Numbers 7:1-91And it came to pass on the day that Moses had fully set up the tabernacle, and had anointed it, and sanctified it, and all the instruments thereof, both the altar and all the vessels thereof, and had anointed them, and sanctified them; 2That the princes of Israel, heads of the house of their fathers, who were the princes of the tribes, and were over them that were numbered, offered: 3And they brought their offering before the Lord, six covered wagons, and twelve oxen; a wagon for two of the princes, and for each one an ox: and they brought them before the tabernacle. 4And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 5Take it of them, that they may be to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; and thou shalt give them unto the Levites, to every man according to his service. 6And Moses took the wagons and the oxen, and gave them unto the Levites. 7Two wagons and four oxen he gave unto the sons of Gershon, according to their service: 8And four wagons and eight oxen he gave unto the sons of Merari, according unto their service, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. 9But unto the sons of Kohath he gave none: because the service of the sanctuary belonging unto them was that they should bear upon their shoulders. (Numbers 7:1‑9)
IN THIS chapter we have the free gifts of the princes of Israel for the service of the Levites and for the needs of the altar. How lovely to see the happy spirit that moved them and the oneness that prevailed among the people. Though they all had different places in the camp in relation to one another, nevertheless all had an equal place before God, and how happy it is to see them serving together in love to Him and to one another.
Each prince brought an ox and every two of them brought a wagon; so there were twelve oxen and six wagons. Moses, however, did not take them without first asking the Lord what to do with them. It is nice to see this waiting on the Lord on the part of Moses, and how good it would be if there were more waiting on God; and also more “striving together for the faith of the gospel” (Phil. 1:2727Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; (Philippians 1:27)). Instead today we find a spirit of independency, like in the days of the Judges; so many do that which is right in their own eyes, without stopping to consider what God has spoken in His Word. But how honoring to God when we seek His guidance first of all and then how happy for us when serving in the path of His will.
The Lord told Moses to accept the offerings of the princes and to give them to the Levites. So Moses gave two wagons and four oxen to the sons of Gershon to carry the curtains of the tabernacle. To the sons of Merari he gave four wagons and eight oxen because they had the heavier burdens of the boards and pillars. But he gave none to the Kohathites, for their burdens — the holy vessels of the sanctuary—were too sacred to be transferred to the oxen. Their burdens were to be carried on their shoulders. This might seem a more wearisome duty yet it was from the Lord and carried with it the highest honor.
In this connection we read of how at a later day, when King David neglectful of the Word of the Lord, sought to bring up the sacred ark and had a new cart made for it, drawn by oxen; it ended in disaster and the greatest humiliation for David (2 Sam. 6).
This distribution of the wagons and oxen might not have seemed equal outwardly, and yet it was an equal distribution. Some of God’s saints seem to be especially burdened, but then there are those who can be trusted the most. How comforting to know that God arranges everything and puts each of us in our respective place according to His perfect wisdom. Never does He lay a burden upon us that His grace will not enable us to bear. The sons of Merari were less numerous than their brethren, yet they had the most oxen and wagons. Kohath, the most numerous, had none.
God is sovereign and how happy for us when through grace we can rejoice in what He has entrusted to others and in what He has given to us. “Godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Tim. 6:66But godliness with contentment is great gain. (1 Timothy 6:6)), and as we travel on together through this wilderness world, on our homeward way, may we be kept happy in the realization that our Father’s love toward all His children is not to be measured by the different services and honors He has given to each.
Though it was his lot to suffer for Christ in a dungeon, the beloved Apostle could say, “Rejoice in the Lord always” (Phil. 4:44Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. (Philippians 4:4)).
ML-05/20/1973