…There was a line repeated 8 times, 6 times as “everyone who could come on duty,” and then twice at the very end as “everyone who could come to do the service of ministry and the service of bearing burdens in the tent of meeting.” This is the key line for this passage. That line was stated twice for each of the three tribes of Levi and then that unique phrasing for the whole of Levi at the end.
God gave this work of serving Israel by guarding and keeping the tent of meeting to men, the descendants of Levi, ages 30-50, who could handle the requirements of that work. And that’s the principle for this text. God asks of you what you can perform. Now, let’s clarify that statement. I’ve heard it says that God never gives you more than you can handle. And I’ve heard it said that God always gives you more than you can handle. Which one of those statements is true? Both, depending on your perspective.
God designates your duties to you based on his grace and power working in you. So, he always gives more than your mere human frame can accomplish in your own strength, but he never gives more than he will accomplish through you. I think of the memory verse on the weekly bulletin from 1 Timothy 1:12. Paul says, “I thank him who has given me strength…appointing me to his service.” God’s strength comes before our service, because our salvation begins with God calling us into communion with him.
So, we might say that God gives tasks to everyone who can come on duty, to the limit of our ability and God’s strength working in us. This might seem like too simple a principle for preaching. But we need to know both sides of this coin. First, if you want to know the work God has given you, you must look beyond your own strength. Second, knowing that God calls us to what we are able, gives us confidence in our struggles in those tasks…
