181 So the Lord said to Aaron , "You and your sons and your father's household with you shall bear the guilt in connection with the sanctuary , and you and your sons with you shall bear the guilt in connection with your priesthood . 2 "But bring with you also your brothers , the tribe of Levi , the tribe of your father , that they may be joined with you and serve you, while you and your sons with you are before the tent of the testimony . 3 "And they shall thus attend to your obligation and the obligation of all the tent , but they shall not come near to the furnishings of the sanctuary and the altar , or both they and you will die . 4 "They shall be joined with you and attend to the obligations of the tent of meeting , for all the service of the tent ; but an outsider may not come near you. 5 "So you shall attend to the obligations of the sanctuary and the obligations of the altar , so that there will no longer be wrath on the sons of Israel . 6 "Behold , I Myself have taken your fellow Levites from among the sons of Israel ; they are a gift to you, dedicated to the Lord , to perform the service for the tent of meeting . 7 "But you and your sons with you shall attend to your priesthood for everything concerning the altar and inside e the veil , and you are to perform service . I am giving you the priesthood as a bestowed service , but the outsider who comes near shall be put to death ."
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Numbers 18:1-7
Commentary on Numbers 18:1-7
(Read Numbers 18:1-7)
The people complained of their difficulty and peril in drawing near to God. God here gives them to understand, that the priests should come near for them. Aaron would see reason not to be proud of his preferment, when he considered the great care and charge upon him. Be not high-minded, but fear. The greater the trust of work and power that is committed to us, the greater danger there is of betraying that trust. This is a good reason why we should neither envy others' honours, nor desire high places.