Num 4:49    At the LORD's command through Moses, each was assigned his work and told what to carry.

Who were the ‘each' spoken of here? They were the Levites, the men from the tribe of Levi whose job it was to carry and erect the Tabernacle, the place of meeting with God before Israel entered the Promised Land. This was their role in life, decreed by the Lord. Providing a place for God to dwell in the midst of His people was considered so important that all these eight thousand plus men had it as their sole role in life.

 

In the New Testament we find, “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” (Eph 4:11,12). The ‘he' here is Jesus and this is the equivalent to what we find in Numbers. It is God who decrees who will serve in what way in the church and He conveys it now through Jesus as He had through Moses. The role of these ‘ministries' is to enable the church to be equipped to be the people of God, a temple for God, a dwelling place where God expresses Himself.

 

We are what we are because God designates our role. Perhaps, therefore, one of the most important things we can do is seek the Lord to find out what ‘good works' (Eph 2:10 ) He has on His heart for us, the role He has for us to play in the work of His kingdom.