Daily Devotion | Numbers 8:14–26 | 2026 April 22

Title: Daily Devotion | Numbers 8:14–26 | 2026 April 22

Scripture: Numbers 8:14–26 (ESV, reference only)

Date: 2026 April 22

Speaker: Rev. John Chen

Transcribed, translated & edited by: Joseph Wang (Yufan)

Alright, dear brothers and sisters, peace to you. We thank God for His grace that brings us into a new day, to study the daily devotion together. Today’s passage is Numbers chapter 8, verses 14 through 26. Let us pray. Lord, we thank You that You are so willing to show us grace and mercy. Before all these statutes and ordinances, You let us know how we ought to live in holiness, how we ought to draw near to You. We, who deserve destruction, how can we come near to You, the holy God? Lord, we ask for Your grace; be among us. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Alright, we thank God for His grace. Today we continue to look at Numbers chapter 8. In fact, as we mentioned yesterday, verses 5 through 26 form one whole section, speaking about the cleansing of the Levites. Yesterday we covered part of it. Because the content was quite full, we divided it into two parts, but it is not two separate matters—it is one single matter. Yesterday, in the event of setting apart the Levites to the LORD, what it pointed to was this doctrine: our sin needs atonement; our sin needs to be redeemed; there must be a substitute who dies in our place. That was the doctrine we discussed yesterday.

Today we deal with another doctrine, beginning from verse 14. This second doctrine is that all who are sinful must be put to death. Yesterday we spoke of substitution; today we speak of necessary execution. Where do we see this in the text? In verse 17: “For all the firstborn among the people of Israel are mine, both of man and of beast. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated them for myself.”

This brings us before another doctrine, which we may call the covenant of works. That is to say, when God struck down the firstborn in Egypt, in fact, the firstborn of Israel should also have been struck down. We must have this understanding. We must not think that because there was the Passover, because there was the lamb, the Israelites were naturally exempt from death. In fact, they were not exempt. In fact, they ought to have been destroyed together with all the firstborn of Egypt.

This is the second layer of doctrine that the consecration of the Levites reveals to us. So how do we understand this matter? In fact, this is also what the gospel tells us. When we say that the gospel is good news, we often overlook one issue: without bad news, the good news is actually useless. For example, if you tell someone, “Jesus Christ loves us, He saves us, and He brings us to heaven,” the person may say, “That sounds very good.” And then you ask, “Would you like to believe in Jesus?” He may say, “Yes, that sounds fine—going to heaven is good.”

But in fact, you have only preached half of the good news. Because before the good news, there is bad news. This is something we must understand. What is the bad news? The bad news is that every person must be put to death. And this is a key point we want to speak about today. Before the arrival of the gospel as good news, we must first convey a piece of bad news. This bad news is what the Ten Commandments tell us: when the Israelites were in Egypt, their firstborn should have been struck down together with the firstborn of Egypt. All people should be destroyed under God’s wrath. This is the bad news. This is the background of the good news.

If there were no such bad news, the good news would have no meaning at all. From another perspective, as I have mentioned before in sermons and in these daily devotions, every human being, whether he knows it or not, whether he likes it or not, is born already under a covenant. This covenant is called the covenant of works. That is, when God created man, He gave man this covenant. This covenant does not depend on human will. It is not something man can avoid, nor is it conditioned on whether you are able to keep it. It is a command imposed by God upon man—that you must obey all the statutes and ordinances God has set.

So does man know this? According to the Bible, man ought to know. God’s eternal power and divine nature have been clearly perceived through what has been made, so that people are without excuse. God has imprinted the moral law upon the human heart, requiring man to follow this moral standard. This is not subject to human will. You, as a human being, ought to know. You may say, “I don’t know the Bible,” but the Bible already tells you—you ought to know.

Even if you insist on denying your responsibility, this responsibility still remains inexcusable. Romans 1:20 says that ever since the creation of the world, God’s invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, though they cannot be seen, through what has been made, so that people are without excuse. And verse 21 says, although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

So this passage clearly tells us that people know there is a God, and they also know that God requires them to obey the moral law. But people deliberately resist. They do not treat Him as God, nor do they give thanks to Him. This is man’s own problem. Verse 19 also says that what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. So Romans 1:19 makes it very clear: what people need to know about God, God has already revealed to them.

But this revelation refers mainly to condemnation, not to redemption, because redemption still requires special grace. As far as common grace is concerned, what man needs to know is this: you are required to keep God’s covenant of works; you are required to obey God’s moral law. Although the degree of this awareness differs from person to person, Scripture makes one thing very clear: everyone ought to know. If you say you do not know, that still does not remove the responsibility. The responsibility has already been placed upon you. So what is the background being given to us here? The Ten Commandments tell us that all people ought to be struck down. The Israelites ought to have been struck down. This is also the background of mankind’s condition, and the background of redemption itself. Precisely because there is this bad news, the good news becomes so precious.

And what is the good news? The good news is that among all those who are perishing, if you are willing to believe and rely on Christ, who was nailed to the cross for your sins, then you may be saved. That is the good news. So without the background of bad news, the good news really has no meaning. Some people may say, “Are you painting the bad news this dark simply in order to make the good news stand out more clearly? Are you making the background darker on purpose so that the good news will look brighter?”

No. What we are telling people—especially those who do not believe in the Lord—is the truth, the real situation. We are not telling you bad news just to highlight the good news. Rather, we are telling you that this bad news is true, and this good news is also true. All people are headed for destruction. Then, at the Passover, God used the blood of the lamb in place of the firstborn sons of Israel. What did that signify? It signified that God was willing, in His Son, to particularly choose for Himself a people who belong to Him. These people receive the redemption of the Lord Jesus Christ by faith, and thus they may escape the final judgment. This is the gospel. This is the good news.

So when we preach the gospel in the future, remember that both messages must be spoken. We must speak the bad news, and we must also speak the good news. If there is no bad news, then this good news does not truly become good news. I especially want to remind everyone of this. And here this is the main point I want to make today: in verse 17, all people ought to be put to death. So the Israelites must not think that they could naturally escape this judgment. The only reason they could escape was absolutely not because they themselves were good, but because there was a lamb in their place. This is the idea of substitution we discussed yesterday. And for that reason, the firstborn sons of Israel ought to serve God.

Then the Levites serve God in place of the firstborn sons. This is the truth that verses 14 through 19 are teaching us. That is why today I placed this truth here, because I felt it should be spoken in a second part: only when there is bad news can there be good news. So then, how did all these Levites come to belong to God? If you follow the logic, all people ought to be struck down, and the firstborn of Israel ought to be struck down. But on that day, because the blood of the lamb was applied, the firstborn sons of Israel were allowed to live. Therefore, by that logic, those firstborn sons should have served God.

But because it was God’s intention that one tribe should serve Him, He set apart the tribe of Levi to serve in place of the firstborn sons of Israel. These people too are a people brought forth by the precious blood of Jesus Himself. And what do they do? They handle the affairs of the tabernacle, and they prevent the Israelites from coming too near the tabernacle, because if they came near improperly, judgment would come upon them.

So what does this show us? It tells us that the holy God cannot be offended. The holy God requires complete holiness. He especially trains one tribe to live a clean life so that they may draw near to Him, while those who are unclean may not draw near. Whenever unclean people come near to Him, they must be destroyed. That is the theological idea being communicated here. Of course, we know that neither the holiness of the Levites nor the holiness of the high priest was true holiness in itself. Rather, all these earthly types, these visible shadows, were pointing to the One who is truly holy—Jesus Christ. Only Jesus Christ can truly draw near to the sanctuary. Only Jesus Christ, the one person with two natures, fully God and fully man, can bring us before the Father. And we who are filthy sinners worship the one true God only in Jesus Christ.

So the reason we do not die is not because we ourselves are clean enough, but because we are in Jesus Christ, and because the blood of Jesus Christ has covered us. Therefore we may escape the danger of being struck down. That is why Hebrews tells us that we may come boldly before the throne of grace, to receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. When we read such a passage, perhaps we do not feel very much. But if you place this verse against the background of the Old Testament, then you will see how weighty these words are: that we may come boldly before the Father’s throne of grace.

First of all, we are not Israelites. We could not even enter the camp of Israel. And even if a person were an Israelite, he still had to be an Israelite man. And even being an Israelite man was not enough—he had to be the firstborn son of Israel. And even that firstborn son still could not simply go in; he had to be represented by the Levites. Yet even the Levites were still not enough; there had to be the high priest. And the high priest could enter the Most Holy Place only once a year.

So brothers and sisters, do you see the levels here? The Israelites, the men of Israel, the firstborn sons of Israel, the Levites, the high priest—this entire complicated system was typologically pointing to Christ. Within such a complicated system, one could enter before the Father’s throne only once a year. But what is our privilege now? We may come boldly before the throne of grace, receive mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. We may come into the Most Holy Place at any time. We may come before the Father at any time.

Brothers and sisters, what a privilege this is. So if we do not understand the New Testament passages against the Old Testament background, then I think we do not really taste how good this is. We do not know what it is that we have received in the Lord Jesus Christ. The same is true of the bad news and the good news we just mentioned. The good news is that a truly believing person in Jesus is spared a certain kind of judgment—a dreadful judgment indeed. If you do not stop and think carefully about that, then you will have very little gratitude for the redemption of the Lord Jesus, for His person, and for His work. So we must think much on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now let us move on to verses 20 through 22. Here some expressions are repeated: “Thus did the people of Israel to them,” and again, “according to all that the LORD commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so the people of Israel did to them.” What do verses 20 through 22 refer to? They refer to the obedience of the Israelites. Verse 20 says, “Thus did Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the people of Israel to the Levites.” So here you can see the obedience of the Israelites.

And here we also see a very beautiful scene. When we read the Old Testament, we should not say that the Israelites were always rebellious and always resisting. That would be a very bad testimony. In fact, it would be a false testimony, because there were times when they were indeed obedient. For example, when they offered the gifts for the sanctuary, and now here in the matter concerning the Levites, and also in the covenant ceremony, there are many such instances. We should still remember these things, and we should still acknowledge that in these matters the Israelites did very well.

So the repetition here shows that at this point the Israelites were very obedient to the LORD. This is a commendable part of them. Where they should be praised, we should praise them. And this too is an example to us. Although we ourselves cannot keep the law in order to be justified—Jesus Christ fulfilled the law for us—still, like the Israelites here, we ought, in Jesus Christ, to do our utmost to obey God’s commands and live a holy life. Whatever the LORD says, that is what we should do. The LORD is our center. The law is our center.

Next, verses 23 through 26 speak about the matter of age. Some people may have a question here, because earlier, in chapter 4, it says that among the Levites—whether the Kohathites, the Gershonites, or the Merarites—the age for service was from thirty to fifty. But now it becomes twenty-five. So what does that mean? Here I want to remind everyone that this probably means that beginning service at age twenty-five did not yet mean formal service; rather, it was likely an apprenticeship. In other words, to become a Levite, you needed five years of training.

Then verses 25 through 26 tell us what they were to do after retiring at fifty. So I think chapter 8 and chapter 4 do not contradict one another. Chapter 4 says that from age thirty to fifty was the proper period of labor, the period in which they performed the actual work of service. That was the period of formal labor. But chapter 8 tells us that the apprenticeship of a Levite began at age twenty-five. From twenty-five to thirty, those five years were apprenticeship. So you can see that the Israelites had a very long period of training. Why? Because if you were going to do holy work, you must not make mistakes. If mistakes were made, that could lead to death. So in the Old Testament era, they had to learn very carefully. Not one part of the process could go wrong.

First they would watch their fathers, and their fathers would watch their older brothers carry out the work. Then, by the time they themselves did it, they would already be very skilled. Verse 25 tells us what happened after retirement. On the one hand, before beginning full work, there was an apprenticeship. On the other hand, after retirement, what happened? It says that they should minister no more, meaning that they were no longer to carry the loads. They were still to assist their brothers in the tent of meeting by keeping guard, but they were no longer to perform the heavy labor. So after age fifty, the retired Levites still followed God’s statutes and ordinances, but they were no longer to transport the objects of the tabernacle. That was the nature of their work.

So the meaning of verses 23 through 26 is this: before official work, there was a five-year apprenticeship; after retirement, they no longer carried the objects, but they still served in the tent of meeting together with the others, helping and assisting. It was not the case that at age thirty a man would suddenly begin serving with no preparation. No, he needed a period of apprenticeship. Nor was it the case that after retirement he could then do whatever he pleased. No. He was a Levite, one set apart as holy, so for his whole life he remained in service to God in the tent of meeting. It was only that he no longer had to carry the physical burdens.

As we mentioned earlier, the age from thirty to fifty is the period when a man’s energy is strongest, his experience richest, and his character most stable. So you can see that in many important selections this is the age that is chosen. Even astronauts are often chosen from this age range. It is not that the best age for important work is necessarily the early twenties, when a person is full of youthful vigor and physical strength. That is not really the point. Rather, the body needs to be mature. So for significant responsibilities, the age from thirty to fifty is the most fitting. This corresponds to ordinary human wisdom.

Then at the end there is another repeated word: concerning what was commanded regarding the Levites, this is how they were to do it. So again, God’s command and Israel’s obedience. Now, looking back over this whole passage on the cleansing of the Levites, we have learned two doctrines from it—one from yesterday and one from today. Yesterday we learned that sin requires a substitute. Today we learned that all people, before the justice of God, must be destroyed. One is the good news we spoke of yesterday: someone bears your sin away for you. The other is the bad news we spoke of today: all people must face destruction before God’s righteousness.

So we want to remind everyone that the gospel is good, but before telling people the good news of the gospel, the bad news also must be proclaimed. Of course, some people will resist us, some will despise us, and some will not understand why the gospel is good news, or what the gospel has truly accomplished. But that is their matter. As for us, we simply speak truthfully, and tell them the facts as they are. And we also believe that if a person is truly opened by God, he will see that he is in danger of death, and that he needs the redemption of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ.

May the Lord lead and help each one of us, so that in both the bad news and the good news of the gospel, we may find the redemption that the Lord Jesus Christ gives us. At the same time, within that redemption, may we think more deeply about the person of the Lord Jesus Christ—His attributes, His states, that is, His humiliation and His exaltation. His humiliation has four states, and His exaltation has four states. We mentioned these when we studied the Larger Catechism, and everyone should remember them. And finally, there are the three offices of Jesus. Jesus Christ is Prophet, Priest, and King. As we continually meditate on Christ in His person, His attributes, His states, and His offices, we will love Him more and more. We will love this Christ who was crucified for us, and we will thank Him for His redemption, so that in Him we may better worship God the Father. Alright, our sharing ends simply here today. Thank you, everyone.