Numbers 4:31
And this is the charge of their burden, according to all their service in the tabernacle of the congregation; the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and sockets thereof, And this is the charge of their burden, according to all their service in the tabernacle of the congregation; the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and sockets thereof,
The charge of the burden in tabernacle service is the boards of the tabernacle, and its bars, pillars, and sockets. That structural burden was the particular assigned service of the Merarites among the Levite families. A differing teaching assigns this same burden of boards, bars, pillars, and sockets to the Kohathites.
The work was divided among the Levite families by divine appointment, with each worker responsible for what was appointed to that group. Their transport and care were not left to any tribe or self-chosen person to take up, for God appointed particular families and duties. The duty meant caring for those parts when Israel traveled, taking the sacred tent down, carrying it and its sacred furnishings, and setting it up again at each stopping place. By specifying who should carry what, the sacred work was to be done in order and with reverence and respect for the sanctuary. Taking down and carrying the tabernacle and its sacred furnishings was an honor given to the Levites, yet some became ambitious for still higher office.