The Book of Numbers Chapter 4 of 36 (To update)

The Book of Numbers

 Chapter 4

¹ The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: ² Take a census of the Kohathites separate from the other Levites, by their clans and their ancestral houses, ³ from thirty years old up to fifty years old, all who qualify to do work relating to the tent of the meeting.

(The Book of Numbers Chapter 4 verses 1 to 3)

Oh God my Father I thank You for not discriminating negatively against people who are of a particular age as does the world today. I thank You for knowing me as I am with all my strengths and weaknesses. I thank You for finding me a job that I can do. I now understand why when a new pope is to be elected You chose the wise grey and white-haired heads to appear as candidates for the papacy. This has been Your will from the beginning. Amen.


⁴ The service of the Kohathites relating to the tent of meeting concerns the most holy things.


(The Book of Numbers Chapter 4 verse 4)


Oh God, my Father this is why You created the Roman Catholic Church and other churches so that they could be administrators of spiritual issues concerning our faith Amen.


⁵ When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the screening curtain, and cover the ark of the covenant with it; ⁶ then they shall put on it a covering of fine leather, and spread over that a cloth all of blue, and shall put its poles in place.


(The Book of Numbers Chapter 4 verses 5 to 6)


Oh God my Father since the very beginning You gave us clear instructions of how to handle the instruments used during mass. Now that we have not to move the tent, You motivated people such as sacristans in order to help maintain order and control over what goes on in the Church Amen. This is a special vocation that of being a Levite and serving in the Church. Amen. 


⁷ Over the table of the bread of the Presence they shall spread a blue cloth, and put on it the plates, the dishes for incense, the bowls, and the flagons for the drink offering; the regular bread also shall be on it; ⁸ then they shall spread over them a crimson cloth and cover it with a covering of fine leather, and shall put its poles in place.


(The Book of Numbers Chapter 4 verses 7 to 8)


Oh God my Father this is similar to the setup of the altar during mass. I offer You the altar of my heart where You are welcome to come and take Your place and we will have fellowship together Amen.


⁹ They shall take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand for the light, with its lamps, its snuffers, its tray, and all the vessels for oil with which it is supplied; ¹⁰ and they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of fine leather, and put it on the carrying frame.



(The Book of Numbers Chapter 4 verses 9 to 10)


Oh God my Father, special equipment need special care and special treatment. I pray for those members of Your body that need such special care. For myself, I consider being a commonly used utensil which has its own intrinsic personal value Amen, for in the eyes of God we are all of the sentimental value Amen.


¹¹ Over the golden altar they shall spread a blue cloth, and cover it with a covering of fine leather, and shall put its poles in place; ¹² and they shall take all the utensils of the service that are used in the sanctuary, and put them in a blue cloth, and cover them with a covering of fine leather, and put them on the carrying frame.


(The Book of Numbers Chapter 4 verses 11 to 12)


Oh God my Father I pray that You keep me in good condition for I am also one of Your delicate vessels or instruments. I pray that You use me in every way possible for the good of humanity Amen. I am at Your disposal my God and Father Amen.


¹³ They shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth over it; ¹⁴ and they shall put on it all the utensils of the altar, which are used for the service there, the firepans, the forks, the shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of fine leather, and shall put its poles in place.


(The Book of Numbers Chapter 4 verses 13 to 14)


A place for everything and everything in its place. In Your kingdom oh God my Father there is also a place for everyone and everyone will go in one's own place Amen.


¹⁵ When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that the Kohathites shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, or they will die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the Kohathites are to carry.


(The Book of Numbers Chapter 4 verse 15)


Oh Jesus Christ my Father even though the Church of our times is not mobile as was the tent of the meeting, we still show respect to the altar on which You are offered on our behalf and even to the items used during the sacrament of the Eucharist Amen.


¹⁶ Eleazar son of Aaron the priest shall have charge of the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the regular grain offering, and the anointing oil, the oversight of all the tabernacle and all that is in it, in the sanctuary and in its utensils.


(The Book of Numbers Chapter 4 verse 16)


Oh God, my Father You have all given us an important role to play as members of Your body the Church. Some have very important roles such as priests, bishops the pope among others and then there are others who have other roles knows as the laity. As a member of the Church oh God my Father I do not have such a role, however, I am at Your right hand a trustworthy tool which is ready to proclaim Your Word and do all that is necessary by means of my job and other different roles that You give me the opportunity of serving You with. Amen. 


¹⁷ Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron saying; ¹⁸ You must not let the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites.


(The Book of Numbers Chapter 4 verse 17 to 18)


Oh God my Father I thank You for this verse, You might be telling us to take care of minority groups in the Church because they are still a valued part of the Church Amen.


¹⁹ This is how you must deal with them in order that they may live and not die when they come near to the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and assign each to a particular task or burden. ²⁰ But the Kohathites must not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment; otherwise they will die.


(The Book of Numbers Chapter 4 verse 19 to 20)


Oh God my Father even to this day non-believers or people from different religions are restricted in taking part in certain rituals if not with the benediction of the Roman Catholic Church. Amen. 


²¹ Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying; ²² Take a census of the Gershonites also, their ancestral houses and by their clans; ²³ from thirty years old up to fifty years old you shall enrol them, all who qualify to do work in the tent of meeting.


(The Book of Numbers Chapter 4 verse 21 to 23)


Oh God my Father I thank You for showing interest in us, not as numbers but as human beings. I thank You for choosing people to serve You on the altars as priests and even as sisters, brothers, friars and even missionaries. I thank You for the new vocations while I pray for even more. Amen.


²⁴ This is the service of the clans of the Gershonites, in serving and bearing burdens. ²⁵ They shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting with its covering, and the outer covering of fine leather that is on top of it, and the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting, ²⁶ and the hangings of the court, and the screen for the entrance of the gate of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords, and all the equipment for their service, and they shall do all that needs to be done with regard to them.


(The Book of Numbers Chapter 4 verse 24 to 26)


Oh God my beloved Father, as You assigned this specific role to the Gershonites, I wish that You could specify a particular role to me in the Roman Catholic Church. Amen. On the other hand I accept as being my specific role the sharing of these reflections with the entire world, with those who have ears to listen Amen.


²⁷ All the service of the Gershonites shall be at the command of Aaron and his sons, in all that they are to carry, and in all that they have to do; and you shall assign to their charge all that they are to carry.


(The Book of Numbers Chapter 4 verse 27)


Oh God my Father as You entrusted this important role to the Gershonites, today there is the Roman Catholic Church who is in charge of such issues of moral and spiritual nature Amen. I thank You for assigning the Church to carry out this important role for the good of all humanity Amen.

²⁸ This is the service of the clans of the Gershonites relating to the tent of meeting, and their responsibilities are to be under the oversight of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.

(The Book of Numbers Chapter 4 verse 28)

Oh God my Father as You know in every organisation consisting of those who manage and oversee and those who carry out the actual work. I pray that You help me to respect and accept those who are my overseers with a lot of love and understanding. Make me bee humble to accept their instruction and correction Amen.

²⁹ As for the Merarites, you shall enroll them by their clans and their ancestral houses: ³⁰ from thirty years old up to fifty years old you shall enroll them, everyone who qualifies to do the work of the tent of meeting.

(The Book of Numbers Chapter 4 verse 29 to 30)

Oh God my Father in Your Church nobody is unemployed. Moreover, there is a place for everyone regardless of one's level of education, for there is a lot of work to be done and not enough people to do it Amen. I thank and pray all volunteers who dedicate their limited time in Your service Amen.

³¹ This is what they are charged to carry, as the whole of their service in the tent of meeting; the frames of the tabernacle with its bars, pillars, and bases, ³² and the pillars of the court all around with their bases, pegs, and cords, with all their equipment and all their related service; and you shall assign by name the objects that they are required to carry. ³³ This is the service of the clans of the Merarites, the whole of their service relating to the tent of meeting, under the hand of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.

(The Book of Numbers Chapter 4 verse 31 to 33)

Oh God my Father You have assigned particular roles to every person and You did so in a special way by name. I thank You for assigning to me my work with Asylum Seekers and the sharing of this blog as a means of prayer Amen.

The Book of Numbers Chapter 3 of 36

The Book of Numbers

 Chapter 3

¹ This is the lineage of Aaron and Moses at the time when the LORD spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai.

(The Book of Numbers Chapter 3 verse 1)

Oh God, my blessed Father, I thank You for being a member of this lineage even though this happened at the time of the 'Old Testament' I still consider these people to be my ancestors Amen.  


² These are the names of the sons of Aaron; Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar; ³ these are the names of the sons if Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he ordained to minister as priests.


(The Book of Numbers Chapter 3 verses 2 to 3)


Oh God my Father, as in the case of Aaron who ordained his sons to be priests I pray for other parents who are ready to give their sons and daughters to live a consecrated life as priests nuns, or other forms of consecrated livelihood such as missionaries or deacons among others Amen.


⁴ Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD when they offered unholy fire before the LORD in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of their father Aaron.


(The Book of Numbers Chapter 3 verse 4)


Oh God my blessed Father, I thank You for providing priests in order to continue this ministry of love and mercy on earth Amen.


⁵ Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: ⁶ Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, so that they may assist him.


(The Book of Numbers Chapter 3 verses 5 to 6)


Oh God, my beloved Father, I thank You for the gift of the priesthood and consecrated life even though I am not a priest or a consecrated person. I also offer my self to You my God and Father. I pray for the parents who offer their sons and daughters as an offering for this kind of life and thank them in Your name Amen.


⁷ They shall perform duties for him and for the whole congregation in front of the tent of meeting, doing service at the tabernacle; ⁸ they shall be in charge of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and attend to the duties for the Israelites as they do service at the tabernacle. ⁹ You shall give the Levites to Aaron and his descendants; they are unreservedly given to him from among the Israelites.


(The Book of Numbers Chapter 3 verses 7 to 9)


Oh God my Father, those chosen by You to attend to the congregation during our times 2018 are not all sticking to such roles, some have active roles in the media on Television as in the camp of sports and other areas that could be taken by the laity. I believe that the message of the Good News may be transmitted pastorally to the congregation by means of such means, however, the focus of the priest is to be the people that were assigned to him and not popular on the media Amen.


¹⁰ But you shall make a register of Aaron and his descendants; it is they who shall attend to the priesthood, and any outsider who comes near shall be put to death.


(The Book of Numbers Chapter 3 verse 10) 


Oh God, my Father, I thank You for updating this rule, making the priesthood available for others who are not from the clan of the Levites. I thank You for making of the world a royal priesthood, for in a way apart from the sacrament of ordination we are all priests in the sense of being of service and support and spreading and living the Word of God Amen.


¹¹ Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: ¹² I hereby accept the Levites from among the Israelites as substitutes for all the firstborn that open the womb among the Israelites. The Levites shall be mine, ¹³ for all the firstborn are mine; when I killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both human and animal; they shall be mine. I am the LORD.


(The Book of Numbers Chapter 3 verses 11 to 13)


Oh God, my Father, even though I am not one of the firstborn, I would like to consecrate my life to You my God and Father. May I wish what You wish and say what You want me to say. May I be Your mouthpiece in different situations. I pray that You use me in whatever way You may choose my God and Father Amen. 


¹⁴ Then the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai: ¹⁵ Enroll the Levites by ancestral houses and by clans. You shall enrol every male from a month old and upward.


(The Book of Numbers Chapter 3 verses 14 to 15) 



Oh God my Father as members of the Roman Catholic Church and other churches we all are actively enrolled members in Your army. Our weapons are not shotguns or knives or missile launchers, but Your Word. You have given us different skills and opportunities to proclaim and score the victory in your name over the evil spirits that are still persecuting us Amen. 


¹⁶ So Moses enrolled them according to the word of the LORD, as he was commanded.


(The Book of Numbers Chapter 3 verse 16)



Oh God my beloved Father, the age of the enrolled soldiers in the Vietnam war was eighteen, however, You prescribed that of from one month upward. Even though Moses may have considered this as being non-practical when waging war with others, Moses obeyed to the letter. Oh God I pray that I learn along with others to take You at Your word and obey instead of raising ifs and buts Amen.



¹⁷ The following were the sons of Levi, by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. ¹⁸ These are the names of the sons of Gershon by their clans: Libni and Shimei. ¹⁹ The sons of Kohath by their clans; Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.


(The Book of Numbers Chapter 3 verses 17 to 19)



Oh God, my Father Gershon was a Levite and thus led a life which was close to Your ways, even though we are all human by nature. I pray oh God for more new vocations in today's family Amen. 



²⁰ The sons of Merari by their clans: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites, by their ancestral houses.



(The Book of Numbers Chapter 3 verse 20)


Oh God my beloved Father the connotations to the name Merari is bitterness, however, in a way we can all pertain to this clan because bitterness is common to all however as much as there is bitterness there is also sweetness and this is what we are to focus on Amen.


²¹ To Gershon belonged the class of the Libnites and the clan of the Shimeites: these were the clans of the Gershonites.


(The Book of Numbers Chapter 3 verse 21)


Oh God, my father Gershon was a responsible and committed Levite. I pray that like Gershon we be active members in our churches and not be numbered in the world of statistics of churchgoers Amen.


²² Their enrollment, counting all the males from a month old and upward was seven thousand five hundred. ²³ The clans of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle on the west, ²⁴ with Eliasaph son of Lael as head of the ancestral house of the Gershonites. ²⁵ The responsibility of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting was to be the tabernacle, the tent with its covering, the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting, ²⁶ the hangings of the court, the screen for the entrance of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its cords-all the services pertaining to these.



(The Book of Numbers Chapter 3 verses 22 to 26)



Oh God my beloved Father what a grand and responsible role the Gershonites had. As you know once I was also a member of a group and was also given an important role to carry out, however You showed me that my place was not with this group. Today I realize that You used me as a means of encouragement for other group members, however, this is not the role that You assigned to me Amen.


²⁷ To Kohath belonged the clan of the Amramites, the clan of the Izharites, the clan of the Hebronites, and the clan of the Kohathites.


(The Book of Numbers Chapter 3 verse 27)


Oh God my beloved Father, the clan of Kohath had a very important role, that of taking care of the tent and all the apparatus needed to perform the rituals and sacrificial offerings, As one of Your Sons in the Holy Spirit, I am also to help keep the temple of my soul where You dwell in a healthy state Amen. However, I can only accomplish this with Your help, my God and Father Amen. Help me oh God for I need Your support. Amen.


²⁸ Counting all the males, from a month old and upward, there were eight thousand six hundred, attending to the duties of the sanctuary.



(The Book of Numbers Chapter 3 verse 28)



Oh God, my beloved Father when counting all the newborns and Catholics and Christians throughout the world by statistics I imagine that the numbers would be interesting to calculate, however when considering how many of us who are real believers and convinced of Your presence in their lives, the statistics would be more interesting. Even though I am a sinner by nature, I pray for deliverance from my sinful self. I pray for transformation from the natural carnal self to the spiritual self Amen. Thank You, Jesus.


²⁹ The clans of the Kohathites were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle, ³⁰ with Elizaphan son of Uzziel as head of the ancestral house of the clans of the Kohathites. ³¹ Their responsibility was to be the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and the screen-all the service pertaining to these.


(The Book of Numbers Chapter 3 verses 29 to 31)



Oh brothers and sisters, God my Father, when considering the important roles carried out by these people in service to You and others, I reflect on the roles that as Roman Catholics and Christians of all denominations and others with different religions on how much we are contributing in time of service to others. If we are not yet contributing this is the right time to do so if we think and feel that we can contribute more God bless the time given to us and let us bear much fruit Amen.


³² Eleazar son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the leaders of the Levites and to have oversight of those who had charge of the sanctuary.



(The Book of Numbers Chapter 3 verse 32)


Oh God my Father, I pray on behalf of managers, supervisors, ceo's of different agencies or companies in the world, because they are acting under Your authority, and we are to respect love and obey such people even though we may not always agree with their decisions Amen.


³³ To Merari belonged the clan of the Mahlites and the clan of the Mushites; these are the clans of Merari.


(The Book of Numbers Chapter 3 verse 33)



Oh God my Father in both past and present, You have assigned different roles to different people to fulfil both in the Roman Catholic Church and even throughout the world. I pray that You continue to give us the faith, values and wisdom in order to carry out such roles Amen. Help us to fulfil all for the glorification of Your name and not for our popularity amen. 


³⁴ Their enrollment, counting all the males from a month old and upward was six thousand two hundred.


(The Book of Numbers Chapter 3 verse 34)


Oh God, today there was the election for the candidates who are going to represent Malta in the European Union. Many people such as myself went to vote, however, if we were to vote for something having to do with our faith I doubt if our response would be as much as the response was for such humans.


³⁵ The head of the ancestral house of the clans of Merari was Zuriel son of Abihail; they were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. ³⁶ The responsibility assigned to the sons of Merari was to be the frames of the tabernacle, the bars, the pillars, the bases, and all their accessories-all the service pertaining to these; ³⁷ also the pillars of the court all around, with their bases and pegs and cords.



(The Book of Numbers Chapter 3 verses 35 to 37)



Oh God, my Father, in the Church we have all been given different roles all according to our abilities. I thank You for this role that You have given me. I thank You for the courage of speaking in Your name with every person that You allow me to meet Amen.


³⁸ Those who were to camp in front of the tabernacle on the eat-in front of the tent of meeting toward the east-west Moses and Aaron's sons, having charge of the rites within the sanctuary, whatever had to be done for the Israelites; and any outsider who came near was to be put to death.


(The Book of Numbers Chapter 3 verse 38)


In contrast to such times, the  Church of today is opening its doors to outsiders so that they become insiders and become new members of the body of Christ Jesus. Blessed be such newcomers Amen.


³⁹ The total enrollment of the Levites whom Moses and Aaron enrolled at the commandment of the LORD, by their clans, all males from a month old and upward, was twenty-two thousand. 



(The Book of Numbers Chapter 3 verse 39)


Oh God, my Father many generations have passed over the first Christians who believed in You and still do. I pray that the number to this day will continue to increase Amen.


⁴⁰ Then the LORD said to Moses: Enroll all the firstborn males of the Israelites, from a month old and upward, and count their names.


(The Book of Numbers Chapter 3 verse 40)



Oh brothers and sisters as members of this universal family of Jesus Christ, in our different ways we all have a special role to fulfil, regardless if we are super intelligent young and old, enabled or disabled in some or any way. As one body we all need to contribute all according to the skills knowledge and talents that God has given us Amen.


⁴¹ But you shall accept the Levites for me-I am the LORD-as substitutes for all the firstborn among the Israelites, and the livestock of the Levites as substitutes for all the firstborn among the livestock of the Israelites.


(The Book of Numbers Chapter 3 verse 41)


On reflecting oh God my Father I realize how important are priests and nuns who have received Your calling. These are special people even though not everyone considers them as being of such value. We are aware oh God my Father of the calling that You have given me to proclaim Your Word and follow You. I pray that You call me again my God and Father and renew my calling for I am finding no satisfaction in this world and I really wish to follow You closer than before Amen.


⁴² So Moses enrolled all the firstborn among the Israelites, as the LORD commanded him. ⁴³ The total enrollment, all the firstborn males from a month old and upward counting the number of names, was twenty-two thousand two hundred seventy-three.


(The Book of Numbers Chapter 3 verse 42 to 43)


Oh God my Father, during this time there were 22 thousand and 273 enrolled males. When checking re amount of baptized Roman Catholics in 2009 the total is 181,000,000. Amen.


⁴⁴ Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: ⁴⁵ Accept the Levites as substitutes for all firstborn among the Israelites, and the livestock of the Levites as substitutes for their livestock; and the Levites shall be mine. I am the LORD.


(The Book of Numbers Chapter 3 verse 44 to 45)


Oh God, my Father, I thank You for choosing Your people for Yourself. Even more, I thank You for choosing us as their descendants Amen. Thank You, Jesus.



⁴⁶ As the price of redemption of the two hundred seventy-three of the firstborn of the Israelites, over and above the number of the Levites, ⁴⁷ you shall accept five shekels apiece, reckoning by the shekel of the sanctuary, a shekel of twenty gerahs.


(The Book of Numbers Chapter 3 verse 46 to 47)


Oh God, my Father I thank You for paying the price of my redemption which cost a price in euros that as a human I can never payback. I thank You for settling the balance with Your Holy Blood during the passion Amen.


⁴⁸ Give to Aaron and his sons the money by which the excess number of them is redeemed.


(The Book of Numbers Chapter 3 verse 48)



Oh God my Father as in the example that You told Aaron to redeem the firstborn of the Levites, You also paid the price to redeem us sinners in full. I thank You for doing so my God and Father Amen.



⁴⁹ So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those redeemed by the Levites; ⁵⁰ from the firstborn of the Israelites he took the money, one thousand three hundred sixty-five shekels, reckoned by the Shekel of the sanctuary; ⁵¹ and Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the LORD, as the LORD had commanded Moses.


(The Book of Numbers Chapter 3 verses 49 to 51)



Oh God, my Father, I pray that You make of us a world that is both generous kind and willing to be of help and support to others. I pray that as sons and daughters we follow in Your example, You who kept on giving up to the last second of Your life on earth Amen.


Oh God, my Father, I would like to end the third chapter of the Book of Number with the following prayer:-


Oh God, my Father, Your Church has been accused of possessing much wealth and has even been labelled as being worldly and materialistic. I pray that You enlighten the people responsible to distribute the income to those who are greatest in need. I pray that there will come a time when the Roman Catholic Church will depend on its parishioners for its earnings and in doing so depend on Your Divine providence Amen.