Deep Dive
Shownotes Transcript
Hey, Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for The Bible Recap. Now that Moses has instructions from God about how to set up their society, and they know how to set up the camp properly, the next focus is on the service of the newly built tabernacle in the wilderness. And that's what we looked at today.
Aaron and his two living sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, were the ones God established as the heads of the tabernacle. And all the other people from their tribe, the Levites, were there to help serve them and help them serve. To bring some order and intention to the situation, God calls for three different censuses. The first census is directly related to something God has been working out for a while now.
Typically, the firstborn of each family would be consecrated and set apart for service to the Lord. But here we see God calls the Levites his firstborn among all of Israel. In 3.12, God says, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. So God is making a kind of trade here. Levites in exchange for firstborns.
Each of the male Levites will serve as a representative or a placement for each of the firstborns from all the other tribes. To make sure each firstborn of Israel is represented by a male Levite, they have to be counted too. So Moses does census number two. Once the counting is done, the numbers are pretty close but not exact.
there's still 273 male Levites short in accounting for all the firstborns of Israel. So in order to work out the numbers, God sets up a process where those 273 families who weren't represented could give the tabernacle five shekels instead. That way, even though the family can't benefit the tabernacle through the service of a son, they can still at least benefit the tabernacle through the donation of their shekels.
During that process, we saw three clans within the Levite tribe, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Those were the names of the three sons of Levi. So their descendants are called, no surprise, the Gershonites, the Kohathites, and the Merarites. If you looked at the encampment diagram we shared with you in yesterday's show notes, you probably noticed those names listed there and maybe even wondered what they were. If you missed that diagram, we'll also include it in today's show notes.
Each of these three clans had a specific assignment in caring for the tabernacle. The Gershonites mostly dealt with the curtains and the coverings and fabric-related elements. The Merarites dealt with the structural elements of the tabernacle, like poles and pillars and tent pegs. And the Kohathites were in charge of guarding the holy vessels, the ark and the lampstand. This might be a stretch, but you might think of them as the security guards who are in museums to make sure you don't step across the red rope and touch the Mona Lisa or whatever.
And when it was time to pack up camp and move on, Aaron and his sons would pack up the holy vessels, then the Kohathites were in charge of carrying the elements to the new location. The Kohathites arguably had the most important role of all three clans. If you were to guess which of these three clans Moses and Aaron belonged to, which one would you guess?
If you said the Kohathites, the ones of the highest position who dealt with the holy vessels, you're right. That's what Exodus 6 tells us. And if you want to see something else interesting that continues with a theme we've been noticing, Kohath was the secondborn son of Levi, and Moses was the secondborn son of his father too.
Aaron was the firstborn. That's possibly one reason Moses and Aaron have some ongoing tension through the years, most recently with the golden calf incident back in Exodus 32. But there's still more to come. The third and final census we saw today tallied the men aged 30 to 50 who could help carry the items when the tabernacle was being transported to a new spot. When this happens, a lot of the heavier items will be carried on ox carts, but some things will have to be carried on poles.
Between these censuses, you probably noticed that the Levites were significantly smaller than all the other tribes. In many cultures, minorities are disregarded. But here, God has given them a position of incredible honor, putting them in closest proximity to himself, guarding his tabernacle and serving as mediators between him and the people. So just as the largest tribe, Judah, has a position of honor, so does the smallest tribe, the Levites.
In God's economy, both the greatest and the least are welcomed in and bestowed with honor and a place to serve His kingdom. And that's where my God shot was today. Even within the Levites, I saw how God gave everyone a specific assignment that benefited the whole. Ministering to people was one way of serving, and doing the less glamorous heavy lifting was another way to serve. In order for the tabernacle to function well and all the people of Israel to be blessed, both types of service were necessary.
In most churches today, the people who are more visible get more praise and attention, but they can't do what they do without someone assembling things. The worship leader needs the sound guy. The pastor needs the person who writes the checks to pay the electric bill and the mortgage. The same is true for other ministries like this podcast. Everyone involved plays a vital role or things fall apart.
I research and write and record the episodes, but if it weren't for the rest of the TBR team doing sound engineering, content management, and the many other things that are necessary to make this happen every single day, it wouldn't matter that I'd researched things because you'd never hear them. And you may think that all you do at your church is stack chairs or park cars or serve in the nursery, but you're not.
But everyone who serves the church has a vital role. Appointed by God for the service and upbuilding of his people, no one is invisible to God. So whether you're up front like the Kohathites or behind the scenes like the Gershonites and the Morarites, your role is important and God is glorified. What you do to serve the church honors God.
Psalm 100 verse 2 says, Serve the Lord with gladness. And I say, yes and amen. He's where the joy is.
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