Slices
Prepare
Think of some of the ways in which you serve God in the church and the world. Thank God for this privilege.
Bible passage
The Levites
3 This is the account of the family of Aaron and Moses at the time the Lord spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai.
2 The names of the sons of Aaron were Nadab the firstborn and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 3 Those were the names of Aaron’s sons, the anointed priests, who were ordained to serve as priests. 4 Nadab and Abihu, however, died before the Lord when they made an offering with unauthorised fire before him in the Desert of Sinai. They had no sons, so Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests during the lifetime of their father Aaron.
5 The Lord said to Moses, 6 ‘Bring the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron the priest to assist him. 7 They are to perform duties for him and for the whole community at the tent of meeting by doing the work of the tabernacle. 8 They are to take care of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, fulfilling the obligations of the Israelites by doing the work of the tabernacle. 9 Give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are the Israelites who are to be given wholly to him. 10 Appoint Aaron and his sons to serve as priests; anyone else who approaches the sanctuary is to be put to death.’
11 The Lord also said to Moses, 12 ‘I have taken the Levites from among the Israelites in place of the first male offspring of every Israelite woman. The Levites are mine, 13 for all the firstborn are mine. When I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, I set apart for myself every firstborn in Israel, whether human or animal. They are to be mine. I am the Lord.’
14 The Lord said to Moses in the Desert of Sinai, 15 ‘Count the Levites by their families and clans. Count every male a month old or more.’ 16 So Moses counted them, as he was commanded by the word of the Lord
Explore
The pilgrims are preparing to travel (see Numbers 1–2). Fighting men are counted. Tribes are arranged in the camp. The tribe of Levi is counted for a different purpose. Their job is to support the priests in maintaining the tabernacle (v 7). They have been especially set apart in place of Israel’s firstborn (vs 12,13).
Yet the privilege of serving God comes with responsibility. He is a holy God. Being a Levite or even a son of Aaron does not guarantee protection if wrong attitudes lead to sinful actions (v 4). Beware of messing with God or he might mess with you!
As Christians, we can be thankful that the warning of verse 10 no longer applies. Why? ‘We have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus’ (Hebrews 10:19). Freely coming to God is possible, serving him becomes a joy. Yet such service must be curated with care. Even the best of our efforts can be spoiled if driven by selfish motives. Like the Levites we must ensure our lives are given ‘wholly to him’ (v 9).
Respond
Pray (or sing) these words from this hymn: ‘All to Jesus I surrender, all to him I freely give; / I will ever love and trust him, / In his presence daily live. / I surrender all.’* What will this mean for you as you serve God today?
*Judson W. Van de Venter (1855–1939).
Deeper Bible study
Give thanks for Christ, our substitute.
Advertisements might say ‘accept no substitutes’, but a substitute comes off the bench in a game and transforms it. Our God accepts substitutes: from the ram that replaced Isaac on Mount Moriah1 to his own Son who substitutes for us in our sinfulness. Our reading today is about substitution: the replacing of the first sons of Jewish families with the tribe of Levi. All of Israel is God’s people, but only some have a direct role in the work of the tabernacle. They represent all the people in their service of God and protect them from contact with a holy God.
These opening chapters of Numbers are concerned with imposing order on the motley crew who came out of Egypt. They are the people of the Passover, delivered from the death that came to the Egyptians. They are set in their tribal orders around the Tabernacle, with the Levites becoming a sort of cordon sanitaire to protect the whole nation from the holy presence of the Lord. Verse 4 has the stark reminder of the danger that these people were in if they defied or ignored the commands of God. The nation rejoiced in a mighty God who acted to deliver them, but now they have the transcendent God as an immanent neighbour.2 They need to make choices of obedience.
Our ‘God is [still] a consuming fire’,3 but when we approach him we also see Jesus, the Mediator of a new covenant. It is the sight of his sacrifice and remembrance of him as our neighbour on earth, as well as the holiness of God, that helps us to become obedient people. We have no priestly caste to stand between us and God, but by his Spirit within us we hear the call, ‘Be holy, because I am holy’.4
What do you have in your life to remind you of the holiness of God?
1 Gen 22:1-14 2 From Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Covenant and Conversation, Maggid Books, 2017, p37 3 Heb 12:29; Deut 4:24 4 1 Pet 1:16
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Genesis 43,44; Psalm 10
Pray for Scripture Union
Praise God for the wonderful opportunities that trainees Ydson, Matt and Josh had at Polzeath Family Mission to learn to share their faith more boldly.
