Numbers 10

Being Holy Part II

1. Judah
2. Issachar
3. Zebulun
4. Gershonites and Merarites (Levites responsible for the temple)
5. Reuben
6. Simeon
7. Gad
8. Kohathites (Levites responsible for the holy things)
9. Ephraim
10. Manasseh
11. Benjamin
12. Dan
13. Asher
14. Naphtali

This is the order in which the Israelites set out whenever they traveled. In Numbers 7, we learned that God gave the Kohathites nothing, no carts or oxen, and asked them to bear the weight of the holy things on their own shoulders. Yet here, God almost seems to highlight the importance of their task and make provision for them. They are sandwiched almost exactly in the middle of the entire company of Israel as if God is expecting the others to protect the weakest part of the company as they travel carrying the holy things of the Lord.

When God asks me to do a seemingly impossible task and to bear the weight of the holy things on my own shoulders, may I remember that even though it seems like he has given me no special provisions to make my task easier, like He does with the Kohathites, He will provide for and protect me in His own way. May I also rely on the community He has placed around me and allow them to use their gifts to help me fulfill my calling before God.