Imagine the excitement. Israel is in the wilderness. They have received the law from God, which is the covenant God made with them. The end goal of that covenant, in fact, the very purpose of the exodus itself, was the tabernacle: God would dwell with his people. The Book of Exodus, which we normally think of as the story of Israel leaving Egypt, is really the Book of the Tabernacle. It has 40 chapters. Chapters 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, and 30 describe in great detail how the tabernacle and its furnishings were to be constructed. That’s six chapters out of 40. Then chapters 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, and 40 describe in great detail how the tabernacle and its furnishings were actually constructed, largely repeating the same information. Twelve chapters out of 40 describe the tabernacle. The tabernacle, then, is a significant reason for the exodus from Egypt!
The tabernacle was the place where God would dwell among his people. No other nation had this. No other nation on earth had God dwelling in its midst the way YHWH God of Israel would dwell among the Israelites. The tabernacle was where his presence was manifested, which provided for the protection of the Israelites, for while God was in their midst, he is holy and they were not. The tabernacle enabled God to be close, but not too close. God gave them the priesthood to serve the people, for their own protection.
When the tabernacle was finished, the people of Israel were to bring offerings for the tabernacle. They would present them by tribe beginning with Judah, then according to their arrangement in the camp, ending with Naphtali. Before the tribes bring their individual offerings, the twelve tribal chiefs presented a group offering.
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Accept these from them, that they may be used in the service of the tent of meeting, and give them to the Levites, to each man according to his service.” So Moses took the wagons and the oxen and gave them to the Levites. Two wagons and four oxen he gave to the sons of Gershon, according to their service. And four wagons and eight oxen he gave to the sons of Merari, according to their service, under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. But to the sons of Kohath he gave none, because they were charged with the service of the holy things that had to be carried on the shoulder.
Numbers 7:4-9 ESV
When I read this a couple days ago I was struck by it. The Levites as a tribe were set apart by God for service to the entire nation. They did not receive an allotment of land like the other tribes. Instead, they were given cities throughout the land, that they might serve the entire people. There were three major groups within Levi: the Gershonites, the Merarites, and the Kohathites. The Gershonites were given responsibility for the soft materials of the tabernacle: the tent coverings, the veils, the curtains, etc. The Merarites were given responsibility for the physical structure of the tabernacle: the frames, the bars, the pillars—all the load-bearing parts. The Kohathites were given responsibility for the most holy objects: the ark of the covenant, the lampstand, the altar, etc. Aaron’s sons were a subgroup within the Kohathites and would serve as priests in the tabernacle.
Notice what’s happening in this text. The tribal chiefs bring six wagons and twelve oxen for the Levites to use in service of the tabernacle. Moses gave two wagons and four oxen to the sons of Gershon, that they may transport the soft materials used in the tabernacle. He gave four wagons and eight oxen to the sons of Merari, that they may transport the heavy framework of the tabernacle. Finally, Moses gave no wagons and no oxen to the Kohathites, “because they were charged with the service of the holy things that had to be carried on the shoulder”.
Whenever the tabernacle was moved, poles were inserted into the rings built into the ark of the covenant and the ark was carried on the shoulders via these poles. The same was true of the altar and the Table of the Bread of the Presence and the lampstand. These items were so holy the Kohathites could not carry them until the priests had covered them. They weren’t allowed to look upon them uncovered! Because they were to be carried on poles they didn’t need wagons or oxen.
It is clear that God gave each group of Levites precisely what they needed in order to serve him. On the surface the sons of Merari received twice as many “resources” as the sons of Gershon, while the sons of Kohath didn’t receive any! This is because the Kohathites already had everything they needed to transport the furniture of the tabernacle. God gave each of them precisely what they needed in order to serve him.
This is striking to me. It’s easy to look around at other churches with fewer resources and wonder why we have so many! It’s also easy to look around at other churches with greater levels of resources and wonder why we don’t have them. The reality is God has given us the resources we need to do the work he has assigned us to do. Some churches simply have more wagons and oxen! I’m thrilled that Calvary Church, for example, has the resources for the numerous ministries they offer. We could never hope to match the sheer scope of what they are able to do! At the same time, Calvary could never hope to be as integrated into the immediate community as we are. God has given us different—though complementary!—assignments and has provided the “wagons and oxen” needed for those assignments.
But then we read the rest of Numbers 7! The tribes had joined together to give the wagons and oxen. Each tribe then brought its gifts to be used in the tabernacle, that is, to be used in worship. We read a detailed description of the first offering given, this one by the tribe of Judah.
He who offered his offering the first day was Nahshon the son of Amminadab, of the tribe of Judah. And his offering was one silver plate whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver basin of 70 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; one golden dish of 10 shekels, full of incense; one bull from the herd, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; one male goat for a sin offering; and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Nahshon the son of Amminadab.
Numbers 7:12-17 ESV
The dishes and grain and incense and animals were given for worship. The weight of the dishes is precisely given. What is truly profound is Moses then describes the offering given by the tribe of Issachar on the second day, the tribe of Zebulun on the third day, etc, on down to the twelfth day in which Naphtali gives its offering for worship. If you simply change the name of the tribal chief and the tribe, the descriptions of their offerings given to the service of worship in the tabernacle are exactly the same. The chapter is 89 verses long, and is almost entirely a verbatim repeat of the previous tribe’s gift. Regardless of the size or relative prosperity of a tribe, each tribe’s offering was identical: a silver plate weighing 130 shekels and a silver basin weighing 70 shekels, each of which were filled with oil and flour for a grain offering; a golden dish full of incense; a bull, a ram, and a year-old lamb for a burnt offering; a male goat for a sin offering; two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs for peace offerings. To say this another way, while the three major Levitical clans were given different resources according to their responsibilities, each tribe gave exactly the same for the tabernacle. That is, each tribe offered to God the exact same worship.
When we think of churches and resources, some churches are larger and have been entrusted with more. Some churches are smaller and have been entrusted with less. This isn’t an issue of trustworthiness, any more that we can say the sons of Kohath were less trustworthy than the sons of Gershon. They were simply given different responsibilities. Each tribe offered to God the same worship, just as each church, regardless of resources or areas of ministry and outreach, offers to God the same worship.
When we read the Book of Exodus and discover that nearly a third of the book details the tabernacle, we’re struck by the importance of the tabernacle. When we read the repetition of Numbers 7, we’re also struck by the importance of what the tribes offered. Moses could have given the details of Judah’s offering and said, “Each of the other tribes brought the exact same offering to the tabernacle”. He did not, however. It was important to note the weight of the silver plate and silver basin, the amount of flour and oil, the gold dish and incense, and the various animals for the various offerings. While resources for service to the tabernacle differed, the worship offered by each tribe did not.
As Americans we’re so used to thinking that bigger is better or more is better. We hear this idea when we ask someone, “How big is your church”, as if the size of the church determined the worship being offered. Yes, larger churches have more “wagons and oxen”, for they have bigger and more numerous responsibilities, yet the worship they offer the Lord is the same worship that a tiny storefront church with a bi-vocational pastor offers the Lord. Naphtali was the last tribe to present its offering, yet Naphtali gave the same offering as Judah. The ordering of the tribes, apart from Judah, was simply based on their location in the camp—determined entirely by God himself.
Some churches are assigned massive campuses and multimillion-dollar budgets while others are assigned a tiny storefront without a full-time elder. Larger churches can offer more specialized ministries to various groups while smaller churches tend to be able to reach more marginalized peoples. Most churches are in between these two extremes. Regardless of the assigned ministries and regardless of the assigned resources, the worship offered inside the multimillion-dollar building and the worship inside the rundown storefront in the “sketchy” part of town is the same. Each church brings the same silver plate and silver basin, the same oil and grain offering, the same golden dish filled with incense, the same sacrifices.
The basis for worship is not found in the number of ministries a church offers. The importance of worship is not found in the musicality of those who sing and play instruments, or even the quality of the instruments being played. The depth of worship is not found in the richness or ornateness of the physical structure. The sheer beauty of worship is found in the one being worshiped.
Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
Hebrews 13:15-16 ESV
Under all the external stuff, behind all the ministries various churches engage in, undergirding all the gifts and offerings we bring is a heart of worship that acknowledges the greatness of our God. We worship the Lord Jesus and while the expression of that worship may differ greatly between that megachurch auditorium and that tiny storefront, the one being worshiped is just as beautiful, just as worthy of being worshiped. It comes down to this: God isn’t after the externals of worship. He desires the heart of worship, a life lived for his glory. We have been given all the resources necessary for us to worship God in this way, for we have been given Jesus.
New City Church has been given time and opportunities and the necessary resources to do what God has given us to do. There is no point wasting time lamenting what we do not have or for gloating over what we do have. The Lord has determined what we have and need. Let us use all he has given us for its intended purpose by living a life of worship, a life that points others to him. Such sacrifices are pleasing to him.