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The leaders bring gifts to God’s Tent – Numbers 7:1-89.

With exception of Psalm 119, chapter 7 is the longest chapter in the Old Testament. We must remember that the Bible was not split up into chapters and verses. That was done much later for our ease of understanding and being able to locate things. Those who did this attempted to keep things in context, but it is not always correct. The original text repeats the same list of gifts 12 times, once for each leader. v12-83.

These events happened one month before the census in Numbers 1:1-4. The list of men and tribes is in the same order as in Numbers 2:1-34. Each leader brought the same gifts. Each tribe was equally important to God and no doubt the author repeated the list 12 times to show this. The list of the leaders reminds us that God knows every person’s name. Everyone is special to God.

The leaders gave carts and oxen to transport the tabernacle. Remember that God had said what could be transported on carts. It did not include the Ark of the Covenant and in 2 Samuel 6 we have the disastrous event of transporting the Ark on a new cart, when Uzzah was struck dead for touching it. They gave objects for the priests to use in God’s Tent. The objects were beautiful and practical, too. Also, the leaders brought animals to offer as sacrifices.

The gifts and offerings were very expensive. But the leaders were happy to give them. The Hebrew word for offering is from a word that means ‘to come near’ to someone or something. When the leaders brought gifts to the tabernacle, they brought them near to God.

God’s Tent (the tabernacle) was the special place where God met with the Israelites. But we know that God does not live in one place only. He is everywhere, hence the reference that He is omnipresent.

God spoke to Moses in God’s Tent, when Moses stood by the Ark. The Ark represented the presence of God, it was holy, but God did not live in it, Verse 89 reminds us of this. When God spoke, his voice came from above the Ark.

Gold covered the Ark on the inside and the outside. On the top, there was a large piece of gold and there was a model of an angel at each end. God’s voice came from between these angels.

Today, we do not have to go to a special place to meet God. We can meet God by means of His Son, Jesus Christ. When we pray to Jesus, we are talking to God. Jesus brings God’s message to us also, by means of The Holy Spirit and His Word. We can pray to Jesus wherever we are. We can speak to Him at any time.

What a privilege we have! Do we overlook it? Maybe sometimes we forget it or even reject it.

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About this site

I am not a qualified theologian; I am an ordinary guy who just loves reading and studying the Bible. I recognise the importance of preaching and teaching what the Bible says because it is God’s inspired message to our world. In my lifetime of around seven decades, I have listened to the some of the finest Bible teachers and preachers and learned a lot from them. I have used the New King James Version of the Bible. Please pray that God will help you to understand it. Make your own notes if that helps you. This is not meant to be a commentary or a paraphrase. I simply want to share a few thoughts which I hope will be a help to you. Make sure that you have a bible open alongside. You may not agree with my comments. If you don’t, please read the Bible and study it for yourself and ask The LORD to guide you into all truth.

One thing has come home to me that the more I read the Bible is how it all fits together. There may be up to forty different writers/speakers but there is only ONE AUTHOR, God Himself.

A bit about me –

I was born into a Christian home but my father had a mining accident and died three months before I was born. I was brought up by a godly mother and grandparents with a largely wider Christian family around us.

I have been a member of only two churches in my lifetime, both of which faithfully teach the Bible, the Word of God. I was raised at Cave Browne Evangelical Church, Ashton-in-Makerfield near Wigan (Now Hope Church, Ashton). I realised at a young age that I was a sinner and received Jesus Christ as my Saviour at the age of eight.

I was a member there until 1970 by which time I had married Dorothy, my wonderful wife, and we had two sons. We moved to Warrington, Lancashire (now Cheshire since 1974) and quickly became members of Bethesda Evangelical Church, Stockton Heath, where we remain. (See below for our Statement of Faith)

I held leadership positions in both churches and was an elder for twenty-eight years at my present church, as well as musical director, organist, pianist at each church for over fifty years in total.

Over the last sixty years I have served the Lord in one way or another. I started work at the age of sixteen and was employed in the Magistrates’ Courts for the next forty-three years, taking early retirement in 2005. After meeting a former alcoholic who had become a Christian, and whose life had been changed by The Lord Jesus Christ beyond recognition, we wrote a book, published in 2007, which we entitled Alcohol Thriller or Killer. Having gathered sponsorship we supplied copies to every prison in the UK and some elsewhere.

As a result, we were invited to tell our story at around twenty prisons throughout the UK. We completed this ministry in 2010 after which I became involved with Christian Prison Resourcing going to prisons leading Bible Studies, which I continue to do. Our passion is to see prisoners’ lives transformed, their relationships restored and their communities rebuilt as they understand the good news of Jesus Christ. I have seen many prisoners find a personal faith in Jesus Christ and witnessed the change this brings in their lives.

During all this I have had the ever-present support of my wife, Dorothy. Our sons are both married, and we have six grandchildren.

JOHN HAYES

Bethesda’s Statement of Faith

We Believe:

 In the Divine inspiration, authority and sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures. 

 That God exists eternally in three Persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit to whom equal honour is due.

 That Jesus Christ, unique Son of God, became man, being begotten of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. 

 That He died for our sins, was buried and rose again for our justification. 

 That He ascended to the right hand of God and is now the all-sufficient High Priest of His people.

 That He will return personally to receive His people and judge the world in righteousness.

 That humanity has fallen and needs the Holy Spirit’s work of regeneration and sanctification.

 That fellowship with God may be restored by repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

 That at death a person’s soul does not cease to exist or become unconscious.

 That the dead will be raised either to life or condemnation and that the blessedness of the forgiven and the    punishment of the unforgiven will be alike eternal.  

Our practices:

We baptise believers by immersion on their personal confession of faith, and we commemorate the Lord’s death in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper (Communion) every Sunday.  

Our Goal – Is to honour and worship the Lord Jesus Christ by: 

  • Proclaiming God’s good news of forgiveness and new life through the Lord Jesus.
  • Promoting faithful Christian living.
  • Preserving pure Christian truth through the teaching of the Bible.
  • Providing for God’s people.

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