Instead, appoint the Levites to be in charge of the tabernacle of the covenant law—over all its furnishings and everything belonging to it. They are to carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings; they are to take care of it and encamp around it. – Numbers 1:52

Today's Scripture Reading (November 25, 2021): Numbers 1

It is always a good idea to know who is responsible for doing what whenever you go on a road trip. That way, hopefully, nothing gets missed. When I was in my late teens, I went on a road trip with twenty-some other teenagers and a few adults. The road trip would last almost two weeks and involved traveling on a big yellow bus. The Bus driver was my pastor, someone with whom I loved to spend time. His job was to drive the bus. Most of us were just along for the ride; maybe our job on the road trip was just not to get into too much trouble.

But we overlooked one thing. And looking back on that trip, it is something that I cannot believe that twenty-some teens would forget. No one brought any music. Can you imagine a two-week road trip with a bunch of teens and no music? Yeah, it sounds like a definition of hell. Actually, that is not quite true. Among all of us who traveled on that yellow bus, there was one cassette tape. It happened to be a decade-old release by B. J. Thomas, you know, that guy who sang "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head." In fact, "Raindrops" was one of the songs on the tape. Throughout the road trip, we got to hear B. J. Thomas singing "Raindrops keep fallin' on my head, and just like the guy whose feet are too big for his bed, Nothing seems to fit," over and over and over again. That road trip is over forty years in the past, but I still can't listen to anything that is sung by B. J. Thomas.

Israel was about to embark on a road trip that would last for the better part of the next forty years. And if it was going to work, everyone had to understand for what they were responsible. The leaders of the tribes needed to know how the camp needed to be set up, along with where the tribes were to pitch their tents. But everything was to be organized around where the tabernacle would be set up. And when it came to setting up the tabernacle, it was the Levites who would be totally in charge. They would carry the various pieces of the tabernacle, they would be the ones to find the place to set the tabernacle up, and they would be the ones to do the work. No one else would help them; it wasn't their job. The Levites were the ones who understood what needed to be done and the ritual involved in setting up the tabernacle. The Levites understood how every piece of the tabernacle needed to be treated to show respect for God. This was their job and their responsibility. Levites would lead the way by setting up the tabernacle in a particular place, and then the rest of the tribes would follow their lead and set up their tents as had been prescribed by Moses. For the road trip to be a success, everyone needed to understand their responsibility, and devote their efforts to making their duty, their priority.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Numbers 2