Numbers 4

celebrating the Passover (9:1–14), numbering the soldiers (chap. 1), organizing the tribes (chap. 2), and assigning the priestly duties (chaps. 3—4).

These two chapters are devoted to the Levites, the men who served the Lord by assisting the priests in their ministry at the tabernacle. Moses records two numberings of the Levites, those one month old and older and those twenty years old and older, as well as the duties assigned to them. The Levites had no inheritance in the Promised Land but lived from a tithe of the gifts that the people brought to the Lord (18:20–24).

The priests (3:1–4). The priests were the descendants of Aaron, the first high priest, who had four sons: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar (Ex. 6:23). Nadab and Abihu brought unauthorized worship into the sanctuary and were killed by the Lord (Lev. 10). Eleazar was chief over the Levites (Num. 3:32) and eventually replaced his father as high priest (20:22–29). Ithamar had received the offerings for the building of the tabernacle (Ex. 38:21) and was in charge of the Gershonites and Merarites (Num. 4:28, 33). It was no insignificant thing to be one of God’s priests, for the priests were God’s anointed servants, especially consecrated for His glory (Ex. 28—29).

The gift of the Levites (vv. 5–13). God looked on Israel as His firstborn son (Ex. 4:22). He had spared Israel’s firstborn at Passover but had slain the firstborn sons of Egypt (11:1–7; 12:29–30). For this reason, every firstborn male in Israel, whether human or animal, belonged to the Lord and had to be redeemed by a sacrifice (13:1–2, 11–13; 22:29–30; 34:19–20; Luke 2:7, 22–23).

The entire nation of Israel was to be a “kingdom of priests” before God (Ex. 19:5–6), and He appointed a special priesthood to help His people obey His law and bear witness of His goodness. The Levites were God’s gift to the priests, substitutes for the redeemed firstborn sons of Israel who already belonged to God. The Levites did for the Lord and the priests the service that the firstborn sons would have done, for the Levites ministered in their place.

The Levitical census and duties (3:14—4:49). Two different censuses were taken of the Levites. Moses first counted every male, one month old and older, to make sure there were enough Levites to substitute for all the firstborn in Israel. There were 7,500 Gershonites (3:22), 8,600 Kohathites (v. 28), and 6,200 Merarites (vv. 33–34), a total of 22,000 Levites. When Moses numbered the firstborn males in Israel, he found 22,273 (vv. 40–43), so the extra 273 men had no Levites to represent them in the sanctuary. These 273 males were redeemed by paying five shekels each, and the money was given to Aaron to be used for the service of the tabernacle.

The second census was of all the Levites, ages thirty to fifty, who were able to serve in the sanctuary (4:1–3, 21–23, 29–30), and the total was 8,580 (vv. 46–49). According to 8:24, the Levites began to serve at age twenty-five, so it’s likely that the younger men went through a five-year training period to prepare them for their work. They had a great deal to learn about the sacrifices and the tabernacle service, and it was dangerous to make mistakes. Later, David lowered the starting age to twenty (1 Chron. 23:24–25).

The Gershonites (3:21–26; 4:21–28, 38–41) were numbered at 7,500, with 2,630 old enough to serve (4:40). They camped at the west end of the tabernacle, and had Eliasaph as their leader. Their responsibility was to transport the coverings, hangings, and framework of the tabernacle, and all the equipment that pertained to them, for this work they were given two carts and four oxen (7:7). Ithamar the priest supervised their work.

The Kohathites (3:27–32; 4:1–20, 34–37) numbered 8,600 men, of whom 2,750 were old enough to serve (4:36). They camped on the south side of the tabernacle and had Elizaphan as their leader. They were responsible for carrying the furniture in the sanctuary, and 4:1–20 explains the procedure. When the camp was about to move, Aaron and his sons would enter the holy place, take down the veil, and use it to cover the ark of the covenant. They would put over this a protective covering of skins and then a cloth of blue. They then put the wooden staves into the rings on the ark so that four of the men could carry it before the marching nation.

Once the ark was safely covered, the other pieces of furniture were covered in a similar manner. First they covered the table of showbread, then the lampstand and the golden altar of incense, and finally the altar of burnt offering. The various vessels and implements pertaining to each piece of furniture were also packed. Each of these sacred items was fitted for staves and the Kohathites carried the pieces of furniture on their shoulders. It was important that the furnishings be covered lest some inquisitive Levite look at them and incur the judgment of God (vv. 16–20). Aaron’s son Eleazar was in charge of the work of the Kohathites (3:32), and it was also his task to carry the oil for the lampstand, the incense for the golden altar, the flour for the daily meal offering, and the holy anointing oil (4:16).

The Gershonites and Merarites had wagons for carrying their burdens, but the Kohathites had none (7:1–9). The sacred furniture of the tabernacle had to be borne on the shoulders of the sanctified servants of God. When David had the ark brought into Jerusalem, he didn’t obey this rule, and it led to the death of Uzzah (2 Sam. 6). The Kohathites were burden-bearers, but their burdens were precious, very important to the people, and appointed by the Lord. Certainly they considered it a privilege to carry the sacred furnishings of the sanctuary on their shoulders through the wilderness.

The Merarites (3:33–37; 4:29–33, 42–45) numbered 6,200, of whom 3,200 were the proper age to serve (v. 44). They camped to the north of the tabernacle and had Zuriel as their leader. They had an especially difficult task because they carried the heavy boards of the tabernacle, as well as the bars, pillars, and silver sockets into which the pillars fit. No wonder Moses gave them four wagons and eight oxen to help them with their work (7:8). Aaron’s son Ithamar supervised their ministry.

All this information about the ministry of the Levites reminds us that our God is concerned with details and wants His work to be done by the people He has chosen and in the way He has appointed. Nothing in the camp of Israel was left to chance or human contrivance. Each Levite and priest knew his responsibilities and was expected to “serve God with reverence and godly fear” (Heb. 12:28). Caring for the tabernacle was serious work, a matter of life and death.

The chapters also remind us that not everybody has the same burdens to bear. The Gershonites and Merarites could put their burdens on wagons, but the Kohathites had to carry their burdens on their shoulders. There are some burdens we can share (Gal. 6:2), but there are other burdens that only we can bear (v. 5).

Finally, we must note that our God believes in organization, but the organization is a means to an end and not an end in itself. One of my coworkers at Moody Church liked to say, “Remember, the church is an organism, not an organization.” But I would remind him that if an organism isn’t organized, it will die! Yes, the church is a living spiritual organism, but it’s also an organization. If an army isn’t organized, it can’t fight the enemy successfully; if a family isn’t organized, it will experience nothing but chaos and confusion.

God was preparing His people to engage enemy nations and defeat them. It was important that the camp be orderly and the work of the tabernacle be organized. Otherwise, the worship would not please God and the warfare would lead to defeat.

We live in an age not unlike that described in the book of Judges, when “every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (Judg. 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25). But God’s word to His people is just the opposite: “See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain” (Heb. 8: nkjv; see Ex. 25:40).

When God’s work is done God’s way, in obedience to God’s truth, it will never lack God’s blessing.