Week 50, Day 3: Duty of the Levites

Today’s Reading:  Numbers 3:1-51

Some thoughts from today’s reading…

We have not posted for the past few days.  I plan to pick up with the passage we last posted about and continue on instead of trying to cover those passages all at once.  I appologize for any confusion that may cause to those of you who have been keeping up with the readings.

In Numbers 3 the Lord details the work of the Levites.  Each of the three families of Levi had their own assigned duties.  Gershon had the duty of taking care of the tent itself.  They would have been the ones to move the tent and set it up again after moving during the wilderness.  Kohath was to take care of the ark, table, lampstand, altars and utensils.  Again they would care for these both during the moving and also concerning their use in the service.  The family of Merari was to take care of all the bars, pillars, sockets and other equipment used in the tent construction.  Remember how much weight we had talked about the gold, silver, bronze and wood would have weighed.  These tasks required great care and effort.

Also, Moses was told to number the sons of Levi.  Their were 22,000 sons of Levi, counting all their males one month old and upward. 

Question:  Why were the Levites now numbered instead of during the census of Israel?  What purpose was served by numbering the Levites now?

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