Verses 3-4, “These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he consecrated to minister as priests. Nadab and Abihu had died before the Lord when they offered profane fire before the Lord in the Wilderness of Sinai; and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar ministered as priests in the presence of Aaron their father.” Aaron’s two oldest sons, Nadab and Abihu, were stricken for offering profane fire to the Lord. Their fire was unauthorized by God and was so offensive, that He rejected their offering and consumed them with fire. The example was set that all must come to God in fear and respect, in the way that He prescribes. Therefore, Eleazar and Ithamar became priests in their place. Only those of Aaron’s household were allowed to become priests...the rest of the Levites were given other duties.
Verses 5-10, “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 'Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him. And they shall attend to his needs and the needs of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of meeting, to do the work of the tabernacle. Also they shall attend to all the furnishings of the tabernacle of meeting, and to the needs of the children of Israel, to do the work of the tabernacle. And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are given entirely to him from among the children of Israel. So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall attend to their priesthood; but the outsider who comes near shall be put to death.' ” The whole tribe of Levi was given to serve the needs of Aaron and the priests, the tabernacle, and the congregation. If a Levite decided that they should get to do the work of a priest, which was strictly forbidden, they would be put to death for being rebellious to God's order.
Being jealous and coveting another man's calling is wickedness and rebellion. We have all been given different amounts of faith and gifts, so that we can perform different functions within the body of Christ. Romans 12:3-6, “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them...” If you are that focused on others and their calling, then you are not fulfilling your calling in life, and will miss out on the blessings that God has for you when you are obedient to His plan.
Who are we to even question the One who designed us? Romans 9:20-21, “But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, 'Why have you made me like this?' Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?” Rather than taking out your dissatisfaction against fellow servants, you really should take it to God. Most of us know better than to do that and just keep our mouths shut; but God knows our hearts, and grumbling or complaining against His plan is sin. Even if we say nothing and do nothing, we can still be chastened for the evil thoughts in our hearts. Ask God to change your heart so that you will not continue to sin; and learn to be content no matter what situation you find yourself in. Even in the lowest valleys, there are still blessings and reasons to praise the Lord.
Verses 14-15, “Then the Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, saying: 'Number the children of Levi by their fathers’ houses, by their families; you shall number every male from a month old and above.' ” The Levites had been left out of the previous census to count those males able to go to war, but now God tells Moses to count every male at least one month old and above. They were to be organized and counted according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Each group being assigned specific duties differing from each other, to accomplish all the work that needed to be done.
Gershon
Verses 23-26, “The families of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle westward. And the leader of the father’s house of the Gershonites was Eliasaph the son of Lael. The duties of the children of Gershon in the tabernacle of meeting included the tabernacle, the tent with its covering, the screen for the door of the tabernacle of meeting, the screen for the door of the court, the hangings of the court which are around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords, according to all the work relating to them.”
Kohath
Verses 29-32, “The families of the children of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle. And the leader of the fathers’ house of the families of the Kohathites was Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. Their duty included the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the utensils of the sanctuary with which they ministered, the screen, and all the work relating to them. And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the leaders of the Levites, with oversight of those who kept charge of the sanctuary.”
Merari
Verses 35-37, “The leader of the fathers’ house of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. These were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. And the appointed duty of the children of Merari included the boards of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, its utensils, all the work relating to them, and the pillars of the court all around, with their sockets, their pegs, and their cords.”
I Corinthians 12:12-26, “For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body— whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many. If the foot should say, 'Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,' is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, 'Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,' is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, 'I have no need of you'; nor again the head to the feet, 'I have no need of you.' No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.”
Although we are very different, we have one thing in common that unites us...the Holy Spirit. Because we did not do anything to earn our position in the body, there is no pride in being a hand, or shame in being a foot. The parts that seem superior cannot say to the weaker parts that they are unnecessary, besides God has ways of bestowing honor on the seemingly lesser parts and humbling those greater parts. Because of this, there should be no schism in the body, or else the body would be dysfunctional. If you see splits and groupings of people within a church, there is a good indication that the body is dysfunctional. Beware of people who try to create divisions and form groups; especially those who have a beef against another, but will not go to the person directly. Titus 3:10-11, “Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned.” As nice as this person may seem, it is often just an act of manipulation. Why do you think the Lord hates the one who sows discord among brethren? They are purposely trying to handicap His body and render it ineffective, while deceiving others with their hypocrisy. This is the work of the Enemy, and the one doing this is under his wicked influence.
Stick to your purpose and calling, keeping your eyes off others lest you become critical and bitter. You will be rewarded according to what you do with the faith and talents that you have been given; and likewise they will be judged according to what they have been given. However, if you do nothing, you may just be judged with the unbelievers. Remember the Parable of the Talents? Matthew 25:29-30, “For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” It should be our pleasure to serve our Master in any way He pleases.
adab and Abihu had died before the Lord when they offered profane fire before the Lord in the Wilderness of Sinai; and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar ministered as priests in the presence of Aaron their father. Numbers 3:4
ReplyDeleteThe Lord is a holy God who will not accept any profane sacrifices. Nadub and Abihu did not have any fear of God, and they did exactly that. They tried offerings profane fire before the Lord, but He did not except it, instead He killed them both.
We need to make whatever we give to God or worshipping Him with that it is holy. Making sure it isn't profane. There was and still is people who have tryed to bring stuff in the church that isn't holy, such as Christmas. We need to be aware of these things that creep inside the church. Never trying to worship God with these things.
Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites instead of their livestock. The Levites shall be Mine: I am the Lord . And for the redemption of the two hundred and seventy-three of the firstborn of the children of Israel, who are more than the number of the Levites, you shall take five shekels for each one individually; you shall take them in the currency of the shekel of the sanctuary, the shekel of twenty gerahs. And you shall give the money, with which the excess number of them is redeemed, to Aaron and his sons.” Numbers 3:44-48
When the Isrealites were in Egypt, God spared the lives of their first born. Now, for the first born to be reedemed God took the Levites as a payment, but because there was more first born than Levites, they had to pay five sheckels per person for the rest of the Isrealites who weren't covered. God was gracious towards the Israelites by allowing the Levites to be there payment.