20250402 [새벽묵상] 우리를 가까이 부르시는 하나님 | The God who calls us near (민/Num 8:14~26)

8:14 너는 이같이 이스라엘 자손 중에서 레위인을 구별하라 그리하면 그들이 내게 속할 것이라

14 In this way you are to set the Levites apart from the other Israelites, and the Levites will be mine.

8:15 네가 그들을 정결하게 하여 요제로 드린 후에 그들이 회막에 들어가서 봉사할 것이니라

8:16 그들은 이스라엘 자손 중에서 내게 온전히 드린 바 된 자라 이스라엘 자손 중 모든 초태생 곧 모든 처음 태어난 자 대신 내가 그들을 취하였나니

8:17 이스라엘 자손 중 처음 태어난 것은 사람이든지 짐승이든지 다 내게 속하였음은 내가 애굽 땅에서 모든 처음 태어난 자를 치던 날에 그들을 내게 구별하였음이라

8:18 이러므로 내가 이스라엘 자손 중 모든 처음 태어난 자 대신 레위인을 취하였느니라

8:19 내가 이스라엘 자손 중에서 레위인을 취하여 그들을 아론과 그의 아들들에게 주어 그들로 회막에서 이스라엘 자손을 대신하여 속죄하게 하였나니 이는 이스라엘 자손이 성소에 가까이 할 때에 그들 중에 재앙이 없게 하려 하였음이니라

15 “After you have purified the Levites and presented them as a wave offering, they are to come to do their work at the tent of meeting. 16 They are the Israelites who are to be given wholly to me. I have taken them as my own in place of the firstborn, the first male offspring from every Israelite woman. 17 Every firstborn male in Israel, whether human or animal, is mine. When I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, I set them apart for myself. 18 And I have taken the Levites in place of all the firstborn sons in Israel. 19 From among all the Israelites, I have given the Levites as gifts to Aaron and his sons to do the work at the tent of meeting on behalf of the Israelites and to make atonement for them so that no plague will strike the Israelites when they go near the sanctuary.”

8:20 모세와 아론과 이스라엘 자손의 온 회중이 여호와께서 레위인에 대하여 모세에게 명령하신 것을 다 따라 레위인에게 행하였으되 곧 이스라엘 자손이 그와 같이 그들에게 행하였더라

8:21 레위인이 이에 죄에서 스스로 깨끗하게 하고 그들의 옷을 빨매 아론이 그들을 여호와 앞에 요제로 드리고 그가 또 그들을 위하여 속죄하여 정결하게 한

8:22 후에 레위인이 회막에 들어가서 아론과 그의 아들들 앞에서 봉사하니라 여호와께서 레위인의 일에 대하여 모세에게 명령하게 하신 것을 따라 그와 같이 그들에게 행하였더라

20 Moses, Aaron and the whole Israelite community did with the Levites just as the Lord commanded Moses. 21 The Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes. Then Aaron presented them as a wave offering before the Lord and made atonement for them to purify them. 22 After that, the Levites came to do their work at the tent of meeting under the supervision of Aaron and his sons. They did with the Levites just as the Lord commanded Moses.

8:23 여호와께서 또 모세에게 말씀하여 이르시되

8:24 레위인은 이같이 할지니 곧 이십오 세 이상으로는 회막에 들어가서 복무하고 봉사할 것이요

8:25 오십 세부터는 그 일을 쉬어 봉사하지 아니할 것이나

8:26 그의 형제와 함께 회막에서 돕는 직무를 지킬 것이요 일하지 아니 할 것이라 너는 레위인의 직무에 대하여 이같이 할지니라

23 The Lord said to Moses, 24 “This applies to the Levites: Men twenty-five years old or more shall come to take part in the work at the tent of meeting, 25 but at the age of fifty, they must retire from their regular service and work no longer. 26 They may assist their brothers in performing their duties at the tent of meeting, but they themselves must not do the work. This, then, is how you are to assign the responsibilities of the Levites.”

                  어제의 말씀에 이어 오늘 말씀도 레위인의 임직식을 다루고 있습니다. 하나님의 말씀대로 레위인들은 이스라엘 백성들로부터 구별되었습니다. 속죄의 물을 그들에게 뿌리고 전신을 삭도로 밀고 그 의복 빨며 목욕 재개를 함으로 그들의 육체를 정결케 하였습니다. 또한 이스라엘 자손들 온 회중이 그들에게 안수하여 이스라엘 민족의 죄악들을 그들에게 옮기고 레위인들은 번제물과 속죄제물에게 또다시 안수함으로 이스라엘 민족의 죄와 그들 자신의 죄에서 스스로를 깨끗케 하였습니다. 이렇게 정결하게 된 후에야 그들은 하나님 앞에 요제로 드려져 회막에서 봉사 할 수 있게 되었습니다. 하나님께서 이들에게 이렇게 하신 것은 이들 레위인들로 하여금 하나님께 가까이 있게 하기 위함이었습니다. 우리가 보기에는 굉장히 번거롭고 까다로운 절차들이지만 거룩하신 하나님께 가까이 나아가기 위해서는 그들 또한 이러한 정결의 과정을 거쳐야만 했던 것이지요. 이렇게 하나님께서는 이들 레위인들을 가까이 부르십니다. 그리고 이 레위인들을 하나님 곁으로 가까이 부르신 것의 궁극적인 목적은 바로 이스라엘 자손이 성소에 가까이 할 때에 그들 중에 재앙이 없게 하려 하였음이니라 라고 오늘 말씀을 통해 알려주십니다. 즉 이 레위인들을 통하여 이스라엘 백성 전체를 하나님께 더 가까이 부르고 계시는 것입니다. 오늘은 이 말씀을 전하고 싶습니다. 우리를 가까이 부르시는 하나님. 우리가 하나님께 가까이 나아오기를 원하시는 주님.

Today's message, continuing from yesterday, deals with the ordination of the Levites.

According to God's word, the Levites were set apart from the people of Israel. The water of cleansing was sprinkled on them, their bodies were shaved with a razor, their clothes were washed, and they bathed themselves to purify their bodies. Then the whole assembly of Israel laid their hands on them, transferring the sins of the nation to them. The Levites in turn laid their hands on the burnt offerings and sin offerings to cleanse themselves from both the nation's sins and their own. Only after this purification could they be presented as a wave offering before God and serve in the Tent of Meeting.

God did all this to bring the Levites near to Himself. Though these procedures seem extremely burdensome and complicated to us, they were necessary steps of purification for approaching the holy God. In this way, God called these Levites to come close to Him. And the ultimate purpose of bringing the Levites near to God is revealed in today's passage: "so that no plague will strike the Israelites when they go near the sanctuary." Through these Levites, God was calling the entire nation of Israel closer to Himself. This is the message I want to share today: God calls us to draw near to Him. The Lord desires us to come close to Him.

                  오늘 말씀 14절에서는 어제 우리가 함께 보았던 레위인들을 정결케 하는 모든 과정들을 요약해서 설명합니다. “너는 이같이 이스라엘 자손 중에서 레위인을 구별하라 그리하면 그들이 내게 속할 것이라” 그 모든 과정들은 하나님께서 그들로 하나님의 것이 되게 하기 위함이었습니다. 하나님의 것이 된 그들은 무엇을 합니까? 15절을 보니 정결하게 되어 하나님께 요제로 드려진 그들이 회막에 들어가서 봉사할 것이라고 하십니다. 14-15절은 어제 함께 본 5절부터 이어진 레위인들을 이스라엘 백성으로부터 구별하는 방법에 대한 하나님의 지시입니다. 그런데 오늘 말씀은 이러한 하나님의 지시 뿐만 아니라 왜 이들을 이렇게 구별하시는지에 대한 하나님의 설명 또한 나와있습니다. 그것이 16-19절 말씀입니다.

Verse 14 of today's passage summarizes all the purification processes for the Levites that we examined yesterday: "In this way you shall separate the Levites from among the Israelites, and the Levites shall be mine." All these processes were meant to make them belong to God. And what do those who belong to God do? Looking at verse 15, we see that after being purified and presented as a wave offering to God, they would enter the Tent of Meeting to serve. Verses 14-15 continue God's instructions from verse 5 about how to separate the Levites from the Israelites. But today's passage not only contains God's instructions but also His explanation of why He set them apart. This is found in verses 16-19.

                  하나님이 레위인을 취하신 이유에 대해서 설명하시는데 그것은 바로 이들이 이스라엘 자손 중에 모든 처음 태어난 자를 대신한다는 것입니다. 왜 그럴까요? 17절에서 그 이유를 설명하십니다. 하나님께서 애굽에서 마지막 재앙, 즉 모든 처음 태어난 자를 치실 때에 그들을 하나님께 구별하였기 때문입니다. 여기서 내게 구별하였다는 말은 원문으로 보면 단순히 구별만 한 것이 아니라 거룩하게 성별하였다는 말씀입니다. 애굽에서 죽었어야 할 이들을 하나님께서 살리심으로 그들은 하나님의 구원을 상징하는 자들이 되었습니다. 그리고 이들, 이스라엘의 모든 장자들을 죽음 대신 하나님의 것으로 취하셨는데 이들을 레위인으로 대체하셨기 때문에 레위인들이 하나님의 것이라는 것입니다. 그리고 19절에서 이 모든 과정, 장자 대신 레위인을 취하시고 어제부터 오늘까지 보았던, 이들을 정결케 하는 모든 지시의 궁극적인 목적이 무엇이었는지 설명하십니다. 19절입니다. 함께 보겠습니다. “그들로 회막에서 이스라엘 자손을 대신하여 봉사하게 하며 또 이스라엘 자손을 위하여 속죄하게 하였나니 이는 이스라엘 자손이 성소에 가까이 할 때에 그들 중에 재앙이 없게 하려 하였음이니라” 무슨 말입니까? 이들 레위인들은 이스라엘의 장자들을 대신하여 성전에서 봉사할 뿐만 아니라 이스라엘 사람들을 위해서 속죄하게 한다고 하십니다. 그리고 레위인들을 봉사와 속죄하게 하시는 이유가 뭐라구요? 바로 이스라엘 자손이 성소에 가까이 할 때에 그들 중에 재앙이 없게 하려 하였음이라고 하십니다. 이들이 성소에 가까이 할 때에 재앙이 없도록. 즉, 하나님께서는 레위인들을 통해 이스라엘 백성이 성소에 가까이 하기를 원하시는 것입니다. 하나님께 가까이 나아오기를 원하시는 것입니다.

God explains His reason for taking the Levites, saying they are to substitute for all the firstborn among the Israelites. Why is this? Verse 17 explains the reason: God set them apart when He struck down all the firstborn in Egypt during the final plague. The original text indicates that they weren't merely set apart but were sanctified and consecrated to God. Those who should have died in Egypt were saved by God, becoming symbols of God's salvation. God took all these firstborn Israelites as His own instead of letting them die, but then substituted the Levites in their place, which is why the Levites belong to God. Then verse 19 explains the ultimate purpose of this entire process—taking the Levites instead of the firstborn and all the purification instructions we've been studying. Let's read verse 19 together: "I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons to do the work at the Tent of Meeting on behalf of the Israelites and to make atonement for them so that no plague will strike the Israelites when they go near the sanctuary."

What does this mean? These Levites not only serve in the temple in place of Israel's firstborn but also make atonement for the Israelites. And why did God have the Levites serve and make atonement? So that when the Israelites approach the sanctuary, no plague would strike them. God wants the Israelites to be able to draw near to the sanctuary without calamity. In other words, through the Levites, God desires for the people of Israel to come close to the sanctuary—to draw near to God Himself.

                  한번 생각해 보십시오. 하나님께서 이들에게 이렇게나 번거롭고 자세하게 출애굽기와 레위기 전체와 민수기까지 말씀을 하시는 이유가 무엇입니까? 정결케 하려면 이렇게 해야하고 죄를 씻으려면 이렇게 번제를 드려야 하고 회막을 지으려면 이렇게 지어야하고 등등등. 모세오경에 적혀있는 율법의 개수만 따져도 613개나 된다고 합니다. 대체 왜? 무엇 때문에 이들에게 이렇게 자세하게 말씀하신 것입니까? 그것은 하나님께서 이들과 가까이 계시기를 원하셨기 때문입니다. 하나님께서는 시내산에 그냥 거기 계셔도 됐어요. 하나님의 임재가 어떤 것인지 얼마나 두려운 것인지 보여주셨잖아요. 불꽃과 연기와 우레와 번개와 나팔소리로 온 산이 진동하였죠. 사람들이 출애굽기 20:19에 “하나님이 우리에게 말씀하시지 말게 하소서 우리가 죽을까 하나이다”라고 모세에게 간청했어요. 애초에 하나님과 인간은 같이 있을 수가 없어요. 거룩하신 하나님이 어떻게 인간 가운데 거하실 수 있겠습니까? 하지만 하나님께서 그들 가운데 거하는 것을 선택하셨습니다. 하나님께서, 거룩하신 하나님께서 죄 많은 인간들 가운데 거하시기를 선택한 것입니다. 그래서 이들에게 이렇게 많은 계명을 주셔야만 했던 것입니다. 어제 말씀과 오늘 말씀처럼 많은 정결의 의식을 거쳐서 레위인을 세우신 것은 하나님께서 이들을 가까이 하기 원하셨기 때문이고 또한 이들도 하나님께 가까이 하기를 원하셨기 때문입니다. 하나님께서는 우리를 가까이 부르시는 하나님이신 것입니다.

Think about it. Why does God give such detailed and cumbersome instructions throughout Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers? "For purification, do this; to cleanse sin, offer this burnt offering; to build the tabernacle, construct it this way"—and so on. It's said there are 613 laws written in the five books of Moses. Why? For what purpose did God speak to them in such detail? It was because God wanted to dwell among them. God could have simply remained on Mount Sinai. He had already shown them what His presence was like and how fearsome it was—with fire, smoke, thunder, lightning, and trumpet blasts that made the whole mountain tremble. In Exodus 20:19, the people begged Moses, "Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die." Originally, God and humans cannot coexist. How could the holy God dwell among humans? But God chose to dwell among them. God—the holy God—chose to dwell among sinful humans. That's why He had to give them so many commandments. As we saw in yesterday's and today's passages, He established the Levites through many purification rituals because God wanted to be close to them and wanted them to be close to Him. God is a God who calls us to draw near.

                  말씀을 맺습니다. 앞에서 거룩하신 하나님께서 죄 많은 인간들 가운데 거하시기를 선택하였다고 말씀드렸습니다. 요한복음 1:14에 “말씀이 육신이 되어 우리 가운데 거하시매” 라는 말씀이 있습니다. 살아계신 성자께서 육신을 입어 우리 인간들이 사는 세상으로 강림하셨다, 내려오셨다라는 말씀이지요. 그런데 이 말씀 중에 ‘우리 가운데 거하셨다’라는 동사가 원문으로 보면 ‘우리 가운데 회막을 치셨다’ 입니다. 하나님께서 이스라엘 백성과 함께하기 위해서 그들의 진영 한 가운데에 회막을 치시고 그들 가운데 거하셨던 것처럼 거룩하신 하나님이신 예수님께서 죄많은 우리들을 구원하시려고 육신을 입어 우리 가운데 회막을 치셨던 것입니다. 우리를 가까이 하기 위해서. 예수님께서 십자가에서 돌아가심으로 이루신 일이 무엇입니까? 죄악으로 하나님과 원수가 된 우리를 예수님의 보혈로 하나님께 가까이 하게 하심이 아닙니까? 이처럼 하나님께서는 우리와 가까이 하기를 원하십니다. 성도 여러분, 하나뿐인 독생자를 버리시며 우리를 가까이 부르시는 분이 우리 하나님이십니다. 오늘 하루 하나님께 더욱 가까이 나아가시는 여러분 되시기를 주님의 이름으로 축원합니다. 기도하시겠습니다.

As I conclude, I mentioned earlier that the holy God chose to dwell among sinful humans. John 1:14 says, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us." This means the living Son of God took on human flesh and came down to the world where we humans live. But in the original text, the verb "made his dwelling among us" literally means "pitched his tent among us." Just as God pitched the tabernacle in the midst of the Israelite camp to dwell among them, Jesus, who is the holy God, took on flesh and pitched His tent among us sinful people to save us—to be close to us. What did Jesus accomplish by dying on the cross? Wasn't it to bring us, who had become enemies of God through sin, near to God through His blood? In this way, God desires to be close to us. Brothers and sisters, our God is the One who calls us near to Him, even giving up His only begotten Son. I pray in the name of the Lord that today you will draw even closer to God. Let us pray.