The Sacred Burden of the Called

GOD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: Take a [separate] census of the Kohathites among the Levites, by the clans of their ancestral house, from the age of thirty years up to the age of fifty, all who are subject to service, to perform tasks for the Tent of Meeting. This is the responsibility of the Kohathites in the Tent of Meeting: the most sacred objects. At the breaking of camp, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the screening curtain and cover the Ark of the Pact with it. They shall lay a covering of dolphin uncertain. skin over it and spread a cloth of pure blue on top; and they shall put its poles in place. Over the table of display they shall spread a blue cloth; they shall place upon it the bowls, the ladles, the jars, and the libation jugs; and the regular bread shall rest upon it. They shall spread over these a crimson cloth that they shall cover with a covering of dolphin skin; and they shall put the poles in place. Then they shall take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand for lighting, with its lamps, its tongs, and its fire pans, as well as all the oil vessels that are used in its service. They shall put it and all its furnishings into a covering of dolphin skin, which they shall then place on a carrying frame. Next they shall spread a blue cloth over the altar of gold and cover it with a covering of dolphin skin; and they shall put its poles in place. They shall take all the service vessels with which the service in the sanctuary is performed, put them into a blue cloth and cover them with a covering of dolphin skin, which they shall then place on a carrying frame. They shall remove the ashes from the [copper] altar and spread a purple cloth over it. Upon it they shall place all the vessels that are used in its service: the fire pans, the flesh hooks, the scrapers, and the basins—all the vessels of the altar—and over it they shall spread a covering of dolphin skin; and they shall put its poles in place. When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sacred objects and all the furnishings of the sacred objects at the breaking of camp, only then shall the Kohathites come and lift them, so that they do not come in contact with the sacred objects and die. These things in the Tent of Meeting shall be the porterage of the Kohathites. Responsibility shall rest with Eleazar son of Aaron the priest for the lighting oil, the aromatic incense, the regular grain offering, and the anointing oil—responsibility for the whole Tabernacle and for everything consecrated that is in it or in its vessels. GOD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: Do not let the group of Kohathite clans be cut off from the Levites. Do this with them, that they may live and not die when they approach the most sacred objects: let Aaron and his sons go in and assign every one of them, in turn, to his duties and to his porterage. But let not [the Kohathites] go inside and witness the dismantling of the sanctuary, lest they die. GOD spoke to Moses: Take a census of the Gershonites also, by their ancestral house and by their clans. Record them from the age of thirty years up to the age of fifty, all who are subject to service in the performance of tasks for the Tent of Meeting. These are the duties of the Gershonite clans as to labor and porterage: they shall carry the cloths of the Tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting with its covering, the covering of dolphin skin that is on top of it, and the screen for the entrance of the Tent of Meeting; the hangings of the enclosure, the screen at the entrance of the gate of the enclosure that surrounds the Tabernacle, the cords thereof, and the altar, and all their service equipment and all their accessories; and they shall perform the service. All the duties of the Gershonites, all their porterage and all their service, shall be performed on orders from Aaron and his sons; you shall make them responsible for attending to all their porterage. Those are the duties of the Gershonite clans for the Tent of Meeting; they shall attend to them under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest. As for the Merarites, you shall record them by the clans of their ancestral house; you shall record them from the age of thirty years up to the age of fifty, all who are subject to service in the performance of the duties for the Tent of Meeting. These are their porterage tasks in connection with their various duties for the Tent of Meeting: the planks, the bars, the posts, and the sockets of the Tabernacle; the posts around the enclosure and their sockets, pegs, and cords—all these furnishings and their service: you shall list by name the objects that are their porterage tasks. Those are the duties of the Merarite clans, pertaining to their various duties in the Tent of Meeting under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest. So Moses, Aaron, and the chieftains of the community recorded the Kohathites by the clans of their ancestral house, from the age of thirty years up to th

Numbers 4:1–20 records the LORD's careful instruction about how the Kohathites were to approach — and carefully cover — the most sacred furnishings of the Tabernacle. Aaron and his sons had to wrap each item in layers of cloth and hide it from view before the bearers could lift it on its poles. The Kohathites themselves were never to look upon the holy objects uncovered; their service was an act of trust in a God who hid Himself in order to be carried safely with His people.