Numbers 4:4 This shall be the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation, about the most holy things.
Part of God’s Service
It’s always fascinating to me to talk to people and find out what they do whether out of passion, necessity, or vocation. Do you know what your grandparents did for a living? How about your great-grandparents? You probably don’t know what they did, and yet as you look at Numbers 3-4, we know what certain people did thousands of years ago in their service to God.
In Numbers 3-4 we can see three interrelated lessons. First, we are reminded that every part of God’s service is significant. As we look at Numbers 3, we find a wide range of people doing a wide range of tasks. Some of them are just menial, laborious, or routine tasks for the service of God and work of the tabernacle, but none of them were insignificant. In fact, all of them were significant enough that God has recorded them in His eternal Word.Our work every day should be to the Lord and not unto men because He’s the one that rewards and has gifted us. There is not an insignificant part of God’s work.
The second lesson is that to be in charge is to be in service. For instance, Leviticus 3:31 says of the Levites, “And their charge shall be the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary wherewith they minister, and the hanging, and all the service thereof.” Notice the words “charge” and “service.” To be in charge is to be in service. Sometimes, we think to be in charge means to be the boss, but it means you have a responsibility and obligation. Whomever you may serve on this earth you have a charge to keep what’s been given you by God. We are stewards of our talents, backgrounds, abilities, and even our acquaintances.
Thirdly, there is no higher calling than the one God gives you. In Numbers 4:15 the Bible speaks not just to the Levites in general, but the sons of Kohath in particular. It says, “And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary… the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it, but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation.” These sons of Kohath had a specific calling from God.
I can’t judge my stewardship by what God has called you to do, and you should not judge your stewardship in relation to what God has called me to do. But you can’t do better than what God has called you to do. We should live every day in light of a God Who equips us, enables us, and holds us accountable.