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 7:46. 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