1And Jehovah will speak to Moses, and to Aaron, saying, 2Take the head of the sons of Kohath from the midst of the sons of Levi, according to their families, according to the house of their fathers: 3From the son of thirty years and above, and to the son of fifty years, all coming in to war to do the works of the tent of appointment 4These the works of the sons of Kohath in the tent of appointment, the holy of holies. 5And Aaron came, and his sons, in the removing of the camp, and they took down the vail of the covering, and they covered with it the ark of the testimony. 6And they gave upon it a covering of tahash skins, and they spread over a garment wholly cerulean purple from above, and they put up its bars. 7And upon the table of the face they shall spread a garment cerulean purple, and they gave upon it the dishes, and the censers, and the bowls and the cups pouring out: and the continual bread shall be upon it. 8And they spread upon them a garment of double scarlet, and they covered it with a cover of tahash skins, and they put up the bars. 9And they took a garment cerulean purple, and covered the chandelier of the light, and its lamps and its ,tongs and its fire pans, and all the vessels of its oil, which they shall serve to it with them: 10And they gave it and all its vessels into a covering of tahash skins, and they gave upon the bar. 11And upon the altar of gold they will spread a garment cerulean purple, and they covered it with a tahash skin covering, and they set up its bars. 12And they shall take all the vessels of the service which they shall serve in them in the holy place, and they gave to the garment of cerulean purple, and they covered them in a tahash skin covering, and they gave upon the bar. 13And they shall anoint the altar, and spread upon it a purple garment: 14And they shall give upon it all its vessels which they shall serve upon it with them, the fire pans, and the flesh hooks, and the shovels and the vases, and all the vessels of the altar; and they covered over it a tahash skin covering, and they set up its bars. 15And Aaron and his sons finished to cover the holy place, and all the vessels of the holy place, in removing the camp; and after this the sons of Kohath shall come forth to lift up: and they shall not touch the holy place, and die. These the lifting up of the sons of Kohath in the tent of appointment 16And the care of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, the oil of the light, and the incense of aromatics, and the continual gift, and the oil of anointing, and the care of all the dwelling and all which in it, in the holy place, and in its vessels. 17And Jehovah will speak to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 18Ye shall not cut off the tribe from the families of the Kohathites from the midst of the Levites. 19And this do ye to them, and they lived, and they shall not die, in their coming near the holy of holies: Aaron and his sons shall come in and set them a man, a man upon his works, and to his lifting up. 20And they shall not go in to see for a moment's time the holy place, and die. 21And Jehovah will speak to Moses, saying, 22Take the head of the sons of Gershon, them also according to the house of their fathers, according to their families; 23From the son of thirty years and above, even to the son of fifty years, thou shalt review them; all going, to war the warfare, to serve the service in the tent of appointment 24This the service from the families of the Gershonites, for service, and for lifting up: 25And they lifted up the curtains of the dwelling and the tent of appointment, its covering, and the covering of tahash which is upon it from above, and the covering of the door of the tent of appointment 26And the curtains of the enclosure, and the covering of the door of the gate of the enclosure which is by the dwelling and by the altar round about, and their cords, and all the vessels of their service, and all which shall be made for them: and they shall serve. 27At the mouth of Aaron and his sons shall be all the service of the sons of the Gershonites for all their lilting up and for all their service: and ye shall appoint upon them in their watches all their lifting up. 28This the service from the families of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of appointment: and their watches in the hand of Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest 29The sons of Merari according to their families, according to the house of their fathers, thou shalt review them; 30From the son of thirty years and above, and even to the son of fifty years, thou shalt review them all going forth to war, to serve the service of the tent of appointment 31And this the watches from their lifting up, for all their service in the tent of appointment; the boards of the dwelling, and its bars and its pillars, and its bases, 32And the pillars of the enclosure round about, and their bases, and their pegs, and their cords for all their vessels, and for all their service: and by name ye shall review the vessels of the watches of their lifting up. 33This the service from the families of the sons of Merari, for all their service in the tent of appointment, by the hand of Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest. 34And Moses shall review, and Aaron, and the chiefs of the assembly, the sons of the Kohathites, according to their families, and according to the house of their fathers, 35From the son of thirty years and above, even to the son of fifty years, all going forth to war, to the service in the tent of appointment 36And they being numbered according to their families shall be two thousand seven hundred and fifty. 37These the reviews of the families of the Kohathites, all serving in the tent of appointment, whom Moses reviewed and Aaron, at the mouth of Jehovah by the hand of Moses. 38And they being reviewed of the sons of Gershon, according to their families, according to the house of their fathers, 39From the son of thirty years and above, even to the son of fifty years, all going forth to war, for the service in the tent of appointment, 40And they being reviewed according to their families, according to the house of their fathers, shall be two thousand six hundred and thirty. 41These the reviewings of the families of the sons of Gershon, all serving in the tent of appointment, whom Moses reviewed and Aaron, at the mouth of Jehovah. 42And they being reviewed of the families of the sons of Merari, according to their families, according to the house of their fathers, 43From the son of thirty years, even to the son of fifty years, all going forth to war, for the service in the tent of appointment; 44And they being reviewed according to their families, shall be three thousand and two hundred. 45These the reviewings of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses reviewed and Aaron, at the mouth of Jehovah, by the hand of Moses. 46All the reviewings which Moses reviewed, and Aaron, and the chiefs of Israel, the Levites, according to their families, and according to the house of their fathers, 47From the son of thirty years and above, and even to the son of fifty years, all going forth to serve the works of the service, and the works of lifting up in the tent of appointment; 48And they being reviewed shall be eight thousand and five hundred and eighty. 49At the mouth of Jehovah he reviewed them by the hand of Moses, a man, a man for his works and for his lifting up: and they were reviewed which Jehovah commanded Moses.
Matthew Henry - Complete Commentary 1 We have here a second muster of the tribe of Levi. As that tribe was taken out of all Israel to be God's peculiar, so the middle-aged men of that tribe were taken from among the rest to be actually employed in the service of the tabernacle. Now observe,
I. Who were to be taken into this number. All the males from thirty years old to fifty. Of the other tribes, those that were numbered to go forth to war were from twenty years old and upward, but of the Levites only from thirty to fifty; for the service of God requires the best of our strength, and the prime of our time, which cannot be better spent than to the honour of him who is the first and best. And a man may make a good soldier much sooner than a good minister. Now,
1. They were not to be employed till they were thirty years old, because till then they were in danger of retaining something childish and youthful and had not gravity enough to do the service, and wear the honour, of a Levite. They were entered as probationers at twenty-five years old, (
Num 8:24), and in David's time, when there was more work to be done, at twenty (
1Chr 23:24, and so
Ezra 3:8); but they must be five years learning and waiting, and so fitting themselves for service; nay, in David's time they were ten years in preparation, from twenty to thirty. John Baptist began his public ministry, and Christ his, at thirty years old. This is not in the letter of it obligatory on gospel ministers now, as if they must either not begin their work till thirty years old or must leave off at fifty; but it gives us two good rules: - (1.) That ministers must not be novices,
1Tim 3:6. It is a work that requires ripeness of judgment and great steadiness, and therefore those are very unfit for it who are but babes in knowledge and have not put away childish things. (2.) That they must learn before they teach, serve before they rule, and must
first be proved, 1Tim 3:10.
2. They were discharged at fifty years old from the toilsome part of the service, particularly that of carrying the tabernacle; for that is the special service to which they are here ordained, and which there was most occasion for while they were in the wilderness. When they began to enter upon old age, they were dismissed, (1.) In favour to them, that they might no be over-toiled when their strength began to decay. Twenty years' good service was thought pretty well for one man. (2.) In honour to the work, that it might not be done by those who, through the infirmities of age, were slow and heavy. The service of God should be done when we are in the most lively active frame. Those do not consider this who put off their repentance to old age, and so leave the best work to be done in the worst time.
II. How their work is described. They are said to
enter into the host, or warfare,
to do the work in the tabernacle. The ministry is
a good work (
1Tim 3:1): ministers are not ordained to the honour only, but to the labour, not only to have the wages, but to do the work. It is also a
good warfare, 1Tim 1:18. Those that enter into the ministry must look upon themselves as entered into the
host, and approve themselves
good soldiers, 2Tim 2:3. Now, as to the sons of Kohath in particular, here is,
1. Their service appointed them, in the removes of the tabernacle. Afterwards, when the tabernacle was fixed, they had other work assigned them; but this was the work of the day, which was to be done in its day. Observe, Wherever the camp of Israel went, the tabernacle of the Lord went with them, and care must be taken for the carriage of it. Note, Wherever we go, we must see to it that we take our religion along with us, and not forget that or any part of it. Now the Koliathites were to carry all the holy things of the tabernacle. They were charged with those things before (
Num 3:31), but here they have more particular instructions given them. (1.) Aaron, and his sons the priests, must pack up the things which the Kohathites were to carry, as here directed,
Num 4:5, etc. God had before appointed that none should come into the most holy place, but only Aaron once a year with a cloud of incense (
Lev 16:2); and yet, the necessity of their unsettled state requiring it, that law is here dispensed with; for every time they removed Aaron and his sons went in to take down the ark, and make it up for carriage; for (as the learned bishop Patrick suggests) the
shechinah, or display of the divine majesty, which was over the mercy-seat, removed for the present in the pillar of cloud, which was taken up, and then the ark was not dangerous to be approached. (2.) All the holy things must be covered, the ark and table with three coverings, all the rest with two. Even the ashes of the altar, in which the holy fire was carefully preserved and raked up, must have a purple cloth spread over them,
Num 4:13. Even the brazen altar, though in the court of the sanctuary it stood open to the view of all, yet was covered in the carriage of it. All these coverings were designed, [1.] For safety, that these holy things might not be ruffled with the wind, sullied with the rain, nor tarnished with the sun, but that they might be preserved in their beauty; for
on all the glory shall be a defence. The coverings of badgers' skins, being thick and strong, would keep out wet; and, while we are in our passage through the wilderness of this world, it concerns us to be fenced
for all weathers, Isa 4:5,
Isa 4:6. [2.] For decency and ornament. Most of these things had a cloth of blue, or purple, or scarlet, spread outmost; and the ark was covered with a cloth
wholly of blue (
Num 4:6), an emblem (say some) of the azure skies, which are spread like a curtain between us and the Majesty on high,
Job 26:9. Those that are faithful to God should endeavour likewise to appear beautiful before men, that they may
adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour. [3.] For concealment. It signified the darkness of that dispensation. That which is now brought to light by the gospel, and revealed to babes, was then hidden from the wise and prudent. They saw only the coverings, not the holy things themselves (
Hebre 10:1); but now Christ has
destroyed the face of the covering, Isa 25:7. (3.) When all the holy things were covered, then the Kohathites were to carry them on their shoulders. These things that had staves were carried by their staves (
Num 4:6,
Num 4:8,
Num 4:11,
Num 4:14); those that had not were carried upon a bar, or bier, or bearing barrow,
Num 4:10,
Num 4:12. See how the tokens of God's presence in this world are movable things; but we look for a kingdom that cannot be moved.
2. Eleazar, now the eldest son of Aaron, is appointed overseer of the Kohathites in this service (
Num 4:16); he must take care that nothing was forgotten, left behind, or displaced. As a priest he had more honour than the Levites, but then he had more care; and that care was a heavier burden, no doubt, upon his heart, than all the burdens that were laid upon their shoulders. It is much easier to do the work of the tabernacle than to discharge the trusts of it, to obey than to rule.
3. Great care must be taken to preserve the lives of these Levites, by preventing their unseasonable irreverent approach to the most holy things:
Cut you not off the Kohathites, Num 4:18. Note, Those who do not what they can to keep others from sin do what they can to cut them off. [1.] The Kohathites must not see the holy things till the priests had covered them,
Num 4:20. Even those that bore the vessels of the Lord saw not what they bore, so much were even those in the dark concerning the gospel whose office it was to expound the law. And, [2.] When the holy things were covered, they might not touch them, at least not the ark, called here
the holy thing, upon pain of death,
Num 4:15. Uzza was struck dead for the breach of this law. Thus were the Lord's ministers themselves then kept in fear, and that was a dispensation of terror, as well as darkness; but now, through Christ, the case is altered; we have
seen with our eyes, and our
hands have handles, the word of life (
1John 1:1), and we are encouraged to
come boldly to the throne of grace. 21 We have here the charge of the other two families of the Levites, which, though not so honourable as the first, yet was necessary, and was to be done regularly. 1. The Gershonites were charged with all the drapery of the tabernacle, the curtains, and hangings, and the coverings of badgers' skins,
Num 4:22-
Num 4:26. These they were to take down when the cloud removed, and the ark and the rest of the holy things were carried away, to pack up and bring with them, and then to set up again, where the cloud rested. Aaron and his sons allotted to them their respective charge: You shall take care of such a curtain, and you of such a hanging, that every one may know his work, and there may be no confusion,
Num 4:27. Ithamar particularly was to take the oversight of them,
Num 4:28. 2. The Merarites were charged with the heavy carriage, the boards and bars, the pillars and sockets, the pins and cords, and these were delivered to them by name,
Num 4:31,
Num 4:32. An inventory was given them of every particular, that it might be forthcoming, and nothing to seek, when the tabernacle was to be set up again. Though these seemed of less importance than the other things pertaining to the sanctuary, yet there was this care taken of them, to teach us with the greatest exactness to preserve pure and entire all divine institutions, and to take care that nothing be lost. It also intimates the care God takes of his church, and every member of it; the good Shepherd
calls his own sheep by name, John 10:3. Here were thousands of men employed about these services, though a much less number would have served for the bearing of those burdens; but it was requisite that the tabernacle should be taken down, and set up, with great expedition, and many hands would make quick work, especially when every one knew his work. They had tents of their own to take care of, and to take along with them, but the young men under thirty, and the old men above fifty, might serve for them; nor is there any mention of them, for God's house must always be preferred before our own. Their care was preposterous who built and ceiled their own houses while God's house lay waste,
Hag 1:4,
Hag 1:9. The death of the saints is represented as the taking down of the tabernacle (
2Cor 5:1), and the putting of it off,
2Pet 1:14. The immortal soul, like the most holy things, is first covered and taken away, carried by angels, unseen, under the inspection of the Lord Jesus, our Eleazar. Care is also taken of the body - the skin and flesh, which are as the curtains, the bones and sinews which are as the bars and pillars; none of these shall be lost; commandment is given concerning the bones, a covenant made with the dust; these are in safe custody, and shall all be produced in the great day, when this tabernacle shall be set up again, and these vile bodies made like the glorious body of Jesus Christ.
34 We have here a particular account of the numbers of the three families of the Levites respectively, that is, of the effective men, between thirty years old and fifty. Observe, 1. The Kohathites were, in all, 8600 from a month old and upwards; but of these there were but 2750 serviceable men, not a third part. The Gershonites, in all, 7500, and of them but 2630 serviceable men, little more than a third part. Note, Of the many that add to the numbers of the church, there are comparatively but few that contribute to the service of it. So it has been, and so it is; many have a place in the tabernacle that do but little of the work of the tabernacle,
Phili 2:20,
Phili 2:21. 2. That the Merarites were but 6200 in all, and yet of these there were 3200 serviceable men, that is, more than half. The greatest burden lay upon that family, the boards, and pillars, and sockets; and God so ordered it that, though they were the fewest in number, yet they should have the most able men among them; for whatever service God calls men to he will furnish them for it, and give strength in proportion to the work, grace sufficient. 3. The whole number of the able men of the tribe of Levi who entered into God's host to war his warfare was but 8580, whereas the able men of the other tribes that entered into the host of Israel to war their warfare were many more. The least of the tribes had almost four times as many able men as the Levites, and some of them more than eight times as many; for those that are engaged in the service of this world, and war after the flesh, are many more than those that are devoted to the service of God, and
fight the good fight of faith.