Numbers 4:34 - Meaning and Application

Here we have a separate count of the three Levite families, each group measured by the men who were fit for service, that is, those between thirty and fifty years old. The Kohathites, the descendants of Kohath, numbered 8,600 in all from one month old and up, but only 2,750 were able to serve, not even a third. The Gershonites numbered 7,500 in all, but only 2,630 were fit for service, a little more than a third.

This shows that, among the many who belong to the church in name, only a small number actually help with its work. That has often been true, and it is still true. Many have a place in the tabernacle, that is, among God’s people, but do little of the tabernacle’s work (Philippians 2:20-21).

The Merarites numbered only 6,200 in all, yet 3,200 of them were fit for service, which is more than half. Their share of the work was the heaviest, since they carried the boards, pillars, and sockets. God arranged it so that, though they were the smallest family, they had the largest number of able men. Whatever service God calls people to, he also equips them for, giving strength equal to the task and grace enough for it.

Altogether, the able men of Levi who entered God’s host to serve him were only 8,580. By contrast, the able men in the other tribes who joined Israel’s army were far more numerous. The smallest tribe had almost four times as many able men as the Levites, and some tribes had more than eight times as many. Those who are busy with the work of this world, and who fight for earthly things, are always much more numerous than those who give themselves to God’s service and fight the good fight of faith.