Count all the men from thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the work in the Tent of Meeting. – Numbers 4:3

Today’s Scripture Reading (July 28, 2012): Numbers 4

I am getting old. It is not just that I am a grandfather now. (I never thought that Grandpa Mullen would be me – that was the role that DeVerne Mullen played in my family and then one that my father took over when Grandpa died.) But some things just seem to be harder to do. All night sessions used to be something that could be easily accomplished, but now they seem to take a little more out of me. Travel days used to be easy, now they seem make me a little more tired. The problem is that I really do not feel all that old – and yet there are all of these signs.

We mentioned that the task of the Levites was one that was measured out from the very beginning. And so the Levites were to be counted from the age of one month. The exception to the rule seems to be Kohathite branch of the tribe. For them, the clan was only to be counted between the ages of thirty and fifty. The reason was that these were the men responsible for the moving of the tabernacle – it was a task that needed strength and endurance – as well as the wisdom and patience to follow God in the task. And it was between these ages that the men were considered to be in their physical prime and capable to accomplish the task.

And that is just the reality of life. It is a reality that God understands. We all get older, and we all have to face the fact that there are things that we will not always be able to do. But that does not mean that we lose purpose – just that our purpose will change. Inside of the Jewish Community the older members were important. But they also had to realize that there were some things that they just could not physically do any more. And the community worked best when the community accomplished the things that they were able to do. And that is the task of all of us – including me.

   

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Numbers 5