Tribe of Levi

John 1:5 says, “There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.” This post is going to be for the thinkers. Even though the conclusion means and says a lot, it’s not going to be super easy to read, so get ready, and buckle up.

This verse talks about Zacharias and his occupation. In the Israeli culture, your occupation was very much who you were or a large part of your identity. We see that he is a priest that is actively serving and making offerings of incense. While he is in the middle of the ritual, Gabriel comes to him and says that he will have a son and that he should call him John. Later the story shows Zacharias’ disbelief and then the birth of John.

Yes, we all know this story I suppose, but there is something significant that we need to see. Think back to Numbers 3. In this chapter, God is setting aside the Levites to serve in the temple. From this point on, anyone who was not a descendant of Aaron could not serve in the temple. We can directly conclude that since Zacharias is a priest serving in the temple, that he is also a Levite. We also know this from the fact that he is from the line of Abijah.

Going back to Numbers 3 again, we see in verse 12-13 that God specifically has taken the Levites for Himself. This passage reads, “Now behold, I Myself have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the children of Israel. Therefore the Levites shall be Mine, because all the firstborn are Mine. On the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They shall be Mine: I am the Lord.”

Why the Levites? They were just like any other tribe, I mean, they had Aaron and Moses, but they were a pretty regular tribe comparatively. This is exactly what we are about to get to.

So God made the tribe of Levi the firstborn among the tribes of Israel instead of the actual first born who was Ruben. We see this even back to Isaac and Ishmael. Technically, Ishmael was the first-born of Abraham and was suppose to receive the blessing, but since he had Ishmael through Hagar, God considered him ineligible. So God gave Abraham Isaac through his first wife, Sarah. It was God’s will that Isaac would carry on the blessing for the family. Going on to Jacob receiving the blessing even though he was the second one born. And now Levi receives the blessing instead of Ruben.

What was so special about being the first-born? It’s just what God says in verse 13. When the Passover came in Egypt, God told Moses that he would He would set apart for His will all the first-born sons in all of Egypt. He killed all the first-borns unless the house that they lived in had a pure sheep’s blood smeared across the doorpost; this was a sign for the Lord to Passover the house.

Being the first-born is also something that you can’t control. You can’t pick what the child order is, but to us it just happens. However, God is completely in control of the situation. So to say that God has chosen the first-born tribe out of all the tribes shows that there is nothing that the Levites did or will do that makes them worthy to be considered the first-born tribe but it is completely by the grace of God.

Now let’s think about to John. We see that He is born to Zacharias and Elizabeth for a special purpose. In John 1:16-17 it says, “And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” From the beginning he was set apart for great things. There was no choice for John in this. You must understand that. John could not chose whether to be born or not and if he was going to be born, whether he could change families or not. This is what God created John for by God’s grace for God’s glory. John couldn’t escape that.

It’s important to have done all the research we have just seen, because of this conclusion; John was a Levite, traditionally born to take the place of his father as priest. However, God had different plans. Instead, John became the prerequisite for the fulfillment of the prophecies about Jesus. He was essential to the operation, but he was to stay away from the limelight.

One of the things we know about Jesus is that He came to be the High priest for all of us so that we may have a connection and a personal and intimate relationship with God the Father. But John was supposed to be a priest. He was supposed to intercede on behalf of the people. Now this man born in Bethlehem is coming to take John’s position and steal his glory? Yes. That is exactly what happened.

One of the most beautiful verses in the Bible is when John tells his own disciples in John 3:30, “He must become greater; I must become less.” John, himself, stepped down from what was rightfully his to serve God in this way. Since John was called away from his, what would have been, original occupation as a priest to make room for the High Priest whom he knew would wash the sins of all who believed in Him.

So how does this relate to us? I’m not a Levite, nor a first-born. It tells a story about the grace of God and the sovereignty of God. It tells us who God is and gives clarity and even security that our God has all things in His hand and controls all things according to His purpose. Have you ever seen someone paint? When they do, at the beginning of the process you see all these confusing lines and half of the canvas looks like it should be trashed. But then you see the way the painter changes things to make a beautiful picture, and you almost wonder if he magically changed the entire painting because there was no way what he started off with turned into the majestic piece it is now.

How beautiful is the art of our God, forming and designing His people for His purpose and His glory. Before the foundation of the world He knew the plan He had and how John would be a part of it all. It’s just so beautiful.

God is in control – Forsake All

This is Grace

1^st John 1:5 says, “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” The great Christian Struggle. Humans, one created perfect, became sinful through Adam and it spread to the whole race of man. Now we are separated from Christ because of our sin. God created the Heavens and they sing of His glory. He formed the sky and their expanse and they sing of His glory. God created us and called us very good, and we turn away. We continue in our sin.

This passage has been huge in my life because of my great struggle. My sin that keeps coming back to me, or maybe it’s better to say that I keep running to it instead. Everyday, it haunts me and reminds me of its presence in my life and every day, I give in… but just a little bit. I keep asking myself, “Why do you keep running back to this?” God wasn’t kidding when He literally said, “As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly (Proverbs 26:11).”

A fool repeats his folly… “You don’t understand, God,” I explain. “This sin just won’t go away. It is a part of who I am because no matter how hard I try to change, nothing can rid this sin from my life. I’ve tried praying, reading my Bible, fasting, going to church, leading worship… I’ve done so many great things for You… But this sin is still here to stay.”

But there is redemption.

1^st John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” But what if I don’t feel forgiven? What if my sin is just too much for God’s forgiveness? I don’t feel cleansed from all unrighteousness: in fact I have the same sin come back and eat away at me everyday.

You may be reading this waiting for me to answer all of this: waiting for an explanation for these questions. I have no step-by-step plan to fix these issues or to fully get rid of sin, but I do have an answer. Love God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind (Luke 10:27).

One of my good friend sent me a text today that simply read “Romans 8:28-39”. During a break in-between my classes, I picked up my Bible and read this passage. You may know the first verse by heart, but just in case, Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” It is possible to conclude that the word all really means all. Literally everything will work together for good to those who love God. Why? Because all things work together to glorify God. That is the reason we were created and the reason we live, is to give God glory.

You may be asking, “How does my sin glorify God?” It reminds me of two things.

Luke 7:46-47 says, “You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” When we understand the weight of our sin, how are we to respond but in complete worship? Rob, do you understand that your sin and your desires are disgusting to God and for all the things you have done; you deserve to go to Hell and live there for eternity. However, by the grace of God, He has adopted you as a son and given you your inheritance, which is eternal life (Ephesians 1). He has called you forgiven. Son. Friend.

Starfield wrote a song that remains to be one of my favorite worship songs that I’ve been singing in church ever since I started leading worship. The chorus says, “I am just a beggar here at Your door. I am just a shipwreck here on Your shore. I come empty handed ready to see Your life in me changing who I’ve been to who I need to be.” The fact is that we come before the throne of God broken and desolate. Isaiah 64:6a says, “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.” If our righteous acts are like filthy rags, then our hope for salvation is completely destroyed. Imagine trying to carry a newborn baby, but being rejected because the newborn believes he can walk. The baby will just failing and failing until finally he learns to surrender to the comfort and love of the Father.

Sin reminds us of who we are. Yes, sin is wrong and we should chase after the Father with all that we are by His grace, but God uses our brokenness to give Him even more glory. God draws us to Himself even though we are dirty and even though we are in no way deserving of His love.

This is grace.

So whatever you’re going through or dealing with, know that God love you and He chases after your heart through everything. Seek after Christ with all that you are and give Him the glory that you were destine to give because the truth is that God, in the end, will receive all the glory anyway, it’s just a matter of you joining in the celebration. Chase after God and let Him consume your desires so that nothing else will become an idol for you. Don’t be carried away by the things of this world or even your “needs”, for Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

You have been purchased with a price, and sin has no hold over you. Live in it. – Forsake All

Who is like You?

Exodus 15:11 says, “Who among the gods is like You, Lord? Who is like You: majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?”

The Israelites are cornered against the Red Sea by the Egyptian army who is ready to destroy the whole nation of Israel. They begin to get fearful and start to worry about the likelihood of their survival when Moses says, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still (Exodus 14:13-14).” Then the people were delivered by the grace of God and the parting of the sea behind them.

Moses in the next chapter begins to sing a song about the greatness of God and His deliverance. The irony is that Moses says, “Who among the gods is like You, Lord?” stated in a way as to automatically receive a resounding, “No god is like You, Lord!” from the people of Israel. However, a few chapters later, they begin to worship idols and begin to wonder from following after the Lord. So maybe they should reconsider the song they sang and instead say, “Who among the gods, besides golden calves, is like You, Lord?”

Isn’t this true for us to though? Let’s take a look of some of the songs we sing often in Church.

“Holy Holy Holy. Lord God almighty, early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee.”

“Our God is greater; Our God is stronger; God You are higher than any other.”

“You’re all I want, You’re all I ever needed.”

The list goes on and on…

Look at what we sing. In the Hebrew language, the way they showed superlatives is by repeating the word. So when we sing “Holy Holy Holy” we are literally saying, “You are the most set apart and perfect being worthy of praise.” So yes, we sing this and we do so correctly, for this is who God is, but with out lives, don’t we speak falsity? Our words sing that God is the Holist and most precious Being, but with out lives we say that money, friends, arts, school, and anything else we can imagine is now the most precious thing alive.

My brother once said to me, “Do you really want to know what you love most? Find out what you spend the most time doing.” I would quickly reply while playing my Zelda and Mario video games, “I love God, but that doesn’t mean I have to read my Bible all day or pray all day.” The truth is you don’t, but certainly my heart did not truly love God, as I ought. Even today, there are things that I call more worthy than God. I love money. I love people understanding that I am a cool person. I enjoy the momentary comfort of knowing that I have someone else.

These are my gods. These are the things I bow down to and say, “How great is your name above the earth! My heart longs to be in your perfection.” What are your gods? Who do you serve? Romans 6:20 says that we were slaves to sin, meaning that we serve a god that is not the Lord almighty. However Christ has saved us from being slaves to sin, but then why do we run back to our old masters and ask to be accepted? If God is our master and we are now destined to give Him glory and serve Him, why do we turn from Him and serve our old master? He is no longer our master. He has no shackles on our wrists.

So here we are. We understand what we sing. We sing that we have been saved from slavery to sin into slavery with Christ. We are to proclaim the glory and worthiness of God because He is truly worthy. Not only are we supposed to sing of His greatness but live in the fact of His greatness. This is to say that we are to live in a way that expresses the glory of Christ.

“Truly we were made to praise the Lord.” – Jeremy Riddle.

1^st Corinthians 15:58 says, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” – Forsake All

Loving Your Brother

1^st Corinthians 15:58 says, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”

Depending on what part of Paul’s letter you read, you can either see the entire book as Paul correcting and reproaching the Corinthians, or you can see it as Paul loving and encouraging the Corinthians. I submit to you that the entire book is about love. This passage above is what the whole book is based on; being steadfast in the faith and always abounding in the work of the Lord. Yes, this comes by a lot of conviction and the realization of sin but it’s all purposed for giving God all the glory and living the best life.

This book has really been relating with me recently since I have been dealing with the situation of my friends choosing the wrong things to do. As a group, we are basically living in sin and not caring. God has recently called my heart to a higher goal, not saying that goal was never before on my heart but now there is more of a push. However, the question has come up; What about the other guys? How do I get them on board?

Paul is dealing with the same issues in this book. He realizes that the Corinthians are not chasing after God and his goal is to change that. There are a lot of different opinions on how to reproach a brother or call a sister out of sin, but Paul’s way seems pretty good. The truth is he does it in absolute and complete love. He reminds them over and over again that he loves them. He reproaches them but also encourages them to do the right thing and live in a way that gives glory to God.

We are called to love God and then others. There is something about just chasing after the singular idea of loving someone rather then trying to pick a specific aspect of love to work on. I mean the strategy of a tightrope walker. He doesn’t try to figure out what specific thing he needs to work on, like which foot to push the rope with or how hard to push or which part of his foot he needs to step on the rope with. He focuses on doing whatever it takes to get to the other side; the finish line. This is also true in our walk with Christ. We shouldn’t focus on trying to read our Bible more, praying more, and going to church more. Instead, we should solely focus on how we can love God the most. Out of this focus will come reading our Bible more and praying more, but if we specific our goals, they become our idols.

The same is also true with loving our friends. We strive to love them and we do whatever it takes to get to that point, even if it means spending time with them or helping them in times of need. The time may come, like it did for Paul, where you need to correct their lives and show them the love of the Gospel and how to live in such a way as to glorify God, but when this time comes up, do it as to encourage and to build up. As for me, when I find myself just trying to love my guys, it seems to be more effective than solely trying to change them.

Last of all, for you. Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord – Forsake All