If you have been studying from Genesis, you will have followed the Children of Israel into the Promised Land, been saddened by the times of the Judges and encouraged by Ruth.
This study recaps on a lot of what has already been covered, so you may simply want to skip this and move on to the next study. Or stay here for a reminder!
We are now going to look at the coming of the kings, and at the same time keeping our eyes open for the times when a prophet has to be sent to bring the word of the Lord to his people. It is also interesting to note that while the birth and childhood of the prophet Samuel is recorded in some detail, there is no detail at all concerning Saul and David.
But as always, before we move forward we need to do some revision. We will discover that the symbol of the Lord’s presence, the Tabernacle, with the Ark of the Covenant, has a central role. And the Tribe of Levi will also need our attention.
So firstly let’s consider the tribe of Levi – the Levites.
Why can’t we find on the map a tribal area assigned to them?
Why are they left out of the division of land in Joshua 13-19?
Look up Deuteronomy 18:1-2
1 The Levitical priests – indeed, the whole tribe of Levi – are to have no land allotted to them or any inheritance with Israel. They shall live on the food offerings presented to the Lord, for that is their inheritance. 2 They shall have no inheritance among their fellow Israelites; the Lord is their inheritance, as he promised them.
Numbers 35:1-5 explains:
1 On the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho, the Lord said to Moses, 2 ‘Command the Israelites to give the Levites towns to live in from the inheritance the Israelites will possess. And give them pasture-lands around the towns. 3 Then they will have towns to live in and pasture-lands for the cattle they own and all their other animals.
4 ‘The pasture-lands around the towns that you give the Levites will extend a thousand cubits from the town wall. 5 Outside the town, measure two thousand cubits on the east side, two thousand on the south side, two thousand on the west and two thousand on the north, with the town in the centre. They will have this area as pasture-land for the towns.
Why were the Levites so special?
Numbers 3:11-13 explains:
11 The Lord also said to Moses, 12 ‘I have taken the Levites from among the Israelites in place of the first male offspring of every Israelite woman. The Levites are mine, 13 for all the firstborn are mine. When I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, I set apart for myself every firstborn in Israel, whether human or animal. They are to be mine. I am the Lord’.
Specifically only the sons of Aaron and his descendants were to be Priests. But all Levites were to be dedicated as holy to God as substitutes for every first born male child and they were the only ones allowed to dismantle, carry and re-erect the Tabernacle each time it moved.
But once the Israelites had arrived in the Promised Land the Tabernacle no longer had to move. There was obviously work for the priests, and some Levites would no doubt be retained for maintenance and guard duties, and later as worship leaders (1 Chronicles 25:1 to 26:32), but most of them were no longer needed.
How many Levites were there?
23,000 males of 20+ years old (Numbers 26:62)
They had all been allocated towns with pasture lands for their livestock (Joshua 21:42). There was plenty of land – enough for them to cultivate if they wished. So I assume that is what happened to the majority of the now redundant Levites (remember the sad stories of the two Levites in Judges 17-18 & 19). Obviously, the names of many thousands of family members are not recorded and not shown on the chart.
Many years later, at the end of David's life, as he was tidying his affairs to pass the throne to Solomon, he made sure that they were better organised (see 1 Chronicles chapters 23-26).
Give out or display Levi’s family tree
Levi family tree
Who were the priests?
They were the sons of Aaron:- Eleazar and Ithamar (Numbers 3:2-4) and their direct male descendants.
Let’s just remind ourselves of the roles the Levites originally had.
Sons of Gershon (Gershonites) They had to carry the curtains and coverings (Numbers 4:21-28).
Numbers 4:5-14
Only the priests were allowed to look at the holy things inside the Tabernacle, so they have to wrap everything before (Numbers 4:15) the rest of the Kohathites took them out and carried them.
Numbers 4:16 Eleazar was specifically in charge of the lamp oil, the incense, the grain offering and the oil of anointing. Actually he was responsible for the whole tabernacle and everything in it.
What did his brother Ithamar do?
In Numbers 4:25 we read that Gershonites were to carry the curtains and coverings and in Numbers 4:29-33 the Merarites were to carry the timberwork etc.
In Numbers 4:28,33 Ithamar was put in charge of these two Levitical clans who were responsible for the structure of the Tabernacle.
Of the two sons who should eventually succeed Aaron as High Priest?
The rule was eldest son of the eldest son.
Eleazar was the older of the remaining sons of Aaron (Deuteronomy 10:6) and he played an important role in leading the people (Numbers 20 to the end).
Following the death of Aaron, Eleazar and his son Phinehas had a powerful position in the leadership of the Israelites. Numbers chapter 31 contains constant references to Moses and Eleazar, and Phinehas was sent into battle against the Midianites as the Lord’s representative (v6)
Once they had entered the Promised Land it was Eleazar and Joshua who allocated the land (Joshua 19:51).
As Eleazar got older, Phinehas his son took over (Joshua 22:30-32) and Eleazar eventually died (Joshua 24:33). Because of his status Eleazar had tended to be more involved in the political leadership of the Nation. Phinehas took over this role. But during the time of the Judges, following the death of Joshua there was no central control and so there was little for Phineas to do.
By now the people were more or less used to living in houses and they were beginning to enjoy the settled permanence of having a land of their own.
But what happened to the Tabernacle? Once all the tribes had moved away from their initial campsite at Gilgal, where was the Tabernacle going to go? It was no longer led by the cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night. Moses and Aaron no longer presided at the Tent of Meeting to give instructions from God – they had both died before crossing the Jordan. Obviously it couldn’t be left where it was.
Where should it go?
The most logical thing was for Joshua (at the time, the undisputed leader) to have it moved with him to his tribal territory in Ephraim. So it was established at Shiloh (Joshua 18:1).
For the people, it was perhaps comforting to know it was there; and maybe it was comforting to know that there were priests to perform the daily sacrifices on behalf of the people. Maybe they thought, once they were established, that they would probably be able to get to one of the big feasts. But just at the moment it seemed that they enough on their hands just to stay alive.
Besides which, most people would have been unsure where exactly they were, and they really don’t know where the other tribes were and where in the world was Shiloh? There were no maps – directions had to be given (Judges 21:19)
Also the continuing problem was that the Canaanites that had been driven out kept trying to come back. Also the surrounding nations were occasionally on the offensive as they tried to take advantage of the turmoil that the country was in. And the Philistines were a constant threat. Given the security situation it was unlikely that anyone would want to explore very far from home anyway.
Now I am intrigued by what happened next during the time of the Judges. Did Phinehas or one of his descendants try to return to the tabernacle as rightful high priest and found he was not welcome? Was there a power struggle with Ithamar’s line?
Ithamar’s descendants had remained loyally looking after the Tent of Meeting at Shiloh. But there must have been some form of power struggle, as it seems that at one point Phinehas took the Ark to Bethel where he established a ministry (See Judges 20:26-28), leaving the Tabernacle down the road at Shiloh with Ithamar’s sons. In 1 Chronicles 9:20 we read ‘In earlier times Phinehas son of Eleazar was the official in charge of the gatekeepers, and the Lord was with him.’ But it seems we hear no more of his line after that.
Ithamar’s line appears to have taken over the High Priestly duties and as we move into 1 Samuel, the ark was back in the Tabernacle and in 1 Samuel 14 Ahijah was the priest.
The nation of Israel had become more and more decentralised. Local chiefs became Judges for a while, Leaders rose up to lead armies wherever threats arose but no one person was able to bring the whole country together.
Read Judges 2:10-19 (perhaps share the reading)
10 After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. 11 Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals. 12 They forsook the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshipped various gods of the peoples around them. They aroused the Lord’s anger 13 because they forsook him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.
14 In his anger against Israel the Lord gave them into the hands of raiders who plundered them. He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist. 15 Whenever Israel went out to fight, the hand of the Lord was against them to defeat them, just as he had sworn to them. They were in great distress.
16 Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hands of these raiders. 17 Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted themselves to other gods and worshipped them. They quickly turned from the ways of their ancestors, who had been obedient to the Lord’s commands.
18 Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the Lord relented because of their groaning under those who oppressed and afflicted them. 19 But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their ancestors, following other gods and serving and worshipping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.
So how significant was the Tabernacle and worship of the Lord at this time?
The period of the Judges lasted from 200 to 300 years (Lots of discussions about this!) and during this time Ithamar’s descendants continued to maintain worship at the Tabernacle at Shiloh. Towards the end of this period Eli was the priest, but in his old age he was regarded more as a Judge, and he had passed the priesthood to his sons Hophni and Phinehas. Eli probably lived at the same time as Samson, and Ruth and Boaz.
But it seems that without strong spiritual leadership, the priesthood became corrupt; Temple worship was affected and the three main festivals had reduced to one.
Most commentators agree that this would have been the Feast of Tabernacles. Let’s read Deuteronomy 16:13-15.
13 Celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threshing-floor and your winepress. 14 Be joyful at your festival – you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites, the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns. 15 For seven days celebrate the festival to the Lord your God at the place the Lord will choose. For the Lord your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy will be complete.
200 – 300 years had passed since Moses wrote those words and it is possible that the emphasis was now more on the festival than bringing sacrifices.
Read Judges 21:19-21.
19 But look, there is the annual festival of the Lord in Shiloh, which lies north of Bethel, east of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.’
20 So they instructed the Benjaminites, saying, ‘Go and hide in the vineyards 21 and watch. When the young women of Shiloh come out to join in the dancing, rush from the vineyards and each of you seize one of them to be your wife. Then return to the land of Benjamin.
In England there are many local fairs where the historical origins are either forgotten or the memory has been distorted over time. I find a similarity with the annual festival held at Shiloh.
We read in Judges that it was known that there would be dancing girls at the festival; and that they would be in the vineyards. Was this what Moses envisaged? How many would have known the origins of this festival? And what had happened to the other feast days laid down by God through Moses? Without strong guidance and direction from the priests, the other feasts seem to have now been forgotten; and for many this feast had simply become a week-long harvest festival. We will read that Eli assumed that Hannah was drunk.
Would this have been a common occurrence? (Look again at the last word of Deuteronomy 16:13.)
Also we read in 1 Samuel 2:22 that there were women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting. Always tabernacle service had been the preserve of male Levites. Who had introduced the women and why? In the same verse we read that Eli’s sons slept with these women.
Was this a reflection of the Canaanite practice of having prostitutes in their pagan Temples?
Always there remained a remnant who followed the Lord, who made pilgrimages to Shiloh with their offerings, it is not surprising that some of those would be Levites.
1 Samuel opens with the story of a man who had two wives, and tells of the events leading up to the birth of Samuel.
How much of the story can you remember without looking it up?
Elkanah and his two wives Hannah and Penninah went to Shiloh once a year to offer sacrifices.
Who was Elkanah? What tribe was he from?
He was a Levite, a Kohathite (1 Chronicles 6:33-38).
In our next study we will read about Elkanah and his wives.
