Numbers 4:11
And upon the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with a covering of badgers’ skins, and shall put to the staves thereof: And upon the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with a covering of badgers’ skins, and shall put to the staves thereof:
The verse directs that the golden altar be made ready for the march by spreading a blue cloth over it, covering that with badgers' skins, and then putting its carrying poles in place. It stands within the charge that gave the Levites the honored work of taking down and bearing the tabernacle and its sacred articles whenever Israel journeyed. That work embraced the golden altar together with the ark and the candlestick and the other sacred articles, and it embraced also erecting the tabernacle and camping around it while the hosts of Israel pitched at a distance.
Within that appointment the Kohathites had responsibility for the ark and the other sacred furnishings, including the golden altar. The Levites as a whole struck the tabernacle when the camp moved and set it up when the people stopped. The sacred furnishings were to be handled and carried in a prescribed and precise order by specially appointed and designated Levites. They were not to be moved, carried, or handled indiscriminately by anyone or by any tribe.
This orderly assignment shows God's care for the sacred work and His requirement for order and reverence for the sanctuary and the holy things. This service was entrusted to the Levites because they took no part in making and worshiping the golden calf and because of their faithfulness in executing God's order upon the idolaters. Because God thus honored them, the Levites grew ambitious for still higher office, that they might obtain greater influence with the congregation and a share in the priesthood and government, joining Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and two hundred and fifty men of renown against Moses and Aaron.