The overall lesson of Numbers 12 is not to lift yourself up above or at the expense of others. Miriam and Aaron presumed that their younger brother, Moses, had the same type of relationship with God as they enjoyed and complained that he was ruler over them. They had no idea how intimately God spoke with Moses until now.
People have a tendency to murmur for two reasons: hoping they won’t be heard and hoping they will. If we complain, God will hear it. If you hear people complaining, don’t join in. If we do, particularly about what God is doing or not doing, the consequences may be grim. God may be working in ways and through people unexpected.
When the cloud moved as God led Israel from Mt. Sinai to the Promised Land, the people were to follow it. Where the cloud rested, they rested. Similarly, we should not move anywhere unless God moves us. God knows our weaknesses. He knows how far we can move.
These silver trumpets have two primary purposes: to summon the congregation and to set out on their journey. The silver trumpet is used to make people alert and get attention. It is also used to sound the alarm of battle. It is the High Priest or His representatives who are to blow these silver trumpets. This job cannot be performed by a person who is not of the priestly line. It will be like this in the end time, as well, when a representative of our High Priest Yeshua will blow the final trumpet blasts to summon His people to resurrection and war against evil.
There are four lessons from Shavuot, aka Pentecost and the Feast of Weeks: 1. We are to have the same mind as is in Messiah Yeshua. 2. There are two different types of Firstfruits, and yet they are both “first.” 3. There was a delay between Yeshua’s call to the Jews vs. the Gentiles, and that is a good thing. 4. If you ask God for understanding, He will answer. Details are important, but they aren’t the only thing.
The Pesach (Passover) is one of the most solemn of God’s appointed times (a.k.a., feasts or festivals), it is the only feast inaugurated when God Himself shed blood. The Pesach is also the only feast with a “second chance,” which seems apropos for a God who is all about giving people opportunity for repentance and second chances. God also shows, through the Cloud, that when He says “move” we are to move. When God says, “Stay put,” we are to stay put.
Numbers 8 is very short, but there’s a lot of meat in here to digest. This chapter details the dedication of the Levites for service to the Tabernacle. The Levites were exchanged in place of the first-born sons of all Israel, and they were appointed to serve the High Priest and assist him in running the Tabernacle. The Torah is a picture showing us how God runs His kingdom.
The throne of the Kingdom of God is the “mercy seat.” That is the seat of His power. Aaron enters into God’s presence once a year (Yom haKippurim, the Day of Atonement), but he has to enter in with a spoon of burning incense. Without it, Aaron would have died. Our High Priest, Yeshua, entered the most holy place without the incense. He tore the veil, entered in and died.