«　WEEK 3　DAY 1　»

　　Num. 3:6-7 Bring the tribe of Levi near and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. 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.

　　In Numbers we have a full type of the church service. I hope that the Lord would open our eyes to see that, comparatively speaking, in the church service we have been somewhat loose. With respect to spiritual principles, we have not been so serious, strict, and right. Our making mistakes unconsciously could be the reason that we have missed much of God's blessing. In serving God, we should not be loose but should be serious. We all, especially the young ones, need to learn the spiritual regulations and spiritual laws regarding the service of God. (Life-study of Numbers, p. 99)

　　We will begin to consider the holy service, which is covered in chapters three and four of Numbers....The holy service is altogether with the Levites. Thus, the tribe of Levi is not for fighting but for the holy service. The service is holy because it takes care of the Tabernacle of the Testimony of God.

　　The basic principle of the holy service is that it is without confusion; it is based on life. Everything in the holy service is in good order and is under the divine ordination.

　　Because the holy service is based on life, the service is without confusion. We may use the human body as an illustration. Confusion in the human body is a sign of sickness. Because the body is of life, it cannot tolerate confusion. Likewise, in the Body of Christ as God's army, which is altogether a matter of life, there must be good coordination.

　　The priesthood is an organism, and it can be properly practiced only in the organic Body of Christ, not in organized Christianity. An organization can go on even when there is much trouble, but the Body of Christ is bothered when only a little trouble is present. Therefore, we must avoid confusion. The best way to deal with confusion is to avoid it. If we avoid confusion, we will avoid much trouble.

　　Numbers 3 has much to say about the persons and their duties. We need to dwell on this because it actually concerns us and our duties.

　　First, we will consider the duties of the priests and then the duties of the Levites. The priests are the anointed ones who serve God directly.

　　[In Numbers 3:38a] we see that the priests were to camp before the tabernacle, on the east, toward the sunrise. The priests were actually gate guards, guarding the entrance to the tabernacle. Anyone who wanted to serve God had to first pass through the priests.

　　The priesthood today is no longer a household matter as it was with Aaron; the priesthood is universal. Nevertheless, the principle remains the same. Not everyone can pass through the gate guard to reach the Ark within the veil. Those who want to do this must first pass through the priesthood. Once a believer has passed through the priesthood which guards the tabernacle, he has the right to enter into the tabernacle, pass through the second veil, and reach the Ark, where God meets with His people.

　　The priesthood today is universal. This means that every believer is a priest and should serve as a priest. However, not every believer actually functions as a priest.

　　The priests were to keep the charge of the sanctuary (vv. 38b, 32). The sanctuary was the tabernacle with its two sections, the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. The word charge refers to responsibility. For the priests to keep the charge of the sanctuary meant that they were responsible for the entire sanctuary and everything related to it. If anything was damaged or stolen, the priests were responsible. (Life-study of Numbers, pp. 25-28)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1977, vol. 2, "All Ages for the Lord's Testimony," ch. 1; CWWL, 1966, vol. 1, "The Priesthood," ch. 2