Read Numbers 4
The Kohathites
4 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: 2 “Take a census of the Kohathite branch of the Levites by their clans and families. 3 Count all the men from thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the work at the tent of meeting.
4 “This is the work of the Kohathites at the tent of meeting: the care of the most holy things. 5 When the camp is to move, Aaron and his sons are to go in and take down the shielding curtain and put it over the ark of the covenant law. 6 Then they are to cover the curtain with a durable leather, spread a cloth of solid blue over that and put the poles in place.
7 “Over the table of the Presence they are to spread a blue cloth and put on it the plates, dishes and bowls, and the jars for drink offerings; the bread that is continually there is to remain on it. 8 They are to spread a scarlet cloth over them, cover that with the durable leather and put the poles in place.
9 “They are to take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand that is for light, together with its lamps, its wick trimmers and trays, and all its jars for the olive oil used to supply it. 10 Then they are to wrap it and all its accessories in a covering of the durable leather and put it on a carrying frame.
11 “Over the gold altar they are to spread a blue cloth and cover that with the durable leather and put the poles in place.
12 “They are to take all the articles used for ministering in the sanctuary, wrap them in a blue cloth, cover that with the durable leather and put them on a carrying frame.
13 “They are to remove the ashes from the bronze altar and spread a purple cloth over it. 14 Then they are to place on it all the utensils used for ministering at the altar, including the firepans, meat forks, shovels and sprinkling bowls. Over it they are to spread a covering of the durable leather and put the poles in place.
15 “After Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy furnishings and all the holy articles, and when the camp is ready to move, only then are the Kohathites to come and do the carrying. But they must not touch the holy things or they will die. The Kohathites are to carry those things that are in the tent of meeting.
16 “Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, is to have charge of the oil for the light,the fragrant incense, the regular grain offering and the anointing oil. He is to be in charge of the entire tabernacle and everything in it, including its holy furnishings and articles.”
17 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 18 “See that the Kohathite tribal clans are not destroyed from among the Levites. 19 So that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy things, do this for them: Aaron and his sons are to go into the sanctuary and assign to each man his work and what he is to carry. 20 But the Kohathites must not go in to look at the holy things, even for a moment, or they will die.”
The Gershonites
21 The Lord said to Moses, 22 “Take a census also of the Gershonites by their families and clans. 23 Count all the men from thirty to fifty years of agewho come to serve in the work at the tent of meeting.
24 “This is the service of the Gershonite clans in their carrying and their other work: 25 They are to carry the curtains of the tabernacle, that is, the tent of meeting, its covering and its outer covering of durable leather, the curtains for the entrance to the tent of meeting, 26 the curtains of the courtyard surrounding the tabernacle and altar, the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard, the ropes and all the equipment used in the service of the tent. The Gershonites are to do all that needs to be done with these things.27 All their service, whether carrying or doing other work, is to be done under the direction of Aaron and his sons. You shall assign to them as their responsibility all they are to carry. 28 This is the service of the Gershonite clans at the tent of meeting. Their duties are to be under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest.
The Merarites
29 “Count the Merarites by their clans and families. 30 Count all the men from thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the work at the tent of meeting. 31 As part of all their service at the tent, they are to carry the frames of the tabernacle, its crossbars, posts and bases, 32 as well as the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, ropes, all their equipment and everything related to their use. Assign to each man the specific things he is to carry. 33 This is the service of the Merarite clans as they work at the tent of meeting under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest.”
The Numbering of the Levite Clans
34 Moses, Aaron and the leaders of the community counted the Kohathitesby their clans and families. 35 All the men from thirty to fifty years of agewho came to serve in the work at the tent of meeting, 36 counted by clans, were 2,750. 37 This was the total of all those in the Kohathite clans who served at the tent of meeting. Moses and Aaron counted them according to the Lord’s command through Moses.
38 The Gershonites were counted by their clans and families. 39 All the men from thirty to fifty years of age who came to serve in the work at the tent of meeting, 40 counted by their clans and families, were 2,630. 41 This was the total of those in the Gershonite clans who served at the tent of meeting. Moses and Aaron counted them according to the Lord’s command.
42 The Merarites were counted by their clans and families. 43 All the men from thirty to fifty years of age who came to serve in the work at the tent of meeting, 44 counted by their clans, were 3,200. 45 This was the total of those in the Merarite clans. Moses and Aaron counted them according to the Lord’s command through Moses.
46 So Moses, Aaron and the leaders of Israel counted all the Levites by their clans and families. 47 All the men from thirty to fifty years of age who came to do the work of serving and carrying the tent of meeting 48 numbered 8,580. 49 At the Lord’s command through Moses, each was assigned his work and told what to carry.
Thus they were counted, as the Lord commanded Moses.
Go Deeper
In this chapter we see three clans of the tribe of Levi getting assigned their priestly duties for the service of the tent of meeting. The sons of Kohath were given the task of carrying the most holy things. The sons of Gershwin were given the task of carrying the curtains of the tabernacle and the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting. The sons of Merari were to carry the frames of the tabernacle. Moses arranged the Levitical families according to the holiness of the articles that they managed, not the age of their ancestors as in earlier chapters in Numbers.
This chapter helps paint the picture of the separation between the Israelites and God. The curtains marked the boundaries of which the people could not cross. Only certain people at certain times could enter God’s presence. Even the Kohathites, who were responsible for carrying the holy things, were not able to look inside or directly touch the items or they would die (v. 15, 20).
In Mark 15 when Jesus breathed his last breath, the curtain of the temple was torn from top to bottom. This symbolizes that the barrier between God and sinful humanity has been removed and we have access to God in a new and different way because of Jesus’s finished work on the cross.
When we believed upon Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins, we received the Holy Spirit. We see in John 4 Jesus tells the woman that a time is coming when we will worship the Father neither on a sacred mountain nor in Jerusalem at the temple. We now have access to God; we don’t have to go through any human to access the divine because the divine came to us and the Holy Spirit dwells within us!
Though we can talk to and sit in the presence of our Heavenly Father whenever we want, this chapter teaches us, we should have reverence for the things associated with God and that service for the Lord is Holy, no matter how mundane it may appear in human standards.
Questions
- How can you show greater honor and respect to the things of God?
- Do you take the access you have to God for granted?
- What time today will you set aside to intentionally talk with God?
Keep Digging
For more on the tabernacle, check out this helpful article from GotQuestions.org!
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7 thoughts on “Numbers 4”
Numbers 1 numbering the tribes
Numbers 2 ordering of the camps
Numbers 3 duties of the priest and Levites
Numbers 4 Sons of Levi and their duties
God appointed special men to serve in priesthood to help His people obey His law and bear witness of His goodness. The Levites made this possible. The thought is that the heavy nature and being on guard duty at all time, required maturity, physical, and emotional responsibility. The men started training at age 25 (8:24) to learn about the sacrifes, the tabernacle services, and how it was dangerous to make mistakes. Weirsbe had a insteresting observation in that he says not everyone bears the same burdens. The Gershonites and Kohathites had to carry their burdens on wagons, but the Meraites could put their burdens on their shoulders. There are some burdens we can share but there are others that only we can bear. (Gal 6:2-7).
We, now, live in a world where “every man did that which was right in his own eyes” Judges 17:6
Hebrews 8:5 They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” God was preparing His people to be able to go to war, defeat the enemy, and worship Him in the right manner. We have been given a purpose.. We are to proclaim the Gospel and when spirital warefare comes we are to stand.
Ephesians 6:13″Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm”
This verse calls for believers to be prepared and ready to stand their ground against evil
1 Corinthians 15:58 “My dear friends, stand firm and don’t be shaken”
This verse encourages believers to remain steadfast and immovable.
1 Peter 5:9 “But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world”
This verse encourages believers to remain firm in their faith, even when facing suffering.
God thank You for Your amazing Word. Thank You for the knowledge in Your Word. God help me to be able to withstand the fiery darts and stand firm during trials. God, You are with me and I stand in/on these promises. God thank You for today, these minutes of this day, that as the world swirls about me, that I can remain firm. God I am beyond thankful, with not enough words to express, how You bless my life. God let Your joy overflow and efferves continually in me and so that those around me want to know what and why. To You be the glory, honor and thankful amazment in Jesus name amen.
WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
43 “All the men from thirty to fifty years of age who came to serve in the work at the tent of meeting,“
A number of times in this chapter this narrow demographic of Levite men between 30 and 50 years old is mentioned. Sometimes, certain people are set apart for Godly duties . . . but that doesn’t mean the rest of don’t have important things to do as well!
Yes it’s really easy to take advantage of my relationship with god. I’m forever thankful of these new blessings because of Jesus but yea with the old covenant. I’m sure their reverence for god was next level.
We see the holiness of God in every instruction he gives to his people. He is incredibly specific, as these are not his preferences, but are his commands which must be taken seriously and obeyed. His people didn’t have to figure things out, in his kindness he instructed them how to thrive under his care and protection.
I listened to a podcast just today about a new book from the creators of Ten Minute Bible Talks, “Joyful Outsiders: Six Ways to Live Like Jesus in a Disorienting Culture.” The authors point out that while there is only one way to reach God, there are many ways to reach His people on his behalf.
God is a god of consecrated variety.
In Leviticus 4, He calls and assign His people according to specific lineage, specific (age-related) abilities, and specific tasks.
“It is worthy of note that these Levites, although they were all equally consecrated to God, had not all exactly the same work to perform. God is not the God of all uniformity. There is a wondrous unity of plan and design in all that he does, but there is also an equally marvellous variety.” (Spurgeon)
So we too have been created with divinely designated inheritance, abilities and assignments. Not all the same people, but to the same holy purpose — to glorify the one and only holy God.
Lord, thank you for your miraculous gifts of uniqueness AND unity. As we consider that which sets us apart — and that which brings us together — may we never forget that all we have is from you, and all we do is for you!
“There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.”
~1 Corinthians 12:4-6 NLT
“we should have reverence for the things associated with God and that service for the Lord is Holy, no matter how mundane it may appear in human standards.”
Such a beautiful thing that we are able to have full and complete access to God and are able to have a personal relationship with him. We still revere God but also look to him as a loving father and close friend! It is such an honor to serve God daily and I pray that I never loose sight of how much of a blessing and how amazing it is to serve the Holy God, king Jesus!
27 All their service, whether carrying or doing other work, is to be done under the direction of Aaron and his sons. You shall assign to them as their responsibility all they are to carry. 28 This is the service of the Gershonite clans at the tent of meeting. Their duties are to be under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest.
The lines of authority and accountability were clearly communicated to all. As we function with others in service to God, we must also follow the authority God has placed before us as leaders of Harris Creek.