Day 39 Numbers 3-4

Our text gives us more information about the place and function of the Levites, the priestly class of Israel, who were “unreservedly given to the LORD” (3:9). In Exodus we were told that when the LORD slew the first-born of the land of Egypt in the last, climatic plague, he claimed as his own the first-born of Israel, both human and animal. Henceforth, the first-born of Israel must be redeemed with a sacrifice.
Here in Numbers 3, verse 12 we are informed that the Levites were dedicated to the Lord as substitutes for the first-born of the people. They belonged to God as an absolute possession; their obedience was to be complete and unreserved. They were required to do everything exactly as they were told in order to protect the sacred tabernacle from profanation and themselves from death (4:19).
During the years of wandering, the Tent of Meeting had to be completely moveable. When the camp set out, it had to be taken down and packed without breaking any sacred taboos. So the various clans of the Levites were each assigned certain tasks to do in the process of break down and certain objects to carry (4:32). These “altar guild” regulations are very specific and exact so that everyone would know exactly what to do.
And as we said before, the function of the Law was to all the covenant people the opportunity to live a righteous life by telling each member of the community exactly what was expected of that person. If you did what you knew you should do, you fulfilled The LORD’s expectations. And in the Old Testament system to experience that sense of God’s satisfaction was to live with integrity and a freedom that only the keeping the Law could give,