I really like the Book of Numbers. In my mind, it’s like The Empire Strikes Back and Exodus is Star Wars: A New Hope. The story just keeps going as the Israelites wander in the wilderness and make a lot of mistakes.

It’s easy to miss what happens in Numbers 3. In this section, God outlines to Israel who is to protect their house”—that is the tabernacle where God is to dwell among them. Israel hasn’t made it to their promise land yet, that doesn’t happen until Joshua. There’s awhile to go. So, as they travel, God gives Moses some directions on protection and administration of the tabernacle.

These duties are to be carried about by a group of people in Israel—the Levites. The Levites were to come form all of Israel’s first-born males. If you remember, the Lord passed-over all the first-born Israelites while all the first-born’s man or beast in Egypt were struck dead. Those first-born Israelites are now to serve the LORD as Levites. There two primary duties: guard the tabernacle and minister at the tabernacle. They transported it. This would have been a great honor.

How does this apply to today? The correlation is protecting the Word of God. Nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing should supersede the Bible. We are called to “make a defense” of the faith when ever needed. We are to do this as “Ambassadors of Christ” (2 Cor. 5:11—21), but nevertheless it is a defense—a gentle and respectful defense (1 Peter 3:15). In this sense we are Levites of the faith.

Numbers 3:1-39

The Sons of Aaron

These are the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the LORD spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he ordained to serve as priests. 4 But Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD when they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of Aaron their father.

Duties of the Levites

5 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. 7 They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle. 8 They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle. 9 And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the people of Israel. 10 And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall guard their priesthood. But if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.”

11 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, 13 for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the LORD.”

14 And the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15 “List the sons of Levi, by fathers' houses and by clans; every male from a month old and upward you shall list.” 16 So Moses listed them according to the word of the LORD, as he was commanded. 17 And these were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon and Kohath and Merari. 18 And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their clans: Libni and Shimei. 19 And the sons of Kohath by their clans: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20 And the sons of Merari by their clans: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites, by their fathers' houses.

21 To Gershon belonged the clan of the Libnites and the clan of the Shimeites; these were the clans of the Gershonites. 22 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was1 7,500. 23 The clans of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle on the west, 24 with Eliasaph, the son of Lael as chief of the fathers' house of the Gershonites. 25 And the guard duty of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting involved the tabernacle, the tent with zits covering, the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting, 26 bathe hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its cords—all the service connected with these.

27 To Kohath belonged the clan of the Amramites and the clan of the Izharites and the clan of the Hebronites and the clan of the Uzzielites; these are the clans of the Kohathites. 28 According to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, there were 8,600, keeping guard over the sanctuary. 29 The clans of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle, 30 with Elizaphan the son of Uzziel as chief of the fathers' house of the clans of the Kohathites. 31 And their guard duty involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and the screen; all the service connected with these. 32 And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the chiefs of the Levites, and to have oversight of those who kept guard over the sanctuary.

33 To Merari belonged the clan of the Mahlites and the clan of the Mushites: these are the clans of Merari. 34 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was 6,200. 35 And the chief of the fathers' house of the clans of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. 36 And the appointed guard duty of the sons of Merari involved the frames of the tabernacle, the bars, other pillars, the bases, and all their accessories; all the service connected with these; 37 also the pillars around the court, with their bases and pegs and cords.

38 Those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons, guarding the sanctuary itself, to protect the people of Israel. And any outsider who came near was to be put to death. 39 All those listed among the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron listed at the commandment of the LORD, by clans, all the males from a month old and upward, were 22,000.

[ WHAT ] is this passage saying and what is a key truth or thought that we learn?

+ What are the two key duties of the Levites”? [v5—10]

+ What happens if any “outsider” (non-Levite) comes near the tabernacle? [v10]

+ What about the Levites is special to the LORD? [v11—13]

[ HOW ] is the Lord calling me to action/obedience?

+ Is there a sin to confess or a next step to take? How has it gone since last time?

+ How can you protect and defend God’s word in today’s world? [v5-10]

[ WHO ] am I walking with and praying for to discover Jesus?

+ What is my next step?

+ Who can you share God’s word with today, or simply just enjoy with? [v5-10]

STUDY GUIDE [ WWW.ESV.ORG ]

+ Num. 3:1–4:49 The two censuses of Levites count different groups. The first (3:1–51) counts every male Levite over one month old. The male Levites took the place of the firstborn males of the other tribes to serve the Lord, so the first census ensures that the number of the Levites matches the number of other firstborn sons. The second census (4:1–49) counts Levites between 30 and 50 years of age. This census aims to find if there are enough able-bodied male Levites to transport the tabernacle.

+ Num. 3:1–4 This census begins with the priests, the most holy family of the Levites. The priests were descended from Aaron, who belonged to the Kohathite clan within the tribe of Levi (Ex. 6:16–25).

+ Num. 3:5–10 The two main tasks of the Levites were (1) guarding the tabernacle from intruders and (2) ministering at the tabernacle (which included carrying it from place to place).

+ Num. 3:8 Guard duty. It was the Levites’ job to put to death anyone other than Aaron and his sons who attempted to enter the holy ground of the tabernacle. This included Israelites and not just outsiders. Only those whom God had chosen could be appointed to serve as priests.

+ Num. 3:11–13 In the final plague, every firstborn male Egyptian and every firstborn of their cattle died, but the Israelite boys and cattle were spared. After this, all Israelite firstborn boys and cattle were dedicated to God. That meant the cattle were sacrificed and the boys should have served God in the sanctuary (Ex. 11:4–13:15). But after the golden calf incident, the Levites served in place of the firstborn boys (Ex. 32:25–29) from other tribes.

+ Num. 3:14–39 The census results are listed by clan. Each clan is responsible for carrying a specific part of the tabernacle and