It’s often said, “There’s no retirement in the Bible!” It’s a good sentiment: we should be about God’s work as long as he leaves us here. The statement itself, however, is not quite true:

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “This applies to the Levites: from twenty-five years old and upward they shall come to do duty in the service of the tent of meeting. And from the age of fifty years they shall withdraw from the duty of the service and serve no more. They minister to their brothers in the tent of meeting by keeping guard, but they shall do no service. Thus shall you do to the Levites in assigning their duties.” (Numbers 8.23 – 26, ESV)

The Levites served on active duty from age 25 – 50. Their duties were physical: moving the tabernacle and its furniture.

All those who were listed of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of Israel listed, by their clans and their fathers’ houses, from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come to do the service of ministry and the service of bearing burdens in the tent of meeting, those listed were 8,580. According to the commandment of the LORD through Moses they were listed, each one with his task of serving or carrying. Thus they were listed by him, as the LORD commanded Moses. (Numbers 4.46 – 49, ESV)

As an aside, note that in chapter 4 it’s age 30 – 50. In chapter 8, it’s 25 – 50. There are opinions on this discrepancy. The most reasonable appears to be that the first five years were training or doing support work. At age 30, they actually began carrying things.

In many churches and Christian organizations, people stay too long in leadership positions: the senior pastor who won’t retire, the church organist who won’t step down. (Political leaders from both major parties seem to share this problem!) This text in Numbers, while not a literal command to us today (it was guidance for the Levites!) seems to suggest that as we age, our roles should become advisory and supportive.

They may minister to their brothers… (Numbers 8.26)

Imagine the 49-year-old Levite with nearly 20 years’ experience. One day he’s the ranking guy on the team of Koathites, say, who’s in charge of carrying the Tabernacle furniture. The next day is his 50th birthday. Now he gets to serve the younger men. We move from being the doer to being the advisor and cheerleader.

I meet regularly with a young man who serves on the staff of an international youth ministry. He also is often the featured speaker at youth conferences. I wouldn’t be any good at either of those jobs, but I get to process life and ministry with him.

On a related subject, I saw this quote a few weeks ago:

The goal is to design a life that you don’t need to retire from. – Sahil Bloom, The Retirement Trap

I commend the article to you in its entirety. Maybe I’ll write something on it in the future.

In the meantime, maybe we should all give ourselves to “age-appropriate ministry” – a term I just coined! And part of our ministry at any age is to train the next generation. After all, if I KNOW that I’m not going to serve forever, best I train others, yes?

And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. (2 Timothy 2.2, NIV)

Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. (Titus 2.3 – 5, NIV)

Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office. (Hebrews 7.23, NIV)