““Of all the people of Israel, the Levites are reserved for me. I have claimed them for myself in place of all the firstborn sons of the Israelites; I have taken the Levites as their substitutes. For all the firstborn males among the people of Israel are mine, both of people and of animals. I set them apart for myself on the day I struck down all the firstborn sons of the Egyptians. Yes, I have claimed the Levites in place of all the firstborn sons of Israel. And of all the Israelites, I have assigned the Levites to Aaron and his sons. They will serve in the Tabernacle on behalf of the Israelites and make sacrifices to purify the people so no plague will strike them when they approach the sanctuary.””
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Numbers‬ ‭8‬:‭16‬-‭19‬ ‭NLT

The concept of penal substitutionary atonement is not rampant throughout scripture. Here we see that the Levites were not merely tabernacle workers. They were representations of a larger narrative about sin. Namely that the Hebrew people were bought with a price that is too hard to bear. In this case, two things are happening, the Levites are both paying for the sins of the people, and taking them on. Notice that the burden on the Levites is one that vastly sets them apart. They have a very disciplined lifestyle. They have a specific diet, and relegated responsibilities. Yet, there is grace in this task because they are not ostracized or shamed. This, even when that task has them interacting with things that are ceremonially unclean. This is of course a large portion of their service. In fact, one could even say that this is appropriate for their type of priesthood given the way it began. We can’t forget that not only did Aaron flame the rebellion at Sinai, but then his tribe turned on those he had flamed. They then became a priesthood when they killed those whom they led. This makes it entirely appropriate that they ought to now be covered in blood, daily sacrificing and being a placeholder for sins. They all deserved each other.

Levites’ Role: Represented the Hebrew people’s sin and paid for it through their service.

Levites’ Burden: Had a disciplined lifestyle, specific diet, and handled ceremonially unclean things, but with grace.

Origin of Levitical Priesthood: Aaron’s tribe became priests after killing those who they led in a rebellion against God, solidifying their responsibility as a placeholder for sins.