This is what pertains to the Levites: from twenty and five years old and upward they shall go in to wait upon the service of the tabernacle of meeting:
All Commentaries on Numbers 8:24 Go To Numbers 8
Pacian of Barcelona
AD 391
What is indicated by the twentyfifth year, in which the flower of young manhood blooms, except those battles against every vice? And what is meant by fifty, which contains the repose of the jubilee, except the internal peace that comes when the war of the mind is won? What do the vessels of the tabernacle mean, except the souls of the faithful? Hence the Levites serve the tabernacle from their twentyfifth year, and from their fiftieth year they become the keepers of the vessels. This means that those who are still struggling with vices and risk consenting to them should not presume to undertake the care of others. For when the elect are still subject to temptation, they must be subjected and engage in service and grow tired through their duties and labors. But when they have won the war against temptations and are secure in their inner tranquillity, they are given the care of souls. For in the tranquil age of the mind, when the heat of temptation abates, they are guardians of the vessels and become healers of souls. Exposition of the Old and New Testament, Numbers
