Original Meaning

FORWARD LIGHTING. It is not enough to have light. You also need direction. So the detachable lamps in the tabernacle must be set up so that their light is directed in front of the lampstand, that is, into the central area of the outer sanctum and illuminating the golden table and incense altar (8:1–4).

This brief passage, where the tabernacle lamps are mentioned for the last time in the Pentateuch, repeats the divine instruction in Exodus 25:37, where the lamps appear for the first time. Numbers 8:3 provides the only new information: Aaron complies with the instruction after inauguration of the sanctuary, when he can enter the sacred tent (cf. Lev. 9:23). Notice that Numbers 8:1–4 adds to the links between this part of the book of Numbers and earlier information relating to the sanctuary (see Original Meaning section of Num. 7).

Numbers 8:1–4 logically follows 7:89, which reports fulfillment of the Lord’s promise to speak with Moses from between the cherubim over the ark of the covenant (cf. Ex. 25:22). This arrangement gives the impression that the first command God gave Moses in this way was reiteration of the prescription for placement of the lamps. In any case, Numbers 7–8 refers to initiation of all three major portions of the sanctuary: the outer altar (7:10–88), the inner sanctum (v. 89), and the outer sanctum (8:1–4).

Separating the Levite work force. Not surprisingly, before the Levites can begin their sacred duties of transporting the sanctuary and its sancta (8:5–19; cf. ch. 4), they must be ritually purified and set apart from the other Israelites. First, Moses must sprinkle “the water of cleansing on them; then have them shave their whole bodies [cf. Lev. 14:8–9] and wash their clothes, and so purify themselves” (Num. 8:7).

Sprinkling “water of cleansing/purification” (mey ḥaṭṭaʾt), that is, “water of lustration” (mey niddah) that includes ashes of the red cow purification offering (ḥaṭṭaʾt, 19:9), remedies any corpse contamination that the Levites may have incurred (cf. 19:11–20). Diametrically opposed to holiness/life, this kind of severe impurity defiles the sanctuary even from a distance if it is not removed (19:13, 20).

Unlike the ordination of the priests (cf. Lev. 8), who are uniquely qualified to directly contact the sancta, the authorization service for the Levites does not include consecration with anointing oil. Members of the Israelite community are to lay their hands on the Levites, presumably to designate them as the ones who will perform the work of the sanctuary as representatives of the community (Num. 8:9–11). Then Aaron is to dedicate the Levites as an “elevation offering” (tenupah) before the Lord from the Israelites (8:11). Since Aaron cannot literally elevate the Levites as he does portions of a sacrificial animal (cf. Lev. 9:21), this “ritual must be presumed to have been executed only in symbolic form.”1 As part of the service, the Levites are also to receive expiation (kipper) through the sacrifice of two bulls as a purification-burnt offering pair (Num. 8:12; cf. 8:8).

Verses 14–19 explain the work of the Levites at the sanctuary: They belong to the Lord, to serve the priests in place of the firstborn males of all the other tribes (cf. 3:6–9, 12–13, 41, 45). The Levites are to do the work of the sanctuary on behalf of the rest of the Israelites and are to ransom (kipper) them so that no plague will strike the community if some Israelites approach (Qal of ngš, synonym of qrb) the sanctuary, that is, cross boundaries of authorized access (cf. Qal of qrb—1:51; 3:10, 38; 18:7).2

We think of this kind of ransom for life as accomplished through animal sacrifice (Lev. 17:11) or the half shekel ransom at the time of a census (Ex. 30:11–16). In fact, by leaning their hands on the Levites and “elevating” them (see above), the Israelites and Aaron, respectively, treat the Levites as if they are a corporate sacrificial victim. Although they are not offered on the Lord’s altar, they are responsible for guarding the sanctuary against encroachment, literally with their lives. If they fail to stop this evil by putting the offender(s) to death (Num. 1:51, etc.; see above), they will bear the culpability (cf. 18:23), but the other Israelites will be spared. Thus “the Levites are ransom for Israel, a lightning rod to attract God’s wrath upon themselves whenever an Israelite has encroached upon the sancta.”3

Expiation (kipper) for the Levites by means of a purification offering, supplemented by a burnt offering (cf. Num. 8:12), purifies (Piel of ṭhr) them (v. 21), that is, the offerers, not part of the sanctuary.4 Is this cleansing accomplished by the purification offering rather than the other procedures? After all, the Piel of ṭhr in verse 21 forms an inclusio with verses 6–7, at the beginning of the divine instructions to Moses for purification of the Levites: “Take the Levites from among the other Israelites and make them ceremonially clean [Piel of ṭhr]. To purify [Piel of ṭhr] them, do this: Sprinkle the water of cleansing on them. . . .”5 However, at the end of verse 21, “to purify [Piel of ṭhr] them” states the purpose of the sacrifices performed by Aaron, not the sprinkling of water by Moses.6

The end of Numbers 8 specifies the ages of men included in the Levite work force: twenty-five to fifty (8:23–26). After the age of fifty a Levite is to retire from the strenuous work of moving the sanctuary, but he can still assist with guard duty (root šmr, “guard”; 8:26; cf. 3:7). This passage is at variance with chapter 4 (vv. 3, 23, 30, 35, 39, 43, 47—seven times), where the census of the Levite work force ranges from thirty to fifty years of age. The rabbis attempted to harmonize by supposing that the first five years (i.e., ages 25–30) constituted a training period.7 When the sanctuary later found a permanent resting place at Jerusalem and the Levites’ job description changed from carrying it to less rigorous duties at the temple, David instructed that they be counted from age twenty, with no upper age limit (1 Chron. 23:24–27; cf. Ezra 3:8; 2 Chron. 31:17).8

Bridging Contexts

THE LIGHT OF GOD. Numbers 8:1–4 tells us that the magnificent golden lampstand in the sanctuary is not simply an ornament and its ritual is not merely for the sake of going through the motions. The lamps function as the tabernacle’s source of light. As such, they must be aimed the right way.

Aside from the practical benefit of supplying light for the priests to properly perform their ritual duties at the incense altar and the golden table, the lamps are the Lord’s light—not that he needs a human source of light, but to symbolize the fact that the tabernacle is his residence and Somebody is home! Furthermore, his light stays on all night, from evening until morning (Ex. 27:21; Lev. 24:3). So the Lord is awake all night. He is not suffering from insomnia; rather, he is simply not a human being who requires sleep. As Psalm 121:4 puts it: “See, the guardian of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps!” (NJPS).

It was a tremendous boon for Israel to have a divine Protector who was vigilant twenty-four hours a day every day of the year. Any child or adult could wake up anytime in the night, look toward the tabernacle, and be strangely warmed by the comforting glow from God’s lamps under the Shekinah cloud that shone like fire from evening until morning (Num. 9:15). “Lead, Kindly Light, amid the circling gloom, Lead Thou me on!”9

Just as the Lord himself was the original Source of light at Creation and established the sun, moon, and stars to provide regular day and night cycles of light from the sky (Gen. 1:3–5, 14–19), he is the Source of light in the cloud over the tabernacle and ordains his lamps to regularly illuminate it. Although darkness prevails during the night, the Creator has provided “pilot lights” to give assurance that full light will appear in the morning, when he will supply “daily bread,” represented by the “bread of the Presence” on the golden table in the sanctuary (see comments on Lev. 24:5–9).

“Light” from God is a powerful biblical metaphor for his protection and guidance: “You are my lamp, O LORD; the LORD turns my darkness into light” (2 Sam. 22:29). “How I long for the months gone by, for the days when God watched over me, when his lamp shone upon my head and by his light I walked through darkness!” (Job 29:2–3). “You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light” (Ps. 18:28). In these passages the Lord supplies “light” through the “darkness” of life in several ways: He is the “lamp” (2 Samuel), has the “lamp” (Job), and sustains the human “lamp” (Psalms and Proverbs).10

Once God’s “light” comes to represent his guidance, it is natural for it to symbolize his word/communication, by which he directs human beings: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path” (Ps. 119:105; cf. Prov. 6:23; 2 Peter 1:19).

For the Israelite camp in the desert, the connection between God’s light and his “word” is literal. Movements of the divine glory cloud—settling on the tabernacle or rising from it—guide their journeys (Num. 9:15–23), and the Lord communicates with Moses from between the cherubim over the ark (7:89), where his glorious Presence is enthroned (1 Sam. 4:4; 6:2).

Thus far we have found God’s light connected to his creatorship and his word. John 1:3–5, 14 applies this cluster of concepts to Christ:

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. . . .

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. . . .

Through his incarnation, the divine Word (Christ) came to dwell on earth (John 1:14), just as the ancient Israelite tabernacle was for God to live among his people (Ex. 25:8). This is why Christ could speak of himself as a temple (John 2:19–22).

Just as light came from the Israelite tabernacle, Christ spoke of himself as “the light of the world” and promised, “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). Just as the divine “lamp” (2 Sam. 22:29) sustains the human “lamp” (Ps. 18:28; see above), Christ’s holy life, which is in him rather than borrowed and is “the light of men” (John 1:4), supplies human beings with “the light of life.”

This is not only “light” for guidance and safety in the present life, but light that provides more lasting life, which overcomes the darkness of mortality (cf. Christ as water and bread of eternal life in John 4:14; 6:51). For human beings to have an eternal light of life, they must have a continuous supply of power. Even today our lights depend on a constant flow of electricity. God’s oil lamps on the golden lampstand in the Israelite tabernacle required a regular supply of olive oil from the Israelites (Lev. 24:2–4), and they had to be refilled every day. If the priests failed to maintain them in this way, they would go out (cf. Matt. 25:1–13). To adapt an old beverage commercial, when you’re out of oil, you’re out of light!

The vision of Zechariah 4 presents the solution to the problem of maintaining unfailing “light”:

He asked me, “What do you see?”

I answered, “I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lights on it, with seven channels to the lights. Also there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.” I asked the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?”

He answered, “Do you not know what these are?”

“No, my lord,” I replied.

So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.”

As was in the tabernacle, Zechariah sees a lampstand with seven lamps. But in this vision, olive trees on either side directly and reliably provide a continuous flow of oil to the lamps (cf. Zech. 4:11–12). The meaning is: “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit” (4:6). So Zechariah associates continuous lamplight with God’s Spirit. So does John, when he describes God’s heavenly temple: “Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God” (Rev. 4:5).

According to the end of the Bible, night itself will become history (Rev. 21:25; 22:5), eternal day will dawn, and “pilot lights” will be eclipsed and obsolete (21:23; 22:5). There is no need for a temple in the new Jerusalem “because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple” (21:22). Nor does the city need illumination from the sun or moon, “for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp” (21:23). Dwelling there will be like living behind the veil with the Lord in the awesome Most Holy Place. Not by coincidence, the dimensions of the city form a perfect cube (Rev. 21:16), as did the dimensions of the Israelite inner sanctum (1 Kings 6:20).11

Contemporary Significance

SHINING THE RIGHT direction. The idea of Zechariah 4 that God’s Spirit is a constant, dependable source of “light” accords with the New Testament role of the Spirit in providing illumination, teaching, and guidance on behalf of Christ (John 14:25–26; 16:7–15) and power to witness for him (Acts 1:8). Acts 2 records the commencement of Christ’s promise of power from the Spirit: On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit came upon the Christian believers, visibly manifested in the form of tongues of fire and enabling them to speak in other tongues/languages (2:1–4). Whereas light from flames in lamps had earlier metaphorically represented God’s Word (see above), now his Spirit gave flames that empowered literal transmission of his Word.

Each Christian, filled with the Spirit (Acts 2:4), was like a lamp shining forth with light in the darkness, a sign of “daybreak” ahead! Every church congregation was like a golden lampstand, faithfully tended by Christ as High Priest (Rev. 1:12–20; cf. 2:1–5). Although light and “voltage” come from above and there is no longer a need to maintain literal lamps with olive oil, Christians have a role to play by staying “plugged in” to their divine Source. If they become “unplugged” by forsaking their “first love,” contrary to the Spirit, who freely pours love into human hearts (Rom. 5:5), they will lose their light (Rev. 2:4–5).

When Christians have light, they should let it out where it will do the most good. If you walk down the trail from Vernal Falls in Yosemite National Park at night and you have a flashlight but others don’t, you shine it where it can guide their feet as well as your own. Likewise, it is not enough to have spiritual or intellectual illumination. It must be focused in a direction that is beneficial to others. History is littered with the bleaching bones of unfortunate folk who failed to receive vital direction from those who have had access to “light.”

Just as the lamps in the tabernacle had to be pointed forward into the open rather than back into the corner (Num. 8:1–4), Jesus said (Matt. 5:14–16):

You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Here the “light” refers to “good deeds,” the point of which is not legalism or glorification of human piety, but showing the way to the divine Source of all that is in harmony with a truly loving way of life. Similarly, just before his arrest, Jesus prayed for his disciples and future generations of believers “that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:21). Loving unity of this magnitude, which can only come from God, cannot be hidden. It is a “tracer” that unerringly leads back to the Heart of the universe.

Deacons. Just as Levites were specially set apart to do tasks for the benefit of the priests and the Israelite community (Num. 3:6–7; 8:5–22), deacons were set apart to serve the Christian community by doing administrative tasks so that the apostles could be free for spiritual leadership (Acts 6:1–6), devoting themselves “to prayer and the ministry of the word” (6:4). Just as the dedication of Levites involved laying hands on them before the Lord and standing them before the priests (Num. 8:10, 13), when the early church chose deacons, “they presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them” (Acts 6:6).12

Of course, there are important differences between Levites and deacons. Setting the deacons apart included prayer but not ritual purification, an “elevation offering,” or animal sacrifices (see Num. 8). More significantly, the deacons were dedicated to assist apostles by dealing with matters such as daily distribution of food (Acts 6:1), not to help priests by taking care of the infrastructure for ritual worship at a sanctuary/temple.

The dedications of Levites and deacons reinforce the concept that seemingly mundane tasks for the Lord and his community are sacred. Both were especially chosen for particular reasons (Ex. 32:25–29; Acts 6:3, 5), and their jobs were important enough to demand divine qualification. Deacons were chosen because they were “full of the Spirit and wisdom” (Acts 6:3; cf. 6:5—“full of faith and of the Holy Spirit”). So it is not so surprising that in Acts 7 and 8 we find two deacons—Stephen and Philip—to be highly effective evangelists in addition to their practical administrative work. While administration is not as directly spiritual in nature, it too is sacred and must be done well because it is service for the Lord’s holy community, who form “a royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:9).

Unlike the Levites, the early Christian deacons did not encounter the mortal peril of close proximity to most sacred objects. However, they were commissioned to deal with danger of a different sort: dissension between social groups that threatened to rend the unity of the infant church (Acts 6:1). Rather than bringing all members of their communities into harm’s way, the Israelites and Christians designated special forces (Levites and deacons, respectively) to carry out hazardous missions.

Modern communities deploy qualified persons, who know what they are doing, to perform dangerous tasks—such as firefighting, working in nuclear reactors, and combating terrorism—effectively and as safely as possible. A church community can also have its dangers, and we generally think of the pastor as the one qualified and paid to address them. However, social and administrative problems can drain a pastor’s time and energy so that he or she has little left for crucial spiritual leadership. Why not return to the early Christian solution by resuscitating the original job description of deacons? They were administrators and social conflict managers, not simply ushers. As such, they freed spiritual leaders to spiritually lead. Partly as a result of this, the church experienced explosive growth.