Protectors of the Tabernacle

Numbers Chapter 3

Aaron’s sons were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. They were set apart to minister as priests. But remember Nadab and Abihu died when they burned a different kind of fire than God had commanded. Since they had no sons, the Lord called forth the tribe of Levi and presented them to Aaron as his assistants. There were to perform sacred duties in and around the Tabernacle and protect the Tabernacle. Anyone who came too near the sanctuary was to be executed. The Lord chose the Levites as substitutes for all the firstborn sons of the people of Israel.

The Lord spoke again to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai and told him to take a census of the tribe of Levi and count every male who is one month or older. See verses 17 through 20. The descendants of Levi’s sons were assigned the area south of the Tabernacle for their camp. Four clans were responsible for the care of the Ark, the table, the lampstand, altars and various utensils. See verses 21 through 32 for more details.

The descendants of another of Levi’s sons were assigned the area north of the Tabernacle for their camp. They were responsible for the care of the frames supporting the Tabernacle, the crossbars, the pillars, the bases, and all the equipment related to their use, including the posts of the courtyard, and all bases, pegs, and cords. See verses 33 through 37. The area in front of the Tabernacle in the east was reserved for the tents of Moses and Aaron and his sons.

Then the Lord asked for a count of all firstborn sons in Israel who were one month or older and each name to be registered. The Lord said the Levites and their livestock were a substitute for all firstborn sons of Israel and the Lord claimed them. He told Moses to take the Levites in place of the firstborn sons of the people and to redeem the 273 firstborn who are in excess of the number of Levites and collect five pieces of silver for each person and give the silver to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for the extra firstborn sons. So Moses did what the Lord commanded and gave about thirty-four pounds of silver to Aaron and his sons.

BIBLE NOTES ask us to remember at the first Passover, God instructed every Israelite family to dedicate its firstborn son to him. Now here, God choose all the men from the tribe of Levi to replace the firstborn sons from every Israelite tribe. At the age of twenty-five these sons entered the service of training to be a priest. The Old Testament differs from the New Testament because in the Old, Aaron and his sons were the only ones that could carry out the duties of priesthood. In the New Testament, Christ is our intermediary with God and anyone who follows him is called a priest (1Peter 2:5,9).

How is this relevant to today? Well, because of the Christ, we Christians can come into God’s presence without fear because his own son encourages us to do so. We can have a special relationship with God based on what his son did for us. We have this relationship through prayer and talking to God each day. He is always with us and knows everything about us. Best of all he loves us.

Yours in Christ,
Mary