Numbers 4

1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

2 Take the sum of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, after their families, by the houses of their fathers,

3 from thirty years old and upward until fifty years old, all that enter into the host, to do work in the tabernacle of the testimony.

4 This shall be the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the testimony, in the holy of holies:

5 When the camp is to be moved, Aaron shall come, and his sons, and they shall take down the covering veil and cover the ark of testimony with it

6 and shall put thereon the covering of badgers’ skins and shall spread over it a cloth entirely of blue and shall put in the staves thereof.

7 And 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.

8 And they shall spread upon them a cloth of scarlet and cover the same with a covering of badgers’ skins and shall put in the staves thereof.

9 And they shall take a cloth of blue and cover the lampstand of the light and its lamps and its tongs and its snuffdishes and all the oil vessels thereof with which they minister unto it;

10 and they shall put it and all the vessels thereof within a covering of badgers’ skins and shall put it upon a bar.

11 And upon the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue and cover it with a covering of badgers’ skins and shall put in the staves thereof;

12 and they shall take all the vessels of ministry with which they minister in the sanctuary and put them in a cloth of blue and cover them with a covering of badgers’ skins and shall put them on a bar.

13 And they shall take away the ashes with the burnt fat from the altar and spread a purple cloth thereon

14 and they shall put upon it all the vessels thereof with which they minister about it: the censers, the fleshhooks, the shovels, and the basins, all the vessels of the altar; and they shall spread upon it a covering of badgers’ skins and put in the staves of it.

15 And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary and all the vessels of the sanctuary when the camp is to set forward, after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it, but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the testimony.

16 But unto the care of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, shall be the oil of the light and the aromatic incense and the daily present and the anointing oil and the care of all the tabernacle and of all that is therein, in the sanctuary, and in the vessels thereof.

17 And the LORD spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

18 Ye shall not cut off the tribe of the families of Kohath from among the Levites,

19 but thus do unto them that they may live, and not die, when they approach unto the holy of holies: Aaron and his sons shall come and place each one of them in his ministry and to his burden.

20 They shall not go in to see when the holy things are covered, lest they die.

21 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,

22 Take also the sum of the sons of Gershon, throughout the houses of their fathers, by their families;

23 from thirty years old and upward until fifty years old shalt thou number them, all that enter in to the host to do work in the tabernacle of the testimony.

24 This shall be the service of the families of Gershon, to minister and to bear burdens:

25 They shall bear the curtains of the tabernacle and the tabernacle of the testimony, its covering, and the covering of badgers’ skins that is over it above and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the testimony

26 and the hangings of the court and the hanging for the door of the gate of the court, which is by the tabernacle and by the altar round about, and their cords and all the instruments of their service and all that is made for them; so shall they serve.

27 According to the word of Aaron and his sons shall be all the ministry of the sons of the Gershonites, in all their burdens and in all their service; and ye shall appoint unto them in charge all their burdens.

28 This is the service of the families of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of the testimony, and their charge shall be under the hand of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest.

29 As for the sons of Merari, thou shalt number them after their families, by the houses of their fathers.

30 From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old shalt thou number them, all that enters into the host, to do work in the tabernacle of the testimony.

31 And this shall be the charge of their burden, according to all their service in the tabernacle of the testimony: the boards of the tabernacle and the bars thereof and the pillars thereof and sockets thereof,

32 and the pillars of the court round about and their sockets and their stakes and their cords with all their instruments and with all their service; and ye shall number by name the vessels of the charge of their burden.

33 This shall be the service of the families of the sons of Merari for all their ministry, in the tabernacle of the testimony, under the hand of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest.

34 So Moses and Aaron and the princes of the congregation numbered the sons of Kohath after their families and after the houses of their fathers,

35 from thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, all that enter into the host, to minister in the tabernacle of the testimony.

36 And those that were numbered of them by their families were two thousand seven hundred and fifty.

37 These were the numbered of the families of Kohath, all that minister in the tabernacle of the testimony, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses.

38 And those that were numbered of the sons of Gershon, throughout their families and by the houses of their fathers,

39 from thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, all that enter into the host, to minister in the tabernacle of the testimony,

40 those that were numbered of them, throughout their families, by the houses of their fathers, were two thousand six hundred and thirty.

41 These were numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, all that minister in the tabernacle of the testimony, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of the LORD.

42 And those that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, throughout their families, by the houses of their fathers,

43 from thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, all that enter into the host, to minister in the tabernacle of the testimony,

44 those that were numbered of them after their families, were three thousand two hundred.

45 These were those that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses.

46 All those that were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the princes of Israel numbered, after their families and after the houses of their fathers,

47 from thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entered in to serve in the service and to bear a burden in the tabernacle of the testimony,

48 those that were numbered of them, were eight thousand five hundred and eighty.

49 As the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses, they were numbered, each one according to his ministry and according to his burden; thus were they numbered of Moses, as the LORD commanded him.

Numbers 4 Commentary

Chapter 4

The Levites' service. (1-3) The duties of the Kohathites. (4-20) The duties of the Gershonites and Merarites. (21-33) The numbers of the serviceable Levites. (34-49)

Verses 1-3 The middle-aged men of the tribe of Levi, all from thirty years old to fifty, were to be employed in the service of the tabernacle. The service of God requires the best of our strength, and the prime portion of our time, which cannot be better spent than to the honour of Him who is the First and Best. And the service of God should be done when we are most lively and active. Those do not consider this who put off repentance to old age, and so leave the best work to be done in the worst time.

Verses 4-20 The Kohathites were to carry the holy things of the tabernacle. All the holy things were to be covered; not only for security and respect, but to keep them from being seen. This not only marked the reverence due to holy things, but the mystery of the things signified by those types, and the darkness of the dispensation. But now, through Christ, the case is altered, and we are encouraged to come boldly to the throne of grace.

Verses 21-33 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 to be done regularly. All the things were delivered them by name. It intimates the care God takes of his church and every member of it. The death of the saints is ( 2 Corinthians. 5:1 ) ( 2 Peter. 1:14 ) great day, when these vile bodies shall be made like the glorious body of Jesus Christ, and so shall be for ever with the Lord.

Verses 34-49 God so ordered it, that though the Merarites were the fewest in number, yet they should have most able men among them; for whatever service God calls men to, he will furnish them for it, give strength in proportion to the work, and grace sufficient. The least of the tribes had many more able men than the Levites: those who engage in the service of this world, are many more than those devoted to the service of God. May our souls be wholly devoted to his service.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO NUMBERS 4

This chapter relates an order to number the Levites fit for business, and gives an account of the time and age when they should enter into service, and how long they should continue therein, Nu 4:1-3; what their particular service should be; and first of the Kohathites, Nu 4:4-20; next of the Gershonites, Nu 4:21-28; and then of the Merarites, Nu 4:29-33; after which Moses and Aaron, with the chief of the congregation, numbered each of them, even as many as were at the age fit for service, as the Kohathites, Nu 4:34-37; the Gershonites, Nu 4:38-41; the Merarites, Nu 4:42-45; the sum total of which is given, Nu 4:46-49.