Numbers: 3-4

What’s Happening?

With the tribes organized around the tabernacle and prepared to journey into the land of Canaan, the focus now turns to the Levites. They have been chosen by God for a distinct task: to care for, carry, and reassemble the tabernacle as Israel travels (Num. 3:5–10). Their work is holy and essential. The tabernacle is the visible sign of God’s presence—the reestablishment of Eden in the midst of wilderness and war. It must be protected, preserved, and faithfully moved wherever God leads.

Numbers 3 divides the Levites into three clans—Kohath, Gershon, and Merari—each with unique responsibilities. The Kohathites carry the most sacred items from inside the tent (Num. 3:27–32; 4:4–15). The Gershonites are responsible for the tent’s curtains and coverings (Num. 3:21–26; 4:24–28). The Merarites handle the frames, bases, and structural pieces (Num. 3:33–37; 4:29–33). Each clan camps on a different side of the tabernacle, forming a sacred perimeter around God’s presence (Num. 3:23, 29, 35).

Moses, Aaron, and his sons—Israel’s priests—camp at the entrance to the tent on the east side (Num. 3:38). From here, they oversee the entire operation. As Israel moves through enemy territory, these appointed servants ensure that God’s dwelling is never touched by death or defilement. The Levites are not a fighting force like the other tribes. They do not drive out the nations. Instead, they bring in God’s life. They preserve and protect the presence of life in the midst of a world filled with death, so that flourishing can spread.

But this priestly calling is also tied to Israel’s redemption. When God rescued Israel from Egypt, he claimed every firstborn son as his own (Ex. 13:1–2). In the final plague, God brought the firstborn of Israel into his family through the blood of the Passover lamb—but not so they could live for themselves. They had been ransomed. They now belonged to Yahweh. All Israel had been transferred from Pharaoh’s household to God’s household through the covenant ceremony of the Passover meal.

So instead of requiring every firstborn son to serve in the tabernacle, God redeems them again—this time by setting apart the tribe of Levi in their place (Num. 3:11–13, 40–51). Each Levite stands in for a firstborn son of Israel. But there were more firstborn sons than there were Levites. The remaining 273 firstborn were redeemed from service in the tabernacle through a tabernacle payment of 5 shekels (Number 3:46-47). The Levites will serve on behalf of the firstborn. Through this redemption, God makes it clear: all of Israel belongs to him. They were slaves in Egypt, but now they serve the living God. The Levites’ ministry is a continual reminder that Israel is a redeemed people, set apart to carry God’s presence into a land ruled by darkness.

Where is the Gospel?

The redemption of the firstborn through the Levites points forward to what Jesus has done for us.

Like Israel, we were enslaved—not to Egypt, but to sin and death. But Jesus, the true firstborn Son of God, came to rescue us. He offered himself as the greater Passover Lamb, bringing us into God’s covenant family through his body and blood. In doing so, he ransomed us out of slavery and made us his own (Col. 1:13–14).

Jesus is also our true High Priest. Where the Levites served in place of Israel’s firstborn, Jesus serves in place of all of us. He stands in for us, ministers before God on our behalf, and makes a way for us to live in God’s presence. But he doesn’t just stand in for us to preserve sacred space—he makes us sacred, consecrated, and clean. He makes us sons, daughters, and priests of God (1 Peter 2:9).

Through his resurrection, Jesus forms a new family—a people who belong fully to God, set apart to serve and carry his presence into the world. Like the Levites, we now tend to the holy things. We don’t carry tent poles or tabernacle curtains, but we carry the Spirit of God himself. We are mobile sanctuaries, joining Jesus in his mission to bring life where there was once death.

See for Yourself

I pray the Holy Spirit opens your eyes to see the God who redeems a people to carry his presence. And that you would see Jesus as the Firstborn Son and High Priest who rescues you from slavery, makes you holy, and invites you to spread the presence of God into every corner of the world.