Numbers 3:14 - Meaning and Application

The Levites were given to Aaron to help him serve, and now they are handed over to him by count. This let him know how many he had and how to use them well.

I. The way they were counted. Every male was counted from one month old and up (Numbers 3:15). The other tribes were counted only from age twenty and up, and only those able to go to war. But the Levites were exempt from war, so they were not required to be grown men or strong enough for battle. Even though only a little more than one-third of the Levites were later fit for tabernacle service, about 8,000 out of 22,000 (Numbers 4:47, 48), God still had them all counted as members of his household. No one should think God has rejected them just because they cannot do the same service others do. A Levite one month old could not yet honor God and serve the tabernacle as an older person could, yet God still owned him as his own.

Let little children not be kept from being counted among Christ’s disciples, for such was the tribe of Levi. The kingdom of heaven is made up of such little ones, a kingdom of priests. The redemption price for the firstborn was counted from one month old (Numbers 18:15, 16), so the Levites were counted from that age too. They were counted through their fathers’ house, not their mothers’, because if a Levite woman married into another tribe, her son would not be a Levite. Yet Timothy, a faithful servant of God, inherited the sincere faith that lived in his mother and grandmother (2 Timothy 1:5).

II. Their division into three groups, according to the sons of Levi, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, and then into their families (Numbers 3:17-20). For each group we are told four things.

First, their numbers. The Gershonites numbered 7,500. The Kohathites numbered 8,600. The Merarites numbered 6,200. The other tribes did not have their smaller family groups numbered in this way, but God gave that honor to his own tribe.

Second, where they camped around the tabernacle. The Gershonites camped behind the tabernacle, on the west side (Numbers 3:23). The Kohathites were on the south side, the right hand (Numbers 3:29). The Merarites were on the north side, the left hand (Numbers 3:35). To complete the square, Moses and Aaron, with the priests, camped in front, on the east side (Numbers 3:38). In this way the tabernacle was surrounded by its guards. In the same way, the angel of the Lord camps around those who fear him, those living temples (Psalm 34:7). Each one knew his place and was to stay there with God.

Third, their leaders. Each group had its own prince. Eliasaph led the Gershonites (Numbers 3:24). Elizaphan led the Kohathites (Numbers 3:30), and he was one of those who carried Nadab and Abihu to their burial (Leviticus 10:4). Zuriel led the Merarites (Numbers 3:35).

Fourth, their duty when the camp moved. Each group had its own work, and this was necessary, because work that belongs to everybody often ends up being no one’s work. The Gershonites were responsible for the curtains, hangings, and coverings of the tabernacle and courtyard (Numbers 3:25, 26). The Kohathites were responsible for the holy furniture of the tabernacle, such as the ark, altar, and table (Numbers 3:31, 32). The Merarites had the heavier load, carrying the boards, bars, pillars, and similar parts (Numbers 3:36, 37).

We may also notice that the Kohathites, though they were the second family, were placed ahead of the older family of the Gershonites. Besides the fact that Aaron and the priests came from that family, the Kohathites were more numerous, and their place and duty were more honorable. This may also have been arranged to honor Moses, who came from that family. Yet Moses’ own descendants were given no special rank or privilege. They stood on the same level as the other Levites, so it would be clear that Moses did not seek advantage for his own family or try to pass on special honors to it in church or civil life. He had enough honor himself and did not need borrowed glory from his sons. Instead, the Levites were to borrow honor from his name. No one should think lightly of the Levites, even though they were below the priests, for Moses himself thought it honor enough for his sons to be Levites. This may be why the chapter title, which is about that tribe (Numbers 3:1), names Aaron before Moses.

III. The total number of this tribe. Altogether they were 22,000 (Numbers 3:39). The total of the individual families comes to 300 more. If those 300 had been added to the total, then the Levites, instead of being 273 fewer than the firstborn (Numbers 3:43), would have been 27 more, and the result would have gone the other way. It is likely that those 300 left out were the firstborn among the Levites themselves, born since the exodus from Egypt. They could not be used in the exchange, because they were already set apart to God.

What stands out most here is that Levi was by far the smallest tribe. God’s portion in this world is often the smallest. His chosen people are, in comparison, only a little flock.