Numbers 3:14-51 - We are the redeemed of God

Having counted and arranged the rest of Israel, Moses was instructed to count the Levites. For the other tribes of Israel, only able men 20 years and above were counted. Whereas all the boys and men of the Levites from birth were counted. Verse 17 named the three sons of Levi and they were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

Gershon and his family, a total of 7,500, was assigned to station on the west side just behind the Tabernacle. Led by Eliasaph, their duties were specified in verses 25-26 saying, “And the guard duty of the sons of Gershon in the tent of the meeting involved the tabernacle, the tent with its covering, the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting, the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its cords—all the service connected with these.”

For the sons of Kohath, the Kohathites from one month upward totaled 8,600. They would camp on the south side of the Tabernacle. Led by Elizaphan, their main duty was to keep guard of the Sanctuary. Verse 31 says, “And their guard duty involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and the screen; all the service-connected with these.” Verse 32 tells us that the Kohathites reported to Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest. He was appointed as the supervisor, “…the chiefs of the Levites.” He was also given oversight of all those assigned to guard over the sanctuary.

The sons of Merari from one month and upwards totaling 6,200, were assigned the north side of the Tabernacle. Their duties according to verses 36-37 “…involved the frames of the tabernacle, the bars, the pillars, the bases, and all their accessories; all the service connected with these; also the pillars around the court, with their bases and pegs and cords.” The total number of the Levites from Gershon, Kohath, and Merari was put as 22,000, according to verse 39. But the real number of the three groups adds up to 22,300. Why the discrepancy? This is a tough question to answer. So far no one has a satisfactory answer. Let us venture a guess. Of the 22,300. It could be that the 22,000 of them were firstborn of the Levites and 300 of them were not. Hence the number was rounded to 22,000. We will see this more clearly when we take into account verses 40-51. Moses was instructed to count the firstborn of Israel. The total was 22,237. Since they were the firstborn, they were rightly G0d’s. But 22,000 of them had been replaced by the firstborn of the Levites. That left 237 of them to be redeemed with the redemption price of 5 shekels each. So the redemption price paid for the shortfall was 1,365 shekels. And Moses gave it to Aaron and his sons.

One key lesson that can be gleaned from all these is that God deals with precision. Whatever due to Him must be returned to Him. Every one of us is redeemed by Christ and has become God’s firstborn. We owe all that we are to Him, and must give Him a hundred percent commitment to serve as priests and Levites for His glory.