Numbers 3

Numbers 3

The opening verses of Numbers 3 list the sons of Aaron, reminding readers of what happened to two of his sons when they did not follow God’s guidelines for the sacrifices. Because of their disobedience, they were killed, and God raised up Aaron’s other two sons to fill their positions. These other two men became the new priests of Israel under Aaron, and his descendants came from them.

God then set aside the Levites for a specific purpose in the nation of Israel. God wanted that tribe to be the ones that assisted Aaron in his priestly duties. They were supposed to keep watch over the tabernacle and everything that was associated with it. In one sense they were guards, guarding the most holy place in Israel. They were to keep outsiders away from that area of the camp. It was an honor to be chosen for these duties, but at the same time, it gave them serious responsibilities. God expected holiness out of every tribe, but He expected a different kind of obedience from the Levites, in that He expected them to guard that which was most holy.

God then gave the different clans within the tribe of Levi even more specific duties. Again this showed the amazing organization that God had done in the nation of Israel. Not only did each tribe have its own purpose and place within the nation, but even within the tribe of Levi, there were specific tasks. Each of the clans had a different portion of the tabernacle to guard and keep watch over. No tribe or clan had the same duty within the nation of Israel, but it took all 12 tribes together to make that one nation function properly. In the same way, God has gifted all of us differently and has given us a body of believers to live life alongside of so that we can accomplish His purposes together. We each have our specific duties, and we are expected to carry them out through obedience. The culture, context, and situations may have changed since the time of Israel, but God has not changed. He is the same God, and He expects obedience from us just as He did from Israel. We too must look to what God has specifically given us to do and be sure to accomplish His tasks for His glory.

This chapter ends with a comparison between the Levites and the firstborns of Israel. I am not sure what the significance of this passage is other than it gives us insight into the nation of Israel? Instead of looking at all of the firstborns among the 12 tribes of Israel, God was planning on using the Levites for those purposes, giving them the blessings of the firstborn (for they were the ones set apart to work alongside Aaron and the priests. What is interesting is that the number of firstborns among the other 11 tribes almost equaled the number of male Levites. There was only a small difference of 273 men. God compensated for this difference with a price of five shekels per person. He then replaced all of the firstborns with the Levites, ultimately setting them apart from the rest of Israel.

Matt