May 3: 1 Chronicles 23:1 – 1 Chronicles 25:31

David Organizes the Levites – 1 Chronicles 23

• When David is old, he makes Solomon king. He assembles all the priests and Levites, and numbers the Levites at 38,000 men. He determines that 24,000 will work in the house of the Lord, 6,000 will be officers and judges, 4,000 will be gatekeepers, and 4,000 will offer praise with instruments.
• The sons of Gershon, Kohath, and Merari are described, and the duties of the Levites (as before) are given.

David Organizes the Priests – 1 Chronicles 24

• David organizes all the priests (the sons of Aaron). Twenty-four are appointed to duty in the house of the Lord by lot.
• The rest of the sons of Levi are described.

David Organizes the Musicians – 1 Chronicles 25

• David and the chiefs of the service set apart Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, who prophesy with lyres, harps, and cymbals. They and their families are trained in making music before the Lord.

March 4: Numbers 16:1 – Numbers 18:32

Korah's Rebellion – Numbers 16

• Several men (Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and On) gather together 250 chiefs of the congregation and come against Moses and Aaron, telling them that they have gone too far and asking what right they have to act like they are better than anyone else (since they all belong to God).
• Moses falls on his face before them, then tells them that tomorrow morning God will make it known who belongs to Him. He points out that they are already chosen by God since they are Levites, and would they now want to take the priesthood as well. He concludes that they are revolting against God, not him and Aaron. He summons Dathan and Abiram, but they refuse to come to him, claiming he has not fulfilled his word to take them into the Promised Land.
• Moses becomes angry and tells God not to accept their grain offerings. He then tells Korah and the others that they must come the next day and prepare incense burners.
• The next morning the men burn the incense and stand at the entrance to the tabernacle. They rile up the people against Moses, and God descends as a cloud and tells Moses and Aaron to move away because He's going to destroy all of them.
• Moses begs God to not be angry with all the people because of one man's sins, and God has Moses instruct the people to get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Moses does this, and the people obey. The three men come to the doors of their tents with their families, and Moses announces that if the ground swallows up theses men, the people will know the men sinned against the Lord.
• The splits open, swallowing the men and their families, their belongings and tents, and anyone who stood with them. The earth closes up over them, and the people flee. Fire blazes forth from God and burns up the 250 men offering incense.
• God tells Moses to instruct Eleazar the priest to take the incense burners and hammer the metal into a thin sheet to overlay the altar. The bronze is hammered as instructed and placed on the altar to remind the people that no one who is not a Levite should enter the Lord's presence to burn incense.
• The next morning, the people begin grumbling about Moses and Aaron. Moses and Aaron go to the entrance of the tabernacle, and God tells them to get away from the people so he can instantly destroy them. Moses instructs Aaron to get an incense burner, light it, and carry it among the people to purify them, but the plague still kills 14,700 people. 

Aaron's Staff Buds – Numbers 17

• God tells Moses to get from the people twelve staffs, one from each tribe, and write the name of the tribe's chief on the staff. They are then to place the staffs in the tent of meeting before the testimony, and the staff of the man God chooses will sprout. The next morning, Aaron's staff has sprouted with blooms, buds, and almonds.
• Moses brings out the staffs and hands them to the men they belong to. God then tells Moses to put Aaron's staff back before the testimony as a sign for rebels. The people of Israel claim they are "undone" (ruined) and question if they will all die.

Duties of Priests and Levites – Numbers 18

• God tells Aaron that the Levites will be responsible for any offenses related to the sanctuary or the priesthood. He instructs Aaron to bring his relatives (the Levites) to the tent of meeting to assist them, but they must not go near the sacred items. Only the priests are to perform the sacred duties.
• God instructs that Aaron and his sons are in charge of the holy offerings (grain, sin, and guilt) and that they are to eat of them. Everything that Israel sets apart for the Lord will also belong to them, including the firstborns (which will be redeemed). They will receive no land, because God is their allotment, and the Levites will receive compensation for their service (they will received one-tenth from all people's donations).
• From that day on, no Israelites except for priests and Levites may approach the Tabernacle or they will die. The Levites can present their tenth as a sacred offering to the Lord, and it will be acceptable as their own offering. They are cautioned not to treat the holy gifts as common, or they will die.

February 28: Numbers 4:1 – Numbers 5:31

Duties of the Kohathites, Gershonites, and Merarites – Numbers 4

• God instructs Moses to record all the names of the Kohathites who are between the ages of thirty and fifty (total number 2,750), and can serve in the tabernacle. This clan will care for the most sacred objects. Eleazar will be responsible for lampstand oil, the fragrant incense, the grain offering, and the anointing oil.
• God tells Moses not to allow the Kohathite clan to be destroyed from among the Levites. Aaron and his sons must always go into the sanctuary with them and assign duties to each one so the Kohathites never enter the sanctuary to look at the sacred objects alone.
• God instructs Moses to record all the names of the Gershonites who are between the ages of thirty and fifty (2,630), and can serve in the tabernacle. This clan will be responsible for general service and carrying loads, under the direction of Aaron and his sons.
• God instructs Moses to record all the names of the Merarites who are between the ages of thirty and fifty (3,200), and can serve in the tabernacle. This clan will be responsible only for carrying loads, under the direction of Ithamar, son of Aaron.

Unclean People – Numbers 5

• God instructs Moses to have the people put out of camp anyone who has a leprous disease or discharge, or who has come in contact with a dead body. The people do as instructed.

Confession and Restitution

• God tells Moses to instruct the people that when they do wrong to another and realize it, they must confess and make restitution, adding one-fifth and giving it to the one wronged. If the person wronged is dead and there is no next of kin for restitution to be paid to, the restitution is to go to the priests.

A Test of Adultery

• God tells Moses to instruct the people on the process to be followed if a man suspects his wife has been unfaithful. She is brought before the priests, bringing also a tenth of an ephah of flour, and the priest will have her stand trial before the Lord. He will pour into holy water some dust from the tabernacle floor, unbind her hair, and place in her hands the offering of proof (the jealousy offering to determine whether her husband's claims are true). The priest brings the jar of bitter water and tells her that if she has not committed adultery, may she be immune from the effects of the bitter water that brings the curse. But if she has been unfaithful, she will endure bitter suffering and infertility (her abdomen will swell and her womb will shrivel).

February 27: Numbers 2:1 – Numbers 3:51

Arrangement of the Camp – Numbers 2

• God tells Moses how the camps are to be set up. The tribal divisions will camp beneath their family banners on all four sides of the camp.
• The tribes of Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun will be on the east side of the tabernacle and will lead the way whenever Israel travels to a new camp.
• The tribes of Reuben, Simeon, and Gad will be on the south side of the tabernacle and will be second in line whenever Israel travels to a new camp. The Levites will follow them, carrying the tabernacle.
• The tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin will camp on the west side of the tabernacle and follow the Levites whenever Israel travels to a new camp.
• The tribes of Dan, Asher, and Naphtali will camp on the north side of the tabernacle and will be the last in line whenever Israel travels to a new camp.

The Sons of Aaron – Numbers 3

• The sons of Aaron are given: Nadab and Abihu (who died when they offered an unauthorized sacrifice), Eleazer, and Ithamar.

Duties of the Levites

• God tells Moses that the Levites will take care of the tabernacle, and will belong to Him. 
• Moses is instructed to list the sons of Levi by their fathers' houses and clans: Gershon (clans Libni and Shimei), Kohath (clans Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel), and Merari (clans Mahli and Mushi). 
• The Gershonites camp on the west, guarding and carrying the coverings, hangings, and entrance screens of the tent and courtyard. The Kohathites camp on the south, guarding and carrying the items within the tabernacle sanctuary. The Merarites camp on the north, guarding and carrying the structural components of the tent and court. Moses and the priests camp on the east, guarding the tabernacle and protecting Israel.

Redemption of the Firstborn

• God tells Moses to list all the firstborn males of the people and animals of Israel. Total number of men and boys over one month old is 22,273.
• God tells Moses that the Levites are His (reserved as substitutes for the firstborns), and there are 273 more firstborn sons of Israel than Levites, so Moses is to collect five shekels of silver for each of the extra 273 men to redeem them, and give the money to Aaron and his sons.

February 17: Leviticus 4:1 – Leviticus 6:30

Laws for Sin Offerings – Leviticus 4

• God tells Moses that if an anointed priest sins (bringing guilt on the people), he should offer a bull from the herd as a sin offering. The man will bring the bull to the entrance of the tent of meeting, lay his hand on the bull's head, and then kill the bull. The priest will then take some of the bull's blood and sprinkle it in front of the veil of the sanctuary seven times. The priest will put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense, and the rest of the blood will be poured at the base of the altar. All that fat, the kidneys, and the long lobe of the liver will be removed from the bull and burned on the altar, while the rest of the bull will be carried to the ash heap outside the camp and burned on a wood fire. The same is to happen if the entire congregation of Israel sins unintentionally.
• If a leader sins unintentionally, he will bring a male goat without blemish to the tent of meeting, lay his hand on the goat's head, and then kill the goat. The priest will put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense, and the rest of the blood will be poured at the base of the altar. All of the animal's fat will then be burned on the altar.
• If a common person sins unintentionally, he will bring a female goat without blemish to the tent of meeting, lay his hand on the goat's head, and then kill the goat. The priest will put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense, and the rest of the blood will be poured at the base of the altar. All of the animal's fat will then be burned on the altar. If he brings a lamb instead, it will be a female lamb, and it will be prepared in the same way as the female goat.
• If a man unknowingly fails to give testimony, preventing justice from being done, or if he touches an unclean animal or human uncleanness, or if he utters a rash oath, when he realizes his sin, he must bring a female from the flock (either a lamb or goat) for atonement. If he cannot afford a lamb, he is to bring two turtledoves or two pigeons, and if he cannot afford two turtledoves or two pigeons, he must bring an ephah of fine flour for a sin offering.

Laws for Guilt Offerings – Leviticus 5 and 6

• God tells Moses that if a man commits a breach of faith and sins unintentionally in any things of the Lord, he will bring a ram without blemish from the flock for a guilt offering. He will make restitution and add one-fifth, and he will be forgiven.
• God tells Moses that if a man deceives his neighbor of deposit or security, or through robbery, or if he has oppressed his neighbor or found something lost and lied about it, he must restore what was lost in full and add one-fifth to it. He will then bring a ram to the priest for a guilt offering, and he will be forgiven.

The Priests and the Offerings

• God tells Moses that Aaron and his sons must keep the fire burning in the hearth of the altar all night long, and in the morning they will burn wood on it for the offerings. For grain offerings, Aaron's sons will offer them before the Lord in front of the altar. They will take a handful of the flour with its oil and frankincense, and burn it. The rest of the grain offering will be for Aaron and his sons to eat after baked without leaven. Every male among the children of Aaron may eat of it,
• God tells Moses of the offering to be made by Aaron and his sons at the inauguration of the priesthood. A tenth of a ephah of flour will be mixed with oil and cooked on a griddle. All of it will be burned, and none of it will be eaten.
• God tells Moses of the sin offering to be made by Aaron and his sons (the remainder not burned on the altar). The animal is to be killed where the burnt offering is made, and the priest who makes the offering will eat it in the holy place. Whatever touches its flesh will be made holy, and if any of its blood is splashed on a garment, it will be washed. The earthenware vessel in which it was boiled will be broken (or scoured and rinsed if the vessel was bronze). All the priests may then eat of it, and none of the blood is to leave the holy place.

February 16: Numbers 8:1–26; Numbers 9:1–14; Leviticus 1:1–17; Leviticus 2:1–16; Leviticus 3:1–17

The Seven Lamps – Numbers 8

• God tells Moses to instruct Aaron to set up the seven lamps in front of the lampstand. Aaron does as instructed.

Cleansing the Levites

• God tells Moses to take the Levites from among the people and cleanse them. They are to do this by sprinkling them with the water of purification, then to have them shave their bodies and wash their clothing and themselves. They are then to take a bull from the herd and its grain offering mixed with oil, and another bull from the herd as a sin offering. They are to assemble all of Israel at the tent of meeting, bring the Levites before them, have the people lay their hands on the Levites, and then have Aaron offer them as a wave offering from the people.
• The Levites will then lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, and offer one as a sin offering and one as a burnt offering to make atonement for the Levites. They will then be set before Aaron and his sons, offered as a wave offering to the Lord.
• God continues, telling Moses that the Levites will be His—they will now be the firstborns consecrated to Him instead of the firstborns of the people. God states he has given the Levites to Aaron and his sons to do the service of Israel at the tent of meeting and to make atonement for the people of Israel.
• The Levites purify themselves from sin and wash their clothes, and Aaron makes atonement for them. The Levites then go to do their service in the tent of meeting.

Retirement of the Levites

• God tells Moses that the Levites, from twenty-five years upward, will come to do duty in the service of the tent of meeting. At the age of fifty-five years, they will retire from their service but may minister to their brothers by keeping guard in the tent of meeting.

The Passover Celebrated – Numbers 9

• In the wilderness of Sinai, God speaks to Moses in the first month of the second year after Israel had come out of slavery in Egypt. He tells Moses to have the people celebrate the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight. The people of Israel do so.
• There are some men who are unclean (through touching a dead body) and could not keep the Passover, and they come to Moses and Aaron. When they tell Moses what has happened, Moses goes to God to see how the situation should be handled.
• God tells Moses that unclean people are to keep the Passover on the fourteenth day of the second month. They are the keep the Passover in the same way as first instructed, and if a sojourner is among them and will keep the Passover according to its statutes, he may do so.

Laws for Burnt Offerings – Leviticus 1

• God gives Moses instructions for how burnt offerings are to be made. 
• If the burnt offering is from a herd, it shall be without blemish and brought to the entrance to the tent of meeting. There, the man will lay his hand on its head and it will be accepted to make atonement for him. He will kill the bull before the Lord, and Aaron's sons will throw the blood against the sides of the altar at the entrance to the tent of meeting. The man will then flay the burnt offering and cut it into pieces, and Aaron's sons will arrange all but the entrails and legs (which they will wash with water) on the altar and burn it. The same will be done with an offering from the flock.
• If the burnt offering is birds, it should be turtledoves or pigeons. The priest will wring off the heads and burn them on the altar. The blood will then be drained out on the side of the altar, and the bird's crop and its contents will be thrown beside the altar on the east side. The priest will tear of the wings but not sever it completely, then burn it on the altar.

Laws for Grain Offerings – Leviticus 2

• When grain offerings are made, they will be of fine flour. After mixing the some grain with frankincense, it will be brought to Aaron's sons to be burnt as a food offering to the Lord. The rest of the grain will be for Aaron and his sons.
• If a grain offering baked in the oven is brought, it will be unleavened loaves or wafers with oil. Part of the offering will be burned on the altar and the rest will be for Aaron and his sons.

Laws for Peace Offerings – Leviticus 3

• If a peace offering is from the herd, it will be sacrificed in the same way as a burnt offering, except the fat covering the entrails and the kidney will be removed, along with the long lobe of the liver. Then the animal will be burnt on the altar.
• If a peace offering is a lamb, it will be sacrificed in the same way as a peace offering from the herd, except the whole fat tail will be removed as well. If the peace offering is a goat, it will be prepared and burnt in the same way as the peace offering from the herd. 
• God makes it clear that the fat is the Lord's, and is never to be eaten, neither is blood.