The Levites

By

Holy Moses

The Levites

They were the descendants of Levi. They were destined to serve at the altar, to minister to God, and to offer various gifts, offerings and burnt sacrifices to Yahweh.

The Duty Of The Levites

But the Levites were not numbered among them by their fathers' tribe; for the Lord had spoken to Moses, saying: "Only the tribe of Levi you shall not number, nor take a census of them among the children of Israel; but you shall appoint the Levites over the Tabernacle Of The Testimony, over all its furnishings, and over all things that belong to it; they shall carry the Tabernacle and all its furnishings; they shall attend to it and camp around the Tabernacle. And when the Tabernacle is to go forward, the Levites shall take it down; and when the Tabernacle is to be set up, the Levites shall set it up. The outsider who comes near shall be put to death. The children of Israel shall pitch their tents, everyone by his own camp, everyone by his own standard, according to their armies; but the Levites shall camp around the Tabernacle Of The Testimony, that there may be no wrath on the congregation of the children of Israel; and the Levites shall keep charge of the Tabernacle Of The Testimony."

The Levites Serve In The Tabernacle

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: "Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him. And they shall attend to his needs and the needs of the whole congregation before the Tabernacle Of Meeting, to do the work of the Tabernacle. Also they shall attend to all the furnishings of the Tabernacle Of Meeting, and to the needs of the children of Israel, to do the work of the Tabernacle. And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are given entirely to him from among the children of Israel. So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall attend to their priesthood; but the outsider who comes near shall be put to death."

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: "Now behold, I Myself have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the children of Israel. Therefore the Levites shall be Mine, because all the firstborn are Mine. On the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They shall be Mine: I am the Lord."

Census Of The Levites Commanded

Then the Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, saying: "Number the children of Levi by their fathers' houses, by their families; you shall number every male from a month old and above."

So Moses numbered them according to the word of the Lord, as he was commanded.

These were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shimei.

And the sons of Kohath by their families: Amram, Izehar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

And the sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites by their fathers' houses.

From Gershon came the family of the Libnites and the family of the Shimites; these were the families of the Gershonites. Those who were numbered, according to the number of all the males from a month old and above — of those who were numbered there were seven thousand five hundred (7,500). The families of the Gershonites were to camp behind the Tabernacle westward. And the leader of the father's house of the Gershonites was Eliasaph the son of Lael. The duties of the children of Gershon in the Tabernacle Of Meeting included the Tabernacle, the tent with its covering, the screen for the door of the Tabernacle Of Meeting, the screen for the door of the court, the hangings of the court which are around the Tabernacle and the altar, and their cords, according to all the work relating to them.

From Kohath came the family of the Amramites, the family of the Izharites, the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites; these were the families of the Kohathites. According to the number of all the males, from a month old and above, there were eight thousand six hundred (8,600) keeping charge of the sanctuary. The families of the children of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the Tabernacle. And the leader of the fathers' house of the families of the Kohathites was Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. Their duty included the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the utensils of the sanctuary with which they ministered, the screen, and all the work relating to them.

And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the leaders of the Levites, with oversight of those who kept charge of the sanctuary.

From Merari came the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites; these were the families of Merari. And those who were numbered, according to the number of all the males from a month old and above, were six thousand two hundred (6,200). The leader of the fathers' house of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. These were to camp on the north side of the Tabernacle. And the appointed duty of the children of Merari included the boards of the Tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, its utensils, all the work relating to them, and the pillars of the court all around, with their sockets, their pegs, and their cords.

Moreover those who were to camp before the Tabernacle on the east, before the Tabernacle Of Meeting, were Moses, Aaron, and his sons, keeping charge of the sanctuary, to meet the needs of the children of Israel; but the outsider who came near was to be put to death. All who were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the commandment of the Lord, by their families, all the males from a month old and above, were twenty-two thousand (22,000).

Levites Dedicated Instead Of The Firstborn

Then the Lord said to Moses: “Number all the firstborn males of the children of Israel from a month old and above, and take the number of their names. And you shall take the Levites for Me — I am the Lord — instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the livestock of the children of Israel." So Moses numbered all the firstborn among the children of Israel, as the Lord commanded him. And all the firstborn males, according to the number of names from a month old and above, of those who were numbered of them, were twenty-two thousand two hundred and seventy-three.

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: "Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites instead of their livestock. The Levites shall be Mine: I am the Lord. And for the redemption of the two hundred and seventy-three of the firstborn of the children of Israel, who are more than the number of the Levites, you shall take five shekels for each one individually; you shall take them in the currency of the shekel of the sanctuary, the shekel of twenty gerahs. And you shall give the money, with which the excess number of them is redeemed, to Aaron and his sons."

So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those who were redeemed by the Levites. From the firstborn of the children of Israel he took the money, one thousand three hundred and sixty-five (1,365) shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary. And Moses gave their redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.

Why God Asked The Levites Not To Engage In Any Form Of Work

1. For the Levites to be free to do God’s works.

2. For them to have time for quiet time and meditation.

3. For them to have enough time to compose their heart, mind, spirit and body.

4. To avoid divided attention, due to many cares and worries of everyday life.

5. To avoid lingering memories. After people have said or done something, physically an event is over. But, you discover that the event is still being remembered, from day to day or from time to time, by the person or people involved. For example, after cramming words, doing several practices and acting drama, the hearts of the actors still remember and act the same drama in their hearts, mind and spirits. It takes many days, before the scenes, words and actions disappear from their memories.

6. To avoid the Levites being absent-minded. When people are in the presence of God, some do think about their problems, needs, actions or encounters. Thereby, they become absent-minded. They are there in the presence of God, but their hearts and attention are on some other things that are disturbing them or occurring to their mind, to the extents that they forget that they are in the presence of God and even forget what they are doing before the throne of God.

7. For the Levites to avoid weakness and tiredness of the body. Many people go to the house of God, just to rest. After going to several places or after rendering various services or doing many works, they become exhausted, weak and tired. By then, they just go to house of God, to rest or relax. Such people may soon fall asleep, while prayers or sermon is going on. This is not good.

8. Nobody can serve two masters at the same time. Either he loves one by being fully committed to the loved one or he hates the other by failing to render necessary services to the other. A person should serve only one master at a time. Nobody can serve God and mammon at the same time. Today, many people are guilty of this error, because they allow money to dictate whatever they do, in all areas of their life, to the neglect of the words of God Almighty, who created them.

9. For the Levites to avoid being disorganized in mind, spirit and body.

10. For them to avoid distractions and discomforts.

11. For the Levites to have enough time to make adequate preparations for prayers and worship, and for the festivals of God Almighty.

12. Today, many people who are ministers of God are not doing their works as ministers, because they are very much involved and committed in other areas of life, like businesses, office works, government and leadership, etc. They do so to their own deceit and detriments.

Duties Of The Sons Of Kohath

Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: "Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the children of Levi, by their families, by their fathers' house, from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, all who enter the service to do the work in the Tabernacle Of Meeting.

"This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the Tabernacle Of Meeting, relating to the most holy things: When the camp prepares to journey, Aaron and his sons shall come, and they shall take down the covering veil and cover the Ark Of The Testimony with it. Then they shall put on it a covering of badger skins, and spread over that a cloth entirely of blue; and they shall insert its poles.

"On the Table Of Showbread they shall spread a blue cloth, and put on it the dishes, the pans, the bowls, and the pitchers for pouring; and the showbread shall be on it. They shall spread over them a scarlet cloth, and cover the same with a covering of badger skins; and they shall insert its poles.

And they shall take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand of the light, with its lamps, its wick-trimmers, its trays, and all its oil vessels, with which they service it. Then they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of badger skins, and put it on a carrying beam.

"Over the golden altar they shall spread a blue cloth, and cover it with a covering of badger skins; and they shall insert its poles. Then they shall take all the utensils of service with which they minister in the sanctuary, put them in a blue cloth, cover them with a covering of badger skins, and put them on a carrying beam.

Also they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth over it. They shall put on it all its implements with which they minister there — the firepans, the forks, the shovels, the basins, and all the utensils of the altar — and they shall spread on it a covering of badger skins, and insert its poles. And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is set to go, then the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them; but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die.

"These are the things in the Tabernacle Of Meeting which the sons of Kohath are to carry.

"The appointed duty of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest is the oil for the light, the sweet incense, the daily grain offering, the anointing oil, the oversight of all the Tabernacle, of all that is in it, with the sanctuary and its furnishings."

Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: "Do not cut off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites; but do this in regard to them, that they may live and not die when they approach the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint each of them to his service and his task. But they shall not go in to watch while the holy things are being covered, lest they die."

Duties Of The Sons Of Gershon

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: "Also take a census of the sons of Gershon, by their fathers' house, by their families. From thirty (30) years old and above, even to fifty (50) years old, you shall number them, all who enter to perform the service, to do the work in the Tabernacle Of Meeting. This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, in serving and carrying: They shall carry the curtains of the Tabernacle and the Tabernacle Of Meeting with its covering, the covering of badger skins that is on it, the screen for the door of the Tabernacle Of Meeting, the screen for the door of the gate of the court, the hangings of the court which are around the Tabernacle and altar, and their cords, all the furnishings for their service and all that is made for these things: so shall they serve.

"Aaron and his sons shall assign all the service of the sons of the Gershonites, all their tasks and all their service. And you shall appoint to them all their tasks as their duty. This is the service of the families of the sons of Gershon in the Tabernacle Of Meeting. And their duties shall be under the authority of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

Duties Of The Sons Of Merari

"As for the sons of Merari, you shall number them by their families and by their fathers' house. From thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, you shall number them, everyone who enters the service to do the work of the Tabernacle Of Meeting. And this is what they must carry as all their service for the Tabernacle Of Meeting: the boards of the Tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, and the pillars around the court with their sockets, pegs, and cords, with all their furnishings and all their service; and you shall assign to each man by name the items he must carry. This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, as all their service for the Tabernacle Of Meeting, under the authority of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest."

Census Of The Levites

And Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of the congregation numbered the sons of the Kohathites by their families and by their fathers' house, from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the service for work in the Tabernacle Of Meeting; and those who were numbered by their families were two thousand seven hundred and fifty (2,750). These were the ones who were numbered of the families of the Kohathites, all who might serve in the Tabernacle Of Meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of the Lord by the hand of Moses.

And those who were numbered of the sons of Gershon, by their families and by their fathers' house, from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the service for work in the Tabernacle Of Meeting – those who were numbered by their families, by their fathers' house, were two thousand six hundred and thirty (2,630). These are the ones who were numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, of all who might serve in the Tabernacle Of Meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of the Lord.

Those of the families of the sons of Merari who were numbered, by their families, by their fathers' house, from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the service for work in the Tabernacle Of Meeting – those who were numbered by their families were three thousand two hundred (3,200). These are the ones who 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.

All who were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel numbered, by their families and by their fathers' houses, from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, everyone who came to do the work of service and the work of bearing burdens in the Tabernacle Of Meeting – those who were numbered were eight thousand five hundred and eighty (8,580).

According to the commandment of the Lord they were numbered by the hand of Moses, each according to his service and according to his task; thus were they numbered by him, as the Lord commanded Moses.