“…you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit” (Eph 2:22).
In the Lord’s instructions regarding the Kohathites (Num 4:1-20), we hear His concern: “Do not cut off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites; but do this in regard to them, that they may live and not die when they approach the most holy things” (vv 18-19). It’s almost as if they were learning to work with high-powered electrical lines! In a way, they were. The tabernacle was earth’s end of a link that connected them with heaven’s almighty power. No doubt, they remembered when God landed at Mount Sinai. He said, “Mark off a boundary all around the mountain. Warn the people, ‘Be careful! Do not go up on the mountain or even touch its boundaries. Anyone who touches the mountain will certainly be put to death.’…On the morning of the third day, thunder roared and lightning flashed, and a dense cloud came down on the mountain.…All of Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the Lord had descended on it in the form of fire” (Ex 19:12, 16, 18, NLT). That’s why the Kohathites, the holy furniture movers, had to be so careful. Then comes the responsibility of the Gershonites (Num 4:21-28). They were the stewards of the coverings. Was their responsibility any less important? Absolutely not! If the coverings were not in place, the whole process ground to a halt. Interestingly, the women were the ones who wove these coverings (Ex 35:25-26), and in the New Testament the women are the stewards of the coverings in church meetings (1 Cor 11:1-16). And the Merarites? (Num 4:29-33). As structural engineers, they looked after the boards, bars, pillars, and sockets. What hard work! What a solemn responsibility! What a great privilege! A lot like working in the Church today, isn’t it?