Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites:
Numbers 4:18 belongs to God's instructions assigning the duties of the tabernacle, commanding that the families of the Kohathites not be cut off from among the Levites but be protected in their service. The Kohathites were one of the three divisions of the Levites. Their appointed service was the ark and the other sacred furnishings of the sanctuary, including carrying those sacred objects.
The sacred things were not to be handled or carried indiscriminately, and each worker was to keep strictly to the duties appointed to him. God required order and careful obedience in tabernacle service, and this ordered arrangement was wise.
This appointed work of carrying was an honor, but it did not give the Kohathites the right to claim the priesthood or higher authority. Failing to follow these instructions endangered the Kohathite families. The wilderness account shows that disobedience to God's requirements brought punishment, and these events stand as a warning to obey God and learn from Israel's example.
Numbers 4:18 belongs to God's instructions assigning the duties of the tabernacle, commanding that the families of the Kohathites not be cut off from among the Levites but be protected in their service. The Kohathites were one of the three divisions of the Levites. Their appointed service was the ark and the other sacred furnishings of the sanctuary, including carrying those sacred objects.
The sacred things were not to be handled or carried indiscriminately, and each worker was to keep strictly to the duties appointed to him. God required order and careful obedience in tabernacle service, and this ordered arrangement was wise.
This appointed work of carrying was an honor, but it did not give the Kohathites the right to claim the priesthood or higher authority. Failing to follow these instructions endangered the Kohathite families. The wilderness account shows that disobedience to God's requirements brought punishment, and these events stand as a warning to obey God and learn from Israel's example.