1 And the Lord spake vnto Moses, saying,
2 Speake vnto Aaron, and say vnto him, When thou lightest the lampes, the seuen lampes shall giue light, ouer against the candlesticke.
3 And Aaron did so; he lighted the lampes therof, ouer against the candlestick, as the Lord comanded Moses.
4 And this worke of the candlestick was of beaten gold, vnto the shaft thereof, vnto the flowres thereof was beaten worke: according vnto the paterne which the Lord had shewed Moses, so he made the candlesticke.
5 ¶ And the Lord spake vnto Moses, saying,
6 Take the Leuites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them.
7 And thus shalt thou doe vnto them, to cleanse them: sprinkle water of purifying vpon them, and let them shaue all their flesh, and let them wash their clothes, and so make themselues cleane.
8 Then let them take a yong bullocke with his meat offering, euen fine flowre mingled with oyle, and an other yong bullock shalt thou take for a sinne offering.
9 And thou shalt bring the Leuites before the Tabernacle of the Congregation; and thou shalt gather the whole assembly of the children of Israel together.
10 And thou shalt bring the Leuites before the Lord, and the children of Israel shall put their hands vpon the Leuites.
11 And Aaron shall offer the Leuites before the Lord for an offring of the children of Israel, that they may execute the seruice of the Lord.
12 And the Leuites shall lay their hands vpon the heads of the bullocks: and thou shalt offer the one for a sinne offering, and the other for a burnt offering vnto the Lord, to make an atonement for the Leuites.
13 And thou shalt set the Leuites before Aaron, and before his sonnes, and offer them for an offering vnto the Lord.
14 Thus shalt thou separate the Leuites from among the children of Israel: and the Leuites shalbe mine.
15 And after that, shall the Leuites goe in; to doe the seruice of the Tabernacle of the Congregation: and thou shalt clense them, and offer them for an offering.
16 For they are wholly giuen vnto me, from among the children of Israel: in stead of such as open euery wombe, euen in stead of the first borne of all the children of Israel, haue I taken them vnto me.
17 For all the first borne of the children of Israel, are mine, both man and beast: on the day that I smote euery first borne in the land of Egypt, I sanctified them for my selfe.
18 And I haue taken the Leuites for all the first borne of the children of Israel.
19 And I haue giuen the Leuites as a gift to Aaron, and to his sonnes, from among the children of Israel, to do the seruice of the children of Israel, in the Tabernacle of the Congregation, and to make an atonement for the children of Israel: that there bee no plague among the children of Israel, when the children of Israel come nigh vnto the Sanctuarie.
20 And Moses and Aaron, and all the Congregation of the children of Israel did to the Leuites according vnto all that the Lord commanded Moses, concerning the Leuites, so did the children of Israel vnto them.
21 And the Leuites were purified, and they washed their clothes: and Aaron offered them as an offering before the Lord, and Aaron made an atonement for them to cleanse them.
22 And after that, went the Leuites in, to do their seruice in the Tabernacle of the Congregation before Aaron and and before his sonnes: as the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Leuites, so did they vnto them.
23 ¶ And the Lord spake vnto Moses, saying,
24 This is it that belongeth vnto the Leuites: from twentie and fiue yeeres old, and vpward, they shall goe in to waite vpon the seruice of the Tabernacle of the Congregation.
25 And from the age of fiftie yeeres they shall cease waiting vpon the seruice thereof, and shall serue no more:
26 But shall minister with their brethren in the Tabernacle of the Congregation, to keepe the charge, and shall doe no seruice: thus shalt thou doe vnto the Leuites, touching their charge.
The lamps of the sanctuary. (1-4) Consecration of the Levites, and their service. (5-26)1-4 Aaron himself lighted the lamps, thus representing his Divine Master. The Scripture is a light shining in a dark place, 2Pe 1:19|. A dark place even the church would be without it; as the tabernacle, which had no window, would have been without the lamps. The work of ministers is to light these lamps, by expounding and applying the word of God. Jesus Christ is the only Light of our dark, sinful world; and by his atonement, by his word and the Holy Spirit, he diffuses light around.
5-26 Here we have directions for the solemn ordination of the Levites. All Israel must know that they took not this honour to themselves, but were called of God to it; nor was it enough that they were distinguished from others. All who are employed for God, must be dedicated to him, according to the employment. Christians must be baptized, ministers must be ordained; we must first give ourselves unto the Lord, and then our services. The Levites must be cleansed. They must be clean that bear the vessels of the Lord. Moses must sprinkle the water of purifying upon them. This signifies the application of the blood of Christ to our souls by faith, that we may be fit to serve the living God. God declares his acceptance of them. All who expect to share in the privileges of the tabernacle, must resolve to do the service of the tabernacle. As, on the one hand, none of God's creatures are his necessary servants, he needs not the service of any of them; so none are merely honorary servants, to do nothing. All whom God owns, he employs; angels themselves have their services.
Commentary by Matthew Henry, 1710.