CHAPTER 4

(1490 B.C.)

THE DUTIES OF THE KOHATHITES

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

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

³From thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all who enter into the host, to do the work in the Tabernacle of the congregation. (Those who would be Priests, who were of the family of Aaron, and those who would serve in the various appointments of the Levites, as given here, were to be 30 years of age before they began this work, and were to cease their activity at 50 years of age. Jesus was 30 years old, fulfilling this type, when He began His Ministry [Lk. 3:23].)

⁴This shall be the service of the sons of Kohath in the Tabernacle of the congregation, about the most holy things:

⁵And when the camp sets forward, Aaron shall come, and his sons, and they shall take down the covering Veil (the Veil that hung between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies), and cover the Ark of Testimony with it (the Ark of the Covenant, when it was to be moved):

⁶And shall put thereon the covering of badgers skins (which was to lay over the Veil), and shall spread over it a cloth wholly of blue (the last covering, typifying that this was of Heaven), and shall put in the staves thereof (so it could be carried on the shoulders of the Priests).

⁷And upon the Table of Shewbread 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 (this Fourth Chapter portrays the work of the Priests, along with the Levites, who served in the tearing down, moving, and setting up again of the Tabernacle, plus all of its holy Vessels; God gave explicit instructions concerning the same; they were to be followed to the letter):

⁸And 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 (the disposition of the coverings that hid the Ark, the Table, the Lampstand, the Altar of Incense, the Vessels of Ministry, and the Brazen Altar set forth the sufferings of Christ and the glories that should follow).

⁹And they shall take a cloth of blue, and cover the Candlestick (Lampstand) of the light, and his lamps, and his tongs, and his snuffdishes, and all the oil vessels thereof, wherewith they minister unto it:

¹⁰And they shall put it and all the Vessels thereof within a covering of badgers skins, and shall put it upon a bar (the outward covering in each case was badger-skin, except the Ark of the Covenant, which was a type of the Throne of Jehovah; its outermost covering was a cloth of blue, to illustrate possibly the Heavenly character of the kingdom which was proposed then to be set up upon Earth, and which will be introduced at the Second Coming).

¹¹And upon the Golden Altar (the Altar of Incense) they shall spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with a covering of badgers skins, and shall put to the staves thereof:

¹²And they shall take all the instruments of Ministry, wherewith 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 (an apparatus used for their transportation):

¹³And they shall take away the ashes from the Altar, and spread a purple cloth thereon (the ashes symbolized all sin atoned and, in fact, no sin left, made possible by virtue of Christ and the Cross):

¹⁴And they shall put upon it all the Vessels thereof, wherewith they minister about it, even the censers, the fleshhooks, and the shovels, and the basins, all the Vessels of the Altar (the Brazen Altar); and they shall spread upon it a covering of badgers skins, and put to the staves of it (badgers skins were a type of the High Priestly Ministry of Christ).

¹⁵And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the Sanctuary, and all the Vessels of the Sanctuary, as 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 congregation. (After the Priests had prepared all the Sacred Vessels for transportation, then, and then only, could the Kohathites come in to take them away. They were not for a moment to go in and look upon the holy things, lest they die [II Sam. 6:7]. Concerning this, Williams says: When God dwells in power in the camp, it is as when a wire is charged with electricity. Hence, when He withdrew, men could look on, and handle, these holy things with impunity. The carnal curiosity which would analyze Christs Human Nature brings death unto the soul.)

¹⁶And to the office of Eleazar the son of Aaron the Priest pertains the oil for the light, and the sweet incense, and the daily Meat Offering, and the anointing oil, and the oversight of all the Tabernacle, and of all that therein is, in the Sanctuary, and in the Vessels thereof (Eleazar, the son of Aaron, was in charge of the Kohathites).

THE KOHATHITES

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

¹⁸Cut you not off the Tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites:

¹⁹But thus do unto them, that they may live, and not die, when they approach unto the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in, and appoint them every one to his service and to his burden (Kohathites had to be especially careful in the handling of the Sacred Vessels, that they not die; thats how critical the situation was, and thats how critical the situation still is; spiritual death is the end result of mishandling the Word of God):

²⁰But they shall not go in to see when the holy things are covered, lest they die (they could only go in to carry these things out after they had been properly covered and attended to by the Priests).

THE DUTIES OF THE GERSHONITES

²¹And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,

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

²³From thirty years old and upward until fifty years old shall you number them; all who enter in to perform the service, to do the work in the Tabernacle of the congregation.

²⁴This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, to serve, and for burdens:

²⁵And they shall bear the curtains of the Tabernacle, and the Tabernacle of the congregation, his covering, and the covering of the badgers skins that is above upon it (the roof), and the hanging for the door of the Tabernacle of the congregation,

²⁶And the hangings of the Court, and the hanging for the door of the gate of the Court (the entrance into 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.

²⁷At the appointment of Aaron and his sons shall be all the service of the sons of the Gershonites, in all their burdens, and in all their service: and you shall appoint unto them in charge all their burdens.

²⁸This is the service of the families of the sons of Gershon in the Tabernacle of the congregation: and their charge shall be under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the Priest (the Gershonites carried all the hangings belonging to the Tabernacle and to the Outer Court, with the single exception of the Veil, which was wrapped around the Ark of the Covenant; as well, Ithamar, the son of Aaron, was in charge of the Gershonites).

THE DUTIES OF THE MERARITES

²⁹As for the sons of Merari, you shall number them after their families, by the house of their fathers;

³⁰From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old shall you number them, everyone who enters into the service, to do the work of the Tabernacle of the congregation.

³¹And this is the charge of their burden, according to all their service in the Tabernacle of the congregation; the boards of the Tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and sockets thereof,

³²And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords, with all their instruments, and with all their service: and by name you shall reckon the instruments of the charge of their burden.

³³This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service, in the Tabernacle of the congregation, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the Priest. (The charge they were given was very important, even down to the pins, which seemed to be the least of the items. If its of the Lord, irrespective as to how small it might seem to be, it is important. Ithamar was in charge of this group as well, which means they were under Christ, for the Priesthood was a Type of Christ.)

KOHATH NUMBERED: 2,750

³⁴And Moses and Aaron and the chief of the congregation numbered the sons of the Kohathites after their families, and after the house of their fathers,

³⁵From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, everyone who entered into the service, for the work in the Tabernacle of the congregation:

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

³⁷These were they who were numbered of the families of the Kohathites, all who might do service in the Tabernacle of the congregation, which Moses and Aaron did number according to the Commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses. (We find the word numbered used over and over in these Verses. This tells us that each person is very special in the Eyes of God.)

GERSHON NUMBERED: 2,630

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

³⁹From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, everyone who entered into the service, for the work in the Tabernacle of the congregation,

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

⁴¹These are they who were numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, of all who might do service in the Tabernacle of the congregation, whom Moses and Aaron did number according to the Commandment of the LORD.

MERARI NUMBERED: 3,200

⁴²And those who were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, throughout their families, by the house of their fathers,

⁴³From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, everyone who entered into the service, for the work in the Tabernacle of the congregation,

⁴⁴Even those who were numbered of them after their families, were three thousand and two hundred.

⁴⁵These be those 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.

THREE GROUPS: 8,580

⁴⁶All those who were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the chief of Israel numbered, after their families, and after the house of their fathers,

⁴⁷From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, everyone who came to do the service of the Ministry, and the service of the burden in the Tabernacle of the congregation,

⁴⁸Even those who were numbered of them, were eight thousand and five hundred and fourscore.

⁴⁹According to the Commandment of the LORD they were numbered by the hand of Moses, every one according to his service, and according to his burden: thus were they numbered of him, as the LORD commanded Moses. (Everything we are now studying is tied to Christ and the Cross. In fact, every single thing about the Tabernacle, all of its Vessels, the Sacrificial System, the Priesthood, their duties, and the duties of the Levites, all pictured Christ and His Redemptive Work, which, of course, is the Cross [I Cor. 1:17-18, 21, 23;; 2:2; Gal. 6:14].)