Numbers 4:33
This is the service of the clans of the sons of Merari, the whole of their service in the tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.”
Truth: There is a part of the work of God for everyone.
In this section of Numbers we have the instruction to Aaron, the priest, through Moses from God. The section is about how to move the Tabernacle. We don't have an equivalent of this concept in our modern-day thought process. We don't have "holy" things in our churches or places of worship. In fact, we have gone so far away from "holy" things that we almost lose the sanctity of a place. Our worship "places" are so common (and we like them that way) that we have, at times, lost the fact that we are worshipping and approaching a Holy, Omnipotent God. With that said, this was not the case in the days of the nation of Israel. The Tabernacle was MOST holy. There were only certain people who could touch each part of the Tabernacle. When the nation was to move (and they moved a lot in their 40 years of wandering in the desert) the Tabernacle had to move, in the exact procedure God describes in this section ... every time it moved. The Levites were responsible for this moving job. Each sub-family in the Tribe of the Levites had a specific role. In the above verse the sons of Merair are given their tasks. There were 6,200 males in this sub-group. They didn't have any fancy function. The most holy objects were already covered and moved by another son of the Levites. The sons of Merari had to carry the framework for the Tabernacle. They had the poles, the frames and the tent stakes. Nothing spectacular, but functional in nature. We sometimes forget that the function of worship always has to be done. Without the frame and the poles and the stakes, the Tabernacle could not stand up. We don't think much about this when we come to our own places of worship. Who sets up the chairs, puts the mic stands up, folds the bulletins, makes sure the toilet paper is in place, or makes sure the coffee and donuts are there for those who can't worship without a cup of coffee in their hands? We can often come to sit and soak up the service and forget that someone had to do all the little things to make the big thing work. God has a place for each of His servants. This is why David wrote what he wrote in the Psalms:
Psalms 84:10
For a day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
Perhaps David had a thought about the sons of Merari. Or, note what Paul tells the Colossian believers:
Colossians 2:19
and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.
In Paul's passage we see that the Body of Christ (Christ is the Head) is put together by joints and ligaments and they all grow because God makes them grow. We so much celebrate the big parts and forget the little parts. Each time that Tabernacle moved the sons of Merari would take the poles, the frame and the stakes down and carry them. Once they arrived at their place they would reassemble the entire Tabernacle frame. God has a part for us each. No matter how small.
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