There are three clans of Levites: the Kohathites, Gershonites, and Merarites. Yesterday we looked at the duties the Lord assigned at the tabernacle to the Kohathites. Today we'll talk about the duties of the two other clans.
"The Lord said to Moses, 'Take a census also of the Gersonites by their families and clans. Count all the men from thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the work at the tent of meeting." (Numbers 4:21-23) Later in Numbers we'll see the beginning age of service lowered to twenty-five and then in the book of Chronicles the age is lowered to twenty. There are some ancient rabbinical traditions that suggest an apprentice period had perhaps always been in place before these men began the actual work, such as a five year period of training beginning at age twenty-five in the book of Numbers. This would mean the men began the actual work at age thirty and retired (or assumed lighter duties) at age fifty. Later, when the age limit is lowered in Chronicles, young men aged twenty may have begun their training and would have assumed their full duties by the age of twenty-five and would have remained in service until their retirement age of fifty, or perhaps they would still have been employed with this work but with easier duties after age fifty. After the temple is built the work will be far less arduous than it is here in Numbers. Younger men of slighter build would be able to perform the duties and would be able to put more years into the job because it won't be as physically demanding.
"This is the service of the Gershonite clans in their carrying and their other work: They are to carry the curtains of the tabernacle, that is, the tent of meeting, its covering and its outer covering of durable leather, the curtains for the entrance to the tent of meeting, the curtains of the courtyard surrounding the tabernacle and altar, the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard, the ropes and all the equipment used in the service of the tent. The Gershonites are to do all that needs to be done with these things." (Numbers 4:24-26) These men are tasked with the care and the transport of this massive amount of material. In Exodus we studied the curtains and other coverings in great detail and learned the dimensions of each piece---and each piece was quite substantial in size and weight.
Aaron and his sons are to oversee the work of the Gershonites, but Aaron's son Ithamar is going to be their direct supervisor. "All their service, whether carrying or doing their work, is to be done under the direction of Aaron and his sons. You shall assign them as their responsibility all they are to carry. This is the service of the Gershonite clans at the tent of meeting. Their duties are to be under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest." (Numbers 4:27-28)
"Count all the Merarites by their clans and families. Count all the men from thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the work at the tent of meeting. As part of all their service at the tent, they are to carry the frames of the tabernacle, its crossbars, posts and bases, as well as the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, ropes, all their equipment and everything related to their use. Assign to each man the specific things he is to carry. This is the service of the Merarite clans as they work at the tent of meeting under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest." (Numbers 4:29-33) We looked at the specifications for the frame and the other materials that form the basis of the tabernacle itself back in the book of Exodus. The men in charge of assembling, disassembling, and moving these pieces are going to need to have both physical strength and endurance. This is not light work.
While Aaron and his sons are tasked with overseeing the work of the Levite clans, we find Ithamar being the primary person in charge of supervising the work of both the Gershonites and the Merarites. The men from these two clans will report directly to Ithamar for their instructions. The work of the Kohathites appears to be directly supervised by Aaron and his two sons all together, according to Numbers 4:19 in yesterday's study. This makes sense because the Kohathites are in charge of transporting the most holy articles from within the tabernacle and a sharp eye will need to be kept on them to ensure everything is done exactly as the Lord described in the first section of Numbers 4. Aaron's son Eleazar will succeed him as high priest, so perhaps the majority of his time (when not helping to oversee the Kohathite workers) is spent apprenticing under his father, while the majority of Ithamar's time is spent supervising the workers not just from the Kohathite clan but also from the Gershonite and Merarite clans.
Ever since we first began studying the things that are to go on at the tabernacle (religious services, sacrifices, medical opinions given by the priests, the keeping of bread on the table and the keeping of fire in the lamps, the care and transport of the tabernacle furnishings and materials, and so on) it has become quite evident that some type of work is continually in progress at the tabernacle and that the tabernacle is the center of the community as well as the center of the camp. The worship of the Lord is meant to be at the center of the Israelite's lives, just as the worship of the Lord is meant to be at the center of all our lives today. So many things would go better for us, spiritually speaking, if we continually kept the Lord at the center of our lives and at the forefront of our minds. A great deal of things would go better for us in other ways as well. We'd have clearer direction for our lives. We'd have more peace and comfort in our troubles. We'd have more confidence in prayer. We'd have more joy in our hearts. The Lord designed us for worship---for the worship of Him---and He designed us with a space at the center of our hearts that cannot be satisfactorily filled by anyone or anything else. The sad truth is that if we do not place the Lord at the center of our lives, we will try to place someone else or something else there. There will be no lasting satisfaction, peace, or joy from a situation like that.
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