And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister unto him;
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
and they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole assembly, before the tent of meeting, to do the service of the tabernacle.
Numbers 3:7 sets out the working life of the tribe of Levi. At the tent of meeting they had a charge to keep: Aaron's, the people's, and the service of the tabernacle. What does keeping a charge involve? And does work assigned this closely by God still shape how believers serve today?
The verse names more than one party the Levites answered to, and the order matters. One writer traces it outward, from Aaron to the people (his wording follows an older translation):
So the Levites were commanded to "keep the charge of Aaron" — this was the primary consideration — and to keep "the charge of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of the congregation, to do the service of the tabernacle" (Num. 3:7). Christian service is for Christ, but it is carried out for the benefit of God's people and for the sake of the testimony for God.
A "charge" is not just a task to do. It is a trust to protect. God gave the tabernacle vessels into the Levites' keeping:
The Levites are now to be brought near and given to Aaron and his sons, to serve him and to keep the charge of the vessels of the tabernacle. It is a weighty service, and for it they must depend on the Priest. They are given wholly to the service of the priests. Ministry belongs to those who worship, and its first and most urgent duty is to guard and care for the holy things they handle. The tabernacle vessels, we know, set forth the truth of what Christ is in all His offices; and all ministry must watch over and preserve this.
No Levite chose his own post. One writer calls that a mercy, though not every heart feels it as one:
The priest appointed each Levite's service. Self-will had no more room among the Levites than it had among the men of war. God settled it all, and this was a marked mercy to everyone whose heart was in a right condition. A man whose will was unbroken might feel it a hardship, a tiresome task, to have to stay in the same place and do exactly the same work… But where the will was subdued and the heart adjusted, each one would say, "My path is perfectly plain; I have only to obey."
The same point is pressed on the question of who does the choosing:
It was no question at all of picking out those who might seem best for carrying the boards and the curtains, or the vessels of the sanctuary. God arranged it all, taking it completely out of man's hands: He chose suited men Himself.
The tabernacle filled a Levite's whole working life. One writer turns that into a test for the Christian:
It is just the same for Christians now. Their exclusive business — their one great work — their absorbing service, is Christ and His belongings… A true Levite of old could say, "To me to live is the tabernacle;" and a true Christian now can say, "To me to live is Christ." In everything that comes before the Christian, the great question is this: "Can I connect Christ with it?" If not, I have nothing whatsoever to do with it.
One writer asks who the Levites are today, and counts practical help as real service:
The Levites now, as then, are to minister to the priests, that is, the church. Who are the Levites? They are the ones who watch over the saints and care for the flock of God: they teach, explain the word, do pastoral work, rebuke, and warn against the evil around them. In Israel there were different orders of Levites, each with its own duties. In the same way, those who had to serve tables (Acts 6:1-4) were doing true Levitical service. All, whether teachers or simply caring for the wants of the poor, ministered to the saints of God. These servants are called by the Master, and they take up the service willingly, not under compulsion… The Lord distributes to each according to his ability.
The priests and the Levites picture two sides of the Christian's place, and many prize one and neglect the other:
If Aaron and his sons represent the Church as a holy priesthood offering up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ, then the Levites picture the saints as set apart to God for His will and service… Some prize the privilege of being in God's presence as worshippers above everything else. Others count it the highest favour that they are allowed to serve. But the perfection of the Christian life lies in the combination of the two, as seen, for instance, in Elijah. "As the Lord of hosts lives," he says, "before whom I stand." He lived within, and so he was ready to serve without. The one who most enjoys his priestly privilege will be the best qualified for his Master's service.
- Charge, not career. God handed the Levite a trust to keep: Aaron's charge first, then the people's, then the tabernacle service.
- Keep means guard. The charge covered the holy vessels, so the first duty was to watch over and preserve them.
- Assigned, not chosen. God fixed each man's post; self-will had no room, and a subdued heart finds that a mercy.
- One thing only. The tabernacle was the Levite's whole business, as Christ is the Christian's.
- Inside, then outside. Standing before God as a worshipper is what equips anyone to keep the charge for others.
And they shall keep all the utensils of the tent of meeting, and the charge of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle.
God set the Levites apart from the rest of Israel and placed them around the tabernacle. This verse hands them two charges — the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and the people of Israel — and both raise one question: what does God want from those He calls to serve Him?
The duty here points two ways. The Levites served Aaron the priest, but their work also met the needs of the whole camp.
As well as serving Aaron, the Levites attended to the needs of the whole congregation of Israel (v.7). Those needs centered on the tabernacle and its service. They had to care for all the furnishing of the tabernacle (v.8). Today the answer to this is the ministry God has provided for the Church of God. Are we concerned to minister what will be of real help and blessing to the people? Every believer should have such a concern.
The order matters. One commentator puts the priest first and the people second:
So the Levites were commanded to "keep guard over" Aaron — this was the primary consideration — and to keep guard "over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle" (Num. 3:7). Christian service is for Christ, but we carry it out for the benefit of God's people and for the sake of the testimony for God.
The verse tells the Levites to guard. Commentators read the tabernacle's vessels as pictures of Christ, so guarding them comes first for anyone who serves.
God now commands that the Levites be brought near and given to Aaron and his sons, to serve him and to keep the charge of the vessels of the tabernacle. It is a weighty service, and for it they must depend on the Priest. They are given wholly to the service of the priests. Ministry belongs to those who worship, and its first and most urgent duty is to guard and care for the holy things they handle. We know that the tabernacle vessels set forth the truth of what Christ is in all His offices, and all ministry must watch over and preserve this.
God left nothing here to the servant's preference. The priest directed the work, and each Levite kept the place given to him.
All who would be true Levites — proper workmen, intelligent servants — need to weigh this point with all seriousness. The priest's appointment regulated Levite service. Self-will had no more room in the service of the Levites than it had in the position of the men of war. God settled it all, and this was a clear mercy to everyone whose heart was in a right condition.
The same point is drawn from God's choosing of the men themselves:
It was no question at all of picking out those who might seem best for carrying the boards and the curtains, or the vessels of the sanctuary. God arranged it all, taking it completely out of man's hands: He chose suited men Himself. Where is there any happiness except in simply carrying out the will of God?
Their service also had a boundary. The tabernacle and its belongings were their whole occupation.
Their service had to do only with the tabernacle and its belongings. They had nothing else to do. If a Levite had turned his hand to anything else, he would have denied his calling, abandoned the work God gave him, and defied God's commandments… A true Levite of old could say, "To me to live is the tabernacle." A true Christian today can say, "To me to live is Christ."
Behind the duty stands an earlier fact: God had already taken the Levites for Himself.
Verse 12 of Numbers 3 reveals the secret behind the special place of the Levites: God had chosen them "instead of all the firstborn". In Egypt, God had spared the firstborn of the Israelites on the basis of the blood of the Passover lamb. This was the price that redeemed the firstborn. So they belonged to God. A Levite would therefore regard himself as redeemed by God and so as God's possession.
- Redeemed. God took the Levites for Himself in place of the firstborn He had spared. They served as men who already belonged to Him.
- Given. God then gave them to Aaron. Commentators apply this to service done for Christ, and wholly for Him.
- Guarding. Their first duty was to watch over the holy vessels. These picture what Christ is in all His offices, so ministry guards the truth about Him.
- Reaching. The charge reached the whole congregation. Work done for the priest brought real help to the people.
- Assigned. No Levite chose his own place or load. God settled it, and happiness lay in simply obeying.
And thou shalt give the Levites to Aaron and to his sons they are wholly given to him out of the children of Israel.
Numbers 3 sets the tribe of Levi apart for service. Verse 9 settles who they belong to, and commentators read that handover as a picture of every servant of Christ. The word that carries the weight is "wholly."
The order matters. God claims the Levites as His own first, and only then do they pass into the priest's hands.
Notice too, on the passage just quoted, that the Levites are first declared to be God's property. Only then are they "WHOLLY GIVEN TO AARON." So we read: "Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word" (John 17:6).
Levites and priests are not the same thing. One group pictures believers serving; the other pictures them coming near to God.
In Numbers 3 we have the Levites set apart, according to the thoughts of God, for service. They are a figure of the church, or rather of the members of the church in their service. The priests are the figure of Christians drawing near to the throne of God. Both are a shadow, not a perfect image.
Commentators read Aaron as a picture of Christ. That changes how a Christian sees his own life: God does not only rescue him; He gives him away.
The Levites were given as a gift to Aaron and to his sons, for service in the tent of meeting. Seen in this light, the Levites picture all believers as servants. So we learn that the Church is given to Christ for His service on the earth. We were given to Him for salvation, as every believer is. But we must also remember that we are a gift to Him for His absolute disposal. Our only proper attitude, therefore, is that of Saul of Tarsus, who said, "Lord, what do you want me to do?"
A total gift leaves nothing for a second owner. One writer traces what that means for a servant: how God separates him, how plainly his call must show, and whom he stands for.
They were separated "from among the people of Israel, and the Levites shall be Mine." It is no light thing, then, to enter on the Lord's service... They were marked out for their work by the Lord Himself. So every true servant must be marked out by God, and so plainly that his call will be clear to God's people. They were wholly the Lord's. He claimed them completely, for they were His through redemption. In the same way now the servant must recognise that he is not his own, that he is wholly devoted to the Lord's will. He must never allow any other claim to come between him and the Lord. In their service they stood for the whole congregation.
The Levites also had the tabernacle's furniture in their care. One writer takes those objects as standing for Christ Himself, which makes the job far bigger than carrying equipment.
The Levites are now told to be brought near, and to be given to Aaron and his sons. They are to minister to him and keep charge of the vessels of the tabernacle. It is a weighty service, and for it they need to depend on the Priest. Indeed, they are wholly given to the service of the priests. Ministry belongs to those who worship. Its first and most urgent duty is to guard and care for the holy things they handle. The tabernacle vessels, as we know, set out the truth of what Christ is in all His offices. All ministry must watch over and preserve this.
Levi's character earned him nothing. Something had to change first — and the place he was given is not the fighter's or the worshipper's.
What a place for the self-willed, fierce and cruel Levi! What a triumph of grace! What an illustration of the power of the blood of atonement and the water of purification! By nature and by practice they were far off from God. But the "blood" of atonement, the "water" of cleansing and the "razor" of self-judgment had done their blessed work. So the Levites were now fit to be presented as a gift to Aaron and to his sons, and to be joined with them in the holy services of the tent of meeting. In all this the Levites were a striking picture of God's people now... As men of war, we are called to fight; as priests, we are privileged to worship; but as Levites, we are responsible to serve.
- Owned. The Levites are God's property before they are Aaron's. Verse 9 hands on what God already owned.
- Given. God hands what He owns to the priest — the Church given to Christ for His service on earth, at His absolute disposal.
- Wholly. A total gift leaves no room for a second claim. The servant is not his own, and God marks out his call plainly enough for others to see.
- Guarding. The gift comes with a charge: care for the holy things, which show what Christ is. That weighty task keeps the servant leaning on the Priest.
- Grace. Blood, water and self-judgment made fierce, self-willed Levi fit to serve. The whole arrangement is a triumph of grace, not a reward.
And Aaron and his sons shalt thou appoint that they may attend to their priest's office; and the stranger that cometh near shall be put to death.
The chapter has just given the Levites to Aaron as helpers for the tabernacle, and this verse draws the line where their work stops. Only Aaron and his sons may serve as priests, and anyone else who steps in faces death — so why did God guard the way to Himself so closely?
The death sentence here has a positive truth behind it: God gave the priesthood, and no man could take it. One writer ties that rule to Christ, and to men who ignored it.
As to the appointment of the earthly priest, "no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was." Here again there is an analogy to the priesthood of Christ. No one can truly take the place of priest, in any sense of the word, who is not called of God. The judgment that overtook Korah and those with him shows how serious it is to neglect this great truth. They sought to establish themselves in the priesthood without being called of God.
The threat was not idle. One writer points to a king who tested it.
Aaron's family had a great privilege. It was forbidden — under penalty of death — for an outsider to take up the priest's office (see Numbers 3:10, 38). When king Uzziah presumed to claim this office and tried to burn incense, he was struck with leprosy. He remained a leper until the day of his death (see 2 Chronicles 26:18-21).
Verse 10 follows straight after God gives the Levites to Aaron, and the two halves belong together. Writers draw a lasting principle from that link.
The ministry of the tabernacle depended at its root on the priesthood of Aaron; apart from that it had no place and no right to exist. The value and acceptance of the outward service hung entirely on the inner worship... All real service flows from the Lord, and so it depends on Him in the sanctuary and refers to Him there. Otherwise it becomes false — when its source becomes human, or its motives worldly.
Another writer draws out where ministry should lead, and what happened to the intruder.
Verse 9 insists again that the Levites were to be given to Aaron and his sons, reminding us that all true ministry is subject to the more important function of worship. Ministry done right will lead the hearers to worship the Lord. But if a man who was not a priest or Levite dared to come near, as though he had some place there, he would suffer the penalty of death (v. 10).
Verse 10 shuts one door. The verses around it show how the Levites came to be inside at all.
Jehovah took them in a very special way as the formal substitute for the firstborn of Israel, who were spared when the destroying angel struck Egypt. They were redeemed by blood, and counted in the fullest sense as belonging to Jehovah... So the Levites, tied in this way to mercy — the great distinguishing mercy that rescued Israel from the doom of Egypt — were all the better fitted to do the service of the sanctuary. Who can presume to undertake the service of God without knowing that God has accepted him on the ground of redemption? Salvation precedes ministry.
The barrier still stands, but the line has moved. One writer says who may now come near to worship.
First, it is evident that worship is the privilege only of the children of God. Worship is offered "in spirit and truth," and it is offered to Him who cannot admit sin into His presence. So only those who are washed in the blood of the Lamb, and who have received the Spirit, can draw near to God to adore Him. If a man who is not converted thinks he can draw near to God, that only proves he does not know what he is in himself, or who the God is whom he means to serve.
No one could install himself among Aaron's sons. One writer applies that to the practice of ordaining a separate class of priests today.
Forgetful or ignorant of the truth that all true believers, and no others, are priests (1 Peter 2), they have devised a way of making priests — of filling their "holy" offices by a human ordination. And such, when appointed this way, claim for themselves the exclusive right of approach to God... God alone makes priests, and everyone who is washed with water (born again) is brought under the value of the one sacrifice of Christ... and is set apart by Him for this office.
- Called — Priesthood was never taken; it was given. "No one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was."
- Redeemed — The Levites stood in for the firstborn spared in Egypt. Salvation comes before service; no one serves God who has not first been accepted on the ground of redemption.
- Given — Handed to Aaron, their work had no meaning apart from him. Service cut loose from Christ in the sanctuary becomes false.
- Guarded — The outsider who pushed in died. Uzziah's leprosy and Korah's judgment show the warning was carried out.
- Opened — Now every believer is a priest, and no human ordination can make one. The line now runs between those brought near by the blood of Christ and those still outside.
And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,
The Lord speaks to Moses again, and what follows is startling: God takes a whole tribe for Himself in place of every firstborn son in Israel. The verses that follow explain why God had any claim on those sons, and what it cost when the Levites came up short of the number.
God's claim on the firstborn was not new. It went back to the night of the Passover in Egypt.
The Lord spoke to Moses again (v.11). He insisted that He Himself had set the Levites apart from among the people of Israel to stand in place of every firstborn in Israel. God had declared the firstborn His from the time of the Passover in Egypt, when the firstborn of Egypt were killed. The blood sprinkled on the doorposts and crossbars of their homes had in effect redeemed them. It is good for us too to recognise that God's rights come first.
The Levites did not simply volunteer. The Lord took them in place of sons He had already spared, and that shaped the service they gave.
The Lord took them in a very special way as the formal substitute for the firstborn of Israel. Those firstborn were spared when the destroying angel visited Egypt. They were redeemed by blood, and counted without question as belonging to the Lord. In place of Israel's firstborn He accepted the Levites: "They shall be mine." So they stand as a lasting witness that the firstborn are the Lord's due, from people and animals alike. The grace of God had spared those whom they replaced at the time of judgment. So the Levites were identified with mercy — the great mercy that set Israel apart and rescued them from the doom of Egypt. That fitted them all the better for the service of the sanctuary. Who can presume to take up the service of God without knowing that God has accepted him on the ground of redemption? Salvation comes before ministry.
The two counts did not match. God did not round the figure off or waive the difference.
At the census, the firstborn in Israel outnumbered the Levites by 273. God claimed these 273 just as much as the 22,000 who each had a Levite as a substitute. So five shekels each had to be paid for them as redemption money. According to Exodus 13 the firstborn were to be redeemed at their birth. Our chapter stresses again the principle that redemption comes before the service of God.
The Levites did not serve on their own terms. God gave them to the priest, and one writer reads that as a picture of service now.
The Levites were given to Aaron the high priest, and to him alone. The service of the church, or of its members, depends completely on Christ in the presence of God. It has no other object than what concerns Him. It is tied to the place and service He Himself renders to God in the true tabernacle, and it flows from that... The service of God's people has no value — in fact it is sin — except as it is joined to the priesthood. That is, joined to Christ on high, in the presence of God for us.
Standing in the firstborn's place marked the Levites out. One writer draws the line from there to the church.
The Levites pictured the Church — or the individual Christian — in service, just as the priests pictured the Church in worship. Taking them for the service of the Lord in place of the firstborn gave them a very special character. They were firstfruits to the Lord. So it is that the Church is as the firstfruits, holy to the Lord — "the church of the firstborn ones."
The same picture comes with an appeal.
The Levites were in a special way a redeemed company. So they are clearly typical of Christians, both in our redemption and in the claim God has on us for service as redeemed. "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God" — redemption-mercies here — "to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship."
- Claim. God owns the firstborn because He spared them under the blood in Egypt; His rights come first.
- Substitute. Levi is taken in their place, so the whole tribe stands as a living reminder of that night of mercy.
- Price. Five shekels redeem each of the 273 firstborn beyond Levi's number. God counts the shortfall.
- Priest. The redeemed tribe is then given to Aaron; service that is not joined to the high priest has no value.
- Possession. Redemption comes first, then service — salvation before ministry, ownership before work.
And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn that breaketh open the womb among the children of Israel, and the Levites shall be mine;
On the night He spared Israel's firstborn in Egypt, God claimed them as His own. Here He takes a whole tribe in their place, and the verse asks what it means to belong to God.
The phrase "instead of" reaches back to the night in Egypt when the blood of a lamb kept Israel's eldest sons alive.
Verse 12 reveals the secret behind the special place of the Levites: God chose them "instead of all the firstborn." In Egypt, God had spared Israel's firstborn because of the blood of the Passover lamb. This was the price by which the firstborn had been redeemed. As a result they belonged to God. Now, this is the place God gave the Levites: He chose them instead of all the firstborn. A Levite would therefore regard himself as redeemed by God and so as God's possession.
Levi did not earn this place. What fitted the tribe for holy service was its link with mercy.
In a very special way Jehovah took them as the formal substitute for the firstborn of Israel, the ones spared when the destroying angel struck Egypt. They were redeemed by blood, and counted beyond question as belonging to Jehovah... God's grace had spared the very ones they stood for when judgment fell. So the Levites were identified with mercy — the great mercy that set Israel apart and rescued it from the doom of Egypt. That fitted them all the better for the service of the sanctuary. Who can take up the service of God without knowing that God has accepted him on the ground of redemption? Salvation precedes ministry...
Notice the order. God says whose they are before He says what they must do.
The service of the Levites flowed entirely from their being the Lord's. "The Levites shall be mine." For as it is written, "You are not your own, for you were bought with a price" (1 Corinthians 6:20). It is blessed to say, "My beloved is mine," but it is greater progress and a deeper joy to say, "I am His."
The exchange was not vague. God counted it person by person, and where the tribe fell short, silver made up the difference.
The history of the firstborn was this: God had His tabernacle, with its many and varied services. Performing them took a huge number of men. This service belonged to the firstborn, but their places were taken by the tribe of Levi. Each Levite represented a firstborn man in Israel. The eldest sons who outnumbered that tribe were redeemed at five shekels of silver each (Numbers 3:46-48, and 8). So the Levites were in a special way a redeemed company. Clearly they are in this way a picture of Christians, both in our redemption and in the claim God has upon us for service as redeemed... Looked at this way, the firstborn has, so to speak, a double history from his redemption, and so have we. First he dies in his substitute; then he lives as a servant in the Levite.
Belonging to God did not leave the tribe free to run itself. God handed them over to Aaron the priest as a gift.
The Levites were given as a gift to Aaron and to his sons, for service in the tent of meeting. Viewed in this way, the Levites picture all believers as servants. So we learn that God gives the Church to Christ for His service on the earth. We were given to Him for salvation, as every believer is. We must also remember that we are a gift to Him, for Him to use as He pleases. Our only proper attitude, therefore, is that of Saul of Tarsus, who said, "Lord, what will you have me to do?"
God's care for the firstborn did not stop with Egypt. One writer follows that line forward, carefully, to the church.
God in His grace has always had the firstborn before His mind. So as soon as He had sheltered His people from judgment in Egypt by the blood of the Passover lamb, He claimed all their firstborn, and the firstborn of their cattle too... Later God took the Levites instead of the firstborn and gave them to Aaron and his sons, to do the service of the people of Israel in the tent of meeting. In this way they stood for the firstborn of Israel. They were joined to Aaron, who was himself a firstborn. So they became a shadow, if not a type, of the church of the firstborn.
- Blood first. The claim began in Egypt. Israel's firstborn lived because a lamb died, and what blood saves belongs to God.
- "Mine" next. Before any duty in the tent, God says, "The Levites shall be mine."
- Substitutes counted. The exchange was exact, man for man, with five shekels paid for every firstborn the tribe could not cover.
- Given away. Those who were God's were handed to Aaron as a gift, which points to the servant's proper question: "Lord, what will you have me to do?"
- Then service. Salvation comes first. No one can serve God without knowing He has accepted him on the ground of redemption.
for every firstborn is mine. On the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I hallowed unto me all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and beast; mine shall they be I am Jehovah.
God's reason for taking the Levites reaches back to one night in Egypt. That night He spared Israel's firstborn and struck down Egypt's. The verse tells us what that night created: a permanent divine claim, and a tribe set apart to answer it.
The firstborn who lived through that night did not simply escape death. Commentators point out that the same act which spared them also claimed them.
If we follow the history of the firstborn further, it is full of interest and instruction. The blood at the passover saved the firstborn of Israel. But those redeemed in this way were God's in a special and particular way. "Consecrate to me all the firstborn... is mine." So the firstborn was not only redeemed from death. He was bought for God — "you were bought with a price, so glorify God in your body."
The tribe of Levi did not earn its position. God accepted them in exchange for men who owed their lives to blood already shed.
The LORD took them in a very special way as the formal substitute for the firstborn of Israel. Those firstborn were spared when the destroying angel struck Egypt. They were redeemed by blood, and counted emphatically to belong to the LORD. In place of Israel's firstborn He accepted the Levites. "They shall be mine." So God made them the standing witness of the firstborn owed to Him from man as well as beast. The grace of God had exempted those they answered for in the time of judgment.
God counted the exchange man for man. Where the numbers did not match, silver made up the difference.
God had His tabernacle, with its many varied services. Performing them required a huge number of men. This service belonged to the firstborn, but the tribe of Levi took their places. Each Levite represented a firstborn man in Israel. Five shekels of silver redeemed each of the eldest children beyond that number.
Writers turn God's claim into a question about who may serve Him at all.
Who can dare to take up the service of God without knowing that God has accepted him on the ground of redemption? Salvation comes before ministry. That is clear if we listen to God and take seriously the solemn warning of the Lord and His apostle.
The redemption money paid for the extra firstborn makes the same point.
The redemption money went to Aaron for the service of God. This showed that it met His claims on the redeemed. Let us never forget that as redeemed people we belong to God. On this fact rests the life of service to His name, to which we are committed.
Several writers read the tribe of Levi as a shadow of believers set apart for work. They are careful to call it a shadow, not an exact image.
The Levites were firstfruits offered to God, for they stood in place of the firstborn in whom God had taken Israel to Himself, when He struck down the firstborn of the Egyptians... The number of the firstborn being greater than that of the Levites, those left over were redeemed, as a sign that they belonged to God, and the Levites became God's possession for His service (verses 12, 13). It is the same with the church: it belongs wholly to God to serve Him down here.
Being God's did not leave the Levites free. God then handed them over to the high priest.
The Levites were a separated people — God's special possession. They took the place of all the firstborn in Israel — those whom the blood of the lamb saved from the sword of the destroyer. In type they were a dead and risen people, set apart to God. God then presented them as a gift to Aaron the high priest, to do the service of the tabernacle.
That double ownership settles who chooses the servant's work.
God gave us to Christ for salvation, as He does every believer. We must also remember that we are a gift to Christ, for Him to use as He pleases. Our only right attitude, then, is that of Saul of Tarsus, who asked, "Lord, what will You have me to do?" How precious to remember that we are wholly the Lord's! As His, there is no room at all for self-will or for pleasing people.
- Spared — Israel's firstborn lived through the night Egypt's firstborn died. The blood of the lamb was the only reason.
- Owned — being spared made them God's property: not merely rescued from death, but bought for Him.
- Exchanged — God took the Levites man for man in their place, and silver paid for the extra. The whole tribe stood as a redeemed company.
- Qualified — redemption, not merit, fits anyone for the service of the sanctuary. Salvation comes before ministry.
- Given — God handed His own possession to Aaron for the work of the tabernacle. Writers see there a picture of believers given to Christ, with no room left for self-will.