Numbers 3 - Levites to Be Priesthood

Summary https://marksbiblejourney.blogspot.com/2020/04/numbers.html
"Aaron's sons were Nadaab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.  Nadab and Abihu died because they disobeyed God's direct order as priests.  Ithamar and Eleazar marry and have children.  Also, the line of priests can be traced back to them.  The Levites are assigned to Aaron and his two remaining sons to help with the duties related to the tent of meeting.  Levi was Jacob's third born son.  Levi's sons were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.  Clans originated from each of Levi's sons based on the children and wives that they had.
    Gershon's sons:  Libni and Shimei
    Kohath's Sons:  Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel
    Merari's sons:  Mahli and Mushi
    The clans of Levites became known henceforth as:
    Libnite and Shimeite clan from Gershon
    Amramite, Izharite, Hebronite, and Uzzielite clans from Kohath
    Mahlite and Mushite clans from Merari
There were 22, 000 Levite males one month old or more that Moses and Aaron registered.  God also tells Moses to register every firstborn male of the Israelites one month old or more.  The total Israelite first born males were 22,273.  The Levites were taken to serve all off Israel as the tent of meeting and tabernacle keepers.  They had many priestly duties.  The Levites can be likened to a sacrifice as they are responsible for redeeming people and the atonement of sins.  As a result, God commanded that there be a redemption price for the number of first born Israelite males greater than the whole Levite clan.  The was 273 more firstborn Israelites than the males of the Levite clan.  This had a redemption price of 1365 shekels.  This "redemption price" money went to Aaron and his sons in order for them to carry out their priestly duties."

http://www.doodlethroughthebible.com/2015/10/numbers-3.html

Numbers 3 Amplified Bible (AMP)

https://www.biblegateway.com

Levites to Be Priesthood

3 Now these are the records of the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day when the Lord spoke [by special revelation] with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests who were anointed, whom Aaron [a]consecrated and ordained to minister in the priest’s office. 4 But Nadab and Abihu died in the presence of the Lord when they offered strange (unholy, unacceptable, inappropriate) fire before the Lord in the Wilderness of Sinai; and they had no sons. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests [b]in the presence and under the supervision of Aaron their father.

• CONSECRATED, ORDAINED. Everything and everyone that pertains to the service of God needs to be consecrated, or made holy, because God is Holy. The Levites were specially chosen to serve the Lord, in behalf of the other 11 tribes of Israel. Each tribe, and each person was precious and belongs to God, but not everyone can be a priest or a High Priest. To us, in the body of Christ, not everyone can be a Pastor or a minister of God, because we all have a different calling or a role to play in the advancement of the kingdom of God.

"There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills." 1 Corinthians 12:4-11

"But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”
Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way." 1 Corinthians 12:20-21,27-31

5 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near and present them before Aaron the priest, so that they may serve him. 7 They shall carry out the duties for him and for the whole congregation before the Tent of Meeting, doing the service of the tabernacle. 8 They shall also take care of all the furnishings and utensils of the Tent of Meeting, and [attend to] the duties of the Israelites, doing the service of the tabernacle. 9 You shall give the Levites to Aaron and to his sons [as servants and helpers]; they are to be given wholly to him from among the Israelites. 10 So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall observe and attend to their priesthood; but the layman (non-Levite) who approaches [the holy things] shall be put to death.”

http://cookancestry.com/Biblical%20Genealogy/12.htm

• GOOD STEWARDS. The Levites were called to be great stewards of the Tabernacle, because it is holy, and it is where God will dwell or manifest His presence. It's amazing how even the simplest things like 'taking care of all the furnishings and utensils' inside the Tabernacle was mentioned and/or emphasized by God, signifying that 'every' work was important to God. As Christians, we are also called to be good stewards of every blessing or calling that God has given us-- for His glory and honor.
  

11 Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the sons of Israel instead of and as a substitute for every firstborn, that is, the first that opens the womb among the Israelites. So the Levites shall be Mine, 13 for all the firstborn are Mine. On the day that I killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for Myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and animal. They shall be mine; I am the Lord.”

• A PERSONAL GOD. When God spoke to Moses and the Israelites, He was very personal-- "I have taken the Levites", "the Levites shall be Mine", "all the firstborn are mine", "I consecrated for Myself all the firstborn in Israel." Wow! Indeed, everything belongs to God, because everything comes from God. Even to His Son Jesus, God was personal-- and even to us, who have believed and accepted Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, God is a personal God and He knows everything about us.
• JESUS AS THE HIGH PRIEST AND THE FIRSTBORN. The Levites as a priestly tribe and God claiming the firstborn as His own, was a perfect picture or foreshadowing of who Christ Jesus is.
  

"But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine." Isaiah 43:1

"When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:16-17

14 Then the Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15 “Number the sons of Levi by their fathers’ households, by their families (clans). You shall number every male from a month old and upward.” 16 So Moses numbered them just as he was commanded by the word (mouth) of the Lord. 17 These are the [three] sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 18 These are the names of the [two] sons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shimei; 19 and the [four] sons of Kohath by their families: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel; 20 and the [two] sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites by their fathers’ households.

https://www.hebrew4christians.com/Scripture/Parashah/Summaries/Korach/korach.html

21 Of Gershon were the families of the Libnites and of the Shimeites. These are the families of the Gershonites. 22 The males who were numbered, every male from a month old and upward totaled 7,500. 23 The families of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle on the west, 24 and the leader of the fathers’ households of the Gershonites was Eliasaph the son of Lael.

Duties of the Levites
25 Now the responsibilities of the sons of Gershon in the Tent of Meeting involved the tabernacle and the tent, its covering, and the curtain for the doorway of the Tent of Meeting, 26 and the hangings of the courtyard, the curtain for the doorway of the courtyard which is around the tabernacle and the altar, its tent ropes, and all the service [c]concerning them.
27 Of Kohath were the families of the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites; these are the families of the Kohathites. 28 The males who were numbered, every male from a month old and upward totaled [d]8,600, attending to the duties of the sanctuary. 29 The families of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle, 30 and the leader of the fathers’ households of the families of the Kohathites was Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. 31 Now their responsibilities involved the ark, the table [on which the bread of the Presence was placed], the lampstand, the altars, the utensils of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and the curtain, and all the service concerning them. 32 Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, was chief of the leaders of the Levites; he supervised those who performed the duties of the sanctuary.
33 Of Merari were the families of the Mahlites and the Mushites; these are the families of Merari. 34 The males who were numbered, every male from a month old and upward totaled 6,200. 35 The leader of the fathers’ households of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. The Merarites were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. 36 Now the appointed responsibilities of the sons of Merari involved the frames of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its sockets or bases, and all the equipment, and all the service concerning them, 37 and the pillars around the courtyard with their bases and their pegs and their cords (tent ropes).
38 Now those to camp before the tabernacle toward the east, before the Tent of Meeting, toward the sunrise, were to be Moses, and Aaron and his sons, performing the duties of the sanctuary for whatever was required of the Israelites; and the [e]layman (non-Levite) who approached [the sanctuary] was to be put to death. 39 All the men of the Levites whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the [f]command of the Lord, by their families, every male from a month old and upward, were 22,000.

Firstborn Redeemed
40 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Number every firstborn male of the Israelites from a month old and upward, and [g]make a list of their names. 41 You shall take the Levites for Me instead of and as a substitute for all the firstborn among the Israelites. I am the Lord; and you shall take the cattle of the Levites instead of and as a substitute for all the firstborn among the cattle of the Israelites.” 42 So Moses numbered all the firstborn among the Israelites, just as the Lord had commanded him; 43 and all the firstborn males from a month old and upward as numbered were 22,273 [273 more than the Levites].
44 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “Take the Levites [for Me] instead of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. And the Levites shall be Mine. I am the Lord. 46 For the ransom (redemption price) of the 273 of the firstborn of the Israelites who outnumber the Levites, 47 you shall take five shekels apiece, per head, you shall take them in terms of the sanctuary shekel (the shekel is twenty gerahs), 48 and give the money, the ransom (redemption price) of those who outnumber the Levites to Aaron and to his sons.” 49 So Moses took the ransom (redemption) money from those who were in excess, beyond those ransomed by the Levites; 50 from the firstborn of the Israelites he took the money in terms of the sanctuary shekel, 1,365 shekels. 51 Then Moses gave the ransom money to Aaron and to his sons at the command of the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Footnotes:

Numbers 3:3 Lit filled their hand.
Numbers 3:4 Lit before the face.
Numbers 3:26 Lit of it.
Numbers 3:28 Some suspect that this count should be 8,300 which, when added to the 7,500 of v 22 and the 6,200 of v 34 gives the total of 22,000 in v 39. Unless the figure there was rounded, the number here may have been a copyist’s error (omitting just one letter between two that are the same in Hebrew).
Numbers 3:38 This ban against “the layman” or “the unauthorized” from coming near the sanctuary (the sacred tent, the tabernacle proper) should not be construed as discrimination against people who were not Israelites. It included everyone except the ordained descendants of Levi of the house of Aaron. The tabernacle proper was made up of two small rooms which no one except the priest or priests who had the assignment was ever to enter. The congregation entered the outside enclosure (the courtyard) only. This was true also of the later temples. Neither Jesus nor any of his disciples or Paul ever entered the sanctuary. When Jesus “taught in the temple” or “entered into the temple,” the Greek word invariably indicates that He was in the temple enclosure (hieron) and not in the sanctuary (naos). A violation of this ban is recorded in 2 Chr 26:16-21. King Uzziah attempted to enter the sanctuary to burn incense. While he was being confronted and restrained by Azariah the priest and eighty others he broke out in leprosy. He remained a leper for the rest of his life.
Numbers 3:39 Lit mouth.

Numbers 3:40 Lit take the number of.

After reading, I always check out the Study Guide Commentary from David Guzik (very helpful!):   

c. The sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he consecrated to minister as priests: It is important to realize that the priests were only one small family among the Levites; to be a priest and a Levite were not the same thing at all. Only those who were descendants of Aaron could be priests.

c. To do the work of the tabernacle: In some ways, being a priest was far more visible and perhaps "glamorous" than being a Levite. But the service of the Levites made the work of the priests possible, and was seen by God as having equal value.
i. The outsider who comes near shall be put to death: If a Levite grew jealous, and decided they wanted to do the work of a priest, it was strictly forbidden - it was an affront to God's order and organization.

 a. I Myself have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn: The firstborn belonged to God; a firstborn lamb from a ewe would be given to the LORD. God didn't want human sacrifice, so He took the tribe of Levi as Israel's firstborn.

 b. Moses, Aaron, and his sons, keeping charge of the sanctuary: God's order and organization extends to certain jobs for certain people to do. The families of the Levites had certain callings they were to fulfill. There was no one man or family to do everything; God made them dependent on one another to accomplish the work.

 a. Number all the firstborn males of the children of Israel: The firstborn - which was always thought to be the best and the favored - always belongs to God; so instead of giving the firstborn of Israel to God in sacrifice, the tribe of Levi was "given" to God as in place of each of the firstborn sons of Israel.

Reference and credits to https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/StudyGuide2017-Num/Num-3.cfm © 2004 David Guzik  

Numbers 2 - Arrangement of the Camps

Summary https://marksbiblejourney.blogspot.com/2020/04/numbers.html
"God tells Moses and Aaron how the camps of the different tribes of Israel are to be laid out around the tent of meeting.  The Israelites camped by their respective banners and moved out the same way, each man by his clan and by his ancestral house.  The tabernacle was put in the center of the Israelite camp.  The Levites camped around and attended the Tabernacle.  On the east side of the tabernacle, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun set up their camp.  On the south side of the tabernacle, Reuben, Simeon, and Gad set up their camp.  On the West side of the tabernacle, Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin set up their camp.  On the north side of the tabernacle, Dan, Ashur, and Naphtali set up their camp."

https://slideplayer.com/slide/7974466/

Numbers 2 Amplified Bible (AMP)
Arrangement of the Camps

https://www.biblegateway.com

2 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “The sons of Israel shall camp, each by his own standard, with the [a]banners of their fathers’ households; they shall camp around the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), but at a distance. 3 Those who camp on the east side toward the sunrise shall be of the [b]standard of the camp of Judah, by their armies; and Nahshon the son of Amminadab shall lead the sons of Judah, 4 and his army as numbered totaled 74,600. 5 Next to Judah [on the east side] the tribe of Issachar shall encamp; and Nethanel the son of Zuar shall lead the sons of Issachar, 6 and his army as numbered totaled 54,400. 7 Then [also on the east side] the tribe of Zebulun; and Eliab the son of Helon shall lead the sons of Zebulun, 8 and his army as numbered totaled 57,400. 9 The total of the numbered men [in the three tribes on the east side] in the camp of Judah was 186,400, by their armies. They shall move out first [on the march].

• GOD OF ORDER. God is establishing an order, or a system among the 12 tribes of Israel. He is organizing them, not just for peace and order, but to have a strategy or form in their journey or siege for the Promised Land/Canaan. The Lord knows the numbers of Israelites just like He knows the numbers of the hairs on our head.
  

"For God is not a God of disorder but of peace, as in all the meetings of God’s holy people." 1 Corinthians 14:33

10 “On the south side shall be the [c]standard of the camp of Reuben, by their armies; and Elizur the son of Shedeur shall lead the sons of Reuben, 11 and his army as numbered totaled 46,500. 12 Those who camp next to Reuben [on the south side] shall be the tribe of Simeon; and Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai shall lead the sons of Simeon, 13 and his army as numbered totaled 59,300. 14 Then [completing the south side] the tribe of Gad; and Eliasaph the son of Reuel (Deuel) shall lead the sons of Gad, 15 and his army as numbered totaled 45,650. 16 The total of the numbered men [in the three tribes on the south side] in the camp of Reuben was 151,450, by their armies. They shall move out second [on the march].
17 “Then the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle) shall move out with the camp of the Levites in the middle of the [other] camps; just as they camp so shall they move out, every man in his place by their standards.

• GOD AT THE CENTER. As we can see from God's formation of the 12 tribes of Israel in the wilderness, the Tabernacle where the presence of God dwells is at the very center. This should be the same with our lives as well-- to be able to win the battles in life, we should always put God at the center. When we do that, He will give us the wisdom and guidance how to defeat our enemies and He will give us the victory.
  

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33

“And anyone who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” Matthew 10:38-39

"And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40

“You shall have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:3

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make straight your paths." Proverbs 3:5-6

18 “On the west side shall be the [d]standard of the camp of Ephraim, by their armies; and Elishama the son of Ammihud shall lead the sons of Ephraim, 19 and his army as numbered totaled 40,500. 20 Beside Ephraim [on the west side] shall be the tribe of Manasseh; and Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur shall lead the sons of Manasseh, 21 and his army as numbered totaled 32,200. 22 Then [completing the west side shall be] the tribe of Benjamin; and Abidan the son of Gideoni shall lead the sons of Benjamin, 23 and his army as numbered totaled 35,400. 24 The total of the numbered men [of the three tribes on the west side] in the camp of Ephraim was 108,100, by their armies. They shall move out in third place.
25 “On the north side shall be the [e]standard of the camp of Dan, by their armies; and Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai shall lead the sons of Dan, 26 and his army as numbered totaled 62,700. 27 Encamped next to Dan [on the north side] shall be the tribe of Asher; and Pagiel the son of Ochran shall lead the sons of Asher, 28 and his army as numbered totaled 41,500. 29 Then [completing the north side] comes the tribe of Naphtali; and Ahira the son of Enan shall lead the sons of Naphtali, 30 and his army as numbered totaled 53,400. 31 The total of the numbered men [of the three tribes on the north side] in the camp of Dan was 157,600. They shall move out last, [f]standard after standard.”
32 These are the men of the Israelites [twenty years old and upward] as numbered by their fathers’ households. The total of the numbered men of the camps by their armies, 603,550. 33 But the Levites were not numbered with the [other] Israelites, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 34 Thus the Israelites did [as ordered]; according to everything the Lord had commanded Moses, so they camped by their standards, and so they moved out, everyone with his family (clan), according to his fathers’ household.
Footnotes: Numbers 2:2 Each of the twelve tribes had a colored banner. The tribes were organized into groups of three. The leading tribe in each triad had a standard representing their group.
Numbers 2:3 The standard of the tribes of Judah contained the picture of a lion.
Numbers 2:10 The standard of the tribes headed by Reuben contained the picture of a man.
Numbers 2:18 The standard of the tribes headed by Ephraim contained the picture of an ox.
Numbers 2:25 The standard of the tribes headed by Dan contained the picture of an eagle.
Numbers 2:31 The symbol on the various tribal standards seems important in view of the cherubim of Ezek 1:10, and in view of the living creatures of Rev 4:7. God was present in each of these settings.

After reading, I always check out the Study Guide Commentary from David Guzik (very helpful!):   

 a. Everyone of the children of Israel shall camp by his own standard: Israel had been on this Exodus journey for more than a year, and had assembled just about any way they had pleased. But now, ready to enter into the Promised Land, they had to take the next step in organization: Ordering themselves.

b. They shall camp some distance from the tabernacle of meeting: At the center of this order was the tabernacle itself. The tribes would arrange themselves to the east, south, west, and north in relation to the tabernacle. Since the tabernacle was symbolically the presence of God with them, this meant all order in Israel began being centered around God Himself.

 a. On the east side, toward the rising of the sun, those of the standard of the forces with Judah shall camp according to their armies: Judah was first, and closest to the tabernacle itself.  The tribes of Issachar and Zebulun followed in order after Judah. These tribes would order themselves after the standard (the banner or flag) of Judah, which was said to be a lion.

b. And Nahshon the son of Amminadab shall be the leader of the children of Judah: God recognized a specifically called leader for the tribe of Judah (and for the other tribes following). The order and organization God called Israel to required leadership, with leaders both recognized by God and respected by the people.

 d. These shall break camp first: There was an order to the encampment and the marching for the tribes. They were to move as an orderly army, not as a mob.


 a. On the south side shall be the standard of the forces with Reuben according to their armies: On the south side of the tabernacle Reuben was the first tribe, and set closest to the tabernacle itself. Then the tribes of Simeon and Gad followed in order. The tribes ordered themselves after the standard of Reuben, which was said to be a man.
 b. So they shall move out, everyone in his place, by their standards: Apparently, this was not only the way Israel was to make their camp, but also they way they were to order their march. The taking of Canaan would not be accomplished by a mob, but by an organized and orderly group.

 a. The standard of the forces with Dan shall be on the north side according to their armies: Dan was first, and closest to the tabernacle itself on the north side. Following the tribe of Dan were the tribes of Asher and Naphtali. The tribes ordered themselves after the standard of Dan, which was said to be an eagle.

 B. Observations.
 3. Everything was positioned in relation to the presence of God, the tabernacle. God could have described where the tribe of Judah was in relation to the tribe of Dan, but He did not. The reference point was always God Himself.
a. It is hard to underestimate the trouble people get into in their walk with God because they position and measure themselves in reference to other people. God is to be our focus, not other people.

4. The tribes of Israel camped around four banners, which were said to be a lion, a man, a calf, and an eagle. We find the same four creatures surrounding the throne of God in Revelation.
a. The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. (Revelation 4:7)

Reference and credits to https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/StudyGuide2017-Num/Num-2.cfm © 2004 David Guzik  

Numbers 1 - The Census of Israel’s Warriors

Summary https://marksbiblejourney.blogspot.com/2020/04/numbers.html
"God tells Moses to take a census of the entire Israelite community by their clans and their ancestral houses, counting the names of every male one by one.  Males 20 years and older are to serve in Israel's army.  A man from each of the 12 tribes of Israel is to be with Moses and lead/head up his ancestral house in the army.  Israel's army consisted of:
    46,500 registered for the tribe of Reuben
    59,300 registered for the tribe of Simeon
    45,650 registered for the tribe of Gad
    74,600 registered for the tribe of Judah
    54,400 registered for the tribe of Issachar
    57,400 registered for the tribe of Zebulun
    40,500 registered for the tribe of Ephraim
    32,200 registered for the tribe of Manasseh
    35,400 registered for the tribe of Benjamin
    62,700 registered for the tribe of Dan
    41,500 registered for the tribe of Asher
    53,400 registered for the tribe of Naphtali
    603,550 total registered in the Israelite Army
The Levite tribe was the only tribe of Israel not registered in the Israelite Army.  Instead, they were appointed to oversee the tabernacle of the testimony, all its furnishings, and everything in it.  The Israelites were to camp according to their military divisions."

http://www.doodlethroughthebible.com/2015/10/numbers-1.html

Numbers 1 Amplified Bible (AMP)
The Census of Israel’s Warriors

https://www.biblegateway.com

1 The Lord spoke [by special revelation] to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai in the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle) on the first day of the second month in the second year after the [a]Israelites came out of the land of Egypt, saying, 2 “Take a census of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, every male, [b]head by head 3 from twenty years old and upward, all in Israel who are able to go out to war. You and Aaron shall number them, army by army. 4 And with you there shall be a man [to assist you] from each tribe, each being the head of his father’s household. 5 These then are the names of the men who shall stand with you: from [the tribe of] Reuben, Elizur the son of Shedeur; 6 from [the tribe of] Simeon, Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai; 7 from [the tribe of] Judah, Nahshon the son of Amminadab; 8 from [the tribe of] Issachar, Nethanel the son of Zuar; 9 from [the tribe of] Zebulun, Eliab the son of Helon; 10 from the sons (descendants) of Joseph: from [the tribe of] [c]Ephraim, Elishama the son of Ammihud; from [the tribe of] Manasseh, Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur; 11 from [the tribe of] Benjamin, Abidan the son of Gideoni; 12 from [the tribe of] Dan, Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai; 13 from [the tribe of] Asher, Pagiel the son of Ochran; 14 from [the tribe of] Gad, Eliasaph the son of Deuel; 15 from [the tribe of] Naphtali, Ahira the son of Enan. 16 These men were the ones called from the congregation, the leaders of their fathers’ (ancestors’) tribes; they were the heads of thousands [the highest ranking officers] in Israel.”

https://allacin.blogspot.com/2014/09/illustrated-summary-of-life.html

• JOURNEY TO PROMISE LAND. Moses and the Israelites' journey to the Promised Land continued in the Book of Numbers. In this chapter, God also continued to establish the governance of Israel as a nation. "Census" means 'an official count or survey of a population, typically recording various details of individuals.' God is a God of order.

"For God is not a God of disorder but of peace--as in all the congregations of the Lord's people." 1 Corinthians 14:33

• WARRIORS AND LEADERS. From being slaves and brick-makers at Egypt, God was preparing and raising up the Israelites as leaders and warriors, that were strong in the Lord and knows how to trust Him. God was going to hand over to them the land of Canaan (Promised Land), but they needed to be courageous and able to trust in the Lord, as they face the oppositions and enemies.

"Who is the King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
The Lord mighty in battle." Psalm 24:8   

"The Lord will go forth like a warrior,
He will arouse His zeal like a man of war.
He will utter a shout, yes, He will raise a war cry.
He will prevail against His enemies." Isaiah 42:13   

"And that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hand.” 1 Samuel 17:47

"The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” Exodus 14:14

 
17 So Moses and Aaron took these men who were designated by name, 18 and assembled all the congregation on the first day of the second month, and they registered by ancestry in their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names from twenty years old and upward, head by head, 19 just as the Lord had commanded Moses. So he numbered them in the Wilderness of Sinai.
20 The sons of Reuben, Israel’s (Jacob’s) firstborn, their generations, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: 21 those of the tribe of Reuben numbered 46,500.
22 Of the sons of Simeon, their descendants, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, their numbered men according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: 23 those of the tribe of Simeon numbered 59,300.
24 Of the sons of Gad, their descendants, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: 25 those of the tribe of Gad numbered 45,650.
26 Of the sons of Judah, their descendants, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: 27 those of the tribe of Judah numbered 74,600.
28 Of the sons of Issachar, their descendants, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: 29 those of the tribe of Issachar numbered 54,400.
30 Of the sons of Zebulun, their descendants, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: 31 those of the tribe of Zebulun numbered 57,400.
32 Of the sons of Joseph: the sons (descendants) of Ephraim, their descendants, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: 33 those of the tribe of Ephraim numbered 40,500.
34 Of the sons of Manasseh, their descendants, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: 35 those of the tribe of Manasseh numbered 32,200.
36 Of the sons of Benjamin, their descendants, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: 37 those of the tribe of Benjamin numbered 35,400.
38 Of the sons of Dan, their descendants, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: 39 those of the tribe of Dan numbered 62,700.
40 Of the sons of Asher, their descendants, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: 41 those of the tribe of Asher numbered 41,500.
42 Of the sons of Naphtali, their descendants, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: 43 those of the tribe of Naphtali numbered 53,400.
44 These were the ones who were numbered, whom Moses and Aaron numbered, with the leaders of Israel, twelve men, each representing his fathers’ household. 45 So all those numbered of the sons of Israel, by their fathers’ households, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war in Israel, 46 all who were numbered were 603,550.

http://www.jesuswalk.com/moses/7_tabernacle.htm

• OBEDIENCE. Here, we are able to learn more about the census that was done. It sure was not an easy task, but the Israelites were able to obey and accomplish what the Lord commanded successfully.

Levites Exempted
47 The Levites, however, were not numbered among them by their fathers’ tribe. 48 For the Lord had said to Moses, 49 “Only the tribe of Levi you shall not number, nor shall you take their census among the sons of Israel [since they are unavailable to go to war]. 50 But appoint the Levites over the tabernacle (sanctuary) of the Testimony, and over all its furnishings and all things that belong to it. They shall carry the tabernacle [when traveling] and all its furnishings, and they shall take care of it and camp around it. 51 When the tabernacle is to go forward, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle is to [be set up for] camp, the Levites shall set it up. But the layman (non-Levite) who approaches the tabernacle shall be put to death. 52 The Israelites shall camp according to their armies, every man by his own camp and every man by his own [tribal] standard (banner). 53 But the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the Testimony, so that there will be no wrath against the congregation of the Israelites. The Levites shall be in charge of the tabernacle of the Testimony.” 54 Thus the sons of Israel did these things; according to all that the Lord had commanded Moses, so they did.
Footnotes: Numbers 1:1 In general, sons (children) of Israel or Israel or Israelites refers to all the people (males and females) of the various tribes descended from the twelve sons (Gen 35:23-26) of Jacob (later renamed Israel by God). In verses concerning things such as warfare or circumcision sons of Israel or Israel or Israelites usually refers only to the males. Tribes of ancient peoples were identified by the name of their founding ancestor. Therefore, this same general rule applies when referring to individual tribal groups, e.g. sons of Reuben, Reuben, Reubenites and so throughout.
Numbers 1:2 Lit by their skulls, also the root word for “Golgotha.”
Numbers 1:10 Ephraim was the second son born to Joseph in Egypt, but he was chosen over his elder brother, Manasseh, by his grandfather, Jacob (Israel) to receive the birthright blessing (the double portion). Joshua, the great leader who took command after the death of Moses, was from the tribe of Ephraim. Eventually, Ephraim dominated the other nine tribes of Israel, the Northern Kingdom. “Ephraim” is often used interchangeably with “Israel” to refer to the ten tribes of the north.

 https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/371406300495340121/

  

After reading, I always check out the Study Guide Commentary from David Guzik (very helpful!):    

 A. Background to the Book of Numbers.

1. As recorded in the Book of Exodus, Israel escaped slavery in Egypt - God miraculously set them free from hundreds of years of bondage. They came through the Red Sea and saw God provide through the desert wilderness. They came to Mount Sinai where God appeared to them in a spectacular way; where Moses went up on the mountain to meet with God and receive the law. At Mount Sinai Israel also embraced an idolatrous image of a golden calf and was corrected by the Lord.
a. Encamped at Mount Sinai, Israel built a tabernacle of meeting and established a priesthood, receiving God's plan for the priests and the nation at large in Leviticus. At the end of the Book of Leviticus, they have been out of Egypt for a little more than a year.
b. Exodus covered a year; Leviticus only a month - but the Book of Numbers encompasses more than 38 years.

 2. This third book of Moses tells us what happened during those 38 years. The Hebrew title of this book gives us an idea of the theme of Numbers. In Hebrew this book is titled In the Wilderness instead of Numbers.
a. The wilderness was never meant to be Israel's destination. God's intention was to bring them into the Promised Land of Canaan. The wilderness was intended as a temporary place - a place to move through, not to live in.

 b. The Book of Numbers is all about God's people in the wilderness - how they get there, how God deals with them in the wilderness, and how He brings them out of the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land.
i. "The theme of the book of Numbers is the journey to the Promised Land of Canaan. Its opening ten chapters, covering a mere fifty days, describe how Moses organized Israel for the march from Sinai to the Promised Land." (Wenham)

 d. The Book of Numbers approaches it all God's way. When we are in the wilderness, we are tempted to launch a hundred different schemes and plans to escape. But only God's way really works; and the Book of Numbers gives us God's way. The idea that the LORD spoke to Moses is repeated more than 150 times and more than 20 different ways in Numbers.
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 b. You and Aaron shall number them by their armies: This was predominately a military census to see who could fight on Israel's behalf in taking the Promised Land. This was the first step in taking the Promised Land - an inventory to see where Israel was and what Israel had to get where God wanted them to be.

 c. By their armies: The order to count the potential soldiers was not meant to imply that Israel would take the land because of superior forces or merely the bravery of these men - they would receive the Promised Land by the hand of God. Nevertheless, they still had to fight and know what they had available to them going into battle.
i. We may fail in spiritual battle because we do not take an honest inventory about where we are spiritually. We may overestimate or underestimate our spiritual strength and resources. This count of Israel wouldn't let them do that.

 i. In a sense, this is a representative form of government; each head of his father's house was essentially the "governor" of the tribe.

 ii. Nahshon: This was the head of the house of Judah, and is mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:4).

 a. All who were able to go to war in Israel; all who were numbered were six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty: At the end of the Book of Numbers - 38 years later - this census is repeated. The total number of available soldiers will be almost the same - only a loss of some two thousand. But the numbers of each tribe change significantly, and there is meaning in what happened to each tribe over these critical 38 years.

 c. All who were numbered were six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty: Based on having 603,550 available soldiers, many people estimate the total population of Israel at this time to be between two and two-and-a-half million.

 b. Thus the children of Israel did; according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so they did: Counting, or taking inventory, is an essential step in organization and moving forward. In preparing to enter the Promised Land Israel had to be organized - God is an organized God, and moves through organization even when we can't figure it out! Therefore it was essential that Israel took inventory and saw where they were.
i. God counts things. He counts the stars and has a name for each one (Psalm 147:4; Isaiah 40:26). God even counts and knows the number of hairs on your head! (Matthew 10:30)  

Reference and credits to https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/StudyGuide2017-Num/Num-1.cfm © 2004 David Guzik  

Leviticus 27 - Rules concerning Valuations

Summary https://marksbiblejourney.blogspot.com/2020/02/leviticus.html
"This last chapter in the book of Leviticus deals with how the priest applies valuation to property, livestock, or people that have been consecrated to the Lord."

http://www.doodlethroughthebible.com/2015/05/leviticus-27.html

Leviticus 27 Amplified Bible (AMP)
Rules concerning Valuations

https://www.biblegateway.com

27 Again, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘When a man makes a [a]special vow [consecrating himself or a member of his family], he shall be valued according to your [established system of] valuation of people belonging to the Lord [that is, the priest accepts from the man making the vow a specified amount of money for the temple treasury in place of the actual person]. 3 If your valuation is of a male between twenty and sixty years of age, then your valuation shall be fifty shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary. 4 Or if the person is a female, then your valuation shall be thirty shekels. 5 If the person is between five years and twenty years of age, then your valuation for the male shall be twenty shekels and for the female ten shekels. 6 But if the child is between one month and five years of age, then your valuation shall be five shekels of silver for the male and three shekels for the female. 7 If the person is sixty years old and above, your valuation shall be fifteen shekels for the male, and ten shekels for the female. 8 But if the person is too poor to pay your valuation, then he shall be placed before the priest, and the priest shall value him; according to the ability of the one who vowed, the priest shall value him.
9 ‘Now if it is an animal of the kind which men can present as an offering to the Lord, any such that one gives to the Lord shall be holy. 10 He shall not replace it or exchange it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good; but if he does exchange an animal for an animal, then both the original offering and its substitute shall be holy. 11 If it is any unclean animal of the kind which men do not present as an offering to the Lord, then he shall bring the animal before the priest, 12 and the priest shall value it as either good or bad; it shall be as you, the priest, value it. 13 But if he ever wishes to redeem it, then he shall add one-fifth of it to your valuation.
14 ‘If a man consecrates his house as sacred to the Lord, the priest shall appraise it as either good or bad; as the priest appraises it, so shall it stand. 15 If the one who consecrates his house should wish to redeem it, then he shall add one-fifth of your valuation price to it, so that it may be his.
16 ‘And if a man consecrates to the Lord part of a field of his own property, then your valuation shall be proportionate to the seed needed for it; a homer of barley seed shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver. 17 If he consecrates his field during the Year of Jubilee, it shall stand according to your valuation. 18 But if he consecrates his field after the Jubilee, then the priest shall calculate the price for him in proportion to the years that remain until the Year of Jubilee; and it shall be deducted from your valuation. 19 If the one who consecrates the field should ever wish to redeem it, then he shall add one-fifth of the appraisal price to it, so that it may return to him. 20 If he does not redeem the field, but has sold it to another man, it may no longer be redeemed. 21 When the field reverts in the Jubilee, the field shall be holy to the Lord, like a field set apart (devoted); the priest shall possess it as his property. 22 Or if a man consecrates to the Lord a field which he has bought, which is not part of the field of his [ancestral] property, 23 then the priest shall calculate for him the amount of your valuation up to the Year of Jubilee; and the man shall give that [amount] on that day as a holy thing to the Lord. 24 In the Year of Jubilee the field shall return to the one from whom it was purchased, to whom the land belonged [as his ancestral inheritance]. 25 Every valuation of yours shall be in accordance with the sanctuary shekel; twenty gerahs shall make a shekel.
26 ‘However, the firstborn among animals, which as a firstborn belongs to the Lord, no man may consecrate, whether an ox or a sheep. It is [already] the Lord’s. 27 If it is among the unclean animals, the owner may redeem it in accordance with your valuation, and add one-fifth to it; or if it is not redeemed, then it shall be sold in accordance with your valuation.
28 ‘But nothing that a man [b]sets apart [that is, devotes as an offering] to the Lord out of all that he has, of man or of animal or of the fields of his own property, shall be sold or redeemed. Anything devoted to destruction (banned, cursed) is most holy to the Lord. 29 No one who may have been set apart among men shall be ransomed [from death], he shall most certainly be put to death.
30 ‘And all the tithe (tenth part) of the land, whether the seed of the land or the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s; it is holy to the Lord. 31 If a man wishes to redeem any part of his tithe, he shall add one-fifth to it. 32 For every tithe of the herd or flock, whatever [c]passes under the [shepherd’s] staff, the tenth one shall be holy to the Lord. 33 The man is not to be concerned whether the animal is good or bad, nor shall he exchange it. But if he does exchange it, then both it and its substitute shall become holy; it shall not be redeemed.’”

 https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/52565520636714159/

• TITHES. Here, God established to the Israelites as a nation what their forefathers did in the past to give honor and glory to God (Abraham and Jacob), giving a tenth of everything back to God. Everything belongs to God, all the 100% came from Him-- and yet He is just asking the tenth to be "holy to the Lord."

"And blessing him, said, May the blessing of the Most High God, maker of heaven and earth, be on Abram: And let the Most High God be praised, who has given into your hands those who were against you. Then Abram gave him a tenth of all the goods he had taken." Genesis 14:19-20
 
"Then Jacob took an oath, and said, If God will be with me, and keep me safe on my journey, and give me food and clothing to put on, So that I come again to my father's house in peace, then I will take the Lord to be my God, And this stone which I have put up for a pillar will be God's house: and of all you give me, I will give a tenth part to you." Genesis 28:20-22
 
"Take from among you an offering to the Lord; everyone who has the impulse in his heart, let him give his offering to the Lord; gold and silver and brass" Exodus 35:5
 
"They came, men and women, all who were ready to give, and gave pins and nose-rings and finger-rings and neck-ornaments, all of gold; everyone gave an offering of gold to the Lord." Exodus 35:22
 
"Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, crushed down, full and running over, they will give to you. For in the same measure as you give, it will be given to you again." Luke 6:38
 

 https://www.pinterest.es/pin/458945018277709046/

34 These are the commandments which the Lord commanded Moses on Mount Sinai for the children of Israel.
Footnotes: Leviticus 27:2 Or explicit. A man could consecrate (dedicate) himself to the Lord or he could consecrate another family member, his house, his property, his animals, his field, or other possession. The priest set an established value on the person, animal, or property and the man paid the set amount instead of transferring ownership. Consecrating someone or something to the Lord was not the same as “devoting” or “setting apart” something to the Lord (see vv 21, 28).
Leviticus 27:28 In OT times “devoting” or “setting apart” was a different and much more serious act than “consecrating” something or someone to God. The thing “devoted” belonged exclusively to God. It was an irrevocable command or vow. Anyone who kept for himself something that had been “devoted” or placed under a ban, placed himself under a sentence of death (Josh 7).
Leviticus 27:32 Each tenth animal was marked as it passed through a small door.

• VALUATION. Valuation means 'an estimation of something's worth, especially one carried out by a professional appraiser.' In reality, everyone is valuable in God's sight, and everyone can be used by God, someway somehow. It's all about our hearts, and God sees our hearts. If we desire to be used by God mightily in His Kingdom, we must pray and surrender everything to Him that we may receive His grace, through Lord Jesus Christ.

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:10




After reading, I always check out the Study Guide Commentary from David Guzik (very helpful!):    

a. When a man consecrates by a vow certain persons to the LORD: What did it mean to consecrate a person to the LORD? It could be done either for one's self, or on behalf of another (such as consecrating a child unto the LORD). This was a completely voluntary act, meant to demonstrate that this person was totally given to God.
i. For example, a man from the tribe of Judah, in a time of distress, or out of gratitude, or out of a sense of calling, wants to consecrate his son to the LORD. He could not give his son to the service of the tabernacle, because he was not a priestly family. So to consecrate his son, he would follow the procedures in the following verses.

 b. When a man consecrates by a vow certain persons to the LORD: The beauty of these commands is that it gave the one making a vow of consecration something definite to do; the vow of consecration was therefore far more than mere words, it had a definite action associated with it - and prevented people from making empty vows to God.

 a. If your valuation is of a male from twenty years old up to sixty years old: Persons were assigned a value according to their age and general usefulness to society; especially in an agricultural society, there was a definite sense in which a man between 20 and 50 was more "valuable" than a child one month to five years old. 

 b. If he is too poor to pay your valuation: Importantly, no one was prohibited from fulfilling a vow of consecration because they did not have enough money; if they were poor, the priests would be flexible with the valuation
i. Everyone can give their life to the LORD; there are none who are too small, or too insignificant, or too useless. God wants to use each and every one. 
 
b. Which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel on Mount Sinai: As we have seen before in Leviticus, the phrase before the LORD occurs more than 60 times - more than any other book in the Bible. What happens in Leviticus happens before the LORD, and every point of obedience it calls us to illustrates - either in specific command or in precious picture - how to walk before the LORD.

 Reference and credits to https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/StudyGuide2017-Lev/Lev-27.cfm © 2004 David Guzik  

Leviticus 26 - Blessings of Obedience, Penalties of Disobedience

Summary https://marksbiblejourney.blogspot.com/2020/02/leviticus.html
"God once again tells the Israelites not to make idols for themselves and worship them because the Lord is the one true God.  God assures the Israelites that if they follow His commands He will be with them and make them prosper in all things.  God also disciplines them.  God says that if the Israelites don't follow God's commands He will bring terror to them--disease, famine, warfare, and slavery.  If they continue in sin, the punishment from God will continue to escalate to the point where the people will become cannibals, eating their own family members to survive.  If the Israelites will confess their sin and the sin of their fathers, if their uncircumcised hearts will be humbled, and if they will pay the penalty for their sin, then they shall be forgiven, redeemed, and God will restore the covenant he made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."

http://www.doodlethroughthebible.com/2015/05/leviticus-26.html

Leviticus 26 Amplified Bible (AMP)

Blessings of Obedience

https://www.biblegateway.com

26 [a]‘You shall not make idols for yourselves, nor shall you erect an image, a sacred pillar or an obelisk, nor shall you place any figured stone in your land so that you may bow down to it; for I am the Lord your God. 2 You shall keep My Sabbaths and have reverence for My sanctuary. I am the Lord. 3 If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments and [obediently] do them, 4 then I will give you rain in its season, and the land will yield her produce and the trees of the field bear their fruit. 5 And your threshing season will last until grape gathering and the grape gathering [time] will last until planting, and you will eat your bread and be filled and live securely in your land. 6 I will also grant peace in the land, so that you may lie down and there will be no one to make you afraid. I will also eliminate harmful animals from the land, and no sword will pass through your land. 7 And you will chase your enemies, and they will fall before you by the sword. 8 Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will put ten thousand to flight; your enemies will fall before you by the sword. 9 For I will turn toward you [with favor and regard] and make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will establish and confirm My covenant with you. 10 You will eat the old supply of [abundant] produce, and clear out the old [to make room] for the new. 11 I will make My dwelling among you, and My soul will not reject nor separate itself from you. 12 I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. 13 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you would not be their slaves; and I broke the bars of your yoke and made you walk upright [with heads held high as free men].

•  WONDERFUL PROMISES, WONDERFUL GOD. In this chapter, the Lord lovingly reminded His people, the children of Israel about His commandments, His covenant and love, and the wonderful blessings that comes when they obey, trust and put all their hope and faith in Him. As Christian believers and followers of God in this day and age, this also applies to us. Obedience to God comes with blessings. When we continue to trust and obey His statutes, precepts and commandments, He will surely provide and guide us to the right path and His perfect will in our lives. We will surely experience His love and we will enjoy an everlasting fellowship with Him.

 

https://wiirocku.tumblr.com/post/173572362918/leviticus-2612-hcsb-i-will-walk-among-you-and 

14 ‘But if you do not obey Me and do not [obediently] do all these commandments, 15 if, instead, you reject My statutes, and if your soul rejects My ordinances, so that you will not [obediently] do all My commandments, and in this way break My covenant, 16 I, in turn, will do this to you: I will appoint over you sudden terror, consumption, and fever that will waste away the eyes and cause the soul to languish also. And you will sow your seed uselessly, for your enemies will eat what you plant. 17 I will set My face against you so that [b]you will be struck down before your enemies; those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee when no one is pursuing you. 18 If in spite of all this you still will not listen to Me and be obedient, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. 19 I will break your pride in your power, and I will make your sky like iron [giving no rain and blocking all prayers] and your ground like bronze [hard to plow and yielding no produce]. 20 Your strength will be spent uselessly, for your land will not yield its produce and the trees of the land will not yield their fruit.
21 ‘If then, you act with hostility toward Me and are unwilling to obey Me, I will increase the plague on you seven times in accordance with your sins. 22 I will let loose the [wild] animals of the field among you, which will bereave you of your children and destroy your livestock and make you so few in number that your roads will lie deserted and desolate.
23 ‘And if by these things you are not turned to Me, but act [c]with hostility against Me, 24 then I also will act with hostility against you, and I will strike you seven times for your sins. 25 I will bring a sword on you that will execute vengeance for [breaking] the covenant; and when you gather together in your cities, I will send pestilence (virulent disease) among you, and you shall be handed over to the enemy. 26 When I break your staff of bread [that is, cut off your supply of food], ten women will bake your bread in one oven, and they will ration your bread; and you will eat and not be satisfied.
27 ‘Yet if in spite of this you will not [attentively] listen to Me but act with hostility against me, 28 then I will act with hostility against you in wrath, and I also will punish you seven times for your sins. 29 You will eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters. 30 I will destroy your high places [devoted to idolatrous worship], and cut down your incense altars, and heap your dead bodies upon the [crushed] bodies of your idols, and My soul will detest you [with deep and unutterable loathing]. 31 I will lay waste your cities as well and will make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will not smell your sweet and soothing aromas [of offerings by fire]. 32 I will make the land desolate, and your enemies who settle in it will be appalled at it. 33 I will scatter you among the nations and draw out the sword [of your enemies] after you; your land will become desolate and your cities will become ruins.
34 ‘Then the land [of Israel] will enjoy its Sabbaths as long as it lies desolate, while you are in your enemies’ land; then the land will rest and enjoy its Sabbaths. 35 As long as it lies desolate, it will have rest, the rest it did not have on your Sabbaths, while you were living on it. 36 As for those who are left of you, I will bring despair (lack of courage, weakness) into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; the sound of a scattered leaf will put them to flight, and they will flee as if [running] from the sword, and will fall even when no one is chasing them. 37 They shall stumble over one another as if to escape from a sword when no one is chasing them; and you will have no power to stand before your enemies. 38 You will perish among the nations; the land of your enemies will consume you. 39 Those of you who are left will rot away because of their wickedness in the lands of your enemies; also because of the wickedness of their forefathers they will rot away like them.

• CURSES OF SIN AND DISOBEDIENCE. Just as obedience and reverence with God comes with blessing, the sin of disobedience and distrust to God comes with consequences, penalties and curses. Knowing the effects or consequences to disobedience made me tremble and be filled with fear. When we allow stubbornness, hardness of heart and sin to rule over our life, it will not go well for us. We break the covenant and we will be accountable for our hostility to God. Knowing the grave consequences of sins should make someone humble and surrendered to God.

40 ‘If they confess their wickedness and the wickedness of their forefathers, in their unfaithfulness which they have committed against Me—and also in their acting with hostility toward Me— 41 I also was acting with hostility toward them and brought them into the land of their enemies—then if their uncircumcised (sin-filled) hearts are humbled and they accept the punishment for their wickedness, 42 then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and also My covenant with Isaac, and also My covenant with Abraham, and remember the land. 43 But the land will be abandoned by them and will enjoy its Sabbaths while it lies desolate without them; and they will accept the punishment for their wickedness and make amends because they rejected My ordinances and their soul rejected My statutes. 44 Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I so despise them as to destroy them, breaking My covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God. 45 But I will, for their sake, [earnestly] remember the covenant with their forefathers, whom I have brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God. I am the Lord.’”
46 These are the statutes, ordinances, and laws which the Lord established between Himself and the Israelites through Moses at Mount Sinai.
Footnotes: Leviticus 26:1 Through Moses God explains clearly how He will bless the Israelites for their faithful obedience and repeatedly emphasizes that His blessings are contingent on Israel’s responsiveness. If the Israelites want God’s blessings, they must not take Him for granted.
Leviticus 26:17 These verses specify the penalties for disobedience. The Scripture references indicate where the fulfillments of these prophecies are recorded. God keeps His word, whether a blessing or a judgment.
Leviticus 26:23 Lit contrary to and so throughout the chapter.

• THERE IS HOPE. God is a God of justice, but He is also a God of love and mercy. If His people repented of their sins, God will receive them and He will remember His covenant because He is faithful. 1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.", and Psalm 51:17, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise." 

After reading, I always check out the Study Guide Commentary from David Guzik (very helpful!):   

 a. If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them, then I will give you rain in its season: God was determined to reveal Himself to the world through Israel, either by making them so blessed, the world would know only God could have blessed them so; or by making them so cursed, that only God could have cursed them and cause them to still survive. The choice was up to Israel. 

 b. And confirm My covenant with you: As a literary form, this chapter is similar to ancient treaties between a king and his people; this is God the King, making a covenant with His people, Israel.

 c. Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: This clearly speaks of a Divine blessing. These remarkable promises clearly have a supernatural element.
i. The principle behind that particular blessing is remarkable; the ratio of five to one hundred is one routing twenty; but the ratio of one hundred to ten thousand is one routing one hundred.
ii. Gideon's 300 defeated 135,000 Midianites; Jonathan and his armor bearer alone defeated a Philistine army.

 d. I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you. I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people: The best promises are saved for last: First, that Israel would enjoy a special relationship with God. If not for this, all the material blessings described previously would be empty.
i. When Israel walked after the LORD, these blessings were real; one example of this is when the Queen of Sheba came to Solomon and saw a nation so blessed, she knew it had to be of God (1 Kings 10:1-13).

 e. I have broken the bands of your yoke and made you walk upright: This final blessing speaks of freedom and dignity. This passage almost feels like the New Testament, God proclaims the liberty of His people and then invites them to walk in it.

 a. If you do not obey Me … after all this, if you do not obey Me … if by these things you are not reformed by Me, but walk contrary … after all this, if you do not obey Me: These verses describe a progression of rebellion. God brought these curses slowly to a disobedient Israel, desiring repentance; but if Israel would not repent, the curses intensified.

 b. I will punish you yet seven times for your sins: Significantly, God does not say He will forsake Israel, only that they will be cursed. Sadly, these curses became the tragic story of Israel's history - defeat, deprivation, exile, desolation, and disease all too often have marked Israel's past.
i. Even the horrific cannibalism described in Leviticus 26:29 was fulfilled in 2 Kings 6:26-29; Josephus also describes cannibalism in Jerusalem when under siege by the Romans; a woman killed and ate her own baby son (Wars, 6.3.4).

 a. If they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers: This displays the greatness of God's mercy. Despite how cursed Israel might be, God would always remember, receive, and bless a repentant Israel.
b. When they are in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, nor shall I abhor them, to utterly destroy them and break My covenant with them: This also applies to Christians under the New Covenant. God will always be faithful to the covenant, for the sake of the covenant we have with God through Jesus.

B. Blessing and cursing in a New Covenant perspective.
 3. Jesus bore the curse that we (even Gentiles) might bear the blessings of Abraham (the blessing of righteousness and life by faith) - but these blessings only come to those in Christ Jesus.

a. So, we are blessed not because of obedience, but because we are in Christ Jesus; and there is no more curse for us from God, because all the curse was borne by Jesus.
b. This does not deny the chastening hand of God; but the correction of a loving parent is good and desirable, though not pleasant at the time (Hebrews 12:7-11).
c. Nor does it deny the cause-and-effect nature of sin in our world; sin often carries with its own curse, which in some ways is distinct from God's direct curse upon us.

4. These blessings and curses may be necessary motivation for the carnal man, but it is not the ground God wants us live on - believing Jesus didn't bear all the curses we deserved, and believing we can be blessed in any other way than in Christ Jesus.

 Reference and credits to https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/StudyGuide2017-Lev/Lev-26.cfm © 2004 David Guzik  

Leviticus 25 - The Sabbatic Year and Year of Jubilee

Summary https://marksbiblejourney.blogspot.com/2020/02/leviticus.html
"God tells the Israelites that once they make it into the Promised Land, they must observe a Sabbath to the Lord.  Every seventh year there must be a Sabbath of complete rest for the land in which no sowing or harvesting is to take place.  They can still gather the food that the land produces naturally.  After the 50th year of dwelling in the Promised Land there is to be a year of Jubilee to proclaim freedom in the land for all its inhabitants.  In the year of Jubilee, each Israelite clan is to return to their own property within Israel.  God tells the Israelites how to deal with each other fairly in business and personal matters."

http://www.doodlethroughthebible.com/2015/05/leviticus-25.html?m=1

Leviticus 25 Amplified Bible (AMP)
The Sabbatic Year and Year of Jubilee

https://www.biblegateway.com

25 The Lord spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘When you come into the land which I am giving you, then the land shall keep a Sabbath to the Lord. 3 For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its crop. 4 But in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of rest for the land, a Sabbath to the Lord; you shall not sow [seed in] your field nor prune your vineyard. 5 Whatever reseeds itself (uncultivated) in your harvest you shall not reap, nor shall you gather the grapes from your uncultivated vine, it shall be a year of sabbatical rest for the land. 6 And all of you shall have for food whatever the [untilled] land produces during its Sabbath year; yourself, and your male and female slaves, your hired servant, and the foreigners who reside among you, 7 even your domestic animals and the [wild] animals that are in your land shall have all its crops to eat.

• PROMISED LAND. The fact that God was giving the Israelites advance instructions about the land that He is giving them means that, it is already done! God will surely bring them to the Promised Land of Canaan, and He will fulfill His promise, since the time of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The Lord is true to His word and He is faithful!
• SABBATH REST FOR THE LAND. God is truly a God of rest. He even commanded that the Israelites let the land have a sabbatical rest after using it for 6 years, in planting and farming for food and supplies.

The Year of Jubilee
8 ‘You are also to count off seven Sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years, so that you have the time of the seven Sabbaths of years, namely, forty-nine years. 9 Then you shall sound the ram’s horn everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month (almost October); on the Day of Atonement you shall sound the trumpet throughout your land. 10 And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year and [a]proclaim freedom [for the slaves] throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee (year of remission) for you, and each of you shall return to his own [ancestral] property [that was sold to another because of poverty], and each of you shall return to his family [from whom he was separated by bondage]. 11 That fiftieth year shall be a Jubilee for you; you shall not sow [seed], nor reap what reseeds itself, nor gather the grapes of the uncultivated vines. 12 For it is the Jubilee; it shall be holy to you; you shall eat its crops out of the field.

https://dailyverse.knowing-jesus.com/leviticus-25-8

"The Sabbath or seventh day of each week was to be a constant reminder to Israel that God created the world in six days and rested from His work on the seventh day - the Sabbath Day. But God also instituted a Sabbatical YEAR, where every seventh year was observed as a Sabbath Year. During a Sabbatical year, the land would lie fallow. Like the people of Israel, the promised land of Israel was to be given rest every seventh year. The Law stated that during a Sabbatical year, land-owners must leave the land uncultivated, while God promised to supply ALL their needs during their sixth harvest.

God commanded that the Day of Atonement, in the 49th year was to be the day when the Jubilee year commenced. It was to be a time of great rejoicing and new beginnings - a time of liberty and freedom, where any wrongs were put right. Anyone who had been sold into slavery was to be set free in this glorious time of celebration, and any land that had been sold during the previous 49 years, was to revert back to the original owner. "You are also to count off seven sabbaths of years for yourself," Israel were instructed, "seven times seven years, so that you have the time of the seven sabbaths of years, namely, forty-nine years".

The Jubilee Year was to the land of Israel.. was The Day of Atonement was for to people of Israel. Just as the land was to return to its original owner, so all slaves were to beset free. All debt was cancelled; property was restored to the rightful owner, and the land received a sabbatical rest. Although we are not under the Law, nor bound by Sabbatical injunctions, there are many lessons to be leaned from Israel's Jubilee celebrations.

Both the Jubilee Year and the Day of Atonement speak of liberty and restoration. Both are a picture of our great redemption in Christ through the forgiveness of sin and our life everlasting... and we are further reminded that we are covered in Christ's own righteousness and have found rest from our labour in Him. By God's grace we are also promised to an inheritance, that is kept for us in heaven - a legacy that was lost in Eden. "

13 ‘In this Year of Jubilee each of you shall return to his own [ancestral] property. 14 If you sell anything to your friend or buy from your friend, you shall not wrong one another. 15 According to the number of years after the Jubilee, you shall [b]buy from your friend. And he is to sell to you according to the number of years of crops [which may be harvested before you must restore the property to him]. 16 If the years [until the next Jubilee] are many, you shall increase the price, but if the years remaining are few, you shall reduce the price, because it is the number of crops that he is selling to you. 17 You shall not wrong one another, but you shall fear your God [with profound reverence]; for I am the Lord your God.
18 ‘Therefore you shall carry out My statutes and keep My ordinances and do them, so that you may live securely on the land. 19 Then the land will yield its produce, so that you can eat your fill and live securely on it. 20 And if you say, “What are we going to eat in the seventh year if we do not sow [seed] or gather in our crops?” 21 then [this is My answer:] I will order My [special] blessing for you in the sixth year, so that it will produce [sufficient] crops for three years. 22 When you are sowing the eighth year, you can still eat old things from the crops, eating the old until the ninth year when its crop comes in.

 https://www.alittleperspective.com/leviticus-251-262-behar-on-the-mount-chiastic-structure/

• OUR CITIZENSHIP IS IN HEAVEN. The Lord's laws for the Israelites really speaks of God's love and goodness. God's will for the people is for them to fear and honor Him, that they may not do wrong towards other people ("You shall not wrong one another, but you shall fear your God [with profound reverence]; for I am the Lord your God." v.17) By following His ways, the Israelites will be able to live securely on the land ("Therefore you shall carry out My statutes and keep My ordinances and do them, so that you may live securely on the land. Then the land will yield its produce, so that you can eat your fill and live securely on it." v.18-19) To be secured means to be "free from or not exposed to danger or harm, to be safe." God's ways are always perfect, and it will lead us to everlasting life. In reality, our lives on earth are short, and we are just sojourners, pilgrims or travelers here. Our real home is in heaven, in God Himself. God had given us a body, a soul and a spirit-- and what is important is the eternal and not the temporary.

"For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ," Philippians 3:20

"For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding." 1 Chronicles 29:15 

"The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.” Isaiah 40:8
 
The Law of Redemption
23 ‘The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; you are [only] foreigners and temporary residents with Me. 24 So in all the country that you possess, you are to provide for the redemption of the land [in the Year of Jubilee].
25 ‘If a fellow countryman of yours becomes so poor he has to sell some of his property, then his nearest relative is to come and buy back (redeem) what his relative has sold. 26 Or in case a man has no relative [to redeem his property], but he has become more prosperous and has enough to buy it back, 27 then he shall calculate the years since its sale and refund the balance to the man to whom he sold it, and so return to his [ancestral] property. 28 But if [c]he is unable to redeem it, then what he has sold shall remain in the hands of the purchaser until the Year of Jubilee; but at the Jubilee it shall revert, and he may return to his property.
29 ‘If a man sells a house in a walled city, then his right of redemption remains valid for a full year after its sale; his right of redemption lasts a full year. 30 But if it is not redeemed for him within a full year, then the house that is in the walled city passes permanently and irrevocably to the purchaser throughout his generations. It does not revert back in the Year of Jubilee. 31 The houses of the villages that have no surrounding walls, however, shall be considered as open fields. They may be redeemed, and revert in the Year of Jubilee. 32 As for the cities of the Levites, the Levites have a permanent right of redemption for the houses in the cities which they possess. 33 Therefore, what is [purchased] from the Levites may be redeemed [by a Levite], and the house that was sold in the city they possess reverts in the Year of Jubilee, for the houses in the Levite cities are their [ancestral] property among the Israelites. 34 But the pasture lands of their cities may not be sold, for that is their permanent possession.
Of Poor Countrymen
35 ‘Now if your fellow countryman becomes poor and his hand falters with you [that is, he has trouble repaying you for something], then you are to help and sustain him, [with courtesy and consideration] like [you would] a stranger or a temporary resident [without property], so that he may live among you. 36 Do not charge him usurious interest, but fear your God [with profound reverence], so your countryman may [continue to] live among you. 37 You shall not give him your money at interest, nor your food at a profit. 38 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.
39 ‘And if your fellow countryman becomes so poor [in his dealings] with you that he sells himself to you [as payment for a debt], you shall not let him do the work of a slave [who is ineligible for redemption], 40 but he is to be with you as a hired man, as if he were a temporary resident; he shall serve with you until the Year of Jubilee, 41 and then he shall leave you, he and his children with him, and shall go back to his own family and return to the property of his fathers. 42 For the Israelites are My servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold in a slave sale. 43 You shall not rule over him with harshness (severity, oppression), but you are to fear your God [with profound reverence]. 44 As for your male and female slaves whom you may have—you may acquire male and female slaves from the pagan nations that are around you. 45 Moreover, from the children of the strangers who live as aliens among you, from them you may buy slaves and from their families who are with you, whom they have produced in your land; they may become your possession. 46 You may even bequeath them as an inheritance to your children after you, to receive as a possession; you can use them as permanent slaves. But in respect to your fellow countrymen, the children of Israel, you shall not rule over one another with harshness (severity, oppression).
Of Redeeming a Poor Man
47 ‘Now if the financial means of a stranger or temporary resident among you become sufficient, and your fellow countryman becomes poor in comparison to him and sells himself to the stranger who is living among you or to the descendants of the stranger’s family, 48 then after he is sold he shall have the right of redemption. One of his relatives may redeem him: 49 either his uncle or his uncle’s son may redeem him, or one of his blood relatives from his family may redeem him; or if he prospers, he may redeem himself. 50 Then he [or his redeemer] shall calculate with his purchaser from the year when he sold himself to the purchaser to the Year of Jubilee, and the [original] price of his sale shall be adjusted according to the number of years. The time he was with his owner shall be considered as that of a hired man. 51 If there are still many years [before the Year of Jubilee], in proportion to them he must refund [to the purchaser] part of the price of his sale for his redemption and release. 52 And if only a few years remain until the Year of Jubilee, he shall so calculate it with him. He is to refund the proportionate amount for his release. 53 Like a man hired year by year he shall deal with him; he shall not rule over him with harshness in your sight. 54 Even if he is not redeemed during these years and under these provisions, then he shall go free in the Year of Jubilee, he and his children with him. 55 For the children of Israel are My servants; My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.
Footnotes: Leviticus 25:10 The quote on the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia is from this verse and reads, “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.”
Leviticus 25:15 The transfer of land in Israel was more like a lease than an outright purchase. Since all property reverted to the original owner at the Jubilee year, the purchaser would pay a price only for the years of use remaining until the next Jubilee.
Leviticus 25:28 Lit his hand has not found enough.

• THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AS OUR REDEEMER. All these laws about redemption, and God caring for the poor and the slaves points to our need of a Savior and Redeemer. Jesus paid for all the penalty of our sins, and He has redeemed from death to life.

After reading, I always check out the Study Guide Commentary from David Guzik (very helpful!):    

c. Then the land shall keep a sabbath to the LORD: Obviously, this called Israel to a great deal of faith - they had to trust God that He would provide enough in the six years to see them through the seventh.
i. In the Feast of Tabernacles on the Sabbath year, the law was to be read to all the people by the priests (Deuteronomy 31:9-13). Each Sabbath year was also to be a time for an extensive Bible seminar for the whole nation.

 a. In the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land: This applied to both grain crops and fruit bearing plants; Israel was to do this as a radical demonstration that the land belonged to God, not to them.

 a. In this Year of Jubilee, each of you shall return to his possession: When Israel came into the Promised Land, the land was allotted according to tribes and families. These initial tracts of land would be the permanent possession of those families, and therefore land in Israel could never really be "sold" - it could only be leased, and the amount of the lease would be based on how many years there were left until the Jubilee.
i. This assured that no family would be permanently prevented from having land. Every fifty years, every family would have the opportunity to start again.

b. Therefore you shall not oppress one another: Though this was extremely charitable and helpful to the families in Israel, this was not a socialist system, because only land was re-distributed. Most effectively, this helped protect against the existence of a permanent underclass in Israel.

 b. Then I will command My blessing on you in the sixth year: If we obey God - even when it doesn't make sense - we can trust He will provide our every need. If we seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, all those practical things will be added unto us! (Matthew 6:33)

 a. For the land is Mine: The land of Israel belongs to the LORD, and He is free to distribute it as He wills - therefore, if He decreed it should stay in certain families, that is how it should be done!

b. The land shall not be sold permanently: So, the land could be leased, but never sold - and the lease would always be up in the year of Jubilee. In addition, the lease could be bought out at any time by a kinsman-redeemer (Leviticus 25:25).

c. For you are strangers and sojourners with Me: This was an important way God reminded Israel that their real home was in heaven with Him, and that they were only strangers and visitors to this earth - even as Christians are today (1 Peter 2:11; Hebrews 11:13).

 a. In all the land of your possession you shall grant redemption of the land: This redemption of the land was accomplished through the kinsman-redeemer (Hebrew: goel). He was a designated close relative who had the right (and responsibility) to buy the poor out of their poverty and loss.
i. The goel is also a wonderful picture of Jesus, our kinsman-redeemer who purchased us from the "slave market" of sin (Romans 3:24; 1 Corinthians 6:20).
ii. The book of Ruth describes a kinsman-redeemer transaction; when Naomi returned from Moab, poor and in debt, her nearest kinsman-redeemer was willing to buy back the land for her, but stopped short when he found he would also have to marry Ruth and raise up an heir for the property. When this nearest kinsman-redeemer balked, Boaz was the next closest kinsman-redeemer, and stepped right in out of love for Ruth (Ruth 3).

 a. If one of your brethren becomes poor: These commands specifically prohibit making money of the misfortune of a poor brother; instead of making profit off of his misery, the command is simple: You shall help him.

b. Take no usury or interest from him; but fear your God, that your brother may live with you: Jesus made a similar command in Luke 6:34, when He asked what credit is it to us if we give to or help only those whom we know can help us back.

 Reference and credits to https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/StudyGuide2017-Lev/Lev-25.cfm © 2004 David Guzik