NUMBERS 3:21–51
VERSE-BY-VERSE BIBLE STUDY — PART II
By Pst JK Woodall
Theme: Assigned, Positioned, Counted, and Redeemed
Numbers 3:21–51 continues the numbering of the Levites and explains their specific assignments around the Tabernacle. As we walk through each verse, we can see principles that find their greater fulfillment in the New Testament.
NUMBERS 3:21
“And of Gershon was the family of the Libnites, and the family of the Shimites: these are the families of the Gershonites.”
The Gershonites were one of the three major Levitical families.
The Hebrew name Gershon — גֵּרְשׁוֹן (Gēršôn) is associated with the idea of being a sojourner or stranger.
They had a specific place within God's order.
NEW TESTAMENT CONNECTION — 1 PETER 2:11
“Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims…”
Peter reminds believers that our earthly position does not define our ultimate citizenship.
The Gershonites teach us:
You can be a sojourner and still have a divine assignment.
NUMBERS 3:22
“Those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, even those that were numbered of them were seven thousand and five hundred.”
God counted the Gershonites.
Notice that the census began with males one month old and upward.
Their future assignment was connected to their family identity before they were old enough to perform the work themselves.
NEW TESTAMENT CONNECTION — 2 TIMOTHY 1:9
“Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling…”
God's calling is rooted in His purpose.
PRINCIPLE
God can establish purpose before a person fully understands the assignment.
NUMBERS 3:23
“The families of the Gershonites shall pitch behind the tabernacle westward.”
God gave the Gershonites a specific location.
They were not randomly positioned.
They were assigned behind the Tabernacle.
NEW TESTAMENT CONNECTION — 1 CORINTHIANS 12:18
“But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.”
The same principle continues in the Church.
God sets people where He wants them.
Your position may not be someone else's position.
That does not make your position less important.
NUMBERS 3:24
“And the chief of the house of the father of the Gershonites shall be Eliasaph the son of Lael.”
God identified the leader of the family.
There was leadership within the assignment.
NEW TESTAMENT CONNECTION — EPHESIANS 4:11
“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers…”
God establishes different functions within His people.
PRINCIPLE
Different assignments require different leadership.
NUMBERS 3:25
“And the charge of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of the congregation shall be the tabernacle, and the tent, the covering thereof…”
The Gershonites were responsible for the tent and covering.
They carried the things that protected and enclosed the Tabernacle.
NEW TESTAMENT CONNECTION — 1 CORINTHIANS 12:4–6
“Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.”
Different responsibilities.
Same God.
Same purpose.
PRINCIPLE
Different doesn't mean disconnected.
NUMBERS 3:26
“And the hangings of the court, and the curtain for the door of the court… and all the instruments of their service, and all that is made for them.”
The Gershonites carried many things that were not necessarily the most visible objects in the sanctuary.
Yet God specifically assigned them.
NEW TESTAMENT CONNECTION — 1 CORINTHIANS 12:22
“Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary.”
What appears less visible may still be absolutely necessary.
PRINCIPLE
Never confuse visibility with value.
NUMBERS 3:27
“And of Kohath was the family of the Amramites, and the family of the Izeharites…”
Now Scripture moves to the Kohathites.
The Levites had different families and different responsibilities.
NEW TESTAMENT CONNECTION — ROMANS 12:4–5
“For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office…”
The biblical pattern remains:
One body. Different assignments.
NUMBERS 3:28
“In the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were eight thousand and six hundred, keeping the charge of the sanctuary.”
The Kohathites were specifically connected with the sanctuary.
Their assignment brought them closer to the sacred furnishings.
But greater proximity required greater responsibility.
NEW TESTAMENT CONNECTION — LUKE 12:48
“For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required…”
PRINCIPLE
Greater responsibility comes with greater accountability.
NUMBERS 3:29
“The families of the sons of Kohath shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle southward.”
Again, God assigned a specific location.
NEW TESTAMENT CONNECTION — 1 CORINTHIANS 12:18
“But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.”
God is intentional about placement.
Where God places you matters.
NUMBERS 3:30
“And the chief of the house of the father of the families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan the son of Uzziel.”
A specific leader was responsible for this family.
NEW TESTAMENT CONNECTION — 1 PETER 5:2
“Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof…”
Leadership in God's house carries responsibility.
NUMBERS 3:31
“And their charge shall be the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars…”
The Kohathites were assigned the sacred furnishings.
These represented central elements of Israel's worship.
NEW TESTAMENT CONNECTION — HEBREWS 9:2–5
Hebrews specifically discusses the Tabernacle and identifies the sacred furnishings.
The writer of Hebrews then uses the Tabernacle to explain greater spiritual realities fulfilled in Christ.
PRINCIPLE
The Old Testament Tabernacle was pointing beyond itself.
NUMBERS 3:32
“And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be chief over the chief of the Levites…”
Eleazar had oversight over the Levites.
There was authority and order within the ministry.
NEW TESTAMENT CONNECTION — HEBREWS 7:24–25
Jesus possesses an enduring priesthood.
The Levitical priesthood had many priests because they were mortal.
Christ's priesthood is permanent.
PRINCIPLE
The Levitical system was temporary; Christ's priesthood is eternal.
NUMBERS 3:33
“Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites, and the family of the Mushites…”
Now Scripture introduces the third major Levitical family:
Merari.
NEW TESTAMENT CONNECTION — EPHESIANS 2:21
“In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord.”
Different families were connected to one Tabernacle.
Likewise, believers are different members of one spiritual house.
NUMBERS 3:34
“Those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were six thousand and two hundred.”
Again, God counts them.
No family disappears from God's accounting.
NEW TESTAMENT CONNECTION — 2 TIMOTHY 2:19
“The Lord knoweth them that are his.”
PRINCIPLE
God knows His people.
NUMBERS 3:35
“And the chief of the house of the father of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail…”
Again, leadership is identified.
NEW TESTAMENT CONNECTION — 1 CORINTHIANS 4:2
“Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.”
Leadership is not merely a title.
It is stewardship.
NUMBERS 3:36
“And under the custody and charge of the sons of Merari shall be the boards of the tabernacle…”
The Merarites carried the structure.
They were responsible for boards, bars, pillars, sockets, and other structural components.
NEW TESTAMENT CONNECTION — EPHESIANS 2:20–22
“And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone…”
The Tabernacle had physical structure.
The Church is described as a spiritual building.
PRINCIPLE
Some people carry what everyone sees. Others carry what allows everything to stand.
NUMBERS 3:37
“And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords…”
The Merarites handled the supporting components.
NEW TESTAMENT CONNECTION — GALATIANS 6:2
“Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.”
The principle of carrying remains.
PRINCIPLE
Kingdom work requires people willing to carry weight.
NUMBERS 3:38
“But those that encamp before the tabernacle toward the east… shall be Moses, and Aaron and his sons…”
There were different levels of responsibility and different positions around God's dwelling place.
NEW TESTAMENT CONNECTION — 1 CORINTHIANS 14:40
“Let all things be done decently and in order.”
God's presence was surrounded by divine order.
PRINCIPLE
God's house should not operate according to confusion.
NUMBERS 3:39
“All that were numbered of the Levites… were twenty and two thousand.”
The entire Levitical population was counted.
God knew their number.
NEW TESTAMENT CONNECTION — LUKE 10:20
“But rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.”
The greatest issue is not merely being counted among people.
It is belonging to God.
NUMBERS 3:40
“And the LORD said unto Moses, Number all the firstborn of the males of the children of Israel from a month old and upward…”
Now God begins counting the firstborn.
Why?
Because the firstborn had been preserved during the Exodus.
NEW TESTAMENT CONNECTION — COLOSSIANS 1:15
“Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature…”
The New Testament gives profound theological significance to the language of firstborn in relation to Christ.
NUMBERS 3:41
“And thou shalt take the Levites for me… instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel…”
Here we encounter the principle of substitution.
The Levites would stand in the place of Israel's firstborn.
NEW TESTAMENT CONNECTION — 2 CORINTHIANS 5:21
“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin…”
Christ stands in the place of sinners.
PRINCIPLE
Numbers introduces a substitutionary pattern that finds its ultimate fulfillment in Christ.
NUMBERS 3:42
“And Moses numbered, as the LORD commanded him, all the firstborn among the children of Israel.”
Moses obeyed God's command.
NEW TESTAMENT CONNECTION — JAMES 1:22
“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only…”
God gave the command.
Moses carried it out.
PRINCIPLE
Revelation requires obedience.
NUMBERS 3:43
“And all the firstborn males… were twenty and two thousand two hundred and threescore and thirteen.”
The number was:
22,273 firstborn males.
The Levites numbered:
22,000.
There was a difference of:
273.
The difference mattered.
NEW TESTAMENT CONNECTION — MATTHEW 18:12
“How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray…”
Jesus reveals the heart of God concerning the one.
PRINCIPLE
God does not ignore the difference.
NUMBERS 3:44
“And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying…”
God provides the solution.
NEW TESTAMENT CONNECTION — PHILIPPIANS 4:19
“But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
God does not merely reveal the problem.
God provides the provision.
NUMBERS 3:45
“Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn…”
This is the heart of the chapter.
Instead.
The Levites stand in the place of the firstborn.
NEW TESTAMENT CONNECTION — 1 PETER 2:24
“Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree…”
Jesus takes what belonged to us.
He bears what we could not bear.
PRINCIPLE
Redemption begins with substitution.
NUMBERS 3:46
“And for those that are to be redeemed of the two hundred and threescore and thirteen of the firstborn of the children of Israel…”
There were still 273 people requiring redemption.
The substitution was not numerically complete.
NEW TESTAMENT CONNECTION — ROMANS 3:23–24
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus…”
Humanity needs redemption.
NUMBERS 3:47
“Thou shalt even take five shekels apiece by the poll…”
A specific redemption price was established.
NEW TESTAMENT CONNECTION — 1 CORINTHIANS 6:20
“For ye are bought with a price…”
The New Testament takes the language of purchase and applies it to believers.
PRINCIPLE
Redemption has a cost.
NUMBERS 3:48
“And thou shalt give the money, wherewith the odd number of them is to be redeemed, unto Aaron and to his sons.”
The redemption payment was given according to God's command.
NEW TESTAMENT CONNECTION — 1 PETER 1:18–19
“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold…”
The Old Testament redemption involved silver.
The greater redemption came through:
“…the precious blood of Christ…”
PRINCIPLE
Silver could redeem the firstborn temporarily; only Christ provides eternal redemption.
NUMBERS 3:49
“And Moses took the redemption money of them that were over and above them that were redeemed by the Levites…”
Moses collected the redemption money.
The excess was accounted for.
NEW TESTAMENT CONNECTION — HEBREWS 9:12
“Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.”
The temporary system pointed toward an eternal redemption.
NUMBERS 3:50
“Of the firstborn of the children of Israel took he the money…”
The price was collected from those who were not covered by the Levitical substitution.
NEW TESTAMENT CONNECTION — MARK 10:45
“For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
The concept of redemption reaches its ultimate expression in Christ.
He gave Himself.
NUMBERS 3:51
“And Moses gave the money of them that were redeemed unto Aaron and to his sons, according to the word of the LORD…”
The chapter ends with obedience.
God commanded.
Moses obeyed.
The redemption price was delivered.
NEW TESTAMENT CONNECTION — HEBREWS 10:12
“But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God…”
The Old Testament system required continual administration.
Christ offered Himself once.
FINAL PRINCIPLE
What Numbers 3 begins as a temporary system of substitution and redemption, the New Testament reveals as a picture pointing toward the finished work of Jesus Christ.
THE BIG PICTURE OF NUMBERS 3:21–51
GERSHONITES
They carried the covering.
KOHATHITES
They carried the holy furnishings.
MERARITES
They carried the structure.
MOSES
He administered God's command.
THE LEVITES
They stood in the place of the firstborn.
THE FIRSTBORN
Those not covered by the substitution required redemption.
CHRIST
The ultimate fulfillment of redemption.
FINAL STUDY THOUGHT
Numbers 3 teaches us that God is intentional about assignment, position, responsibility, substitution, and redemption.
You may not have the same assignment as somebody else.
You may not carry what somebody else carries.
You may not stand in the same position.
But God's question is not:
“Why aren't you carrying what they carry?”
The question is:
“Are you faithful with what I assigned you?”
And above every assignment stands the greatest truth of Numbers 3:
REDEMPTION.
The Levites could stand in the place of the firstborn.
But Jesus would ultimately stand in the place of sinners.
The Levites carried the Tabernacle.
Jesus carried the cross.
The Levites were counted.
Jesus paid the price.
The Levites provided temporary substitution.
Jesus provided eternal redemption.
“For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.”
— 1 Corinthians 6:20
You are not merely counted.
You are called.
You are not merely assigned.
You are entrusted.
You are not merely positioned.
You are responsible.
And if you belong to Christ—
you are redeemed.
