Numbers 8:25–26: “And at the age of fifty years they must cease performing this work, and shall work no more. They may minister with their brethren in the tabernacle of meeting, to attend to needs, but they themselves shall do no work. Thus you shall do to the Levites regarding their duties.”

January 18th, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

What about retirement in the Kingdom of God? Why were the Levites supposed to retire at age 50? The issue was heavy manual labor. Moving the tabernacle and its heavy articles of furniture across the wilderness required physical strength; so it was to be left to the younger priests. Notice that the older priests were to assist with various light duties and to help the younger men with advice and counsel. God was making provision for the older men to remain engaged in the work of the Kingdom of God.

There may be a medical reason for older saints to stay connected. Dr. Charles H. Hennekens of Harvard Medical School says, according to at least one important study, that retirement increases a man’s risk of dying of heart attack. “We found an 80 percent higher rate of death from CHD (coronary heart disease) among those in the study who had retired compared with those who had not.” Perhaps the Lord has built within humanity a need to remain active and to give away what has been learned during a life of service to the Lord.

Author Elizabeth Elliot, wife of Ecuador missionary martyr Jim Elliot, tells in her book Passion and Purity, of her first date with him. They went to a missionary meeting at Moody Church in Chicago where the speaker was one of the daughters of the famous missionary to Africa, C.T. Studd. She told of her father’s last hours. “He lay on his cot, gazing around the little hut and at his few possessions. ‘I wish I had something to leave to each of you,’ he said to the handful of people present, ‘but I gave it all to Jesus long ago.'”

Perhaps in these verses we find an important insight for older believers. It is wise to choose to remain active in the Kingdom of God, both spiritually and physically. It seems there is no complete retirement in the Kingdom, only a move from physical labor to a labor of advice and counsel to younger believers. Paul wrote of this to Titus: “These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children” (Titus 2:4).

“LORD help us to finish well as we serve You all the days of our lives.”

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Numbers 8 KJV

¹ And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, ² Speak unto Aaron, and say unto him, When thou lightest the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light over against the candlestick. ³ And Aaron did so; he lighted the lamps thereof over against the candlestick, as the LORD commanded Moses. ⁴ And this work of the candlestick was of beaten gold, unto the shaft thereof, unto the flowers thereof, was beaten work: according unto the pattern which the LORD had shewed Moses, so he made the candlestick. ⁵ And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, ⁶ Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them. ⁷ And thus shalt thou do unto them, to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of purifying upon them, and let them shave all their flesh, and let them wash their clothes, and so make themselves clean.  ⁸ Then let them take a young bullock with his meat offering, even fine flour mingled with oil, and another young bullock shalt thou take for a sin offering. ⁹ And thou shalt bring the Levites before the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt gather the whole assembly of the children of Israel together: ¹⁰ And thou shalt bring the Levites before the LORD: and the children of Israel shall put their hands upon the Levites: ¹¹ And Aaron shall offer the Levites before the LORD for an offering of the children of Israel, that they may execute the service of the LORD.    ¹² And the Levites shall lay their hands upon the heads of the bullocks: and thou shalt offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, unto the LORD, to make an atonement for the Levites. ¹³ And thou shalt set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them for an offering unto the LORD. ¹⁴ Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the children of Israel: and the Levites shall be mine. ¹⁵ And after that shall the Levites go in to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt cleanse them, and offer them for an offering. ¹⁶ For they are wholly given unto me from among the children of Israel; instead of such as open every womb, even instead of the firstborn of all the children of Israel, have I taken them unto me. ¹⁷ For all the firstborn of the children of Israel are mine, both man and beast: on the day that I smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for myself. ¹⁸ And I have taken the Levites for all the firstborn of the children of Israel. ¹⁹ And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the tabernacle of the congregation, and to make an atonement for the children of Israel: that there be no plague among the children of Israel, when the children of Israel come nigh unto the sanctuary.  ²⁰ And Moses, and Aaron, and all the congregation of the children of Israel, did to the Levites according unto all that the LORD commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did the children of Israel unto them. ²¹ And the Levites were purified, and they washed their clothes; and Aaron offered them as an offering before the LORD; and Aaron made an atonement for them to cleanse them. ²² And after that went the Levites in to do their service in the tabernacle of the congregation before Aaron, and before his sons: as the LORD had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did they unto them. ²³ And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, ²⁴ This is it that belongeth unto the Levites: from twenty and five years old and upward they shall go in to wait upon the service of the tabernacle of the congregation:  ²⁵ And from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting upon the service thereof , and shall serve no more:  ²⁶ But shall minister with their brethren in the tabernacle of the congregation, to keep the charge, and shall do no service. Thus shalt thou do unto the Levites touching their charge.