The Levites Assignments
December 11, 2022
Commentary
In Genesis God elected a people, in Exodus He redeemed them, in Leviticus He sanctified them, and in Numbers He directed them. Numbers takes up the story where Leviticus left off. Leviticus described the believer’s worship and Numbers their walk. Leviticus covers only one month, but Numbers stretches over thirty-nine years. God is the author of order, not confusion; and this is seen in the way He organizes the people. Chapter three deals with the organization of the Priests.
At the time of the first Passover, God instructed every Israelite family to dedicate their first born son to Him. They were set apart to assist Moses and Aaron in ministering to the people (vv. 1-4). When the LORD talked with Moses on Mount Sinai, Aaron’s four sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, were the ones to be ordained as priests. But the LORD killed Nadab and Abihu in the Sinai Desert when they used fire that was unacceptable in their offering to the LORD. This was only a temporary thing as we now find God choosing all the men from the tribe of Levi to replace the first born sons. These men called Levites, were set apart to care for the tabernacle and to minister to the people (vv. 5-13). All the Priests had to belong to the tribe of Levi but not all Levites were priests. These Levites were to be 25 years old before entering service.
Aaron and his descendants were appointed to the priesthood. There is a tremendous contrast between the priesthood of Aaron in the Old Testament and the priesthood of Christ in the New Testament. Aaron and his descendants were the only ones who could carry out the duties of the priests and approach God’s dwelling place (vv. 14-37). Now that Christ is our High Priest and our mediator with God, anyone who follows Him is also called a priest (I Peter 2:5, 9). Consequently all Christians may come into God’s presence without fear because God’s own Son encourages His followers to do so.
Application
To be able to go directly to the Lord in prayer is a great privilege that people in the Old Testament knew nothing about. As a Christian I have the full advantage of taking everything to Him in prayer. It is so easy for me to try to work things out in my own strength or talk to other people about my problems rather than going to the Lord about everything. Lord help me to be a person of prayer.
Numbers 3:1– 37 (NET)
1 Now these are the records of Aaron and Moses when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he consecrated to minister as priests.
4 Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord when they offered strange fire before the Lord in the desert of Sinai, and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar ministered as priests in the presence of Aaron their father.
5 The Lord spoke to Moses: 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him. 7 They are responsible for his needs and the needs of the whole community before the tent of meeting, by attending to the service of the tabernacle. 8 And they are responsible for all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and for the needs of the Israelites, as they serve in the tabernacle. 9 You are to assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they will be assigned exclusively to him out of all the Israelites. 10 So you are to appoint Aaron and his sons, and they will be responsible for their priesthood, but the unauthorized person who comes near must be put to death.”
11 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 12 “Look, I myself have taken the Levites from among the Israelites instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the Israelites. So the Levites belong to me, 13 because all the firstborn are mine. When I destroyed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I set apart for myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They belong to me. I am the Lord.”
14 Then the Lord spoke to Moses in the desert of Sinai: 15 “Number the Levites by their clans and their families; every male from a month old and upward you are to number.” 16 So Moses numbered them according to the word of the Lord, just as he had been commanded.
17 These were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
18 These are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shimei. 19 The sons of Kohath by their families were: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20 The sons of Merari by their families were Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites by their clans.
21 From Gershon came the family of the Libnites and the family of the Shimeites; these were the families of the Gershonites. 22 Those of them who were numbered, counting every male from a month old and upward, were 7,500. 23 The families of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle toward the west. 24 Now the leader of the clan of the Gershonites was Eliasaph son of Lael.
25 And the responsibilities of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting included the tabernacle, the tent with its covering, the curtain at the entrance of the tent of meeting, 26 the hangings of the courtyard, the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard that surrounded the tabernacle and the altar, and their ropes, plus all the service connected with these things.
27 From Kohath came the family of the Amramites, the family of the Izharites, the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites; these were the families of the Kohathites. 28 Counting every male from a month old and upward, there were 8,600. They were responsible for the care of the sanctuary. 29 The families of the Kohathites were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle. 30 Now the leader of the clan of the families of the Kohathites was Elizaphan son of Uzziel.
31 Their responsibilities included the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, and the utensils of the sanctuary with which they ministered, the curtain, and all their service. 32 Now the head of all the Levitical leaders was Eleazar son of Aaron the priest. He was appointed over those who were responsible for the sanctuary.
33 From Merari came the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites; these were the families of Merari. 34 Those of them who were numbered, counting every male from a month old and upward, were 6,200. 35 Now the leader of the clan of the families of Merari was Zuriel son of Abihail. These were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle.
36 The appointed responsibilities of the Merarites included the frames of the tabernacle, its crossbars, its posts, its sockets, its utensils, plus all the service connected with these things, 37 and the pillars of the courtyard all around, with their sockets, their pegs, and their ropes.