Tim Maas Supporter Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

My understanding is that the limitation cited in the question applied (as indicated in the question itself) only to the Levites (rather than to the priests descended from Aaron). (The Levites were responsible for the maintenance of the Tabernacle (the tent that God told Moses (in Exodus 25-30) to fabricate for worship purposes), while the priests descended from Aaron performed actual worship services or activities.)

The age limitation grew from the fact that the Tabernacle was not a permanent structure (which meant that it had to be repeatedly erected and then taken down again so that it could be moved), and its furnishings also had to be moved from place to place whenever the Israelite nation relocated, which involved considerable manual labor. As a result, only Levites below the age of fifty were assigned to that work for reasons of both having workers with optimum strength, and minimizing risks to the physical well-being of older Levites resulting from the possibility of injury caused by over-exertion.

June 04 2020 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jack Gutknecht Supporter Arizona Bible College graduate and Dallas Seminary graduate

Fantastic question, Phil! Numbers 8:23-26 This brief section contains instructions about what to do when a Levite reaches 50 years old, the age of retirement.

25. from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting upon the service thereof, etc.—that is, on the laborious and exhausting parts of their work. 

"and at the age of fifty years they must retire from performing the work and may no longer work" (Numbers 8:25).

Tabernacle duty was hard work. It included dismantling, moving--which involved lifting, no doubt--and reassembling the tabernacle when the camp moved to another spot. It was best for the work to be done by this age group,--Num. 8:24-25 "men twenty-five years old or more," both for the efficiency of the work and for the protection of the priests themselves. 

And yes, this is just referring to the Levites when it comes to retirement: 
"and at the age of fifty years, they must retire from performing the work and may no longer work" (Numbers 8:25). This is the viewpoint, I believe, of what may be the best Hebrew commentary on the Old Testament, the 10 volumes of Keil & Delitzsch, which I owned for years (now BibleHub has it).

My pastor from our Scottsdale Bible Church is stepping down at age 62. He said in last Sunday's sermon the reason for it, and he cited this passage in Numbers 8. He said, "[So] maybe the book of Numbers, chapter eight, verse twenty-five, is correct when it limits the priest’s leadership involvement to the tent of meeting, which was the forerunner to temple, to age fifty. It does not suggest that the post fifty year old priest does nothing. No, the text says, and Jamie quotes verse twenty-six, “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.” KJV So there is a role for the older guy, but it is not the lead role anymore. Pastor Jamie will no longer be the lead pastor at our church but will be handing off the baton to a younger man that he has been mentoring. Pastor Jamie will be taking on a lesser role but will still work 40 hours/week. It will be far less stress on his body and his family. And better for the church, because as he also said in his sermon, the pastor of any church seems to attract people from10 years younger than himself to 10 years older...

June 04 2020 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report