It would be great if you could read Numbers 3:24-36.
v25 And the charge of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of the congregation shall be the tabernacle, and the tent, the covering thereof,
and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation,
v26 And the hangings of the court, and the curtain for the door of the
court, which is by the tabernacle, and by the altar round about, and the cords of it for all the service thereof.
v30 And the chief of the house of the father of the families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan the son of Uzziel.
v31 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.
v36 And under the custody and charge of the sons of Merari shall be the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and the sockets thereof, and all the vessels thereof, and all that serveth thereto,
v37 And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their
pins, and their cords.
The Levites were the ministering priests in the tabernacle. Levi, had three sons, Gershon , Kohath and Merari. God assigned different parts of the tabernacle into their care, as we have read above.
Just imagine if any one of the families of Gershon (Gershonites), Kohath (Kohathites), Merari (Merarites) didn't do their part in caring for and setting up the tabernacle?
Where would the Gershonites set up the tent and hangings if the Merarites didn't set up the boards of the tabernacle?
Where would Aaron sprinkle the precious blood of the offerings if the ark was not set its place by the Kohathites?
How would the people know where to bring their offerings if the courts were not set up?
It just wouldn't be complete, would it?
As we know, the tabernacle speaks very richly of the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we also know that we are members of His body (Eph5:30 , Col 1:24).
When we read Paul's commentary on spiritual gifts in 1Cor 12 (please take time to read this later, its always good to keep this passage in
rememberance) , and we realise that each of us has a part to play in the
church. He begins by saying "Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I
would not have you ignorant.".
We need to seek the Lord to know what GIFT HE HAS GIVEN US (not 'what our
gift is' as is popularly spoken).
Then he says "4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit."
and in v29 "Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all
workers of miracles?".
So let us not think that ALL who grow in the church MUST become a sunday
school, yount people, or young adult teacher. In my opinion, we shouldn't
allow just anyone to teach as it is a great responsibility and teachers are
held double accountable (Jas 3:1 Be not many teachers, my brethren, knowing
that we shall receive greater judgment.).
so what i'm trying to bring to our minds is this
1) Do you know what gift God has given you? Do you know what your role is in
your family and also in the assembly of saints?
2) If you do know, are you DOING it? The Gershonites, Kohathites and
Merarites KNEW what they were supposed to do, but in order for the
tabernacle to set up properly, they had to DO what they had to do. The same
goes for us, if you're a teacher, it is your responsibility to spend more
time than others feeding from the word of God, and getting involved in
people's lives. If you love to show hospitality, when was the last time you
had some people over for dinner? If you like to care for people, when was
the last time visited someone?
3) Do we realise that our inaction, or neglect to do our part could cause
difficulty to another persons ministry?
Well, then next time we say to ourselves, "ah, i don't want to do this",
remember the sons of Levi, and how important it was for them to work
together.
