Numbers 3:1-51


Since the children of Israel had been set free from Egypt through the death of all of the first born sons in Egypt, God had claimed every firstborn son in Israel as His own.  He now chooses to separate all of the tribe of Levi as His own in place of the first born from every tribe.  The Levites were then divided into groups and given their specific responsibilities for the care of the tabernacle.  The ministry in the tabernacle with all of the sacrifices, furniture and the structure as a whole was far too big of a responsibility for Aaron and his sons to handle alone.  This was God’s means of providing help for the priests that He had chosen.  God is faithful to provide for the needs of His work.

GOD SUPPLIES LABORERS FOR HIS WORK: It always seems like the work of the ministry seems to suffer for lack of sufficient laborers.  There always seems to be more work than there are people to do that work.  In order to meet that need in the nation of Israel, God set aside the tribe of Levi to be His laborers in the work of the ministry.  These men had a variety of gifts and therefore had a variety of responsibilities, but they were all dedicated to doing the work of the Lord.  God continues to set aside people to do the work of the ministry today.  Unfortunately, many who He would have be set apart for His work are not obedient and too focused on their own priorities to consider dedicating themselves to the kingdom of God.

GOD SEPARATES LEADERS FOR HIS WORK: Within the structure of those who were separated for the different tasks involved in the ministry, there were specific leaders who were established in order to provide clear direction.  Leadership has always been key to God’s will being accomplished on the earth.  He separates people to serve in leadership roles in order to make the entire body function together.  Too often, leadership is seen as a status symbol as opposed to being separated for service.  We need to be thankful for the leadership that God has established in our lives and we need to lead as servants in the areas where He has given us the opportunity to lead.

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