And behold, I have taken your brothers the Levites from among the people of Israel. They are a gift to you, given to the LORD, to do the service of the tent of meeting. And you and your sons with you shall guard your priesthood for all that concerns the altar and that is within the veil; and you shall serve. I give your priesthood as a gift, and any outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”
The tribe of Levi, Aaron’s tribe, was to be the gift from God to Aaron as the High Priest. The tribe was to be the only tribe that did the service of God in the Tabernacle. They would have specific roles and responsibilities to carry out in their service for God. The last line of the above passage is ominous. God is giving them a warning that only the tribe of Levi was to be in this high service for the nation. No other tribe could be engaged in this work. We read about this earlier in the book of Numbers:
Numbers 3:10 (ESV)
And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall guard their priesthood. But if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.”
The Levi did not even camp the same way at the rest of the tribes. They all camped around the Tabernacle and the Levi’s tents were inside and behind the other tribes.
The tribe of Levi’s inheritance was that of service to God. Remember Uzzi was with David as they moved the Tabernacle. He was not from the tribe of Levi and he touched the Arch of the Covenant. It was instantly struck dead. God wanted the nation to know that the Tabernacle was to be handled in the right way and by the right people. Levi was a gift of service to God. We are that gift today. We are the ones who are to be the ministers of God. We have been declared holy and holy in our service. We are still supposed to approach God in fear and awe:
Hebrews 12:28-29 (ESV)
Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.
No comments:
Post a Comment