The Levites' Responsibility for the Dwellingplace (Numbers 1:47-54).
‘But the Levites after the tribe of their fathers were not numbered among them.'
But the Levites were not numbered among these fighting men. They were descendants of Levi who had been chosen through the calling of Moses and Aaron. It was not theirs to go forth to war. They were responsible for the protection of the Dwellingplace of Yahweh and its maintenance and its carriage, and its final defence. They were Yahweh's ‘aide-de-camps'.
‘For Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Only the tribe of Levi you shall not number, neither shall you take the sum of them among the children of Israel,” '
This was in accordance with the direct command of Yahweh. They were not intended to be mobilised for war. They were not to be added among the fighting men. They were set aside to Yahweh. (This brings out the significance of the ‘numbering'. It was in order to mobilise to war).
This is the first historical reference to such an actual setting aside of Levi, although they were seen as set aside in Leviticus 25:32-33. We are never given a reason why it was they who were set aside. It was most probably because they were related to Moses and Aaron, but accentuated by their faithfulness to Moses and to Yahweh in the incident of the molten calf (Exodus 32:25-29), which no doubt partly arose from that relationship, and the subsequent dedication to Yahweh that it produced. For the encamped priests would want to be among their tribal brothers, and it was necessary that their companions also be separated to Yahweh. With Moses and Aaron both from the tribe of Levi, the selection of the Levites for holy service was an almost inevitable result, given that they proved suitable.
‘But appoint you the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, and over all its furniture, and over all that belongs to it. They shall bear the tabernacle, and all its furniture, and they shall minister to it, and shall encamp round about the tabernacle.'
The Levites were to be appointed by divine command to take responsibility for ‘the Dwellingplace which bore witness to the covenant' (the tabernacle of the testimony - ‘tabernacle' is mishkan which means ‘dwellingplace') and its furniture and all connected with it. They were to carry it when necessary, generally look after it, and encamp around it to guard it. But the carrying was only allowable once the furniture had been covered by the priests. Only the priests could touch the furniture and cover it. The Levites simply did the carrying. By this its supreme holiness was emphasised. It was ‘God's stuff'. In the same way the Levites could not enter the Sanctuary while it was functioning.
‘And when the tabernacle sets forward, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up; and the stranger who comes near shall be put to death.'
When the cloud moved from the Dwellingplace, and the divinely appointed time had come to continue their journey, and ‘the tabernacle set forward', it was the Levites who were responsible for dismantling the Dwellingplace, and when the cloud stopped to indicate the new campsite chosen by Yahweh, it was the Levites who would again erect the Dwellingplace in the place that He chose. No non-Levite must approach for the purpose. Should they do so they must be put to death. The Dwellingplace and all its contents were sacred, and no non-Levite must touch them. By this was indicated that while Yahweh dwelt among them they must remember His ‘otherness' (His non-earthiness and heavenliness) as the invisible and holy God, present among them but not fully accessible, except once a year on the Day of Atonement through the High Priest, and by prayer at a distance. The task of the Levites was thus a sacred and awesome one, and would be carried out with great reverence, at least initially.
‘And the children of Israel shall pitch their tents, every man by his own camp, and every man by his own standard, according to their hosts.'
All the Israelites were to pitch their tents in the camps of their tribes, under their tribal standard (or ‘in their tribal ranks' - the meaning of the word is not certain although its significance is clear), to the north, south, east and west of the Dwellingplace, in their military units (see Numbers 2). They were not to be a ragbag army, but disciplined and organised.
The word translated ‘standard' may simply indicate ‘tribal ranks, companies'. But any large camp would certainly require some kind of indication as to who were sited where, so it quite likely does indicate tribal standards, and clan banners.
‘But the Levites shall encamp round about the tabernacle of the testimony, that there be no wrath on the congregation of the children of Israel. And the Levites shall keep the charge of the tabernacle of the testimony.'
The Levites, on the other hand, were to encamp in an inner square around the Dwellingplace as its guardians. That was their ‘standard'. And they were to keep the charge of it, preventing men from approaching it lightly without due reason, so that the wrath of Yahweh should not fall on the people with its resulting consequences. This ‘wrath' signifies His aversion to sin and to all attitudes which treat Him lightly. Against such He must act in judgment. Later those who touched the Ark of the covenant casually would die (1 Samuel 6:19; 2 Samuel 6:6-7). The purpose was that men should recognise the ‘otherness' and holiness of Yahweh. He was never to be taken for granted. Such an attitude would be the grossest of sins.
‘Thus did the children of Israel. According to all that Yahweh commanded Moses, so did they.'
And so it is doubly stressed that the children of Israel, fully obedient at this stage, did all that Yahweh commanded Moses.
For us the lesson of Numbers 1 is clear. We are all soldiers of Christ, set apart to His service, and must ever be ready immediately to do His will. We are called to warfare (2 Corinthians 10:4; Ephesians 6:10-18; 2 Timothy 2:4; 1 Peter 2:11), and must be disciplined. We must respond to our being ‘numbered' by Him. But in the course of that we must ever remember His holiness and not approach Him lightly. Our approach must be through the blood of Christ, through the new and living way which He has prepared for us through His flesh (Hebrews 10:19-25), a constant acknowledgement of His holiness. It is because many have lost this recognition that faith is often at such a low level.
Some are also called to be ‘Levites', serving in a more intimate capacity, while others still are called to serve the inner sanctuary. All take their place in the place assigned to them by God. But as we shall see later. All can become God's specially dedicated ones (6).