Numbers 4:6, commentary and pictures

When the camp was to move, the ark was to be made ready for travel in a fixed order: first a covering of badgers' skins was to be put over it, then a cloth wholly of blue was to be spread over that, and then its carrying staves were to be put in place. That prescribed sequence shows how exact the directions for handling the sacred ark were, given to preserve reverence for it so that it was not to be carried indiscriminately. Thus covered on its removal from the sanctuary, the cherubim were hidden from sight and the ark was shielded from curious eyes.

The reason for such guarding is that the ark represented Jehovah's presence among His people, and its cover was the mercy seat, before which heavenly angels look with reverence. This direction belongs to the charge laid on the Levites for the care of the tabernacle in journeying: taking it down when Israel journeyed, bearing the tabernacle with the ark and the candlestick and the other sacred furnishings, then erecting it again, while the other tribes of Israel camped at a distance. Within that charge the Kohathites were appointed to the ark and the other sacred furniture, each division of the Levites having its own assigned duties for taking down and setting up the tabernacle as the camp moved.

The preparing and carrying of the sacred ark was therefore committed to designated Levites under careful order to preserve reverence for it, not to be done indiscriminately nor left to the choice of any tribe or person. That service was an honor bestowed on the Levites for their faithfulness, in that they took no part in making and worshiping the golden calf and in that they faithfully executed God's judgment and order upon the idolaters. Because God so honored them, the Levites grew ambitious for still higher office and greater influence, joining Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and the two hundred and fifty men of renown in resolving to obtain the priesthood and the government. The order instituted in Moses' time stands as an example for later generations that God's work is to be carried out in the order He established, and that disobedience to His arrangements brings serious consequences.