The Fourth Book of Moses, called Numbers
Numbers 4
Chapter IV · Vol. I, pp. 419–421
1 The age and time of the Levites' service. 4 The carriage of the Kohathites, when the priests have taken down the tabernacle. 16 The charge of Eleazar. 17 The office of the priests. 21 The carriage of the Gershonites. 29 The carriage of the Merarites. 34 The number of the Kohathites, 38 of the Gershonites, 42 and of the Merarites.
1 AND the LORD spake unto Moses, and unto Aaron, saying,
2 Take the sum of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, after their families, by the house of their fathers,
3 From a thirty years old and upward, even until fifty years old, all that enter into the host,b to do the c work1 in the tabernacle of the congregation.
A.M. 2514. B.C. 1490.
a ch. 8.24-26. 1 Ch. 28.13; 23.24-27. Lu. 3.23. 1 Ti. 3.6. They became probationers at twenty-five years of age; and after fifty they might assist as they were able. David made them begin at twenty years of age.
b Is. 63.1-4. 2 Co. 10.4,5. Ep. 6.10-18. Ga. 5.17,24. Ro. 7.14-24.
c 1 Ch. 23.4,5,28-32; xxvi. Jn. 4.34. 1 Ti. 3.1. Phi. 2.12,13.
1 The work of the Levites. — Without considering their sacrificial labours, the charge of the tabernacle must have been very onerous. In its erection upwards of 14 tons of metal was employed; add to this the pillars, boards, curtains, cords, and pins of the tent, skin coverings, &c., which the Gershonites and Merarites must take down and carry, Nu. 4.24,31,32, or laid on the six dedicated waggons, ch. 7.7,8, and set up again at the next encampment; whilst the sanctuary, with all its furniture, must be carried on the shoulders of the Kohathites, without any derivative assistance.—C.
4 This shall be the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation, about the most holy things.
5 And when the camp setteth forward, Aaron shall come, and his sons, and they shall take down the d covering vail, and cover the ark of testimony with it;
6 And shall put thereon the covering of badgers' skins, and shall spread over it a cloth wholly of blue, and shall e put in the staves thereof.
e Ex. 25.14,15.
7 And upon the f table of show-bread they shall spread a cloth of blue, and put thereon the dishes, and the spoons, and the bowls, and covers to cover2 withal: and the g continual bread shall be thereon.
f Ex. 25.23-30; 37.10-16; 39.36; 40.4,22. Le. 24.5-8.
2 Or, pour out.
g Which was always on the table, Le. 24.8.
8 And they shall spread upon them a cloth of scarlet, and cover the same with a h covering of badgers' skins, and shall put in the staves thereof.
h Not the covering of the tabernacle, ver. 6,10-14,25.
9 And they shall take a cloth of blue, and cover the i candlestick of the light, and his lamps, and his tongs, and his snuff-dishes, and all the oil-vessels thereof, wherewith they minister unto it.
i Ex. 25.31-39; 37.17-24; 39.37; 40.4,24.
10 And they shall put it, and all the vessels thereof, within a covering of badgers' skins, and shall put it upon a bar.3
3 The word bar is, most probably, the name of a long pole, with the ends placed upon the shoulders of two or more bearers, and having the candlestick suspended from the middle—a plan of conveyance common through India and other eastern countries. This exposition is rendered still more probable by the distinction in the two following verses. The golden altar with its vessels was evidently carried not on the shoulders, but by the hands, with sliding staves, ver. 11-14. While the lesser 'instruments of ministry' were secured in a cloth of blue, and suspended, like the candlestick, on the bearing pole or 'bar.'—C.
11 And upon k the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with a covering of badgers' skins, and shall put to the staves thereof.
k Ex. 30.1-10; 37.25-28; 39.38; 40.5,26,27.
12 And they shall take all the l instruments of ministry, wherewith they minister in the sanctuary, and put them in a cloth of blue, and cover them with a covering of badgers' skins, and shall put them on a bar.
l Sacred garments, &c. Ex. 31.10. 2 Ki. 25.14,15. ver. 7,9.
13 And they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth thereon:
14 And they shall put upon it m all the vessels thereof, wherewith they minister about it, even the censers, the flesh-hooks, and the shovels, and the basins,4 all the vessels of the altar; and they shall spread upon it a covering of badgers' skins, and put to the staves of it.
m Ex. 27.1-6; 38.1-6.
4 Or, bowls.
15 And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of n covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it: but they shall not o touch any holy thing, lest they die.5 These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation.
o ch. 3.38. Ex. 19.12. He. 12.18. 2 Sa. 6.6,7. 1 Sa. 6.19.
5 A lesson, not merely by precept but by positive institution, prescribing and exemplifying the great limiting boundary of all sacred study: 'the secret things belong unto the Lord our God; but these things (and these only) which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever,' De. 29.29. By the prohibition of touching, ver. 15, or seeing, ver. 20, it was not the intention of Moses either to undervalue or degrade the Kohathites, but to teach that real honour lies neither in office nor privilege, but in fulfilling the part to which Providence has appointed us. If Christ, though 'a son over his own house, He. 3.6, 'yet took upon him the form of a servant, and learned obedience by the things which he suffered,' He. 5.8, how much more should we beware of 'thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought to think,' Ro. 12.3, and how anxious to learn that happy lesson, 'in whatever state we are, therewith to be content,' Phi. 4.11.—C.
16 And to the office of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, pertaineth p the oil for the light, and the sweet incense, and the daily meat-offering, and the anointing oil, and the oversight of all the tabernacle, and of all that therein is, in the sanctuary, and in the vessels thereof.
p ch. 3.32. Ex. 27.20,21; 30.23-38; 37.29; 29.40. He. 3.1,6. Lu. 4.18. 1 Ti. 2.5. 1 Pe. 2.25. Ac. 20.28. 1 Co. 4.1.
17 And the LORD spake unto Moses, and unto Aaron, saying,
18 Cutq ye not off the tribe of the 6 families of the Kohathites from among the Levites:
q Suffer them not to lose their life by touching or gazing with irreverent curiosity upon the holy things, which they were permitted to carry, but not to see, Le. 10.1. 2 Sa. 6.6,7. 1 Sa. 6.19. Ex. 19.21. ch. 16.32.
6 'Cut ye not off the Kohathites,' that is, by any negligence on your part, tempting them to touch, as Uzza, or gaze, as the Beth-shemites, 1 Ch. 13.9. 1 Sa. 6.19. How much one man may be the guilty cause of a whole nation's sin, the case of Jeroboam is a melancholy witness. How many judgments and 'cuttings off' he brought upon them, history and providence attest till this day. The unworthy celebration of the Lord's supper, recorded 1 Co. 11.30, was the cause that 'many were weak and sickly, and many slept.' And because of these judgments, Paul exhorts that 'no man put a stumbling-block or an occasion to fall in his brother's way,' Ro. 14.13.—C.
19 But thus do unto them, that they may live, and not die, when they approach unto the most holy things; Aaron and his sons shall go in, and appoint them every one to his service, and to his burden.
20 But they shall not go in to see when the holy things are covered, lest they die.
21 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
22 Take also the sum of the sons of Gershon, throughout the houses of their fathers, by their families:
23 From r thirty years old and upward until fifty years old shalt thou number them; all that enter in s to perform the service, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation.
r ver. 3.
s Heb. to war the warfare, Is. 63.1-4; liii. Col. 2.14. 2 Co. 10.4,5. Ep. 6.10-19. Ga. 5.17,24. Ro. 7.14-24.
24 This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, to serve, and for burdens.7
7 Or, carriage.
25 And they shall bear t the curtains of the tabernacle, and the tabernacle of the congregation, his covering, and the covering of the badgers' skins that is above upon it, and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation,
t ch. 3.25,26. Ex. 26.1-14,36; 27.9-16; 36.8-19,37,38; 38.9-19; 9.34; 40.19.
26 And the hangings of the court, and the hanging for the door of the gate of the court, which is by the tabernacle, and by the altar round about, and their cords, and all the instruments of their service, and all that is made for them: so shall they serve.
27 Atu the appointment8 of Aaron and his sons shall be all the service of the sons of the Gershonites, in all their burdens, and in all their service: and ye shall appoint unto them in charge all their burdens.
u ver. 16,33. Mat. 28.18-20. 1 Co. 2,23; 4.2. Tit. 2.5. 1 Ti. 1.3; 3.1,15.
8 Heb. mouth.
28 This is the service of the families of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of the congregation; and their charge shall be under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.9
9 The Levites were under the command of the priests Eleazar exercised this authority in general, as next in succession to Aaron; and he in particular was placed over the Kohathites; while Ithamar, his younger brother, commanded the Gershonites and Merarites, ver. 33.—Scott.
29 As for the sons of Merari, thou shalt number them after their families, by the house of their fathers;
30 From x thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years1 old shalt thou number them, every one that entereth into the y service, to do the work of the tabernacle of the congregation.
x ver. 3.
A.M. 2514. B.C. 1490.
1 Moses, by the command of God, appointed the Levites to their office from thirty, but this seems not to accord with ch. 8.24, where the Levites are required to 'go in to wait upon the service' at twenty-five. There is, however, no contradiction. At twenty-five they 'went in' to the internal service of the tabernacle when localized; but, at thirty, they were appointed to the additional service of the 'burden' when the people journeyed. David afterwards fixed the commencement of the Levites' term of service at twenty, 1 Ch. 23.24-26. This change was made because, under David, the church had attained a state of rest; and the Levites had no more to bear the burden of the tabernacle. This change may, however, appear rather a grievance than a privilege, and so it would be to carnal men, who desire liberty that they may use it for a cloak to licentiousness; but to the true Levite, the man held captive by Christ, and associated with him, an early call to the service of God, and an early separation from the world, is but an earlier relief from prison and from pain, and an earlier advancement to office and to honour. Blessed are they who, like Jeremiah, Je. 1.5, have been sanctified from the birth, and who, like Timothy, have known from childhood those Scriptures which are able to make wise unto salvation, 2 Ti. 3.15.—C.
y Heb. warfare, Is. 53.2,12. Ps. 110.1-7. 2 Ti. 2.4; 4.7,8. 1 Ti. 6.11,12.
31 Andz this is the charge of their burden,2 according to all their service in the tabernacle of the congregation; the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and sockets thereof,
z ch. 3.36,37. Ex. 26.15-30; 27.9-15; 36.20-34; 35.11,18; 38.10-20; 39.33,40. Jn. 10.3,28; 17.12.
2 The charge of the burden of the sons of Merari was by far the heaviest of all, the particulars of which are enumerated in ver. 31,32; but at the same time it was so ordered in the providence of God, that the proportion of those in this family who were able to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation was greater than in either of the other families.—I.
32 And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords, with all their instruments, and with all their service: and by name ye shall reckon the instruments of the charge of their burden.
33 This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service in the tabernacle of the congregation, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
34 And Moses and Aaron, and the chief of the congregation, numbered3 the sons of the Kohathites, after their families, and after the house of their fathers;
3 Though the sum total of effective Levites was very small compared with that of the other tribes, yet there would be far more than could be employed at one time in this service. But they might carry by turns, and thus ease one another, and do their whole business expeditiously and cheerfully. It is also to be noticed that besides the service of the sanctuary, they had their own tents to remove, and their families to take care of.—Scott.
35 Froma thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation:
a ver. 3,23,30,39,43,47, with ch. 8.24-26. 1 Ch. 28.13; 23.24,26,27. Lu. 3.23. 1 Ti. 3.6.
36 And those that were numbered of them by their families were b two thousand seven hundred and fifty.
b With ch. 3.28.
37 These were they that were numbered of the families of the Kohathites, all that might do service in the tabernacle of the congregation, which Moses and Aaron did number, according to the commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses.
38 And those that were numbered of the sons of Gershon, throughout their families, and by the house of their fathers;
39 From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation;
40 Even those that were numbered of them, throughout their families, by the house of their fathers, were c two thousand and six hundred and thirty.
c With ch. 3.22.
41 These are they that were numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, of all that might do service in the tabernacle of the congregation, whom Moses and Aaron did number, according to the commandment of the LORD.
42 And those that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, throughout their families, by the house of their fathers;
43 From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation;
44 Even those that were numbered of them, after their families, were d three thousand and two hundred.
d With ch. 3.34. They whose work was the hardest were most numerous and able-bodied men, De. 33.25. 1 Co. 10.13; 12.8-12. 2 Co. 12.9,10.
45 These be those that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered, according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses.
46 All those that were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron, and the chief of Israel, numbered after their families, and after the house of their fathers;
47 From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years4 old, every one that came to do the service of the ministry, and the service of the burden in the tabernacle of the congregation;
4 See note on ver. 30.
49 Accordingf to the commandment of the LORD they were numbered by the hand of Moses, g every one according to his service, and according to his burden: thus were they numbered of him, as the LORD commanded Moses.
f ch. 1.54; 2.33; 3.51; ver. 37,41,45.
g Is. 11.2-4; 42.1-7; 49.1-8. 1 Co. 12.4-6,28. Ro. 12.4-8. Ep. 4.11-13. 2 Ti. 2.3.
Notes
Reflections.—God's service, especially in the ministry, is a warfare. He deserves and he requires the best of our time and strength. His ministers ought not to be novices either in knowledge or experience. Apparently insignificant mistakes in their work may cost one his life, nay, his eternal salvation: it is therefore necessary that we should give the strictest attention to the directions of Scripture. Distressful is the paucity of God's faithful servants; yet are they in his hand, and he proportions their number and ability to their work. But let me especially rejoice, that the whole care of the churches, and of all men, is upon our redeemer: not Levites, in the power of their might, but the almighty Jesus bears and carries us and all our concerns: not the prudent sons of Aaron, but the only wise Son of God rears and dissolves particular churches on earth; rears and dissolves the particular frames of our spirit; dissolves our bodies in death, and again rears them up in the resurrection. He hath destroyed the veil and face of the covering cast over all people; that it is not now death, but life, for us sinful men to behold, and even enter by faith into the holiest of all. Let us therefore, whether ministers or private Christians, draw near with boldness, and behold, as in a glass, the glory of the Lord, that we may be changed into the same image, from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord.