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Numbers 3:38
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36 And athe appointed duty of the children of Merari included the boards of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, its utensils, all the work relating to them,  
37 and the pillars of the court all around, with their sockets, their pegs, and their cords.
38 aMoreover those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tabernacle of meeting, were Moses, Aaron, and his sons, bkeeping charge of the sanctuary, cto meet the needs of the children of Israel; but dthe outsider who came near was to be put to death.  
39 aAll who were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the commandment of the Lord, by their families, all the males from a month old and above, were twenty-two thousand.  

Levites Dedicated Instead of the Firstborn

40 Then the Lord said to Moses: a“Number all the firstborn males of the children of Israel from a month old and above, and take the number of their names.  
Commentaries:


No entry exists in Forerunner Commentary for Numbers 3:38.

Numbers 3:38

Just hold that in your mind a little bit. The priests were camped right in front of the tabernacle door, and the only door into the tabernacle was on the east side.

So all the Jews were on this side, all the Reubenites were on that side, all the Ephraimites were on that side, and all the Danites were on the other side, but the Levites camped inside those other twelve, and circled the entire tabernacle. Then inside, closer—in fact right in front of the door of the tabernacle—all of the sons of Aaron (the descendants of Aaron, the priests) camped right in front of the door.

Remember that both the priests and the Levites were instructed to kill anybody who made an unauthorized attempt at entry. What God did was establish three walls of defense to protect against any unauthorized attempt to enter. The first wall was the outer ring around the entire tabernacle, consisting of the twelve tribes, that could at least prevent an unauthorized intrusion from Gentiles (because everything inside was Israelites.)

The second wall consisted of the Levites, and they could defend against illegal intrusion by any Gentile who might slip through, and also against any illegal intrusion by any Israelite who came from the other twelve tribes. And then there was an inner wall of priests massed right in front of the door to prevent anyone except a priest from entering. Taken together they were like the cherubim guarding Eden. Together, what they were doing, was guarding the way to the Tree of Life which you and I are allowed access to.

Excerpted from Knowing God: Formality and Customs (Part 2)

 
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