This post is the second in a series of three, answering the question “Does God desire all to be saved?” For the first post, click here.
Does God Have Multiple Wills?
There are many words both in the original Hebrew and Greek text that are used to communicate God’s will. Some of these terms are better translated but often used interchangeably for similar concepts such as will, desire and wishes. For the sake of this conversation and our Systematic approach (that is, gathering what the entire Bible says about the subject) these linguistic differences are not important. However, as we better come to understand what is meant by “God’s will” we will come to a better understanding of this problem and an answer to the question.
No matter which camp they are in, theologians agree to use different terms to describe different aspects of God’s will. The Arminian/free will camp (Such as Roman Catholics, some Wesleyans, and some Lutherans) use the terms antecedent and consequent wills. The way this is generally defined is that God’s evaluation of some things as good is his antecedent will, while his actual choices among those various good things is his consequent will. Arminian theologians continue then by factoring libertarian freedom of man into the middle of these “two wills.” The argument goes something like this: God’s antecedent will is that it is good for all to be saved, however his consequent will is dependent on man’s libertarian freedom which explains why not all are saved.
There is a helpful distinction in this line of thinking, and that is the distinction that God does not bring all of his antecedent will to come to pass. However, this line of thinking is mistaken in its allowance for the libertarian freedom of man. There is again no room to go into a discussion of this matter, but it suffices to say that our previous discussion of the omnipotence of God does not allow him to be governed or dependent on man’s action.
Reformed theologians also have distinctions for various aspects of God’s will which they refer to as God’s preceptive will and God’s decretive will. God’s preceptive will is used to define and describe God’s values and rules (precepts), specifically as revealed to us in His Word. His decretive will focuses on his lordship and control, it cannot be opposed. Those things that fall under God’s decretive will certainly come to pass, they will always happen. There are similarities between these terms and the Arminian terms; God’s preceptive will includes room for man’s actions to act in accordance with God’s desires. The difference between these terms and that of the free will camp is that God’s decretive will does not allow room for man’s libertarian actions, whatever God decrees will certainly come to pass. Pastor and theologian R.C. Sproul puts it this way:
He sovereignly brings to pass whatever He decrees, while His permissive (preceptive) will leaves room for the moral actions of His creatures. – R.C. Sproul, The Invisible Hand
None of these statements are accurate unless there is biblical support for this view. Before we continue, it is then necessary to show God’s preceptive will and his decretive will through his Word. Below are verses that support God’s preceptive will; his desires, wishes and wants:
Bless the Lord, all his hosts,
his ministers, who do his will! – Psalm 103:21Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. – Matthew 7:21
Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. – Ephesians 5:17
For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. – 1 Thessalonians 4:3-6
(Cf. Pss. 5:4; 103:21; Matt. 12:50; John 4:34; 7:17; Rom. 12:2; 1 Thess. 4:3; 5:18; Heb. 13:21; 1 Peter 4:2)
Next we will see some examples of God’s will used in the decretive sense:
As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. – Genesis 50:20
At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. –Matthew 11:25-26
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. – Isaiah 55:11(Cf. Pss. 51:18; 115:3; Isa. 46:10; Jer. 49:20; 50:45; Dan. 4:17; Acts 2:23; Rom. 9:18-19; Eph 1:11; James 1:18; Rev. 4:11)
Through an examination of these passages (and others like them) we begin to see a biblical picture of God’s will. God desires good things in a general sense – such that all people would turn from idols, hold his name in reverence, remember the Sabbath, etc. But these desires are not always fulfilled.
Likewise, God wills very certain things that certainly come to pass. God willed the death of Christ at the hands of sinners, God willed that Joseph would be abandoned by his brothers and sold into slavery. God wills and decrees that his Word will not return void.
Pastor, author and theologian John Piper closes on this subject in a very helpful way:
In fact the New Testament saints seemed to live in the calm light of an overarching sovereignty of God concerning all the details of their lives and ministry. Paul expressed himself like this with regard to his travel plans. On taking leave of the saints in Ephesus he said, “I will return to you if God wills,” (Acts 18:21). To the Corinthians he wrote, “I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills” (1 Corinthians 4:19). And again, “I do not want to see you now just in passing; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits” (1 Corinthians 16:7).
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This confidence that the details of life were in the control of God every day was rooted in numerous prophetic expressions of God’s unstoppable, unthwartable sovereign purpose. “Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose‘” (Isaiah 46:9-10; cf. 43:13). “all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing; and he does according to his will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, ‘What doest thou?'” (Daniel 4:35). “I know that thou canst do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted” (Job 42:2). “Our God is in the heavens; he does whatever he pleases” (Psalm 115:3).
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This means that the distinction between terms like “will of decree” and “will of command” or “sovereign will” and “moral will” is not an artificial distinction demanded by Calvinistic theology. The terms are an effort to describe the whole of biblical revelation. They are an effort to say Yes to all of the Bible and not silence any of it. They are a way to say Yes to the universal, saving will of 1 Timothy 2:4 and Yes to the individual unconditional election of Romans 9:6-23. – John Piper, Are There Two Wills in God?
In our next and final section, we will see how God’s sovereign desire for all to be saved and his individual and personal election of sinners are not at all in conflict, but actually in perfect harmony.
A friend of mine recently asked me an important question, and rather than offer a quick or uninformed answer I decided to write a lengthy article about it. This response will ultimately be covered in three posts, so today’s post will only cover the first section. I hope you’ll take the time to read it, as it is a very important question! I want to give credit where credit is due here, to which I will say I owe a lot of thanks to John Frame’s new magnum opus Systematic Theology.
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In the history of Christianity and the realm of theology there is a debate that has been raging since the beginnings of the early church. Today we know this debate as “Arminianism vs. Calvinism,” but the actual terms are not important. It could also be coined as the debate between “free will” and “predestination”, “God’s sovereignty” and “libertarian freedom”, or any number of other terms. I picture this timeless debate as something similar to Rocky vs. Apollo – two skilled opponents who can go punch for punch with each other, ending in what appears to be a stalemate. Is either side of the debate more correct than the other?
One of the questions that is commonly wrapped up in this debate is this: Does God desire the salvation of all people? It is my intention to show that one of these sides is more faithful than the other and gives an accurate and balanced answer to the question. There are many approaches one could take to answering this question, but the approach I am going to take is a systematic approach; that is, what does the entire Bible say about this question? Through a faithful study of the entirety of God’s Word and coming to a better understanding of who He is, we can learn accurate answers and truth to this age-old question.
And in this corner…
Before we can give an accurate answer to the question, it will be helpful to define and state the problem. It is my goal to be faithful to both sides of the argument in this approach.
As I stated above, the question we are trying to answer is “Does God desire the salvation of all people?” There are many proof texts we could use to say “yes” to this question, and I will list many of these below:
Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their descendants forever! – Deuteronomy 5:29
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! – Matthew 23:37
Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? – Ezekiel 18:23
Turn to me and be saved,
all the ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other. – Isaiah 45:22
Two of the key texts in the answer to this question are below:
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. – 2 Peter 3:9
This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. – 1 Timothy 2:3-4
Now at a first glance the answer to our question appears simple. The obvious and short answer to our question is “yes,” but we must now determine what exactly this means. As we all know, the problem with this answer is not God’s desire, but that not everyone comes to faith and repentance in Christ. Thus we are often (but not only) left with one of two options: either man has the free will to choose God and God’s wills and desires are not effectual, or God is a Universalist and ultimately all will be saved either in this life or the next. There is no room to go into the second option here, other than to quickly say this second option is not biblical and is no option at all.
So if we move forward with the first choice – that God’s will depends on man’s free will – we are left with all sorts of problems. The first of these is that we are no longer dealing with an omnipotent (that is, an all-powerful) God. Here are just a few verses in the Bible that deal with God’s omnipotence and the power of his will:
O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. – 2 Chronicles 20:6
But he is unchangeable, and who can turn him back?
What he desires, that he does. – Job 20:13No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the Lord. – Proverbs 21:30
Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases. – Psalm 115:3
Also henceforth I am he;
there is none who can deliver from my hand;
I work, and who can turn it back?” – Isaiah 43:13…who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. – Philippians 3:21
Many more passages could be used to defend the omnipotence of God. The point is this: God can and does do whatever he pleases. As scholar and theologian John Frame says:
Such power drives us to worship. No one else has nearly as much power as God. This is an important element in the biblical teaching concerning miracle: in his mighty works, God displays his power, his lordship as control…He can subdue anybody who resists him, and eventually he will. He does things that are proverbially impossible… – Frame, Systematic Theology, 336
This is where the waters become murky. If God is omnipotent, how do we reconcile that with the fact that not all people are ultimately saved? The objection here raised by free will proponents would go something like this: it pleases God to give man free will, otherwise mankind is a robot. God’s plan is consequent of the free will he gave us.
The problem raised by this objection is it does not deal with the tricky subject of predestination and election. Whether you like these words or not, we have to deal with it because it’s in the biblical text – we can’t ignore it. Here are some of the texts that deal with predestination:
I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. – John 17:9-10
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. – John 6:44
And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. –Acts 13:48
What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! 15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. – Romans 9:14-18
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will… – Ephesians 1:3-5
It is here we begin to see the conflict; if God desires all to be saved AND his will and desires are dependent on man’s decision to choose God, how do we reconcile that with predestination? The common answer is that predestination means God foreknows everyone and the decision they will make, so predestination takes into account who will choose God and who won’t. The problem is that this isn’t what these verses say, and trying to make them say that is biblically unfaithful. Take a look at Romans 8:29: For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. This passage says that those whom God foreknew are those whom he predestined – if God foreknows everyone does that mean everyone is predestined? Now we are back to dealing with God as a Universalist. Surely, this attempt to reconcile God’s desire for everyone’s salvation and the concept of predestination is not an adequate answer.
There is a better answer to our current dilemma, one that does free will, God’s sovereignty, his desire for all to be saved, and predestination justice. This answer will become clear to us as we better understand the concept of God’s will, which we will discuss in the next post tomorrow.
*See below to explain the picture
It is a universal problem that exists in all academic fields: the more one knows, the more one is likely to boast in their knowledge. This is very dangerous territory for the Christian, however. While on the one hand there is room for being thankful for our achievements, we must realize that pride is antithetical to the gospel and therefore there is absolutely no room for it. There should be a difference between how a Christian doctor sees her training in comparison to the non-Christian. All of our knowledge and wisdom should be seen as a gift from God and used for service towards others.
Unfortunately, seminary students in training are not exempt from this area of pride in their knowledge. If anything – because pastors and ministry leaders are held in high esteem by their communities – seminary students might be in even more danger than other professions when it comes to being tempted by pride. As the Apostle Paul tells us, knowledge puffs up but love builds up (1 Corinthians 8:1).
This problem of pride amongst future church leaders is an epidemic that is largely going unnoticed. I myself have suffered and continue to suffer with it, but I am thankful that by God’s grace he has revealed the areas of my heart that have wrongfully been prideful in my seminary pursuits. To that end, I want to list five signs that you might be a prideful seminarian and the corresponding real gospel truths that go along with them.
1) Because you are in seminary, you think the church owes you a ministry position.
Whoever desires a position in ministry desires a noble task (1 Tim. 3:1). However, it is entirely possible to desire a ministry position with the wrong motives. A good sign that you are filled with pride in your seminary pursuits is that you believe simply because you are taking or have taken seminary classes you deserve a position in ministry. This might be subtle in that you work behind the scenes to elevate yourselves above others. Perhaps you subconsciously criticize the way your current leaders do things and think you could do it better. It could also be obvious in the way you talk to your community or your leaders. You might even outright confront your leaders and make demands to be in a leadership position.
The gospel truth is that no one is qualified for a ministry position. It is only by the grace and mercy of God that anyone is qualified to lead. If you want to even begin pursuing qualifications for ministry, start with the guidelines laid out in 1 Timothy and Titus. True qualification for ministry begins at the cross and remains at the cross. Your seminary education should lead you into a deeper understanding of the state of your wickedness and your need for Jesus. It should lead you to a deep desire to serve God’s people with all that you’ve been trained and equipped in. Only then may we begin to think ourselves even remotely ready for ministry leadership.
2) You want everyone to know how much you know, so you needlessly quote things that don’t need quoting.
One of the surest signs that you are a prideful seminarian is that you want others to know how much you know. For you it is not so much important that others understand what you know, so much as that they know you know things (how much wood would a woodchuck chuck…). If you are prideful in this area, you go out of your way to quote a bunch of dead dudes in random conversations. If you’re educated in the original languages, you want everyone to know so you unnecessarily use it (*see the cover picture for this article…ironnyyyyyy!). Your theological knowledge is not a way for you to serve others, but to be superior to them.
The gospel reality is that every single word we read and learn in seminary is to be used for the church. Any gift we are given in the areas of teaching or knowledge are to be used for the Body of Christ, not ourselves (1 Corinthians 12). Nobody cares how much theology you know, the only thing that matters is how you serve your brothers and sisters with what you know. The duty of a ministry leader or pastor is to take their seminary knowledge and make it applicable to the heart of the Christian such that it draws them closer to Jesus.
3) You want everyone to know that you’re in seminary.
Another strong piece of evidence that you are a prideful seminarian is that you want everyone else to know you are in seminary. Because you think seminary makes you a somebody, everyone else needs to know that you are taking seminary classes. You might even try to drop this fact through the art of the #humblebrag, which really means you just want to boast and brag over your brothers and sisters.
The gospel truth is that without Jesus we are nothing (Eph 2:1-10). Jesus makes us a somebody, not our seminary classes or the books we are reading. Again, nobody cares that you’re in seminary if you aren’t using it to serve the church.
4) You are overly critical of your peers.
A guaranteed sign of pride in your seminary education is that you believe it makes you entitled to critique and “offer advice” to your peers…all the time. If this is a problem for you, then you never stop to listen for advice because you’re always the one giving it. You speak when you’re not spoken to and offer criticisms when they’re not warranted. You probably critique your leaders behind their backs. Every time you learn something new in the classroom you twist conversations to make it apply to someone else. Your own heart isn’t being changed because you’re too busy trying to change others.
The hard gospel truth is that every piece of knowledge you learn in the classroom needs to impact your own heart before it can impact someone elses. Your time in seminary should be a time of increased listening and heart transformation (Prov. 12:15), not increased criticism of your peers. Don’t be a know-it-all. Instead, confess your sins to your peers and show them how your heart is being changed by your seminary education.
5) You constantly want to best yourself over your seminary brothers and sisters.
While there is always room for healthy competition, the seminary classroom can quickly turn into a place of unhealthy and unhelpful boasting. Because you are prideful, you want to be better than your peers in the classroom. You don’t like it if they get better grades than you, so you come up with excuses. You probably brag about your opportunities to speak outside the classroom. You want everyone to know that you’re smart (or so you think), so you find ways inside and outside the classroom to boast in your knowledge.
The gospel truth is that the seminary classroom should be a place for humility and encouragement of one another. There is no room for boasting in our knowledge or education – is that not contra-gospel? Instead, our seminary classrooms should be marked by a deep sense of humility and grace, constantly seeking to build one another up (1 Thess. 5:11). You should not seek to prove your intelligence, but build up your peers that they might be strong in their own pursuits. If you’re getting ministry opportunities that your peers aren’t getting, then you should be building up your peers in preparation for those experiences. If we can’t be graceful towards one another in the classroom, then how are we going to be graceful to the men and women in the church that we serve?
If you struggle with pride in any of these areas, my encouragement to you is not to feel down and out. Jesus died for prideful sinners like us. Read, meditate, and pray Philippians 2:1-11. Pick up a copy of Valley of Vision and pray through “Man A Nothing” and “Humility in Service.” They will wreck your face. Confess your sins to your church, and resolve to serve them with your whole heart.
40 And the LORD said to Moses, “List all the firstborn males of the people of Israel, from a month old and upward, taking the number of their names. 41 And you shall take the Levites for me—I am the LORD—instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the cattle of the people of Israel.” 42 So Moses listed all the firstborn among the people of Israel, as the LORD commanded him. 43 And all the firstborn males, according to the number of names, from a month old and upward as listed were 22,273. 44 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. The Levites shall be mine: I am the LORD. 46 And as the redemption price for the 273 of the firstborn of the people of Israel, over and above the number of the male Levites, 47 you shall take five shekels per head; you shall take them according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel of twenty gerahs), 48 and give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are over.” 49 So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those redeemed by the Levites. 50 From the firstborn of the people of Israel he took the money, 1,365 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary. 51 And Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses. – Numbers 3:40-51
The Book of Numbers is one that is saturated with deep theology, instruction and application for the Christian today. However, possibly because of its lackluster title, troublesome combinations of law and narrative, and its numerous lists of names and numbers the book itself is one that is often overlooked. If we take the time to study this book we will come away with robust teachings on God’s people, the nature of man, hamartiology (the study of sin), the nature of God and Christology. This should be of no surprise to us – with the Hebrew name for this book being “In the Wilderness,” it should take no time at all for the Christian today to relate in many ways to the Israelites in the wilderness. Like the Israelites, we too are living in an “already, but not yet” scenario. We have been brought out of our slavery to sin through Christ, and are awaiting the fulfillment of a promise on his return. We are a people that has been set aside, redeemed and spoken for in Christ, called out of one reality (the realm of flesh and sin) and placed into another (the realm of Spirit and life).
Indeed, in the Book of Numbers we find a thorough and robust shadow of the person and work of Christ. There may be no clearer picture of this than in the Levitical substitution of Israel’s firstborn in Numbers 3:40-51. Through a detailed study of this particular passage, we will see not only how this passage fits in with the surrounding narrative of Numbers but also how the Levitical Priests are a shadow of the atonement sinners are to find in the work of Christ.
A Brief Background
To get an accurate background on the Numbers narrative, we must first remove ourselves from this particular text and return to the Israelites entrance into the wilderness in the book of Exodus. Having been given the task of leading the Israelites to the Promised Land, Moses knows he cannot accomplish this task without the presence of God guiding and protecting the people of Israel. In Exodus 33:16 Moses asks,
For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?” [1]
God graciously granted Moses’ request, and for the duration of the wilderness narrative we find God leading and dwelling among his people. But all is not well, for our God is a holy God who cannot dwell in the presence of sin or disobedience. So while God will guide and protect his people throughout the forty years in the wilderness as their greatest hope, he is also their greatest threat. To provide a buffer for his people and to prevent his wrath from destroying them, God sets up a very specific system for the delineation of tasks for his people.
It is in the first census that we begin to see a specific group of people set aside for a particular task: the Levites (Num. 1:47-54). The Levites are set aside to take care of the tabernacle – the dwelling place of God. This passage is where the purpose of the Levitical Priesthood begins to take shape:
But the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that there may be no wrath on the congregation of the people of Israel.[2]
A Holy and Just God demands that he be approached in a very particular manner; only those who have been cleansed and purposed for approaching the tabernacle may do so. Were God to dwell amongst his people without any instruction or guard and someone approached the tabernacle without being cleansed, they would instantly be struck dead. In the act of providing the Levitical priesthood as a buffer for the Israelites, we see God’s goodness and grace to his people.
The third chapter of Numbers begins the instruction for the Levites. Broken up by the various sons of Levi, these clans of Levi are given specific instruction as to their placement around the tabernacle and their particular tasks in the assembly and care of the tabernacle. It is in the closing verses of Chapter 3 that we come to the role of the Levites in their provision of atonement of the people of Israel.
Particular Atonement for the People of Israel
The Book of Exodus is key to understanding the book of Numbers. It would be a mistake for any reader to remove any book of the Pentateuch from the surrounding narratives. Such is the case with Numbers 3:40-51. To properly understand what is being said in these verses, we must remember the tragic and final plague that took place before the Exodus: the death of the firstborn of the people of Egypt (Exodus 12:29-32). It is in this passage we not only see the death of the firstborn of Egypt, but also the redemption of the people of Israel. The firstborn of Israel were a symbol and representative of the entirety of Israel. When God passed over the firstborn of Israel, he consecrated them as his own (Exodus 13:1).
Such is the foundation for our understanding of Numbers 3:40-51. Immediately as our passage begins, the LORD makes his plans known to Moses in regards to the Levites,
“List all the firstborn males of the people of Israel, from a month old and upward, taking the number of their names. 41 And you shall take the Levites for me—I am the Lord—instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the cattle of the people of Israel.”[3]
The Levites are to replace the firstborn sons of Israel. As the firstborn previously bore the weight of the people, the Levites will now take their place. “The Levites shall be mine: I am the LORD” (Number 3:45b). Stopping at this point in the passage, a question should come to mind in regards to what has been read so far: how is this substitution to take place, is it corporate or individual? It is good news to us that God’s Word is clear in this area, and thus he has something to teach us through the Levitical substitution. Previously the Levites had been numbered at a total of 22,000 males. In contrast, the firstborn Israelites are numbered at 22,273 (Numbers 3:43). What God reveals to us next is striking. At this moment in time, God does not simply look at these two numbers and determine they are “close enough,” but rather it is his decree that all of the firstborn of Israel must be individually spoken for:
And as the redemption price for the 273 of the firstborn of the people of Israel, over and above the number of the male Levites, 47 you shall take five shekels per head; you shall take them according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel of twenty gerahs), 48 and give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are over.”[4]
Each individual firstborn of Israel was spoken for in the Levitical substitution. Close is not enough in God’s service. This substitution is crucial for us to understand in terms of the role of the Levites and the nature of God’s salvific plans for his people. As God’s chosen substitute they are substituted on an individual basis. Indeed, even the ones who could not be spoken for by an individual had to be spoken for in payment.
God’s Particular Atonement is Necessary for the People of Israel
The people of God are an idolatrous people. As the Bible speaks of God’s people as his bride, it is no wonder then that it speaks of our sin as adultery and whoring. Our default nature is not to approach God the way he says to approach him, but we want to approach God on our own terms. As Pastor, Professor and Scholar Iain Duguid says,
The problem with living sacrifices is that they have a habit of crawling off the altar.[5]
The people of God need mediation, someone to stand in our place and make our presence right before God. This is especially evident in the people of Israel, where time and time again throughout their wilderness journey either Moses or the Levitical priesthood needed to make atonement for the people. A clear example of this is in Numbers 25, when the people of Israel are not only metaphorically but literally whoring themselves with the daughters of Moab. During this time, the Israelites began to bow down and worship Baal, the god of the Moabites. Such an act can only result in the kindling of the great and just anger of the LORD. Such sin is taken seriously in the eyes of the LORD (Num. 5:11-31) and the only result for the people of Israel is death. In order to stop the fury of the LORD against Israel, it took the priestly act of Phinehas the son of Eleazar to put a stop to the sin and thus the fury of the LORD against his people (Num. 25:7-9). Scholar Gordon Wenham articulates this so clearly:
The priest, in his life and acts, must personify, even incarnate, the character of God. This is precisely what Phinehas did: he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the people of Israel in my jealousy. In other words, because Phinehas executed the sinner, expressing so clearly and visibly God’s own anger through his deed, that anger was turned away. He made atonement for the people.[6]
In the plan of God’s redemption, there are two aspects that must take place for redemption and salvation to take place. The first is that a sacrifice must be made – something has to die. “Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22b). The second is that someone has to pay the price of obedience that Israel owes to God. While previously the firstborn sons of Israel bore the responsibility of living obediently and devoted to God, the Levites now take their place. The firstborn sons could never have fulfilled this role because they were never intended to. In God’s sovereignty he chose the Levitical priesthood before the foundations of the world that they might bear the responsibility for the people. In this salvific act for the atonement of Israel, God not only reveals his plans to us but also adds another pointer to the Messianic hope that is ultimately fulfilled in Christ.
Conclusions
The Book of Numbers is filled with profound insights and relevant teaching for the life of the Christian today. While often overlooked, it contains rich insights into the character of God and his work with his people. There is perhaps no passage in this book filled with richer implication to the Numbers narrative and the people of God today than the narrative in Number 3:40-51. I make this claim on a number of grounds.
The first is that we as readers today see the severity of our sin in the Levitical substitution of the firstborn of Israel. Would sin not have to have serious implications if there not only needed to be a special group of people set aside with the specific task of atonement, but also that the weight of Israel’s disobedience had to be carried on the backs of individual Levites? Sin does not moderately mar us in the sight of God such that we can still approach him on our own terms; sin radically corrupts us and defiles every part of our being. The consequence of sin carries significant consequences, and we see that in the need of setting aside the Levitical priesthood for necessary particular atonement for the firstborn of Israel.
Secondly, we see the glory of God displayed in his salvific methods of providing redemption for his people. God does not know us corporately or on a general sense, but he knows us by name. He knows his people individually, before the foundations of the world he knew us and predestined us to be adopted as sons and daughters (Eph 1:4-5). Unlike other pagan religions that say man must work to be able to only know God in a general sense, YHWH knows his people in a very specific and intimate sense.
Third, the particular substitution for the firstborn of Israel is a clear and vivid pointer to the person and work of Jesus Christ our Savior and King. As the book of Hebrews tells us, Jesus is a priest after the order of Melchizedek, and yet as a greater priest than Melchizedek he is the guarantor of a better covenant (Hebrews 7:22). Having Melchizedek already known as a greater priest than the priesthood of Aaron (Hebrews 7:4-10) – and Jesus is a greater priest than Melchizedek – how much greater then is the priesthood of Jesus in comparison to that of the Levites? Indeed, if the Levites substituted for the firstborn of Israel on a one to one basis, how much greater is our High Priest who substitutes for his people on a one to many basis (Hebrews 7:27)?
Fourth, in the setting aside of the Levites for particular substitution we see the necessity of God’s people to be obedient. The Levitical priesthood was set aside for a life of obedience, and they were to be exemplary in their holiness and obedience (Leviticus 21). Such is the reality for the Christian today; we are chosen and set aside as a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9). Just as the Levites needed to be exemplary in their holiness as priests, so too should the Christian be devoted to a life of holiness and obedience in all walks of life. To the one who is given much, much is to be expected.
Finally, in the particular substitution of the Levitical priesthood we see the assurance of our salvation. Just as the Levites were able to provide assurance to all of Israel that they were interceding and making sacrifices on behalf of the people, we too can find our assurance in the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Duguid provides a great exposition of this when he says:
Nor has Christ simply substituted for humanity as a mass, making it possible for some undefined number of human beings potentially to be saved. Like the Levites, who substituted for the firstborn of Israel on a one for one basis, redeeming each particularly, so that those who remained over had to be purchased one by one, so also Christ’s perfect life and death atoned particularly for all of his elect. He did not simply write a blank check that was sufficient for humanity. On the cross he wrote a check that specifically provided the payment for each and every one of his elect people, not just making their salvation potentially possible but actually purchasing them. He therefore now owns each one of us, just as God purchased the Levites, obliging us to live lives that are wholly devoted to him.[7]
God’s salvation is particular, it is purposeful, and it is payment for the sinner. God had a redemptive plan for his people long before the world was formed, and we see that clearly in Numbers 3:40-51. God knew that in order to dwell amongst his people, sacrifice had to be made and a buffer had to be in place. Time and time again throughout Israel’s story in the Old Testament we see the necessary intercession of the priesthood on behalf of the people. Praise be to Christ that this was not a permanent reality, but was merely a shadow of the reality to come in him.
[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Ex 33:15–16.
[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Nu 1:53.
[3] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Nu 3:40–41.
[4] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Nu 3:46–48.
[5] Iain M. Duguid, R. Kent Hughes, and general editor, Numbers: God’s Presence in the Wilderness (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2006), 104.
[6] Gordon J. Wenham, Numbers: an Introduction and Commentary (Nottingham, England.: IVP Academic, 2008), 211.
[7] Iain M. Duguid, R. Kent Hughes, and general editor, Numbers: God’s Presence in the Wilderness (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2006), 55-56.