# 23~ Twenty Four & Five Series

# 23~ TWENTY FOUR & FIVE ~ BIBLE NUMBER MEANINGS~ 3-31-12

TWENTY-FOUR is the number that denotes the PRIESTHOOD, it is found in our KJ Bible NINE times, twice in the O.T. and seven in the N.T. as; "FOUR AND TWENTY".

Both Moses and David ordered all things connected with the Tabernacle and Temple worship by the direct revelation from God, as a copy of things in the heavens.

* For those listening that might not know, the Tabernacle was the portable place of

worship for Israel during their wilderness journey.

When God brought Israel out of Egypt into the wilderness, He set up a system of worship which centered around the Tabernacle-a portable Temple-a large tent with an enclosing wall of curtains. The Levites were trained to erect, dismantle and carry the Tabernacle from place to place. The design of the Tabernacle was given to Moses by God at Mount Sinai (Exodus 25:8), and it was constructed by the skilled craftsmen of Israel.

Both priests and Levites sprang from a common ancestor. They traced their lineage back to Levi, head of one of the original twelve tribes of Israel. But these two offices were different in that the priests were a specific branch of Levites that descended through Aaron. The priests and Levites were all descendants of Levi in general, but they performed different duties as to do with the Tabernacle.

Priests officiated at worship by offering various offerings and by leading the people to confess their sins.

The Levites were assistants to the priests. They took care of the Tabernacle as well as the Temple later on, and the Levites performed all other tasks, such as providing music, serving as doorkeepers, and preparing sacrifices for offering by the priests.

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* If you’ll recall, John the Baptist Dad Zechariah was a priest:

Luke 1:5 & 8 - 9 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia:

* Course of Abijah is one of the several divisions of Jewish priests.

From the days of David, the priesthood was organized into TWENTY FOUR divisions (1 Chr. 24:1--19). This was done partly because of the large number of priests, and thus providing each division an eight-day service twice each year.

The course of Abia: was the eighth division, and one of only four divisions which returned from the Babylonian captivity.

8And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course, (the course of Abia)

9According to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. -- It had been predetermined by LOT to go into the Lord’s temple that day and to burn incense.

To draw lots, means to determine an event by drawing a previously designated object to determine a person’s job appointment or specific job.

And as we’re told in Lk.1:9 to do with the priest Zacharias,-- his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.--

Priests and Levites were designated by drawing lots, for sanctuary service, 1 Chr. 24:5-31; 26:13; Neh. 10:34; Luke 1:9.

Let us not get the idea that this was some sort or method of gambling, no one was going to gain or lose anything of personal value, but because of the great number of preists and Levites this was a practicle and egually honest way to do it.

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In Exodus 40: we find the sevenfold phrase "as the LORD commanded Moses" witnesses to the divine ordering of all to do with the place of worship, the Tabernacle.

It was so with the twenty-four courses of priests in the earthly Temple as well; these were formed on the "pattern of things in the heavens."

Hebrews 8:5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith HE, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.

In I st. Chronicles 24:1-18, David is found there distributing the priesthood among TWENTY-FOUR of the descendants of Aaron.

__REMEMBER, Aaron and Moses’ were brothers, Aaron was 3 years older than Moses, they were of the tribe of LEVI, all priest were Levites__

Aaron had four sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.

On their very first day of service, after their seven-day consecration, Nadab and Abihu, the two oldest sons of Aaron (Ex. 6:23), were slain in the court of the tabernacle.

It probably was because they put hot coals in their censers which were not from the altar of burnt offering.

Leviticus 10:1-2 And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. 2And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.