Lev. 1:1-4:20
Hosea 1:10(2:1)-20(2:22)

This post is going to begin my journey through Numbers, and I’m not counting any fewer citings of Messiah in this book. This is just one post in a series going through the Parsha that has been taught by the sages for thousands of years, possibly going back to Ezra. In this journey, I’m looking for the Messiah. I’ve never been so excited to go through the Pentateuch. I’ve read these books before, but for some reason, coming at it this time with my focus on Messiah, it’s like an archaeological treasure trove. Most of what I discover is already known, but I think there are a couple of things I’ve found that I have heard no one else talking about. That doesn’t mean they are original observations, however.

The passages for this portion are cited above. In parentheses are the verse assignments in the Complete Jewish Bible. I’d encourage you to read these passages to understand the fuller context of my commentary.

This portion is called B’midbar (In the Desert), and it was read this year on May 16. Don’t worry, I will catch up! This portion covers the first census of Israel, the substitution of the Levites on behalf of the firstborn of the rest of the tribes of Israel, instructions for camping layout and the order of departure from camp, and instructions for handling the tabernacle during breakdown, including the specific responsibilities delegated to the Gershomites, the Kohathites, and the Merarites (the clans of Levi).

Lift Your Head Up!

1 The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, ² “Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, by clans, by fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, every male, head by head. ³ From twenty years old and upward, all in Israel who are able to go to war, you and Aaron shall list them, company by company (Num. 1:1-3).

The Hebrew of Numbers chapter 1 uses an idiom to describe a census. “The idiom used here for take a census is “lift up the head,” which was poetic and ancient Hebrew for “counting somebody” (Complete Jewish Study Bible, 172).

When Jesus foretold the signs of the end of the age, which included the destruction of the temple, earthquakes, wars and persecution of believers and Jews, signs in heaven and on earth, and the shaking of powers in heaven, He said, “Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Lk. 21:28).

Jesus is telling His disciples to be counted in God’s census like the Israelites who were counted ready for war. As the ancient Israelites were counted in preparation to enter the Promised Land and take it through conflict, believers are told to stand up and be counted before entering their “redemption,” their promise. As the Israelites would inherit the land of Canaan, the meek will inherit the earth (Mt. 5:5). The difference though is that the Israelites of the census would fight people with swords (with the Lord’s help) for their Promised Land. Believers today “do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12).

Just as the Israelites had to lift up their heads to be counted in the census intended for taking the land, believers in Messiah must lift up their heads to be counted in God’s census intended for eternal redemption.

This reminds me of one of Toby Mac’s songs, “Move,” aka “Keep Walkin’.”

I know your heart been broke again (oh-oh-oh-oh)
I know your prayers ain’t been answered yet (oh-oh-oh-oh)
I know you’re feeling like you got nothing left
Well, lift your head
It ain’t over yet, it ain’t over yet, so

Keep walkin’, soldier, keep movin’ on (move)
Keep walkin’, until the mornin’ comes (move)
Keep walkin’, soldier, keep movin’ on, and lift your head
It ain’t over yet, it ain’t over yet

I don’t know if he realized it or not, but Toby Mac captured the Hebrew idiom for census, the suffering of believers in the coming persecution before redemption according to Luke chapter 21, and the metaphor of a soldier for God combating spiritual evil. He even captured the metaphor of hope in God’s promises as when “mornin’ comes,” the “sunrise” (Num. 2:3). What I do know is that I won’t listen to Toby Mac’s song the same way again.

Think about it. Jesus’ ancestor, Nahshon the son of Amminadab, was there leading the census and leading the moving camp of people in the wilderness (See Matthew 1:4 for Jesus’ genealogy).

Also, Jesus was born in the middle of a census:

2 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. ² This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. ³ And all went to be registered, each to his own town. ⁴ And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, ⁵ to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. ⁶ And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth (Lk. 2:1).

Though just a baby, Jesus, in a sense, is counted as one qualified not to conquer the promised land like the census of ancient Israel and not to fight for and serve the Roman empire like Caeser’s census, but to “save his people from their sins” (Mt. 1:21).

The Lion of Judah Leads the Way

Just like the Israelites, believers are called to lift up their heads and be counted among those qualified to fight for Jesus (spiritually, not literally). But every army needs a commander to lead them into battle. That commander, ever since Genesis, has been set up by God as coming from Judah, is reinforced here in Numbers, and is fulfilled in Messiah, the Son of David of the tribe of Judah.

In my previous post “He Approached: to Live among Us,” I explained how Judah was a messianic figure in that the father, Israel (or Jacob) sent him ahead of the brothers to lead the way to Goshen in Egypt, the place they would survive the famine coming upon the known world. Judah also interceded for Benjamin and pledged his life for him, just like how Jesus intercedes for us before the Father and gave His life for our sakes. In Numbers chapter 2, Judah again is set up to lead the way: “Those to camp on the east side toward the sunrise shall be of the standard of the camp of Judah by their companies, the chief of the people of Judah being Nahshon the son of Amminadab” (Num. 2:3). Judah is not only joined to the leadership of all of Israel, but to the sunrise, the direction of the future, hope, new beginnings. The entrance to the tabernacle/temple was on the east side, and tradition says Messiah will enter Jerusalem as King through the East Gate. Jesus, Messiah, is the place of our new hope and new beginnings, our sunrise, our future. Messiah, Jesus, is our only access to the Father in His heavenly dwelling place. My Bible commentary says,

“The tribe of Y’hudah (Judah) was the first to lead the twelve tribes as they went across the Sinai. Rashi on Numbers comments: “As they saw the cloud leaving, the priests would blast on their horns, and the camp of Judah would set off to travel, first. And when they went, they went in the same order by which they camped–the Levites and their wagons in the middle, [with] the flag of Judah to the east” (Complete Jewish Study Bible, 173).

Jesus, of the tribe of Judah, leads us and goes ahead of us into death and eternal resurrection. Romans 6:4 says, “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

Jesus said He goes ahead of us to prepare a place for us:

“² In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (Jn. 14:2-3).

We also follow Jesus as an example in suffering until He leads us to that place:

For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps (1 Pet. 2:21).

²⁴ Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Mt. 16:24).

When Jesus called His disciples, He said, “Follow me” (see Mt. 4:19-25, 9:9; Mk. 1:17-20). When people followed Him, He healed them. But Jesus made it clear that following Him is not easy:

¹⁹ And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” ²⁰ And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (Mt. 8:19-20).

There is great reward in following the Son of David, the Lion of Judah, but there is also significant cost. In different places and in in different times, the costs can be greater than in others. But Jesus will lead those who follow Him to victory over this world. Jacob prophesied over Judah, concerning the last days,

“Judah, your brothers shall praise you;
    your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
    your father’s sons shall bow down before you.
⁹ Judah is a lion’s cub;
    from the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He stooped down; he crouched as a lion
    and as a lioness; who dares rouse him?
¹⁰ The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
    nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until tribute comes to him;
    and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
¹¹ Binding his foal to the vine
    and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,
he has washed his garments in wine
    and his vesture in the blood of grapes.
¹² His eyes are darker than wine,
    and his teeth whiter than milk (Gen 49:8-12).

In Revelation, concerning the last days, the scroll that ushers in the signs and judgements on the earth that ultimately put God’s enemies under foot and give Him all authority and victory is opened by this Lion of Judah:

And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals” (Rev. 5:5).

The King from Judah, again, leads the way into the close of the age, just as Judah led the way in the wilderness.

The Substitutionary Service

¹¹ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹² “Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, ¹³ for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the Lord” (Num. 3:11-13).

God claimed all the firstborn of Israel as His because He struck the firstborn of Egypt, but He substituted the firstborn of Israel with the tribe of Levi. Levi would take that substitutionary role of service through sacrifice on behalf of all Israel. Likewise, Howard and Rosenthal explain we are all a sort of firstborn (whether biologically or not) and responsible for our sin: “in the spiritual sense, all men are firstborn. All are sinners just as Adam and, therefore, are under the curse of death and in need of redemption” (85). We are responsible for our sin like a firstborn is responsible for his father’s house that he inherited. And what we all inherited from our father Adam is sin. But instead of requiring of us the cost of that responsibility, God in His mercy provided a substitute, Jesus, Who became a human and was chosen among His brothers to serve sacrificially in our place just like how the Levites were chosen from among their brothers to serve on behalf of all their brothers.

I know Jesus wasn’t a Levite. That’s not the point. He doesn’t replace or take over the Aaronic priesthood because that was only a copy and shadow of the real and bigger thing God had planned. I have quoted it before, and I will quote it again: “Now if he [Jesus] were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law” (Heb. 8:4). The substitution of Levi for service to the tabernacle instead of the firstborn of all of Israel is a foreshadowing of Jesus’ substitution in our stead, because those who functioned in the tabernacle system “serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things” (Heb. 8:5).

The author of Hebrews says eight times that Jesus is a part of a different order, like the order of Melchizedek (5:6, 5:10, 6:20, 7:1, 7:10-11, 7:15, 7:17) that had no beginning nor end recorded in Scripture, and the order to which Abraham himself, the father of all of Israel (including Levi) tithed. We don’t know much about Melchizedek other than he was a king and a priest of what is today Jerusalem. He was a priest to the Most High God. There is only one other man in the entire Bible Who is blessed and commissioned by God to serve as both a king and priest: the Messiah. Prophesying about his Descendent who would be the Messiah, David wrote, “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek’” (Ps. 110:4). This is the same prophesy that Jesus quotes concerning Himself:

⁴¹ Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, ⁴² saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” ⁴³ He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying,

⁴⁴ “‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
    until I put your enemies under your feet”’?

⁴⁵ If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” ⁴⁶ And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

Jesus quotes the first verse of this Psalm, bringing to remembrance the entire Psalm. The Messiah is the Lord of His ancestor David and of the priestly order before and higher than Aaron. David and Aaron are part of the “shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ” (Col. 2:17).

My shadow is an outline of me, but it is not a full representation of me, and it can look different at different times of the day, but it’s still representative of me. You see me fully and accurately when you look at me. So too, Jesus proceeded from the “Father of lights” (James 1:17) and we saw His shadow as He approached us from the light of heaven. Throughout the whole Bible, He says, “I’m coming to you,” then when Jesus arrives, He says, “Now I’m here” and we saw His face clearly and accurately and fully. Jesus said of Himself, “I tell you, something greater than the temple is here” (Mt. 12:6), and “something greater than Jonah is here” (Mt. 12:41) and “something greater than Solomon is here” (Mt. 12:42). He is saying He is greater than the priesthood, the prophets, and the Davidic kingdom. All those things were part of His shadow, but He is the full version, the real deal. When we saw Him face to face, Jesus said, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (Jn. 14:9). The Apostle John says, “we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth (Jn. 1:14).

Therefore, the substitutionary function of the tribe of Levi as servants of the sacrificial system serves was a foreshadowing that Jesus Christ would take the substitutionary sacrificial role for all people. Instead of demanding from us as the firstborn, God gave His One and only Son (Jn. 3:16).

Not by what My Hands Have Done

⁵¹ When the tabernacle is to set out, the Levites shall take it down, and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up. And if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death (Num. 1:51).

⁹ And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the people of Israel. ¹⁰ And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall guard their priesthood. But if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death” (Num. 3:9-10).

Only those sanctioned by God, the Levites, could minister on behalf of Israel in the tabernacle pertaining to the holy vessels and structure dedicated to the sacrificial system. So too, the Gospel teaches us that only the One sanctioned by God can minister on our behalf before God through His sacrifice for our atonement and forgiveness. The Apostle Paul says,

²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 6:23).

If we approach God to try to minister where we are not fit or equipped or called, then we are destined to die. Years ago, and maybe still today, Ray Comfort (who is Jewish by the way) went out on the streets and asked people if they died today, did they think God would let them into heaven, and why. Most people said that yes, God would let them into heaven because they are good people. But what does the Bible teaches about our own goodness? Isaiah says,

⁶ We have all become like one who is unclean,
    and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.
We all fade like a leaf,
    and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away (Is. 64:6).

People today think they are doing well by their own goodness. Israel thought they were doing pretty well too when they were actually terribly backslidden. Judges tells us, “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (17:6, 21:25). They thought they were doing pretty well, but in fact they were way off the mark. Most people today are just like ancient Israel. They think they are doing just fine as good people, but they are way off. The word sin in Hebrew actually means to miss the mark. In Numbers, if anyone other than the Levites whom God set apart to serve approached the tabernacle, their ultimate end would be death. And even concerning the position of the high priest himself, Zechariah says this,

3 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. ² And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?” ³ Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. ⁴ And the angel said to those who were standing before him, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.” (Zech. 3:1-4).

⁸ Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring my servant the Branch. ⁹For behold, on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven eyes, I will engrave its inscription, declares the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. ¹⁰ In that day, declares the Lord of hosts, every one of you will invite his neighbor to come under his vine and under his fig tree.” (Zech 3:8, 9b-10).

Even the men who served as high priests from the tribe of Levi were as if they wore filthy garments like the sinners Isaiah describes. Isaiah says “all” were unclean. Last I checked, all means all, so that included the high priest who was the ultimate mediator between men and God. How then could Israel atone for its sins? This is exactly what I’ve been talking about through this blog series. Joshua and his “friends…are men who are a sign.” Of what? Of God’s “servant the Branch.” That servant is Messiah. Just like Levi was set apart to serve the tabernacle, Jesus was set apart to serve. He is called God’s Servant, after all. And through Messiah, God removed our iniquities in a single day. When Jesus hung on the cross, He declared, “It is finished” (Jn. 9:13). The Apostle Peter writes, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed” (1 Pet. 2:24). God removed our iniquities from us not only on a single day, but once and for all. The author of Hebrews writes, “He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself” (7:27).

The tribe of Levi and the priests therein are a sign of the Branch, Messiah, Who serves and ministers before God in our place, and in fact is the only One Who can. The Apostle John writes this concerning Messiah’s exclusive role:

5 Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. ² And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” ³ And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, ⁴ and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. ⁵ And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

⁶ And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth (Rev. 5:1-6).

Only Jesus the Branch, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, can conquer sin and death and usher in cleansing and life and forgiveness. Notice how in Zechariah, God sets a stone with seven eyes before Joshua and his friends. In Revelation, that stone with seven eyes is the Lamb, Messiah. In Zechariah, the Hebrew name for Joshua is Yashua. in Hebrew, the name for Jesus is Yeshua. Joshua the high priest is the sign of Messiah even in his very name! You know, I don’t figure this stuff all out before I write. God reminds me through the Spirit of passages, and when I look them up, I am amazed at how connected they are.

And remember how I said Judah led the way when Israel moved in the wilderness? Each tribe traveled under its own flag or banner. Guess what was on the banner of Judah. It was a lion. The lion was lifted up over the tribe of Judah, leading the way that God called them. So too, Jesus, the Lion of Judah, was lifted up (Jn. 3:14-15) and leads us in the way God calls. In this portion, Hosea says, “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her” (2:14 ESV). He called me when I was in my wilderness so that now I can, just as Zechariah said, invite you to come out of the wilderness and into the lushness of His fields and orchards (Zech. 3:10). Just as Judah camped on the east toward the sunrise in the wilderness, and just as God said He would “bring her [Israel] into the wilderness…and make the Valley of Achor [Trouble] a door of hope” (Hos. 2:14-15), God provides us a hope and future in Messiah not because of what we have done, but because of what he did on our behalf.

I Will Never Leave You nor Forsake You

Again, we cannot pass a scheduled reading, it seems, without seeing very clearly spelled out that God is not done with Israel. He has not replaced His people whom He called out of Egypt. To the contrary, Hosea says, “And I will betroth you [Israel] to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy” (2:19, ESV). Last I checked, forever means forever. Yes, He disciplined them severely through the Babylonian exile, as this portion from Hosea describes, but they came back, and then Messiah was born from them. Today, they have come back and are coming back still, and Messiah will come to earth again while they are in their land. Do you see the pattern? Israel has “her vineyards” again (vs. 15), and then Israel will call God her “Husband” (vs. 16). The land still belongs to Israel by God’s decree, God has not forsaken or replaced Israel, and though there is a partial hardening on Israel today (Rom. 11:25), one day the nation will know Jesus as Lord (Hos. 2:20, ESV) as intimately as marriage is intimate. This is the Bible, guys. We cannot quote the prophets when they support our theology and ignore the passages that do not support certain theologies such as replacement theology. God’s relationship with Israel is His sign to the world of His steadfast love and faithfulness. If He gives up on them, why wouldn’t He give up on the Church or the rest of the world for that matter? I am so thankful God has not given up on Israel. That means God has not given up on me or anyone else.

I want to come back around to this portion of Scripture again and talk about the meaning behind the instructions for covering the holy vessels in Numbers chapter 4, but I want to research that more before I get into that.

I pray that you lift up your head, stand and be counted among God’s people, and follow His lead with Messiah at the head. I pray you trust in His substitutionary service to atone for your sins on your behalf. Come under Him, and He will plant you in an eternal vineyard and grove. That’s all for now. Until next time, God bless.

I lift my head up to the east,
Turn my head toward the skies
To what the new daybreak will bring.
I, one who is considered least;
I raise my head and eyes.
Soon, a new song I will sing,
Sit at my wedding feast.
My Beloved’s my Sunrise.
He is my Everything.
My faith will become what I see
When where He is, I’ll also be.

Sources

The Bible. English Standard Version. Biblegateway.com. Accessed 13 Jun. 2026.

The Complete Jewish Study Bible. Peabody, Hendrickson Publishers, 2016.

Howard, Kevin and Marvin Rosenthal. The Feasts of the Lord. Nashville, Thomas Nelson, 1997.