CHAPTER 8 Mar. 27 
The Sanctifying of the Levites
Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2Speak to Aaron, and tell him, ‘When you light the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front of the lampstand’.3Aaron did so. He lit its lamps to light the area in front of the lampstand, as Yahweh commanded Moses. 4This was the workmanship of the lampstand, beaten work of gold. From its base to its flowers, it was beaten work: according to the pattern which Yahweh had shown Moses, so he made the lampstand. 5Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 6Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them. 7You shall do this to them, to cleanse them: sprinkle the water of cleansing on them, let them shave their whole bodies with a razor, and let them wash their clothes, and cleanse themselves. 8Then let them take a young bull, and its grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil; and another young bull you shall take for a sin offering. 9You shall present the Levites before the Tent of Meeting. You shall assemble the whole congregation of the children of Israel. 10You shall present the Levites before Yahweh. The children of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites, 11and Aaron shall offer the Levites before Yahweh for a wave offering, on the behalf of the children of Israel, that it may be theirs to do the service of Yahweh. 12The Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, and you shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering to Yahweh, to make atonement for the Levites. 13You shall set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them as a wave offering to Yahweh. 14Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the children of Israel, and the Levites shall be Mine. 15After that, the Levites shall go in to do the service of the Tent of Meeting: and you shall cleanse them, and offer them as a wave offering. 16For they are wholly given to Me from among the children of Israel; instead of all who open the womb, even the firstborn of all the children of Israel, I have taken them to Me. 17For all the firstborn among the children of Israel are Mine, both man and animal. On the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified them for Myself. 18I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel. 19I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the Tent of Meeting, and to make atonement for the children of Israel that there be no plague among the children of Israel, when the children of Israel come near to the sanctuary.20Moses, and Aaron, and all the congregation of the children of Israel did so to the Levites. According to all that Yahweh commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so the children of Israel did to them. 21The Levites purified themselves from sin, and they washed their clothes; and Aaron offered them for a wave offering before Yahweh; and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them. 22After that, the Levites went in to do their service in the Tent of Meeting before Aaron, and before his sons, as Yahweh had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them. 23Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 24This is that which belongs to the Levites: from twenty-five years old and upward they shall go in to serve in the service in the work of the Tent of Meeting; 25and from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting on the work, and shall serve no more, 26but shall minister with their brothers in the Tent of Meeting, to perform the duty, and shall do no service. You shall do thus to the Levites concerning their duties.

Commentary

8:7 Washing and becoming like new born children, with no body hair, looks forward to baptism. We’re not baptized just for the sake of it; we do this so that we may be made holy or separated unto the service of God. We are God’s, just as they were (:14). 
8:12 The sin offering always preceded the burnt offering. Dedication to God, represented by the burnt offering, is on the basis of our recognizing first of all our sinfulness and need for His grace. This is why the sin offering always precedes the burnt offering in the Mosaic rituals. We too have been cleansed by the blood of Christ in order to serve Him and His Father (Heb. 9:14; 1 Thess. 1:9).
8:14 Separate- The Levites were separated unto God’s service; it wasn’t so much that they were separate from others in a negative sense; rather they were positively separatedunto God’s service. We shouldn’t see holiness as negative- that we can no longer do certain things; but instead focus on what positively we have been separated unto.
 8:19 That there be no plague among the children of Israel- The spiritual and physical wellbeing of others can depend upon third parties, in this case the faithfulness of the Levites. Others can suffer because of our lack of diligence; it’s not that if we don’t do our part for them, then God will raise up others to do what we ought to have done. He may do this, as He was prepared to at the time of Esther, but He wishes us to see the eternal consequence of our actions upon others.
8:24 That which belongs to- A reference to the fact the Levites had no possessions of land within Israel. What belonged to them was the honour of serving God; whether or not we own property in this present age, our eternal possession is the honour of being God’s servants. To be a servant, in a world where perceived ‘freedom’ is so cherished, is to be our greatest possession.