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“The Israel of God” and the “Great Crowd”The Watchtower—1995 | July 1
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8 Israel, when faithful, acknowledged Jehovah’s sovereignty and accepted him as their King. (Isaiah 33:22) Thus, they were a kingdom. But, as was later revealed, the promise about “a kingdom” would mean even more than that. Further, when they obeyed Jehovah’s Law, they were clean, separated from the nations around them. They were a holy nation. (Deuteronomy 7:5, 6) Were they a kingdom of priests? Well, in Israel the tribe of Levi was set aside for temple service, and within that tribe there was the Levitical priesthood. When the Mosaic Law was inaugurated, Levite males were taken in exchange for the firstborn of every non-Levite family.a (Exodus 22:29; Numbers 3:11-16, 40-51) Thus, every family in Israel was, as it were, represented in temple service. This was the closest the nation got to being a priesthood. Nevertheless, they represented Jehovah before the nations. Any foreigner who wished to worship the true God had to do so in association with Israel.—2 Chronicles 6:32, 33; Isaiah 60:10.
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“The Israel of God” and the “Great Crowd”The Watchtower—1995 | July 1
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a When Israel’s priesthood was inaugurated, the firstborn sons of the non-Levite tribes of Israel and the males of the tribe of Levi were counted. There were 273 more firstborn than Levite males. Hence, Jehovah ordered that five shekels for each of the 273 should be paid as a ransom for the excess.
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