.

This tribe always had the largest single representation, and in the latter counting (ch. 26) only when the two sons of Yoseyf are counted together does anyone else ever surpass Yehudah. This continued to hold true as throughout most of history, Yehudah has been the only tribe clearly identifiable as the descendants of Yaaqov until very recently, when Yoseyf’s children are again more discernible and actually catching up to Yehudah in terms of keeping the Torah. The reason these two sons of the patriarch have stood out so vividly is that both of them overtly took responsibility for their brothers during times of dire crisis.

29. those who were mustered among them (the tribe of Issachar) were 54,400.

30. From the sons of Z'vulun, their genealogies by their clans, by the households of their fathers, according to the number of the names, every male from twenty years old and upward---all who were able to go out to [the] army--

31. those who were mustered among them (the tribe of Z'vulun) were 57,400.

32. Of the sons of Yoseyf, from the sons of Efrayim, their genealogies by their clans, by the households of their fathers, according to the number of the names, every male from twenty years old and upward---all who were able to go out to [the] army--

33. those who were mustered among them (the tribe of Efrayim) were 40,500.

34. From the sons of Menashe, their genealogies by their clans, by the households of their fathers, according to the number of the names, every male from twenty years old and upward---all who were able to go out to [the] army--

35. those who were mustered among them (the tribe of Menashe) were 32,200.

36. From the sons of Binyamin, their genealogies by their clans, by the households of their fathers, according to the number of the names, every male from twenty years old and upward--all who were able to go out to [the] army--

37. those who were mustered among them (the tribe of Binyamin) were 35,400.

38. From the sons of Dan, their genealogies by their clans, by the households of their fathers, according to the number of the names, every male from twenty years old and upward---all who were able to go out to [the] army--

39. those who were mustered among them (the tribe of Dan) were 62,700.

40. From the sons of Asher, their genealogies by their clans, by the households of their fathers, according to the number of the names, every male from twenty years old and upward--all who were able to go out to [the] army--

41. those who were mustered among them (the tribe of Asher) were 41,500.

42. From the sons of Nafthali, their genealogies by their clans, by the households of their fathers, according to the number of the names, every male from twenty years old and upward--everyone who was able to go out to [the] army--

43. those who were mustered among them (the tribe of Nafthali) were 53,400.

44. These are the ones who were mustered, whom Moshe and Aharon mustered, as well as the captains of Israel, 12 men; each of them was for the household of his ancestors.

45. Thus all who were mustered from the sons of Israel, according to the households of their fathers, from twenty years old and upward--all who were able to go out to [the] army in Israel--

46. The total of those mustered was 603,550.

The way the count was tallied was by counting the number of sheqels received and dividing by two. (Ex. 30:12) This count is the same as the total counted just before the Tabernacle was built (Ex. 38:26), suggesting that no one died during the entire construction of the Dwelling Place, or that every time anyone did die, someone else reached their twentieth birthday so the number remained exactly the same.

Angus Wootten notes that when there were 603,550 Jewish residents in "Palestine", the modern nation of Israel came into being; when there were this number who could go to war, the city of Yerushalayim was recovered. Yet Efrayim, YHWH's firstborn (Yirmeyahu 31:9), which correlates with the Levites who were taken in place of the firstborn (see 3:13ff), were not counted among them, though Efrayim, too, will return and inhabit the Land. The Levites are not counted among Israel, though they are counted later; they are a people especially "attached" to YHWH, as Levi's name indicates. Levi was the only son of Yaaqov that HE named. (Gen. 29:34) They serve both the tabernacle (v. 50) and the people of Israel. They are to be looked on differently from the rest of the nation. They are not part of the regular army, but do shed blood when necessary as a special "task force" that guards YHWH’s sanctuary from being defiled. (v. 51-53; 25:7-11)

49. "Except, you shall not muster the tribe of Levi [for war], though, nor lift up the head among them among the sons of Israel.

50. "Rather, you shall appoint the Levites over the Dwelling Place of the Testimony and over all its vessels, and everything that pertains to it. They shall carry the Dwelling Place and all its equipment, and shall serve it, and shall encamp round about the Dwelling Place.

Vessels: or equipment. Serve it: or "wait on it". Only the top of the brazen altar was carried along; the rest was rebuilt at each station with new stones, so that a witness remained behind each time. The only permanently-established altar was in Yerushalayim. YHWH has used many "movements" throughout history--reformations, revivals, special anointings which serve as holy signposts--but He also moves on, and if we do not move with Him, now matter how holy we have been, we will fall short of what He intends for us to become.

It would appear that the Tabernacle has a mind of its own. Sometimes in the same passage, both the Dwelling Place and its tent are mentioned separately (notably Lev. 16:33) as if two different entities. But it is the Presence of YHWH Himself that decides when to move; the tent is incidental. "Anyone else": literally, "the stranger", "alien", or "estranged one"--who has made himself a foreigner to the Dwelling Place, even if he is one of the Levites. We cannot toy with YHWH's presence; He wants no one coming near whose heart is not genuine. But the emphasis seems to be on being anyone who is not part of this chosen tribe. Though they do not go out to war, the structure of the Levite camp is one of battle formation, for the last line of defense in guarding the sanctity of the innermost part of the camp is the Levites. If something unholy gets this far past the other tribes, and threatens to defile the Dwelling (since apostasy hinders the ascent of the rest of the people to YHWH's inner sanctum), the Levites are responsible to stop it. Therefore, Pin'has, who killed two fornicators in the very Tabernacle courtyard who were bringing a plague on the camp, was following his job description precisely, and YHWH rewarded him for it (ch. 25).

His own standard: While there is one Torah for everyone, only the Levites are given the right to make a ruling that is binding on all Israel. (See chapter 2 for more detail.) Although Yehudah has preserved the language and many of the oral traditions from the earliest times and we have so much to learn from them, the other tribes are not intended to become Yehudah. Many of those coming in from outside of Yehudah have been under the Messiah's standard, which Yehudah, by and large, has refused to bow to for a variety of reasons. We do not have to become like them in this regard, and we should not. Nor are we rivals. Each has his own calling from YHWH, even in regard to battle skills (e.g., Binyamin’s left-handed archers), and each has a part to play in building up the whole Body for the good of all. In fact, there are Jewish traditions that many of the ancient customs--one of them being the New Moon, which Yehudah rarely celebrates today--will be restored by the descendants of the Northern Kingdom. And so it is beginning to take place.

54. So the descendants of Israel indeed did everything just as YHWH commanded Moshe.

This is the greatest compliment anyone in Scripture is given. They had no Scriptures and only Moshe’s word that this was what YHWH wanted, but still they obeyed more fully than we do yet today. Are we also doing exactly as we have been told?

CHAPTER 2

2. "Every man of the descendants of Israel must camp by his own standard with the insignia of his father's house; they shall pitch [their tents] around and facing the Tabernacle of Testimony [at a distance].

Camp: to pitch a tent, settle, and relax, from a root word meaning to incline (possibly because a tent peg must be pointed inward toward the tent to keep the rope taut). Figuratively, we are to firmly drive down stakes into what YHWH wanted the world to see when He chose our forefathers, or the first strong wind, whether of doctrine, natural family ties, or security concerns, will blow our "tent" away. But to do so, we must pull up stakes from wherever else we have been camped--not just physically, but the stakes that remain in our hearts and minds. We must see the community of Israel as our true home, or we will not be able to last long there. What took our fathers down was looking at the other nations around them and finding their ways attractive. Avram was willing to move his tent to avoid strife; Lot was not, and he ended up being forcibly taken away. (Gen. 13) Standard: flag or banner, from a root word meaning to make conspicuous--i.e., something that one cannot help but notice, or that which stands out and marks one as unique, since on the battlefield one must know where to regroup or whom to follow. It also identifies how each tribe was blessed differently by YHWH. (See note on v. 16) Our strengths are what is meant to be conspicuous, as long as what is inside is the same as what is on the outside. Insignia of his father’s house: All of Israel is to "write YHWH’s words on the doorposts of our house", but there are more specific, distinguishing signs that provide evidence of who we are. What signs of our fathers’ house are named throughout Scripture? They are the signs of the covenant from which both Israel and YHWH are meant to benefit. The one given to our first Hebrew forefather was circumcision. (Gen. 17:10) Another given to the whole people of Israel was the blood of the lamb (Ex. 12:13) and the subsequent Feast of Unleavened Bread. (Ex. 13:6ff) Redemption of the firstborn (13:11ff) was another command YHWH said would serve as a sign. The Sabbath was an especially prominent one. (Ex. 31:13-17) And finally, having YHWH’s words, and particularly the commands to love Him with all our heart, appetites, and strength. (Deut. 6:4-9; 11:18) Yahshua clarified that the meaning behind all of these is only truly evidenced by loving one another as we love ourselves. (Yochanan 13:34; Mat. 22:34ff) As we see on any main street in the world, if the sign is hung up, it means we are open for business. These signs of the covenant tell YHWH that we are ready to do His business. The root word for insignia means "consent" or "agreement"; they had to be in unity if they were under one banner. Each tribe has a separate identity and is ordained for a particular task. Tartans, coats of arms, and flags have served similar purposes throughout history. Everyone today seems to be searching for roots--an identity, a home, and father. They cannot feel complete otherwise. Having left his family, the Prodigal can never find rest anywhere else. This is part of the repair of the collective soul that was shattered and dispersed when Adam failed to take responsibility. Now that critical mass has been reached in the spirit, each one's soul is saying, "Bind me back to it!" Every human being wants to reconnect, but the natural tendency is to go back to the latest thing one was separated from, as the Protestants are now tending to rejoin the Catholics. But this is not far enough, and is poison if we stop there, because the later separations were necessary, for there is a false reunification going on simultaneous to Israel's, and all will be resolved into two "men" who will do battle. (Lev. 24) Until we get all the way back to Eden, we are not home. And the way back is only through Israel. Now the whole Northern Kingdom is under the banner of Yoseyf (and "Messiah ben Yoseyf"), but one day we will need to be more specific, because the holy city can only be entered through gates that each represent one tribe. Not having such an insignia shows a lack of identity, which means we have no covering; in Y’hezq'el 9 and Revelation 7 people are marked for protection from plagues that come only on those unmarked--or have the wrong mark. At a distance: Tradition says the distance was the same as that specified in Y’hoshua 3:4--2,000 cubits, later called "a Sabbath day’s journey". This would also leave room for the Levites’ camp as detailed in the next chapter.

East: the term (qedem) also means "ancient" in Hebrew. Qedem also means "forward" or "making progress", and until the royal tribe moved, none of the camp could move toward its next goal. Yehudah was the first to crown David king (2 Shmuel 2:10) and the first to recognize his descendant the Messiah (Rom. 1:16; 2:10). We must be "oriented" toward the ancient ways, for comparing ourselves to them is what tells us where we fit and whether we are in order. It is what we weigh ourselves against to see if we are found lacking. We have not come far enough in our progress, but again in our era, Yehudah has led the way back to the ancient homeland, giving us hope that the rest of us will get there too. (Compare Z’kharyah 12:7.) We need to stop, look, and ask for the eternal path, and then walk in it when we find it. (Yirmeyahu 6:16) Just as satellite technology can see ancient roadways under what is now desert or overgrown jungle, digging in the Word of YHWH will be such an "archaeological adventure" that uncovers the signs that have been obscured by all the distractions built around them. Rome, famous for its paved roads that facilitated the travel of both merchants and armies, did the most to blur the ancient pathways, and began very soon after Yahshua’s first generation of students were killed off. Eve Yehudah had been toying with the ancient boundaries by this time, so we all need to get back in touch with this camp, because as we study it, we will be able to locate the way back to Tzion. Rising sun: Yehudah was the ancestor of the Messiah, whom Malachi called the Sun of Righteousness, and indeed he proved to have healing in his wings (the Hebrew term also for the corner of his garment, which many people wanted to touch in order to be healed; see Mat. 9:20; 14:36).

5. "And those who encamp next to him shall be the tribe of Issachar, and Nethan'el the son of Tzuar shall be the captain of the sons of Issachar.

Next to him: literally, on him, signifying that the two other tribes depended in some ways on the head tribe.

7. "[Also] the tribe of Z'vulun, and Eliav the son of Helon shall be the captain of the sons of Z'vulun.

8. "And his company--those who were mustered from them--were 57,400.

9. "So all who were mustered in the camp of Yehudah were 186,400 by their armies. These shall [be the] first [to] set out [and travel].

By their armies: or "forces". Yehudah had already been blessed by Yaaqov with the royal throne, and Messiah, who has already been leading many from all the tribes, unbeknownst to them, for many centuries, came from this tribe.

South: Heb., teyman, from the word for "right hand"--a connection that only makes sense if we are indeed facing east, which is the true Hebraic perspective.

12. "And those who encamp next to him shall be the tribe of Shim'on, and the captain of the sons of Shim'on shall be Tzurishaddai,

13. "And his company--those who were mustered from them--were 59,300.

14. "Then the tribe of Gad, and the captain of the sons of Gad shall be Elyasaf the son of Re’uel.

Re’uel (as contrasted with "De’uel" in 1:13): The variant may have resulted because the equivalents of "D" and "R" in Hebrew are differentiated by only one small stroke. Re’uel means "look to Elohim!" Otherwise all the groupings are laid out according to the birth-mothers of the tribal patriarchs. But since the two maidservants’ children added up to four, and Leah had six sons yet Levi was in the innermost ring of the camp, Gad (one of the maidservant Zilpah’s sons) is put in Levi’s place here. Since Levi was the bloodletter who one would have thought would make the best soldier, yet YHWH had made Levi his "special forces", the only one who logically could replace Levi was the brother whose name means "troop".

16. "So all who were mustered in the camp of Reuven were 151,450 by their armies. And they will set out [to travel] in the second rank.

Tradition says that the "standards" or banners on each of the four sides of the Tabernacle included the colors of each of their three tribes--the same colors that were on each's tribe's engraved stone on Aharon's breastplate. The individual tribes' flags, which made it easy for everyone to recognize his place in the camp, depicted something from that tribe's history or Yaaqov's prophecies about them:

Reuven--red with mandrakes pictured on it
Shim'on--green with the city of Sh'khem on it
Levi--black, white, and red, with the urim and thummim depicted
Yehudah--sky blue with a lion (probably the reason the Jewish flag is again blue)
Issachar--blue-black with the sun and moon
Z'vulun--white with a ship
Dan--sapphire-colored, with a snake
Nafthali--pale red with a doe
Asher--a flame, olive oil, and an olive tree
Menashe--black with a re'em (an extinct animal thought to be a very strong wild ox)
Efrayim--black (as also a tribe of Yoseyf) with an ox
Binyamin--all colors with a wolf
Gad--gray with a battalion (troop) of soldiers

With two of the four camps ahead of it, the Tent would remain in the middle even as it traveled. YHWH is seen as sitting in the midst of the 24 elders in revelation 4 as well. In his place: literally, on his hand, reminding us that our place in Israel has to do with our actions. They were "put in place" during the 49 days of the Counting of the Omer, which is the time for each member of the Body to find out where he fits, and grow to maturity in his area of specialization (sometimes called spiritual gifts, as described in Ephesians 4). The teacher in particular is the winnower, who tosses the grain into the air to place it in the right context for the wind (same as Spirit in Hebrew) to do its work in blowing away the chaff. Yet Yahshua told us we are not to be called teachers, because we have one Teacher in truth; the human teachers are just assistants, providing a framework in which He can work. They were to move in the same formation in which they camped. Also, at its root, the word for "encamp" means to "rest" or "incline", as on the Sabbath; to set out in the same way as they encamp, on this level, would symbolize carrying some of the spirit of the Sabbath over into the ordinary days of the week.

History has borne out that Efrayim and his brother Menashe have dwelt in the westernmost parts of the world in their exile as well, and Yeshayahu specifically emphasizes that YHWH would gather His dispersed from the West (most notably 49:12, when only one other direction is specified). The term in Hebrew actually means "sea-ward", which fits with the geography of Israel, with the Mediterranean on the west, but this terminology was used even before Israel inhabited the Land. (Here, however, the Reed Sea was behind them as they traveled as well.)

20. "And next to him shall [encamp] the tribe of Menashe, and the captain of the sons of Menashe [shall be] Gam'liEl the son of Pedahtzur.

The term "encamp" is mssing from the actual text (as compared with verses 5, 12, and 27), suggesting that there is not to be as much distinction between Efrayim and Menashe as between the other tribes. Together they form the "tribe" of Yoseyf. Indeed, Efrayim was given Menashe’s place as firstborn by Yaaqov, but Yoseyf considered Menashe his firstborn. Also, those who have done the most research into where the different tribes settled have identified Efrayim as by and large in British territories, and Menashe mainly (though not exclusively) in North America, which is a daughter of Britain (per studies by Steve Collins, Yair Davidy, et al). In the war in Iraq, these two have been closely allied in defeating the land where ancient Babylon was located. Only in the last few centuries has Menashe been in the far west. This shows that, although we have not been able to follow Yehudah back to the ancient place yet, YHWH is arranging the camp into its ancient juxtapositions again even while we are still in exile. Gamli’El means "Elohim will repay fully" and Pedahtzur means "the Rock has redeemed". These strongly allude to Yahshua and his followers receiving back their lost inheritance. Yahshua said the a special way to identify those who remain with him is that they will bear much fruit (Yochanan 15:4ff--a term related to the larger western camp, Efrayim’s name, which means "doubly fruitful", though he can only be this when united with Menashe; though Yahshua was from Yehudah, he is still honorary head of our tribes, and if we are truly his students and walk as he walked rather than as Paul or some Roman church told us to walk, it will be hard to distinguish us from those in Yehudah who follow the Torah). In that context he said, "I am the vine, you are the branches." In Psalm 80:8-9, Israel is called a vine. And the Hebrew term for "tribe" really means a branch. So He was figuratively saying, "I am Israel; you are the tribes". This tells us that we cannot truly remain in Yahshua unless we are part of the tribes of Israel, and that no one who does not enter through him is finally counted as Israel, even if they have Israelite blood. (Rom. 9:6; compare Z’kharyah 13:7-9) The twelve tribal gates to the New Yerushalayim (Rev. 21:12) are in walls founded only on the ones Yahshua sent. (21:14; Eph. 2:20) There can be no restoration of the other tribes without the kinsman-redeemer from Yehudah.

22. "Then the tribe of Binyamin, and the captain of the sons of Binyamin [shall be] Avidan the son of Gid'oni.

23. "And his company--those who were mustered from them--were 35,400.

24. "All that were mustered from the camp of Efrayim were 108,100 by their armies. And they will set out [to travel] in the third position.

These were the three tribes whose mother was Rachel. They camped on the West side. Hoshea 11:10 says Efrayim shall yet come "trembling from the West", so most of those under his standard are now in what is even called the "West" by the rest of the world. Psalm 80 speaks only of these three tribes, and links them with the "Shepherd of Israel" who will lead "Yoseyf" like a flock.

26. "And his company--those who were mustered from them--were 62,700.

27. "And those who encamp next to him [shall be] the tribe of Asher, and the captain of the sons of Asher [shall be] Pagiel the son of Ochran.

28. "And his company--those who were mustered from them--were 41,500.

29. "Then the tribe of Nafthali, and the captain of the sons of Nafthali [shall be] Achira the son of Eynan.

30. "And his company--those who were mustered from them--were 53,400.

31. ""All that were mustered from the camp of Dan were 157,600 by their armies. And they will set out [to travel] last with their banners."

Last: or "furthest to the rear"--those most likely to be attacked by Amaleq. (Deut. 25:17-19) This is no accident, for Dan encamped on the north side; since Hebraic orientation is to the east, the north is the left side, which usually signifies one who is less favored. The "king of the north" is another name for the Counterfeit Messiah, whom Jewish tradition says is to come from the tribe of Dan, which is probably why his tribe is not among those from which the 144,000 holy witnesses come in the book of Revelation. Did this whole tribe decide to remain loyal to its usurper son and therefore not remain in the True Vine, and end up cut off as Yahshua warned in Yochanan 15? (See note on v. 20 above.) In Scripture, judgment and calamity also often come out of the north (e.g., Yirmeyahu 1:14), since invading armies had to come around the fertile crescent rather than attacking from the east across the desert. But this may only be a temporary falling out, for the purpose of that season of witness alone, because Dan shows up again in the arrangement of the tribes in the Land in Y’hezq’El 48. The term for north means "hidden" and "dark", but it also means a "stored-up treasure", so great benefit may yet come from this camp as well, as it did in the days of Shimshon (Samson).

33. But the Levites were not mustered among the sons of Israel, as YHWH had commanded Moshe.

34. So the descendants of Israel acted according to all that YHWH had commanded; they indeed pitched their tents according to their standards, and indeed they set out [to travel] in the same [formation], each one by his clans, according the households of his father.

CHAPTER 3

Aharon and Moshe: yet Moshe’s genealogy is not mentioned below at all, only Aharon’s. In fact, the very name one of his sons, Eliezer, is never mentioned in the Torah at all. We have to go to 1 Chron. 23:15 before we find out what it was. So how is this Moshe’s genealogy as well? Because later throughout Scrpture,"Moshe" becomes a synonym for the Torah (e.g., Acts 15:21), which he wrote down. And as we read about Aharon’s children below, we find that they are the ones called to give up everything else and minister in YHWH’s presence. Thus, YHWH’s servants are considered synonymous with the "sons of the Torah". Any who call themselves YHWH’s servants and yet do not keep the Torah are therefore either deceivers or deceived. Rashi also points out that Aharon’s sons are Moshe’s because he taught them the Torah, and "whoever teaches the Torah to the son of his fellow, it is as he had begotten him".

Nadav [generous], the firstborn, and
Avihu [He is my father],
El'azar [Elohim has assisted], and
Ithamar [Island of palms--possibly an oasis]. 3. These are the names of Aharon's sons, the anointed cohanim whose hands he consecrated to function [in the priestly office] as cohanim.

Consecrated: or "inaugurated"; literally, "filled". It is only their hands he set apart, not their minds as such, because they were not called to come up with innovative methods. Not their feet, because their walk (with the exceptin of a few specifics) was to be taught to all of Israel and is therefore not unique. Not their hearts, for again all of Israel is called to have hearts set apart to YHWH. But their hands are set apart for a particular task which no one else, even in Israel, may accomplish. Levi’s hands were once used for vengeance for his sister’s honor, and YHWH now allows his sons to guard His honor in a special way. Moshe anointed them, so this is another way in which they are his sons. He gave them some of the authority that YHWH had given him. In this society, the highest-ranking are the servants. (Yahshua reiterates this for his Kingdom in Mat. 20:25ff.) Men rarely recognize servanthood as great, but when one takes it on, he gets to throw off much baggage, and truly comes to appreciate it. No one in Israel is more respected or honored, and no one has more authority than the priests, but their entire life is one of giving--the exact opposite of the world’s way; they never even have a vacation! When Yahshua said that even he (the king of reunited Israel) had come to serve and to give his life as a ransom (Mat. 20:28), the word for "ransom" is from a root meaning "to loosen", in the sense of paying a price and thus gaining ownership of what the former owner now releases his grip on. The kinsman redeemer became the master of the one he redeemed so that the latter could learn how to do things in the right way and thus avoid falling into impossible debt again. Yahshua said that if someone wants to be great, you shold make him your servant, for being the servant of a servant is the best way to learn how to serve. He is to treat the one he redeems as a brother and not as he could a foreign slave. (Lev. 25) Yahshua paid the price, but it does not mean we are no longer slaves; quite the opposite. Being free is not as high an aspiration in Israel as being a servant. Yahshua would not say the greatest are those who serve, and only two verses later say we are no longer servants! He was not speaking here of the redemption by his blood, but his life as a servant. He came to serve so that we too might serve, not so that we would not have to. His kingdom is about taking care of one another, not struggling for power over one another.

All of Aharon’s sons had great names, but it was up to them to live up to them. Two did, and two did not. Unauthorized fire is a symbol of wrong motivation--one having nothing to do with the service of YHWH. Their names mean "generosity" and "El is my Father". So we have to ask, what is our motive for generosity? Or for calling YHWH our Father? Is he just the one who "pays the bills" and El’azar’s name gives credit to Elohim instead of an assumption that one is superior because he has a special calling. And Ithamar’s connection to palm trees, in light of Psalm 92:12, symbolizes one who is righteous and upright. Palm trees also seldom grow in isolation (the first thing YHWH said was bad for human beings, Gen. 2:18), but rather in groups--an emphasis on the gathered community rather than a relationship with YHWH as Father only as individuals. While Aharon was present: After losing his first two sons due to their misdemeanor, he would certainly wish to keep a close watch on everything his remaining sons were doing.

6. "Bring the tribe of Levi near and present them before Aharon the cohen, that they may wait on him.

Bring near: the same Hebrew term used of the offerings that would be brought to these men as soon as their job began. So they themselves were a special gift from Israel to YHWH--not to be consumed on the altar, but to be dedicated to His service for their whole lives. Thus they enabled others to draw near to Him as well, which is the very thing mankind lost when Adam fell into sin. Wait on: has the sense of menial labor, and in modern Hebrew derivation, of accommodating to the needs of another (though they were armed men, not "butlers"). It is putting oneself in a lower position than the other. The root meaning is to contribute to. If we are not contributing to YHWH’s work (not just financially, but with our time and energy), we are not truly worshipping Him. And we can only work out our love for Him by serving one another. Considering that at this time there were only three actual priests in existence, and Aharon and his sons were held accountable if anyone profaned the sanctuary or its implements, so he clearly needed the assistance of many others in the responsibility of keeping defiled persons away from the set-apart area. YHWH considered this so important that a whole tribe was designated to serve them. Since Yahshua’s followers are also held to the same standard of holiness as the Levites were, it follows that we are also contributing to His work as our "Great High Priest". (Heb. 4:14). He has some specially designated by the Father (literally, given to him) for his use. (Yochanan 6:39)

Keep guard: watch over or guard; be in charge of: be responsible to safeguard. They are literally Aharon’s personal bodyguards--a whole tribe designated to make sure the wrong people (those in a state of ritual impurity, a picture of selfish motivation) do not come close so that he will not be defiled and unable to carry out this service for the whole nation. Their job is also to make sure the people have a way to draw near to YHWH. By keeping the Tabernacle in the proper condition so it could reveal YHWH's nature in the best possible way, they did more to look out for the safety and well-being of Israel than did the army (which any nation has). They made sure all Israel was alert and watchful to guard their own gates from the sin that crouches at the door. It is significant that they were not told to guard anyone except those who wanted to draw near to YHWH. Spiritual service: Compare Romans 12:1-2.

Service: literally servitude or slavery (they could not even own land of their own) but not in a mistreated sense. It was an honor to be YHWH’s special slaves. As David said, it is better to be a doorkeeper in His house than to heap up treasure outside. (Ps. 84:10) They are to ensure that the right things are going into the set-apart vessels (which are a picture of what we are to be) and that they are being used in the right way--that no one is putting them to any common use.

10. "And when you appoint Aharon and his sons, they shall guard the priestly office, and anyone else who comes near must be put to death."

Anyone else: a "stranger", but literally, one who has turned aside or become estranged. This may be someone you know well, but who has turned away from what is righteous. They were to be like the Torah written on our gates, symbolized by our beards and tzitziyoth that remind us to keep out anything that is not meant to be in an Israelite’s treasure-store. Put to death: because anything other than YHWH’s order will bring death in one way or another, so YHWH lets the perpetrator be cut down before he affects the whole camp.

12. "Look here! I Myself have selected the Levites from among the sons of Israel in place of the firstborn who opens the womb among the descendants of Israel; therefore the Levites shall be Mine,

In place of: YHWH recognized that the firstborn (who, according to the common practice all over the ancient near east, hitherto had served as priests in their own families) were more needed in their own households, especially if their fathers had died or were no longer capable of bringing the offering. But someone had to serve him, so He chose the Levites as substitutes for having all the firstborn, to come act in the same role at the central sanctuary. Mine: Considering verse 9, which says that they belong to Aharon, this correlates well with Yahshua's complementary statements that all that the Father has are his, and all that he has belong to the Father. (Yochanan 16:15; 17:10) A high percentage of the frontrunners in the return of the Northern Kingdom have turned out to be firstborn, as servants to those who follow, though as we see from numerous accounts in Scripture, if the eldest does not fulfill his calling, YHWH will select someone else.

15. "Number the children of Levi [according] to the households of their fathers, by their clans; every male [of] them from a month old and upward you shall count."

In all the other tribes, men were only counted if they were of age to serve in the army (20 to 50 years of age), but Levites were consecrated nearly from birth. But they had to see one new moon--one complete cycle of "renewing" (for the Hebrew phrase for "a month old" is actually "son of a renewal")--before they were to be counted, because the job of the priest is to make sure Israel is constantly being renewed, bringing her out of darkness and into light again.

17. and these were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, Q'hath, and Merari,

18. and these are the sons of Gershon by their clans: Livni and Shim'i;

"Whiteness" (i.e., purity--Livni) and "renown" (Shim'i--being "heard of") came from the "exile" (Gershon). It is therefore the purpose of our exile to bring forth the same results. (See note on v. 23.)

Q’hath means "an assembly", and his sons’ names, respectively, mean "an exalted people", "anointing oil", "a great society of like-minded people", and "Elohim is my strength". Assembling together is for the purpose of bri/nging forth these qualities, which is why we are not to forsake assembling (Heb. 10:25) on the appointments He has set, for it is how we become strong and unified.

Merari means "bitterness", and bitterness begets "sickness" and "oversensitivity".

22. Those of them who were numbered, according to the count of all the males from a month old and upward--their men totaled 7,500.

23. The families of the Gershonites are to pitch their tents behind the Tabernacle to the west.

This is the side of the Tabernacle on which those under Efrayim's banner encamped. Since each tribe was to camp beside its sign, the Levites associated with their side are part of the sign they represent. So the names of the Gershonites correlate with a prophecy about Efrayim, who is called YHWH’s firstborn (Yirmeyahu 31:9) and therefore has a special connection with priestly duty. One of them is "renown". Tz’fanyah 3:20 says that as king of Israel (which includes Efrayim), YHWH will gave us a name and praise among all the peoples of the earth, specifically at the time when He restores those of us who were taken captive (correlating with Gershon’s name, meaning "exile"). Our exile is meant to bring forth purity (the meaning of Livni, "whiteness", son of Gershon’s name; Yahshua clarifies in Rev. 3:4 and 19:8 that white garments symbolize righteous ACTIONS of the set-apart ones). It did its work once, and when Yahshua came, many of the exiles were willing to receive Him, but we then for the most part turned back to the things that had earned us exile in the first place. But today we have another open door to return from exile, by which Elohim has added to Israel more from the nations into which we were scattered:

25. And the office of the sons of Gershon in the Tent of Appointment is to watch over the Tabernacle, the tent, its covering, and the screen for the entryway of the Tent of Appointment,

Again the Tabernacle (literally, Dwelling Place--which Solomon said the whole world itself could not comprise in a physical sense) and the tent are listed as two different things.

Everything the Gershonites were in charge of was a type of covering. Those in exile, therefore, are responsible to become a covering. Yehudah will not be able to overcome its enemies until we provide one. (Ovadyah 18)

28. In number, all the all the males from a month old and upwards, were 8,600--safeguarders of the duty of the sanctuary.

29. The families of the sons of Q'hath were to pitch their tents on the southward side of the Tabernacle.

Southward: meaning on the "right hand", and therefore connected with the Father’s right hand, where Yahshua is enthroned. (Heb. 1:3) Indeed, the lead tribe on the south was Re’uven, whose name means, "Behold, a Son!" And all the clans of Q’hath (v. 19) have names that relate to the characteristics of His Kingdom. Therefore this camp is symbolic of the Messiah’s Kingdom.

31. and their responsibility was the ark, the table, the menorah [lampstand], the altars, the instruments of the Holy Place with which they serve, the screen, and all the equipment needed to make them work.

The people of the assembly are in charge of the furniture of the Temple, each piece of which is a picture of the unified people of Israel during the Messiah’s Kingdom. Our unity will become a resting-place where YHWH Himself is comfortable, and when we gather on His day of rest, He rests too.

No such special calling seems to have been given to Ithamar, but El’azar was now the firstborn.

34. and those of them who were numbered, according to the count of all the males from a month old and upward, were 6,200.

35. The ruler of the father’s household for the families of Merari is Tzuriel the son of Avikhayil; they were to pitch their tents on the northward side of the Tabernacle.

Tzuriel: "My rock is Elohim"; Avikhayil: "My father is capable". They continue to make this claim, though their fathers are actually sickly and oversensitive (v. 20). Being connected with the banner of Dan and on the "left hand", this side of the camp is symbolic of those in Israel who comprise the house of the counterfeit messiah.

37. and the pillars that [go] all around the courtyard, and their pedestals, and their stakes, and their ropes.

Those who are "bitter" are given the job of caring for what holds everything together, for this is the kind of work that will heal them. Their part had to be in place first when setting up a new camp, before anyone else could do his work. When we take on responsibility for one another, there is no room left for bitterness or sickliness, so if you find yourself becoming depressed, the remedy is to find someone to serve!

It may not have been a tautology to say that the east was where the sun rose; there is some reason scientifically to believe that the direction of the turning of the earth may have changed at some point(s) in history, and the legends of other lands point toward the time of the Exodus, in which case it would truly be a relatively new phenomenon. On this side were only Moshe and the priests themselves, because this was the side where the gateway to the sanctuary lay, and they were charged with the special responsibility of guarding that gate and thus protecting the whole house. (v. 10) Again, Moshe symbolizes the Torah. Linked with the camp of Yehudah, we see in this juxtaposition a prophecy that, while we were in exile, the Jews would indeed be the ones who would preserve for all Israel the Torah and the knowledge of the details of the priesthood, for the Torah is to be on the lips of the priests. (Mal. 2:7) Yehudah is called YHWH’s lawgiver (Psalm 60:9); the men of Yissakhar understood the times to know what Israel should do (1 Chron. 12:32)--also correlating with priests. And from Z’vulun, D’vorah says, come those who wield the scribe’s quill. (Judges 5:14) So there is a reason for each group’s relative location. Overall, those who are closest to YHWH’s dwelling place are those who guard the congregation, the vessels, and the gates and do the service of the set-apart place. The way that we, then, can love YHWH with all of our heart, appetite, and strength is by doing the same things, thus contributing to Yahshua’s work.

Verse 46 regards this as an exact count, but when we add up the numbers in verses 22, 28, and 34, the total comes to 22,300. Jewish tradition says the additional 300 were the firstborn among the Levites, who therefore were not eligible to redeem other firstborn Israelites.

41. "and you shall take possession of the Levites for Me (I am YHWH) in place of the firstborn from among the sons of Israel, and the Levites' cattle instead of all the firstlings of the animals of the descendants of Israel."

This is why the firstborn have to be redeemed. (Ex. 34:20)

43. and all the firstborn males of those who were counted among them, by the total of [their] names, from a month old and upward, were 22,273.

Some commentators point out that this is only 1 out of 27 Israelite men (though only those over 20 were counted in the 603,550, so the actual number of males a month old and upward might have been nearly double that). Some explanations given for this very low ratio of firstborn are that aIsrael had huge families while in Egypt, roughly half of the firstborn would have been female and not counted, and/or that some families lost firstborn sons to the death angel along with the Egyptians because they did not obey the command to put the lamb’s blood on their doors.

45. "Select the Levites in place of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel, and the Levites' cattle in place of their animals; thus the Levites shall be Mine. I am YHWH.

46. "And for those who are to be ransomed--the 273 firstborn of the sons of Israel who exceed the [number of] Levites,

47. "you shall collect five sheqels apiece--[one] for [each] skull [or head]; you shall collect them according to the sheqel of the Sanctuary (twenty gerahs per sheqel).

Five sheqels: the price of a child under five years old who was vowed to YHWH. (Num. 18:15; Lev. 27:6) Only the first generation (with the exception of these 273) did not have to pay the extra five sheqels, because we see Miryam, Yahshua's mother, paying five sheqels after his birth. The first generation did not pay, because the firstborn of the Egyptians paid for them. This was to “balance the books”, catching up the accounts for what was past due, then setting it in order to keep going in the right pattern thereafter. And while we are still without an active priesthood, we might also be able to actually dedicate our sons to YHWH rather than paying to keep them for ourselves. Gerahs: literally, "kernels". Ten gerahs, then, equal half a sheqel. The temple tax is a half sheqel per person, so five sheqels is the price of ten people--or the number considered a quorum to form a whole congregation. The ten are two pairs of five, reminding us that none of us is complete without other members of the Body; five gifts are specifically mentioned as being needed for the bringing of the Body to complete maturity (Eph. 4)--specifically to "grow up into the Head". The text literally only reads, "five sheqels for a skull" (or "head"). "Skull" is gulgoleth in Hebrew, and Yahshua is called the Head of the Body. The price for our ransom was paid at Gulgol'thah--the Place of the Skull! But a congregation (worth five sheqels) buys back the life of one firstborn, and Yahshua--the Second Adam--was a literal firstborn and is called both "the firstborn of all creation" (Col. 1:15) and the "firstborn from the dead" (1:18); we too are called the assembly of the Firstborn (Heb. 12:23), "called out" as the Levites were. Thus the Levites also correlate with a congregation; verse 7 said the Levites' job was to safeguard the Dwelling Place, which is really His Body (v. 25). This is also the job of the congregation. But the root word of gerah is garar--to bring up the cud", so gerah also means "cud". Chewing the cud is a picture of meditating on YHWH's word (Y’hoshua 1:8). Doing so alone yields much learning, but meditating on it together with the rest of the Body will yield many times more growth. It takes a whole congregation to make each person mature, as we see best during the Counting of the Omer between the two Firstfruits festivals. To be considered "cud", something must already have been digested once Regardless of our prmary gifting, each of us needs to have a balance of all of them, so that any of us can teach a young believer--the next time around--to walk in his particular gifting.

49. So Moshe collected the ransom money from those who were in excess of those redeemed by the Levites:

50. From the firstborn of the sons of Israel he collected [this] payment: 1,365 sheqels according to the sheqel of the Sanctuary.

Already they had a reward for giving up all to serve YHWH exclusively.