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