It is easy to miss a startling pronouncement of man speaking with God, hidden in verse 89 of Numbers 7.  Eighty-nine verses means it is a long chapter; turns out it is also one of the most repetitive.  The scene is set in verse 1 – “On the day when Moses had finished setting up the tabernacle…” and the focus turns to finishing touches and transportation.

The chiefs of the twelve tribes bring wagons for the Levites to use when loading up the tabernacle for a move.  These wagons were all the latest model year and boasted dual ox-power for unprecedented speed and durability. The Levites who were sons of Gershon and Merari got all the wagons; the sons of Kohath may have been a bit jealous because they had to carry all their stuff on their shoulders.

Wagons weren’t the only gifts the chiefs brought. For twelve days, each chief in turn brought exactly the same set of items: plate, basin, dish, flour, oil, incense, and assorted animals for the various offerings.  Besides the name of the chief and the tribe the description is exactly the same for each leader.  Each description takes 6 verses.  The summary in verses 84-88 is slightly different but mathematically impeccable as it states the total received was twelve times as many of everything as was listed for each individual.

After reading the same thing 13 times, you need to wake up because something astounding happens in verse 89: “And when Moses went into the tent of meeting to speak with the LORD, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim; and it spoke to him.”

Previously in the Pentateuch we had heard that God gave Moses the Ten Commandments carved in stone, that Moses had communicated with God on the mountain, that God had led them with fire and smoke. But this is the VOICE of GOD speaking within the tabernacle. All of a sudden the wagons, the Levites and all the repetitious stuff brought by the chiefs were very important – they were going to transport or touch or be in the same room with and be made holy by association with the Holy LORD of creation! 

You may like to spruce up the house when the family comes to visit.  Think how much more the Israelites would want to keep up the tabernacle, knowing that God was a regular visitor.

And as a we-won’t-know-until-we-get-to-heaven note: I wonder if the voice Moses heard sounded like Jesus’ voice?