[Numbers 7] The Voice of God Speaking into Your Liberality. In this chapter, after the tabernacle is set up and activated, we see the leaders of the 12 tribes go beyond all expectations in their giving. Leaders lead in giving in this chapter. Leaders who don’t lead in giving will struggle with small-minded, tight-fisted people. Leaders who lead in giving must give away from themselves. When this kind of leadership in giving is in evidence, there is a voice of God that will be heard that will not come any other way. God will not speak to a small-minded, tight-fisted church or individual. When your hand is open to Him, His voice will speak the healing, delivering word from the Mercy seat between the Cherubim – even the word that you are crying out for in your life.
[Num 7:1-89 KJV] 1 And it came to pass on the day that Moses had fully set up the tabernacle, and had anointed it, and sanctified it, and all the instruments thereof, both the altar and all the vessels thereof, and had anointed them, and sanctified them; 2 That the princes of Israel, heads of the house of their fathers, who [were] the princes of the tribes, and were over them that were numbered, offered: 3 And they brought their offering before the LORD, six covered wagons, and twelve oxen; a wagon for two of the princes, and for each one an ox: and they brought them before the tabernacle. 4 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 5 Take [it] of them, that they may be to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; and thou shalt give them unto the Levites, to every man according to his service. 6 And Moses took the wagons and the oxen, and gave them unto the Levites. 7 Two wagons and four oxen he gave unto the sons of Gershon, according to their service: 8 And four wagons and eight oxen he gave unto the sons of Merari, according unto their service, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. 9 But unto the sons of Kohath he gave none: because the service of the sanctuary belonging unto them [was that] they should bear upon their shoulders. 10 And the princes offered for dedicating of the altar in the day that it was anointed, even the princes offered their offering before the altar. 11 And the LORD said unto Moses, They shall offer their offering, each prince on his day, for the dedicating of the altar. 12 And he that offered his offering the first day was Nahshon the son of Amminadab, of the tribe of Judah: 13 And his offering [was] one silver charger, the weight thereof [was] an hundred and thirty [shekels], one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them [were] full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: 14 One spoon of ten [shekels] of gold, full of incense: 15 One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 16 One kid of the goats for a sin offering: 17 And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this [was] the offering of Nahshon the son of Amminadab. 18 On the second day Nethaneel the son of Zuar, prince of Issachar, did offer: 19 He offered [for] his offering one silver charger, the weight whereof [was] an hundred and thirty [shekels], one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: 20 One spoon of gold of ten [shekels], full of incense: 21 One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 22 One kid of the goats for a sin offering: 23 And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this [was] the offering of Nethaneel the son of Zuar. 24 On the third day Eliab the son of Helon, prince of the children of Zebulun, [did offer]: 25 His offering [was] one silver charger, the weight whereof [was] an hundred and thirty [shekels], one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: 26 One golden spoon of ten [shekels], full of incense: 27 One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 28 One kid of the goats for a sin offering: 29 And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this [was] the offering of Eliab the son of Helon. 30 On the fourth day Elizur the son of Shedeur, prince of the children of Reuben, [did offer]: 31 His offering [was] one silver charger of the weight of an hundred and thirty [shekels], one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: 32 One golden spoon of ten [shekels], full of incense: 33 One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 34 One kid of the goats for a sin offering: 35 And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this [was] the offering of Elizur the son of Shedeur. 36 On the fifth day Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai, prince of the children of Simeon, [did offer]: 37 His offering [was] one silver charger, the weight whereof [was] an hundred and thirty [shekels], one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: 38 One golden spoon of ten [shekels], full of incense: 39 One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 40 One kid of the goats for a sin offering: 41 And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this [was] the offering of Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. 42 On the sixth day Eliasaph the son of Deuel, prince of the children of Gad, [offered]: 43 His offering [was] one silver charger of the weight of an hundred and thirty [shekels], a silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: 44 One golden spoon of ten [shekels], full of incense: 45 One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 46 One kid of the goats for a sin offering: 47 And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this [was] the offering of Eliasaph the son of Deuel. 48 On the seventh day Elishama the son of Ammihud, prince of the children of Ephraim, [offered]: 49 His offering [was] one silver charger, the weight whereof [was] an hundred and thirty [shekels], one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: 50 One golden spoon of ten [shekels], full of incense: 51 One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 52 One kid of the goats for a sin offering: 53 And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this [was] the offering of Elishama the son of Ammihud. 54 On the eighth day [offered] Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, prince of the children of Manasseh: 55 His offering [was] one silver charger of the weight of an hundred and thirty [shekels], one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: 56 One golden spoon of ten [shekels], full of incense: 57 One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 58 One kid of the goats for a sin offering: 59 And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this [was] the offering of Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. 60 On the ninth day Abidan the son of Gideoni, prince of the children of Benjamin, [offered]: 61 His offering [was] one silver charger, the weight whereof [was] an hundred and thirty [shekels], one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: 62 One golden spoon of ten [shekels], full of incense: 63 One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 64 One kid of the goats for a sin offering: 65 And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this [was] the offering of Abidan the son of Gideoni. 66 On the tenth day Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai, prince of the children of Dan, [offered]: 67 His offering [was] one silver charger, the weight whereof [was] an hundred and thirty [shekels], one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: 68 One golden spoon of ten [shekels], full of incense: 69 One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 70 One kid of the goats for a sin offering: 71 And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this [was] the offering of Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. 72 On the eleventh day Pagiel the son of Ocran, prince of the children of Asher, [offered]: 73 His offering [was] one silver charger, the weight whereof [was] an hundred and thirty [shekels], one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: 74 One golden spoon of ten [shekels], full of incense: 75 One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 76 One kid of the goats for a sin offering: 77 And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this [was] the offering of Pagiel the son of Ocran. 78 On the twelfth day Ahira the son of Enan, prince of the children of Naphtali, [offered]: 79 His offering [was] one silver charger, the weight whereof [was] an hundred and thirty [shekels], one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: 80 One golden spoon of ten [shekels], full of incense: 81 One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 82 One kid of the goats for a sin offering: 83 And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this [was] the offering of Ahira the son of Enan. 84 This [was] the dedication of the altar, in the day when it was anointed, by the princes of Israel: twelve chargers of silver, twelve silver bowls, twelve spoons of gold: 85 Each charger of silver [weighing] an hundred and thirty [shekels], each bowl seventy: all the silver vessels [weighed] two thousand and four hundred [shekels], after the shekel of the sanctuary: 86 The golden spoons [were] twelve, full of incense, [weighing] ten [shekels] apiece, after the shekel of the sanctuary: all the gold of the spoons [was] an hundred and twenty [shekels]. 87 All the oxen for the burnt offering [were] twelve bullocks, the rams twelve, the lambs of the first year twelve, with their meat offering: and the kids of the goats for sin offering twelve. 88 And all the oxen for the sacrifice of the peace offerings [were] twenty and four bullocks, the rams sixty, the he goats sixty, the lambs of the first year sixty. This [was] the dedication of the altar, after that it was anointed. 89 And when Moses was gone into the tabernacle of the congregation to speak with him, then he heard the voice of one speaking unto him from off the mercy seat that [was] upon the ark of testimony, from between the two cherubims: and he spake unto him.
When you read here in Numbers 7 that Moses has now fully set up the tabernacle, you wonder what happened in Exodus 40 when it was supposed to have already taken place. Some scholars believe this indicates that the narrative, therefore, is corrupt and unreliable here in Numbers. However, the word “day” here refers to an “indeterminate” amount of time, not a specific point on the calendar. The people had already as a nation given everything necessary to build the tabernacle in the wilderness to the point that Moses had to command them to stop giving. But now when the work of the tabernacle was complete, anointed and put into service, we see the heads of the houses of Israel, the leaders of the twelve tribes come together to give what they perceived would be of use in the continuing work of the Levites in caring for and administrating the service of worship in the Tabernacle of the Testament where the ark of the covenant rested.
The leaders in this passage are distinguished not by what they took but by what they gave. If you are not a giver, you are not a leader. Leaders lead in every major endeavor in the kingdom, including giving. These leaders were giving AWAY from themselves. They were not just benefactors to their own cause and tribe. Many leaders today in ministry give and give liberally – to their own cause. If you are going to distinguish yourself as a leader, you will give away from yourself conspicuously and liberally.
The princes gave 12 oxen and six wagons to the families of the Levites. However, God corrects this where the sons of Kohath were concerned because they were not allowed to carry the ark of the covenant and other sacred artifacts of the tabernacle on wagons; they had to carry them on their shoulders PERSONALLY. Think about this – do not take what God gives you and use it to make things easier for yourself to the point of corrupting his plan for your life. I remember showing up for a workday at church, and I was the only one that came out of a congregation of over 100 people. One part of what we were doing was pouring a small concrete foundation. The concrete truck arrived, and I was the only one there: no deacon, no volunteers, no helpers. The concrete was poured, and I did my best to smooth it out on the form. At one point, I miscalculated and slipped, my head striking an iron beam and knocking myself unconscious on the ground. When I woke up lying by myself on the ground, I heard the Lord say, “How many people are in your congregation?” I answered, “around 150 on a good Sunday…” He replied, “the early church didn’t choose deacons till they had 13,000 members. Don’t complain about no help until you have those kinds of numbers!” It was a real correction of my idea of the entitlements of leaders. Pastors, God hasn’t called us to be little religious Napoleons, stirring a tempest in a teapot of our own self-significance. We are to lead in giving, lead in sacrificing, lead in giving of ourselves before the people. If you don’t have this in your character, you are not ready or currently qualified to lead I don’t care how outwardly successful you think you are.
Throughout the remainder of this chapter is the litany of inventory that the leaders in Israel gave. They didn’t leave this to others to do. They were willing to give and willing for their gift to be made known as an example to others and an expression of their willing hearts. The people had already given liberally to the point they were commanded to cease giving. Now the leaders and living up to that same standard. What was the result of all this liberality? We see the result in the last part of the chapter. Moses deals with all this giving by the leaders, and when he turns and enters the Holy of Holies, he then hears a voice speaking from the mercy seat between the cherubim. I submit to you that there is a voice from God that will never be heard by a tight-fisted, small-minded group, or individual in the kingdom of God. Why do you think the enemy has fought so hard to corrupt the church with stinginess and greed? Why do you think that Satan introduced the vow of poverty in the centuries past in the dark ages? Satan knows he cannot shut God’s mouth, but he is very effective in closing the people’s hearts.
Jesus taught on this very subject in Matthew and Luke:
[Mat 6:19-21 KJV] 19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
God is speaking where your heart is open and tender. He is silent when we hold back in resentment and unbelief. Your hand will be extended where your interests and fidelities lie. There is a voice to be heard that brings breakthrough and change and deliverance if you are willing to be open and liberal and experience the Mercy Seat kindness of God speaking directly to your life from the tabernacle in the heavens.
