Numbers 4:17-20 (ESV)
The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, “Let not the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites, but deal thus with them, that they may live and not die when they come near to the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them each to his task and to his burden, but they shall not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment, lest they die.”
Moving companies are supposed to move your things without damaging them. But, suppose you told them that they were not only to move your items from your home but also they were to not allowed to look at the items from your home? They would probably refuse the task. Well, one of the children from the descendants of Levi, the Kohath family tree, was to be the moving company for the Tabernacle. It was there job, any time the nation moved from one place to another, to pack up the Tabernacle. They had to carry all the curtains and rods. They had to pack up all the dishes and serving utensils. And they had to pack up the Holy of Holies with the actual Ark of the Covenant. And, when it came to all the items in the Holy of Holies, there were not even to look at them, least they die. To assure they did not and that their family tree continued to thrive, Aaron and his sons were to give them specific tasks to do and items to carry so that they did not die in the process of moving. In Numbers 33 we read that the nation of Israel moved almost 30 times during those 40 years. Plus, once they reached the promise land and began to conquer it, the Tabernacle would be carried and moved. The Kohathites would take the risk each time to lose a life if they failed to obey God’s command in this area.
We don’t move Tabernacles or the Ark of the Covenant today. We are free to worship in awe of God and in the Fear of the Lord, but we don’t fear being struck dead in our churches. But, we are supposed to realize and worship in holiness. We are to approach God in the same spirit of holiness that Aaron, his sons and the Kohathites did. God is holy and must be recognized as such. Our often “familiarity” with God is refreshing. But, it is also, at times failing to recognize the awe of God. He wants us to approach Him, but even in the New Testament we are told that we are to fear Him in holy reverence.
Hebrews 12:28 (ESV)
Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe,
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