(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
Numbers 4: 21-28, “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Take also the sum of the sons of Gershon, throughout the houses of their fathers, by their families; From thirty years old and upward until fifty years old shalt thou number them; all that enter in to perform the service, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation. This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, to serve, and for burdens: And they shall bear the curtains of the tabernacle, and the tabernacle of the congregation, his covering, and the covering of the badgers’ skins that is above upon it, and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, And the hangings of the court, and the hanging for the door of the gate of the court, which is by the tabernacle and by the altar round about, and their cords, and all the instruments of their service, and all that is made for them: so shall they serve. At the appointment of Aaron and his sons shall be all the service of the sons of the Gershonites, in all their burdens, and in all their service: and ye shall appoint unto them in charge all their burdens. This is the service of the families of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of the congregation: and their charge shall be under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.”
When the Tabernacle was disassembled for transport, the Lord established a proper procedure to protect all the individuals involved in the process. The entire structure was covered with multiple layers to protect the items inside. This protection was both physical and spiritual. The items in the holy and holiest places were of enormous value both in material terms and in religious terms. So much so, that no one apart from the priests, or just the high priest in some instances, were entitled to look on these holy items and live. We saw, earlier, the the authorised priests would go into the Temple and cover the most sacred items them lay them on staves for carrying. In this way those people were protected from the Lord’s wrath. However, once these items were prepared and protected them someone needed to come and dismantle the Tabernacle itself. This task was allocated to another clan in the the tribe of Levi. They wouldn’t have to fear any Divine judgment because the most holy items were already protected from sinful eyes. Everything had been designed and constructed according to the Lord’s plans so everything could be taken down in precise order and packed away for travel. This particular group was responsible for all the items made out of cloth or animals skins.
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