Numbers 3:27-4:727And of Kohath was the family of the Amramites, and the family of the Izeharites, and the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites: these are the families of the Kohathites. 28In the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were eight thousand and six hundred, keeping the charge of the sanctuary. 29The families of the sons of Kohath shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle southward. 30And the chief of the house of the father of the families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. 31And their charge shall be the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary wherewith they minister, and the hanging, and all the service thereof. 32And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be chief over the chief of the Levites, and have the oversight of them that keep the charge of the sanctuary. 33Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites, and the family of the Mushites: these are the families of Merari. 34And those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were six thousand and two hundred. 35And the chief of the house of the father of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail: these shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle northward. 36And under the custody and charge of the sons of Merari shall be the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and the sockets thereof, and all the vessels thereof, and all that serveth thereto, 37And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords. 38But those that encamp before the tabernacle toward the east, even before the tabernacle of the congregation eastward, shall be Moses, and Aaron and his sons, keeping the charge of the sanctuary for the charge of the children of Israel; and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death. 39All that were numbered of the Levites, which Moses and Aaron numbered at the commandment of the Lord, throughout their families, all the males from a month old and upward, were twenty and two thousand. 40And the Lord said unto Moses, Number all the firstborn of the males of the children of Israel from a month old and upward, and take the number of their names. 41And thou shalt take the Levites for me (I am the Lord) instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel; and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstlings among the cattle of the children of Israel. 42And Moses numbered, as the Lord commanded him, all the firstborn among the children of Israel. 43And all the firstborn males by the number of names, from a month old and upward, of those that were numbered of them, were twenty and two thousand two hundred and threescore and thirteen. 44And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 45Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle; and the Levites shall be mine: I am the Lord. 46And for those that are to be redeemed of the two hundred and threescore and thirteen of the firstborn of the children of Israel, which are more than the Levites; 47Thou shalt even take five shekels apiece by the poll, after the shekel of the sanctuary shalt thou take them: (the shekel is twenty gerahs:) 48And thou shalt give the money, wherewith the odd number of them is to be redeemed, unto Aaron and to his sons. 49And Moses took the redemption money of them that were over and above them that were redeemed by the Levites: 50Of the firstborn of the children of Israel took he the money; a thousand three hundred and threescore and five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary: 51And Moses gave the money of them that were redeemed unto Aaron and to his sons, according to the word of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses. 1And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, 2Take the sum of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, after their families, by the house of their fathers, 3From thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all that enter into the host, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation. 4This shall be the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation, about the most holy things: 5And when the camp setteth forward, Aaron shall come, and his sons, and they shall take down the covering vail, and cover the ark of testimony with it: 6And shall put thereon the covering of badgers' skins, and shall spread over it a cloth wholly of blue, and shall put in the staves thereof. 7And upon the table of showbread they shall spread a cloth of blue, and put thereon the dishes, and the spoons, and the bowls, and covers to cover withal: and the continual bread shall be thereon: (Numbers 3:27‑4:7)
We now come to the service of Kohathites. They were to care for the vessels of the sanctuary which were (if we May call them so) the most important, though not mentioned first. This, I believe, is for the reasons mentioned last week, that the enemy always begins his attack by trying to make us careless about the little things which seem less important. Then too, if we think our service is specially important, we like first place and first mention, but let us be willing to occupy whatever place the Lord has given us, whether it be setting the chairs in the meeting room, giving out the hymooks at the door, preaching the gospel, or teaching the truth. The Lord gives each one of us some little service to do for Him and happy is the one who seeks to do it for His glory. Even children who are saved have a service for the Lord, and will be rewarded for doing it teo. As to the vessels of the sanctuary which these Kohathites carried, we will notice more about them when speaking of the next chapter, for it is full of instruction for us.
The service of the sons of Merari is next. They were to carry the boards of the tabernacle, the bars, the sockets and the pillars, as well as the sockets for the court hangings. This was the heavy part, and, since the boards typify believers, there is a great lesson for us here. Perhaps the hardest thing of all in the Lord’s service is to care for the people of God. It is “heavy” work and sometimes very little appreciated or noticed, for here the sons of Merari, who were to carry these boards, are the last mentioned. But even if these boards were heavy, each one was precious, for they were all covered with pure gold. When we try to do something for the people of God and it is not appreciated, let us remember that they are dear to God—covered with “gold” in His sight—and thus we can continue in loving service to them as unto the Lord.
We now come to this interesting and instructive chapter which tells us how the tabernacle and its furniture were to be carried. Nothing was left to thy Levites to decide for themselves, for God gave them full instructions.
The ark, typifying Christ in the glory of His person, comes first here. It was to be covered with the veil, and this would show us how the Lord Jesus veiled His glory in His body of flesh, as He passed through this wilderness scene. Then, over the top of the veil was a covering of badgers’ skins, which, tells us of His complete separation to God, utterly misunderstood by men. On the top of all this there was a covering of blue. Blue is the heavenly color, atkl so the Lord. Jesus was the heavenly Man walking down here. Even those who did not believe in Him had to say, “Never man spake like this Man.” John 7:4646The officers answered, Never man spake like this man. (John 7:46). His heavenly character shone out, though unbelief rejected Him.
Next there was the table of show-bread with all its utensils, which speak, of Christ as identified with His peoph in the administration of earthly government. There is a different, order here than with the covering of the ark, and the blue covering comes first. The gornment of the earth in the coming millennial day will he heavenly in its character, and then, like the table her covered over with a scarlet cloth, it will have a human glory too. On top of this there was a covering of badgers’ skins.
ML 07/01/1951