Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: Levi, disciple, evangelist, tax collector, the 12, the twelve, apostle, sermon on the mount, jewish audience, beatitudes, lord's prayer, great commission, parables, olivet discourse, mount of olives, olivet, synoptic

Showing 226 to 250 of 326 results

226. Portions for the Priests and the Levites

Numbers 18:8-32

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... is holy and may thus serve as priests in the tabernacle (Num. 16:3). The followers of Korah discover to their shock that only the sons of Aaron can do this. In Numbers 17 the miracle of the staff that blossomed underscores that the tribe of Levi and especially the sons of Aaron have been set apart for divine service. Numbers 18:1–7 describes the role of priests and Levites as intermediaries and protectors between God and the people. Although previously neither Moses nor Aaron has taken anything from the ...

227. The Second Census

Numbers 26:1-65

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Joe M. Sprinkle

... Sered, Elon, and Jahleel, see Genesis 46:14; they are not listed in 1 Chronicles 1–9. The 60,500 represents an increase of 3,100 from the first census. 26:28–34 Joseph . . . Manasseh . . . 52,700. Joseph becomes two separate tribes after Levi, the clergy tribe, ceases to be counted among the twelve. Manasseh is the firstborn, though Ephraim receives the firstborn’s blessing (Gen. 48:12–20) and becomes the more prominent tribe. Makir is placed on his grandfather Joseph’s knees before Joseph dies ...

228. “As the Deer Pants for Streams of Water, So My Soul Pants for You, My God”

Psalm 42:1-11, Psalm 43:1-5

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... for vindication (43:1–4) Refrain: Hope (43:5) Historical and Cultural Background The attribution of the psalms to the “sons of Korah” follows a long history of this family in the Jerusalem sanctuary. Korah was the grandson of Kohath, one of the three sons of Levi (1 Chron. 6:22). Korah himself was a victim of God’s wrath that resulted from his rebellion against Moses and Aaron (Num. 16), but his sons were spared (Num. 26:11). They are an example that the sins of the fathers were not always visited ...

229. Gabriel Brings an Answer to Daniel’s Prayer

Daniel 9:20-27

Teach the Text

Ronald W. Pierce

... Sennacherib destroys it.2 The symbolic use of “weeks” or “sevens” to portray history also occurs in the Apocalypse of Weeks (1 Enoch 91; 93), which uses ten “weeks” composed of sevens and threes. Similarly, the Testament of Levi 16–18 refers to “seventy sevens,” while the book of Jubilees mentions ten Jubilee cycles (“seven sevens”). Such schemas are best understood as chronographies (rather than chronologies): a symbolic way of expressing the significance of history.3 Interpretive ...

230. The Rape of Dinah

Genesis 34:1-31

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... incensed. Hamor attempts to appease them with the offer of peaceful coexistence. One more time we encounter an instance of deception in Genesis. Jacob imitates his father, who imitated his father. And now Jacob’s sons imitate their father. Simeon and Levi are the ringleaders. They let on that it is proper for Dinah to marry a Hamorite only if all the males are circumcised. Three days later, when the pain from the operation would be greatest, Dinah’s brothers strike with a vengeance. Holy ...

231. Birth, Preservation, and Preparation of Moses

Ex 2:1-15

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

The parents of Moses, Amram and Jochebed (Exod. 6:20), are both of the tribe of Levi. The extreme measures taken to deal with newborn Israelite males were relatively recent at the time of Moses’s birth because Aaron is three years his elder (Exod. 7:7). Miriam is old enough to watch the basket into which their mother puts Moses after she can no longer hide ...

232. Covenant Lord and His Ministers

Ex 5:22–6:27

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... 6:6) was used by eighteenth-dynasty pharaohs to express their conquering arm. The promise that the Lord will redeem Israel with an “outstretched arm” indicates that the Lord will demonstrate his superiority over Pharaoh. The partial genealogy (6:14–25), focusing on Levi, establishes the position of Moses and Aaron. Jochebed’s name means “the Lord is glory.” She is the first person in the biblical text to carry a name including part of the divine name. The wife of Aaron, Elisheba, is from the ...

233. Attack from Enemies

Exodus 17:8-16

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... the Lord (Deut. 25:17–18). The rod of God raised up by Moses is a visible symbol indicating that the battle is the Lord’s. When Moses tires and his hands sink, the Amalekites prevail until Aaron and Hur, representing the tribes of Levi and Judah, sustain him. Almost uniformly, the church fathers saw in Moses’s symbolic action the uplifted cross of Christ, effecting victory over spiritual enemies (e.g., Epistle of Barnabas 12; Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 90–91; Tertullian, Answer to the Jews ...

234. Covenant Ratification

Exodus 24:1-18

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... the communal meal (24:9–11) the Lord summons Moses to ascend the mountain and receive the tablets of stone on which the Lord has written the torah (24:12). Joshua, not part of the covenant ratification group, accompanies Moses. Aaron and Hur, of the tribes of Levi and Judah, are appointed as caretakers in their absence (24:13–14). Moses is called into the cloud, leaving the human sphere and venturing where no one has ever gone. The glory of God appears to the people as a fire that is consuming (24:15 ...

235. The Golden Calf

Ex 32:1–33:6

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... and this calf came out” (32:24 NKJV). It seems that the destruction of the calf prompts a riot among the people, and the Lord calls on those who are faithful to him to kill the idolaters (32:25–29). The choice made by the tribe of Levi, Aaron’s own tribe, is not an easy one (32:26). Killing three thousand people who are continuing in flagrant disobedience is a horrifying task and a severe punishment for not standing up for righteousness in the first place. The weight of responsibility Aaron must have ...

236. Sanctuary Supplies and Service

Num 7:1–8:26

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... this reminder of Aaron’s blessing at the time when the ritual system was inaugurated (see Lev. 9:22), Numbers 7 fills in some details regarding establishment of the sanctuary: gifts for the sanctuary presented by chieftains on behalf of their twelve tribes (not including Levi). The gifts belong to two main categories. First is a practical offering of carts and oxen that the Levites will use to transport the sanctuary (7:1–9; cf. chap. 4). Second is a set of offerings for the dedication of the altar when ...

237. Exploring Canaan

Num 13:1-33

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... Deut. 1:19). Will the Israelites go ahead and take the land that the Lord has promised to them? According to Numbers, Moses follows the Lord’s command to send a group of scouts or spies, consisting of a leader from each tribe (except Levi), to explore Canaan (13:1–16). Deuteronomy presents the idea of sending scouts to obtain military intelligence as coming from the people and accepted by Moses (1:22–23). The two books do not contradict each other but emphasize different aspects of the same account ...

238. Duties of Priests and Levites

Num 18:1-32

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

God compensates the priests and Levites for their important, hazardous responsibilities and continual vigilance, which would make it hard for those on duty to make a living any other way. Unlike the other tribes, Levi will not inherit a territory in Canaan in order to pursue an agricultural livelihood. Rather, God allots all the tithes (tenth portions; cf. Gen. 14:20; 28:22; Lev. 27:30–32; Neh. 10:38; Mal. 3:8–10) of the Israelites’ agricultural produce to the Levites. To the priests ...

239. Punishment of Midianites

Num 31:1-54

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... or water (31:20–23) supplement the earlier directions for sprinkling the water of purification (Num. 19:14–18). 31:25-54 · Captured humans and animals are divided equally between the army and the rest of the Israelites (cf. 1 Sam. 30:23–25), with levies from each half going to the priests as a contribution to the Lord (one five-hundredth) and to the Levites (one-fiftieth), respectively (Num. 31:25–47; cf. Gen. 14:20—tithe to priest after battle; Num. 18:25–28—Levites receive nine times as ...

240. Moses’ Final Blessing

Deuteronomy 33:1-29

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... tribe is not to become extinct, despite the rebellion of Dathan and Abiram (Num. 16:1–30). The tribe of Judah (33:7), which seems to have assimilated the tribe of Simeon (Josh. 19:1–9), is to have great success against all its enemies. The tribe of Levi (33:8–11) is given unique ministry tasks because of its faithfulness in responding to God’s word, especially when others did not. The tribe of Benjamin (33:12) is specially loved by the Lord, as Jacob loved Benjamin. The tribes of Joseph’s two sons ...

241. Division of the Land East of the Jordan

Joshua 13:8-33

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... tribes is first mentioned, along with the extent of that land. But the comment that the Israelites did not dispossess the Geshurites and Maakathites (13:13) shows that, even for these tribes, their task is far from completed. The arrangement regarding the tribe of Levi is also brought up in 13:14 because, like the two and a half tribes, it also will not be receiving an inheritance in the upcoming land distribution. For it was ordained that instead of land the Levites would receive sacrificial offerings made ...

242. Towns for the Levites

Joshua 21:1-45

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... thus assigned to the Levites is forty-eight (21:41; Num. 35:6); these include the six cities of refuge (21:13, 21, 27, 32, 36, 38; cf. Num. 35:6). The forty-eight towns are basically divided into four allotments. The three major clans that descended from Levi’s three sons, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari (cf. Gen. 46:11; Exod. 6:16–19; Num. 3:17–20; 26:57; 1 Chron. 6:1, 16–19), each receive an allotment. Because the descendants of Aaron the priest, who belong to the Kohathite clan, are entitled to a ...

243. Judah

2 Chronicles 2:1--4:23

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

While the genealogies in chapter 1 traced the chosen line last, the genealogies of Israel in chapters 2–8 place the enduring chosen lines at the beginning (Judah), center (Levi), and end (Benjamin). Although fourth-born of Israel (2:1–2), Judah is given primacy among the tribes, placed in first position, with the longest list. This genealogy of Judah is bracketed by an introduction to all the sons of Judah in 2:3–9 and a short description of ...

244. Northern Transjordan Tribes

1 Chron 5:1-26

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Enclosed within the genealogical structure of the Chronicler’s present-day community (Judah, chaps. 2–4; Levi, chap. 6; Benjamin, chap. 8) are two genealogical sections devoted to the northern tribes (chaps. 5, 7). The first recounts the lines of the northern tribes Reuben and Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh, who settled in the Transjordan (that region east of the River Jordan; Josh. 1:10– ...

245. Northern Cisjordan Tribes

1 Chronicles 7:1-40

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... of the tribes of Dan and Zebulun may be a painful reminder of the consequences of the disobedience of the northern tribes. However, the list of the other northern tribes reveals the Chronicler’s affirmation of these northern groups and hope for a unified Israel rallied around the temple (Levi, chap. 6) and led by a Davidic monarch (Judah, chaps. 2–4). Allusion to an Israel united around Jesus is seen in his calling of the Twelve and the fulfillment of the restoration vision of Joel 2:28–32 in Acts 2.

246. Benjamin

1 Chronicles 8:1-40

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

An elongated genealogy of Benjamin concludes the Israelite genealogies in chapters 2–8, forming with Judah (chaps. 2–4) a bracket around the entire complex at whose center is the tribe of Levi (chap. 6). Benjamin’s place here is related to the fact that it is descendants of Judah and Benjamin who will form the core of the restoration community after the exile (see Ezra 1:5) and that the narrative of Israel in 1 Chronicles 10–2 Chronicles 36 will begin ...

247. Supporting David’s Rule

1 Chron 12:1-40

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... on “all Israel” as evidence of support, with accompanying numerical values provided for all thirteen tribes of Israel (12:24–37) who affirm David’s kingship. The list moves geographically from south to north in the Cisjordan (Judah, Simeon, Levi; Benjamin, Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, Zebulun, Naphtali, Dan, Asher) and then the Transjordan (Reuben, Gad, Manasseh). The numbers used here most likely refer to military units, both large (thousand) and small (hundred). Chapter 12 closes with a picture of ...

248. Army Divisions, Officers and Overseers

1 Chronicles 27:1-15

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... ad hoc force but rather a standing army on defined rotation, able to defend Israel constantly. First Chronicles 27:16–22 lists the leaders of the tribes of Israel, leaving out the two tribes of Gad and Asher, separating Aaron from the rest of Levi, and dividing the Joseph tribes into three groups (Ephraim, half Manasseh, half Manasseh), to bring the total number to thirteen. By placing this list of tribal leaders at the end of his list of material in chapters 23–27, the Chronicler is foreshadowing their ...

249. The List of Returnees

Ezra 2:1-70

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... ; here only four are mentioned, but the totals indicate more than four thousand persons. Thus the priests compose about 10 percent of those returning from exile. In comparison, the number of Levites that return is very small. (Levites were descendants of the tribe of Levi but not from the priestly family of Aaron.) Later, when Ezra endeavors to bring more Levites back from Babylon, only thirty-eight will respond. Could the lack of interest be due to the fact that Levites did not inherit land, since the Lord ...

250. Division of the Land

Ezekiel 48:1-29, Ezekiel 48:30-35

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... covered in the chapter is the reference to the four sides of the city, each of which has three gates bearing the names of three of the tribes (48:30–35). In this system the Ephraim and Manasseh of verses 4–5 have merged into Joseph, and Levi is counted as one of the twelve tribes. Leah’s six sons (or the tribes bearing their names) are positioned at the northern and southern gates. Finally, Ezekiel concludes his prophecy by identifying the name of this twelve-gate city. It is “the Lord is there ...

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