I’ve been told that 50 is the new 40. I’m not sure I believe that, but it seems logical given advances in medicine, fitness, diet, and longevity.
Also those awesome Instagram filters. They can make anyone look young.
Unfortunately, that was not the case for the Levites, who were told across the board (priests, Gershonites, Merarites, Kohathites) that they were required to retire by the age of 50.
In our society, it’s almost impossible to understand this thinking. Most people I know work until well into their 60’s (if not longer); to retire before the age of 50 is a fantasy for the common man. There are even online movements dedicated to this idea of an early retirement, such as FIRE.
It seems odd then that God would require people who are still physically capable of everyday labor to retire well below their strength fully diminishes. Especially when you consider that Moses didn’t die until he was 120, when, to quote Deuteronomy 34:7, “his eye was not dim nor his vigor abated.” The same could be said for someone like Caleb (Joshua 14:6-12).
To understand this, we have to look into what the job actually entails. Being a Levite was much more physically intensive than we might think.
For the priests, the daily tasks involved slaughtering enormous animals, hauling their carcass across the yard, and cleaning up after the sacrifices. They taught daily and handled the spiritual purity of the camp. And they did this every single day.
The jobs of the Gershonites, Merarites, and Kohathites were not much easier. As “support” Levites, they were tasked with handling the fixtures of the Tabernacle, moving the holy objects, transporting items (many of which were made of gold). In Temple times, everything was much heavier and required much more attention.
It makes sense that the work has to stop at some point, so fifty was a logical age with which to cap Levitical service.
But there was another reason why God wanted Levites to step away. At the age of 50, you have sufficient experience and wisdom to shift into a mentorship role for the current and existing Levites.
This is mentioned in Numbers 8: They are to ‘assist their brothers in the Tent of Meeting.” If physical labor is assumed to be off the table, then one of the only things left is acting in advisory roles.
Retirement is seen by many in our culture as a time to take it easy. Slap on those Bermuda shirts and hit as many cruises as possible.
But that’s not how God saw it. The shift into “retirement” for priests simply meant leveraging a different part of your skill set. When you’re young, your primary asset is strength. When you’re older, it’s wisdom (Proverbs 20:29).
God simply wants to activate the part of you that will have the greatest impact at different points in your life.
