Ministering and Election (Numbers 3 and 4)
The next step in preparing the people of God to march and function as a military camp in Numbers is the numbering of the Levites. The tribe of Levi has a special place in Israel. They are devoted to serving God in the tabernacle and later, the temple. However, theirs is not merely a place of privilege. They will not be awarded a land for an inheritance. They will always serve the other tribes as priests. They will be dependent on donations and offerings for their survival. In a sense, they have died and been offered for service. They take the place of the firstborn males that were to be offered to YHWH. Thus, the importance of the count and the payment for the discrepancy in their number.
This all raises a question. Do we serve God in the way that we “feel” led or called? Plenty of people today base their service to God on their feelings. They “feel” called to preach, so they must be called. Why would God give them a desire for something, if He didn’t want them to do that something? The truth is that our feelings and desires are terrible guides. There are plenty of times when we “feel” like sinning. That does not make sinning a good idea. And it certainly does not mean that God intends for us to sin and has therefore given us the desire to sin.
The Levites had a calling whether they felt like it or not. Not only that, but they didn’t just have to serve in and around the tabernacle, they had to do so precisely as God commanded. To vary or improvise could and did bring deadly judgment. Let us remember this today when we are tempted to say that we get to determine how and where we serve!
This all raises a question. Do we serve God in the way that we “feel” led or called? Plenty of people today base their service to God on their feelings. They “feel” called to preach, so they must be called. Why would God give them a desire for something, if He didn’t want them to do that something? The truth is that our feelings and desires are terrible guides. There are plenty of times when we “feel” like sinning. That does not make sinning a good idea. And it certainly does not mean that God intends for us to sin and has therefore given us the desire to sin.
The Levites had a calling whether they felt like it or not. Not only that, but they didn’t just have to serve in and around the tabernacle, they had to do so precisely as God commanded. To vary or improvise could and did bring deadly judgment. Let us remember this today when we are tempted to say that we get to determine how and where we serve!
Comments
Post a Comment