A Service & A Burden

Based on Numbers 4-5, Psalm 31

"According to the commandment of the Lord they were numbered by the hand of Moses, every one according to his service, and according to his burden: thus were they numbered of him, as the Lord commanded Moses." Numbers 4:49.

Just as we discussed the different forms of organization of the many people in the tribes of Israel, there's also different delegations of service to The Lord & burden for The Lord. We briefly talked about the different jobs which were had for the tabernacle to function properly, but now there are the forms of organization needed to carry the tabernacle from place to place while traveling. Again, it involves service to God and a burden for the things of God.

"From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old shalt thou number them, every one that entereth into the service, to do the work of the tabernacle of the congregation."
Numbers 4:30.

So we saw the general numbering of the people from 20 years old & upward, now we are seeing the specifications of servanthood. This spectrum from 30-50 was the age of service, and the burden & heaviness of the load was probably given to the ones who were younger & most capable of carrying it.

All are called to serve The Lord, and that means today too! The question is, how heavy is our burden? In the physical, probably not so heavy. We wouldn't be able to bear it. But when we think in the Spiritual realm when we receive God's Spirit, we can carry any burden we are given in order to serve The Lord:

"For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
Matthew 11:30.

Instead of an overwhelming weight to carry, let your new burden be an overwhelming desire to serve The Lord!

"And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it: but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation." Numbers 4:15.

Aaron & his sons had a special job. They had to put coverings upon all the holy items to be carefully moved from place to place, but in the case of the Kohathites, it could mean death to touch any of these things while they were transporting them. They had special ways of carrying the things of God & protecting them.

When you love something enough, you put a lot f effort into protecting it! When we're in service to The Lord & we have a great burden & desire to do it, we will be sure to protect our duty to God and guard ourselves against the enemy who will make us stumble & mishandle the holy things, or our holy lifestyle with God!

So, we must protect our service & burden to God against our own mistakes & wrongdoings. We also need to keep ourselves healthy & our temple clean! While we do carry more of a Spiritual burden now, there still needs to be strength in service to do the work God's called us to do!

"Command the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whosoever is defiled by the dead: Both male and female shall ye put out, without the camp shall ye put them; that they defile not their camps, in the midst whereof I dwell." Numbers 5:2‭-‬3.

Those who were sick stayed in a separate place. This wasn't done in rejection, but in protection! Just like we don't want the Coronavirus today, people back then had to protect themselves from similar contagious diseases. It's hard to work when you're sick!

There were also other sins of defilement which could infect the camp, like adultery. This was handled very seriously, being a terrible act of unfaithfulness. If one can't be faithful to their spouse, can they be faithful in the service & burden to The Lord? There is still repentance in this case, and relationships can be restored, but of course there's a lot of trust to build.

In the end, there's a service to be done, a burden to be had, and ways in which we need to protect this calling of God. Our burden today is our great desire to accomplish the things God's called us to do...so our burden can be as big as we want, but it will never be too heavy! Just be sure to rely on God for strength along the way!