“At that time Adonai set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark for the covenant of Adonai and to stand before Adonai to serve him and to bless in his name, as they still do today. This is why Levi has no share or inheritance with his brothers; Adonai is his inheritance, as Adonai your God had said to him.”-Deuteronomy 10:8-9
Let’s have a quick review of the topic of the Levites and land inheritance.
This is actually a really important subject that shapes events in the Bible all the way up to the last book of Revelations (I’m not kidding!).
The first thing you’ve got to understand is that just as HASHEM separated Israel from the rest of the world, so too did He separate the Levites from the rest of Israel to be a set apart Priesthood unto Him.
Furthermore, BOTH Israel’s election to become the Chosen People and the Levites to become the Priesthood were accomplished by a sovereign decision by God.
God declared it and thus it was so.
Both the elevated statuses of Israel and the Levites on this planet had nothing to do with some inherent righteousness or merit on their part.
Here’s another important point that I think if not properly understood leads to ridiculous anti-Semitism.
Although the Israelites were given a different purpose, status and even their own set apart land, it doesn’t mean they stopped being human beings just like everyone else on the planet.
They aren’t some special race of humans that don’t feel all the wide range of emotions or experience all the ups and downs common to the human experience that we all go through.
The same thing went for the Levites compared to their other Hebrew brethren.
They didn’t stop being Hebrews per say but they were given a specific mission and a different status than the other 12 Tribes.
And couldn’t we say the same thing for those of us who have decided to follow after and attach ourselves to Yeshua the Messiah?
It’s not like we have stopped being human or are not living in the world anymore, right?
As Yeshua said, although we are no onger part of the world, we are still living in the world, right?
As a result, we still have to contend with struggles against the flesh and those principalities and powers that are against the things of God.
Onward, there were three main duties of the Levites.
The first most important duty was that they were to carry the Ark of the Covenant.
In fact, the Levites were the only ones authorized to carry this principle object of God.
If anyone else attempted to carry it or even touch it, they were instantly annihilated.
Actually, I need to make a slight correction.
Even the Levites were NOT allowed to directly touch the Ark.
They were only allowed to grab hold of the carrying poles that slid through the rings attached to the Ark specifically constructed for transportation purposes.
The second duty of the Levites was to “stand before the Lord” as the Scripture puts it.
The phrase “to stand before the Lord” originates from a Hebrew idiom and it just means to serve God in an official capacity, in this case to serve Him as Priests.
Finally, the third main duty of the Levites was to bless God’s Holy Name.
The phrase to “bless God’s Holy Name” simply refers to the act of performing the sacrificial rituals at the Tabernacle to the Lord.
I’m done.
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