I really appreciate God’s wisdom with involving people in ministry.
Ephesians 2:10 tells us that believers are saved through Christ so that they’ll do good works for the Kingdom of God.
I was reminded of that general principle this morning when reading from Numbers 4.
You’ll recall, of course, that the Old Testament tabernacle was a large, elaborate array of all sorts of canvas, cloth, leather, wood, gold and bronze. Its fabrication and assembly took huge numbers of people and its disassembly and re-assembly required hundreds of people.
God could have chosen to have one subgroup within one tribe handle all the tabernacle-related work, but chose instead to divide it among a number of Levite subgroups.
The back story of why the Levites were selected is the subject of another discussion, but let’s just say that God would forever be appreciative of the bold commitment to lifestyle holiness shown early in Israel’s wildnerness days.
And so, Numbers 4 explains about how, after the priestly line of Aaron had packed everything up, the Kohathite branch of the Levites had the job of carrying the temple worship items from one location to another where God’s pillar of fire had led them.
Numbers 4 then explains how the Gershonite clan was to transport all the packed curtains, canvas coverings and leather coverings, along with all the cords and ropes.
Transporting all the hundreds of tabernacle poles and bases for the extensive framework was the job of the Meronite clan.
Numbers 4 makes clear that each man among the Levite workers was given a specific task to complete once the priesthood of Aaron had packed up his specific part of the tabernacle.
The clear direction not only allowed for easier accountability but it also reduced the potential for confusion among layperson ministers.
There are many lessons possibilities for us, of course, from this distribution of duties.
But here are just a few.
God’s New Covenant kingdom still requires a plurality of ministry efforts. No one person can do everything. We need to have different people involved in different tasks. And so we are to pray for those who want to be used and for wisdom in how best to guide them to a fruitful place of service.
A second clear lesson I saw in this passage is that believers are to stick to the jobs for which they were called.
Kohathites were not to touch the holy worship items, but instead to carry them from one location to another AFTER the items had been stored and wrapped in multiple layers of material. And so, for example, if I’m called and equipped by God to a children’s teaching ministry at church, then I shouldn’t get myself wrapped up in doing mental or spiritual health counseling with struggling people just because I think I know better.
Also, we need to understand that complacency and comfort are not to be our goals in life. Sometimes God wants to move us or our congregation to another place, perhaps not geographically but instead spiritually. When God stirs the spiritual leaders of your congregation in an unmistakable way to embark on a new direction of ministry, your job will be to pursue your part of the move, not dig in your heels while everybody else moves forward.
Did every Kohathite, Gershonite or Merarite rejoice when it was time to move… again? Perhaps not. But it is God’s kingdom, not man’s.
Let’s rejoice that we’ve been given a place of service in Christ’s Kingdom. It might not be in the spotlight, but it’s highly important or God wouldn’t have created it for us to fill.
As always, I love you
Martin
