As we come to the service of the Levites, we see that with the Levites there was an age requirement. To serve as a Levite, one had to be between thirty and fifty years old (Num. 4:3, 23, 30, 35, 43, 47). These are the "golden years" of human life. Even the Lord Jesus did not reach the full age for God's service until He had reached the age of thirty (Luke 3:23). He did not begin His work until He was thirty.
In Numbers we can see some comparisons regarding age requirements. To be counted in the service to God, one had to be one month old and above—those at that age needed to grow and mature (3:39, 43). To be counted in the warfare for God's testimony, one had to be twenty years old or above—those at that age were mature and strong, without limit (1:20). Caleb, for example, was able to fight even at the age of eighty-five (Josh. 14:10-11). To be counted in the service that was close to God, one had to be from thirty years old up to fifty years old—those at that age were more mature and were stronger, without deterioration.
The priests took care of the primary things, the most important things, and the Kohathites took care of some of the secondary things. To take care of the furnishings of the sanctuary is to take care of the primary things. The priests took care of the ark. This is to take care of Christ directly and to minister Christ. The Kohathites carried the furnishings of the sanctuary (Num. 4:2-4, 15, 17-20, 34-37). To do this today is to speak concerning the church as the expansion of Christ.
The Kohathites were not to touch the holy things (v. 15) or to go in to look at them (v. 20). In either case, the penalty was death.
"Aaron and his sons shall go in and assign each of them to his service and to his burden" (v. 19b). Here we see that the service of the Kohathites was under the assigning of Aaron and his sons. This indicates that in the Old Testament there are two classes—the priests and the Levites. But in the New Testament these two classes are one. We today are both priests and Levites. When we as priests do the Levitical work, we must be under the supervision of our priestly view. For example, arranging chairs in the meeting hall is not a spiritual work but a Levitical service. But this Levitical service should be carried out under the inward, spiritual view of the priesthood. If the arranging of chairs is done in this way, the serving ones will pray for the church and for those who will sit on the chairs. The principle is the same with knocking on people's doors for the purpose of preaching the gospel. The Levitical service of door-knocking should be carried out under the supervision of the priestly view. Then those who visit people with the gospel in this way will have much prayer. They may pray, "Lord, while I am knocking on this person's door, I ask You to knock on his heart."
Today we should not separate the Levitical service from the priestly view. Any kind of outward activity must be carried out under the supervision of the inward, spiritual view of the priesthood.
The Gershonites (vv. 22-28, 38-41) were to carry the curtains of the tabernacle, and the tent of meeting, its covering, the covering of porpoise skin, the screen of the entrance to the tent of meeting, the hangings of the court, the screen of the entrance to the gate of the court, their cords, and all the equipment for their service. They did this at the command of Aaron and his sons, and under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest (vv. 27-28).
Once again we see that the Levitical service was carried out under the supervision of the priests. This is a further indication that we need to learn to do outward things under the inward view of the priesthood. For instance, the way work is done in the church business office should be very different from the way in a bank, where there is no priestly supervision. All the service in the church business office should be done under the heavenly view and supervision of the priests. Then whatever we do in the church business office will become a spiritual activity and will minister life to others. While we are caring for business matters, we should minister life to others. If we do this, our Levitical service is under the view and supervision of the priesthood.
The sons of Merari (vv. 29-33, 42-45) were to carry the boards of the tabernacle, its bars, pillars, and sockets, the pillars of the court round about, their sockets, pegs, and cords, with all their equipment. This was to be done under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
Whatever is written in the Bible is for our good and is worth studying. Therefore, we need to study all the items related to the tabernacle, such as the pillars, sockets, pegs, and cords. All these items typify Christ. Christ is our peg and our cord. By knowing all these items related to the tabernacle, we know Christ.