“And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘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.’”

Numbers 3:11–12 (ESV)

When the children of Israel left Egypt, God took the firstborn of the Egyptians, but He spared the firstborn of the Israelites. Because of this, the firstborn of every womb in Israel belonged to the LORD. But instead of choosing all the firstborn of Israel, God chose the tribe of Levi. The Levites would be God’s portion. They would belong to Him. They were chosen to do the work of the ministry. From the Levites came the priests who would offer the sacrifices made by fire.

In Numbers 3, God gives instructions to the three families of Levites regarding their service. They were responsible for the tabernacle and its furnishings. They would break it down whenever they moved the camp, transport it, and set it up again in a new location.

As is typical in Numbers, we see that God does everything decently and in order (1 Corinthians 14:40). He assigns people their duties in such a way that all the needs are met and no one is stepping on another person’s toes. When you are in leadership you realize how wonderful it is when people do what they are told and stay in their lane! By breaking down many large tasks into small manageable units, everybody had something to do, and the work was efficiently completed.

How do we do the work of the ministry today? The apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:

“Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.”

Ephesians 4:11–13 (NLT)

Do you know the gift God has given you? Are you investing it in His kingdom? God, please help us to be faithful as we serve You and others!

Photo by Jack Sharp on Unsplash