The nation of Israel was encamped at the foot of Mount Sinai one year following their exodus from Egyptian bondage. During that year they had received the Law of God (Exodus 19-24; Leviticus) as well as constructed the tabernacle (Exodus 25-40). Now they were poised to enter Canaan, the land God had promised to give to the descendants of Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3), but God needed to bring some organization and structure to the people. At this time in Israel’s history their population was approximately two million people. In order to conquer the inhabitants of the land of Canaan, Israel would first need to determine how many men were capable of going to battle. In Numbers 1 a census was taken and it was discovered that there were 603,550 men 20 years or older who were ready for battle (2:32); however, there was one tribe of Israel that was not accounted for in this particular census. Aaron, his descendants, and the tribe of Levi had been set aside to perform the duties of the tabernacle; therefore, they were not eligible for military service. Aaron had four sons who became the priests of Israel, but two of them disobeyed (Nadab and Abihu; Leviticus 10:1-7) which left Eleazar and Ithamar to carry on the role of the priests (3:1-4).
After the events of Numbers 1-2, God spoke to Moses and asked him to bring the tribe of Levi before Him (3:5-6). He then proclaimed them as the ones who would assist Aaron in doing the work of the tabernacle (3:7-13). The tribe of Levi had been taken from all the tribes of Israel and given the priestly duties of the tabernacle. It is important to understand that of all the tribe of Levi, only the sons of Aaron were to serve as priests. This meant that they were the only ones who could offer sacrifices (Leviticus 1-7). The rest of the tribe of Levi would assist the priests in the duties of the tabernacle (3:7-9). God then commanded Moses to take a census of all males in the tribe of Levi one month old and above (3:14-16). Levi had three sons – Gershon, Kohath, and Merari – and a count was taken of all the male descendants (3:17-20). Here is the information regarding each son’s descendants:
Gershon (3:21-26)
Male Population: 7,500 (3:22)
Camp Placement: Behind the tabernacle on the west side (3:23)
Leader of the House: Eliasaph (3:24)
Duties: Responsible for the coverings of the tabernacle (3:25-26)
Kohath (3:27-32)
Male Population: 8,600 (3:28)
Camp Placement: south side of the tabernacle (3:29)
Leader of the House: Elizaphan (3:30), Eleazar was to be over all the Levites (3:32)
Duties: Responsible for the holy objects in the tabernacle (3:31)
Merari (3:33-37)
Male Population: 6,200 (3:34)
Camp Placement: north side of the tabernacle (3:35)
Duties: Responsible for the wooden framework of the tabernacle (3:36-37)
Moses, Aaron, and his sons would camp on the east side of the tabernacle and be responsible for “keeping charge of the sanctuary, to meet the needs of the children of Israel” (3:38). After the census was completed, the number of male Levites one month and above was 22,000 (3:39). ”Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Now count all the firstborn sons in Israel who are one month old or older, and make a list of their names. The Levites must be reserved for me as substitutes for the firstborn sons of Israel; I am the Lord. And the Levites’ livestock must be reserved for me as substitutes for the firstborn livestock of the whole nation of Israel’” (3:40-41, NLT). God had spared the firstborn of every family in Israel’s exodus from Egypt (Exodus 12:1-28) , so now He demanded the Levites be consecrated to Him as a form of compensation; however, instead of putting them to death, their lives would be spent in service to God. The census of the firstborn males one month and above in all of Israel revealed that there were 22,273 (3:42-43). The Lord then spoke to Moses saying, “Take the Levites as substitutes for the firstborn sons of the people of Israel. And take the livestock of the Levites as substitutes for the firstborn livestock of the people of Israel. The Levites belong to me; I am the Lord” (3:45). Since there were 273 more firstborn in all of Israel than were in the tribe of Levi, five shekels were required for each individual, which was a total of 1,365 shekels (3:46-50). Moses took the money and gave it to Aaron and his sons as redemption of the 273 extra males in Israel (3:51). Even though these details seem insignificant to us, God was helping Moses take an account of the nation of Israel. The military capability (Numbers 1), the encampment structure (Numbers 2), and now the priestly assignments had been designated (Numbers 3). God was preparing the Israelites to enter the land that had been promised to them.
Dear God, help me to be alert to the details of today so that I might be prepared for what tomorrow may bring.
