Mar. 5, 2007 - The 5th peg on the south side

Mar 5, 2007

Num 3:36-37 CEV
Their duties included taking care of the tent frames and the pieces that held the tent up: the bars, the posts, the stands, and its other equipment. They were also in charge of the posts that supported the courtyard, as well as their stands, tent pegs, and ropes. The Merari clans were responsible for setting these things up and taking them down.
Scriptures marked as "(CEV)" are taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1995 by American Bible Society. Used by permission.

It is so easy to read chapters like Numbers when you read through the whole Bible (you have read the whole Bible haven't you?) and just skip over chapters like the one that this verse came from. The beginning of Numbers does not lead to easy reading. What reason did God have for putting a count of the tribes of Israel in the Bible. Then He adds a count of the Levites and what their chores are. Why do I care that the Merari clan was responsible for taking down and putting up the tent pegs and ropes.

God is a God of order. When the tribes moved out they had an order they were to follow as we find out about in Chapter 2 of Numbers. Then we have the Levites and their jobs in chapter 3. The people had a job to do and they had to do it. Do you have a job to do and do it? I know sometimes I get the the job and I just want to say, why do I have to do this? Who is going to notice if I do not do real well today? What is going to happen to the world if I do not put all the effort in to the job.

So here we have the Merari clan. Some guy has a job to do every time the tabernacle moves. He has to go to the 4th tent peg on the south side. He has to pull it up after he takes off the rope and puts them away. But today, he has hard time pulling it up. He hammered it in good last time. Now it does not want to budge. Who is going to notice if he just leaves it there in the sand, maybe cover it up a little bit. So he leaves it behind and the crews load up things and they head out.

At the end of the day, they go to set things up again. The Ark cannot be set up and God move in till the tent is done. So our man moves to 4th peg on the south side and tries to figure out what to tie the rope to. There is nothing and they Ark can not be set up. Why? Because one man did not do his job to the best of his ability. Every job that every man was assigned was important. God did not assign any job that was unimportant.

Are you involved in church work? Do you feel that your job is unimportant? Guess what? You are the tent peg man on the 4th peg on the south side. Do not do your job and things will not progress they way they should in your church.

How about your job in everyday life. It too is important. If you do not do it like you should, then some how or another someone else will have to do the job. And if someone else does the job, do they really need you?

No job is unimportant and all should be done to the best of your ability.