Numbers 3:7 And they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of the congregation, to do the service of the tabernacle.
You probably know the type, that person who always has to be in charge no matter what the context may be. If it is a church function, that person just jumps to the front because they feel like they must be in charge or things just won’t go right. At work, that someone is always speaking up whether they have expertise or not. Maybe it is in your home or some other context where there is always someone who has this insatiable desire to be in charge, to be the leader, to be the boss, to be recognized.
Now, there are people who need to be in charge. That is certainly true, but something you learn from Numbers 3 is that to be in charge means to be in service. Chapter 3 is about the sons of Aaron, the Levites who would carry on the tabernacle duties and the duties of the priest. Verse 7 says, “And they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of the congregation, to do the service of the tabernacle.”
That phrase “keep his charge” or “do the charge” you find over and again in chapter 3. In each case it is talking not so much about who is boss or who is recognized as it is about who takes the responsibility, the weight and burden. To clarify that, verse 7 says, “To do the service of the tabernacle.” In short, to be the person in charge is to be the person who is in service to something bigger than self. You have three negative examples of this that are connected to this chapter.
One is the reference in the first couple of verses to Nadab and Abihu. These were sons of Aaron who had a very special, priestly job, yet both of them were judged and killed by God because they “offered strange fire before the LORD.” They were doing God’s job in their own way. They forgot that they served Somebody and it wasn’t themselves. They weren’t in their position to gain notoriety or money. They were there to do God’s bidding God’s way. They were in service.
The second example is a whole section about the sons of Kohath. One of those was Korah. The Korites were people who were likewise condemned very harshly. God killed Korah for a very similar reason. When you read Numbers 16, you find that Korah, and others who were like him, were discontent because they did not like the responsibilities they had. They wanted the notoriety, authority, and power that came from being heir to Moses.
A third example is found in verse 38 where it says that Aaron and his sons were to keep charge of the sanctuary “for the charge of the children of Israel; and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.” Again, another harsh warning for strangers not to come near to the work that Aaron and his sons were doing. “Stranger” sometimes means a foreigner and sometimes means someone who is not family. Here it may mean someone of foreign extraction, but it is talking about someone who did not have the job that God had charged Aaron and his sons to do.
You find the word “oversight” in verse 2 and “custody” in verse 36 to give a little bit of context to what it means to be in charge. We talk about a custodian. Oftentimes a custodian, or a janitor, is someone who takes care of a building. Now whatever you think of that position, it is speaking of someone who is given the responsibility and charge of that which does not belong to him.
The question today is not a matter of what you own; it is a matter of what God owns. Verse 45 says, “The Levites shall be mine: I am the LORD.” Maybe today you don’t feel like you are the boss and you are not getting the attention you feel you deserve. Don’t focus on being acclaimed as someone special. Focus on taking your responsibility, however great or small that may be, and realizing that you have a charge to keep, a charge that has been given you by God.