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Numbers 8 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
The cleansing of the Levites was an important step in helping the people understand and respond accordingly to God’s holiness. The acts described were symbols of spiritual cleansing. For example, shaving their bodies would have been a return to innocence and sprinkling purification water and washing their clothing was symbolic of their spiritual cleansing. The Levites were commanded by God to be set apart because they were His own.
When God bought us back with the blood of Christ, it was the final purification cleansing of our sin. His desire is that we would be set apart from the world in order to accomplish His work. The difference here is that the holiness of the Levites was more dependent upon their ability to follow through. The sacrifice of Jesus is solely dependent upon His work. From that sacrifice, the strength of our lives becomes the joy that we have for His work. That joy leads to obedience.
When we read about the ancient rituals of Israel, we must understand that the context was very different. As we will find out in the book of Numbers, the people struggled mightily with trying to live a holy lifestyle. They worshipped idols and continually doubted God. Spiritually, they swung like a yo-yo up and down with their circumstances.
Again, we now have the Holy Spirit in our lives to guide us with rock solid stability. We should have a higher expectation for our spiritual lives as our sins are completely forgiven by the blood of the Lamb. Though we do sometimes fall into the same spiritual rollercoaster that Israel found itself in, we tend to forget all the power which God has given us to live a righteous and holy life. He has accomplished so much that we often become complacent and take our freedom for granted. When we read the lives of ancient Israel, it should bring us to a place where we marvel at what God has decided to do for us and through us in this current church age.