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From Pastor Sheli's Weekly 'Prayer & Praise' email
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Good Evening Church Family! God is able and faithful! I was reading in Numbers this morning and I was reminded of how detailed that the Lord is. :) I had gotten through the first list, of the twelve lists, for the twelve tribes, who would be giving for 12 days, one tribe each day - gifts for the new altar. I actually sighed out loud when I began the list because I knew exactly what it meant. I would be reading the same list of gifts that were given... twelve times. That's right... 5 paragraphs repeated 12 times. The only changes were the names of the men, their fathers, and the tribe they were standing in for. Now I know there is the temptation to just skim because it literally doesn't change what it is saying. But when I commit to reading the Bible through, I'm a rule follower... so I read it. Now, I have read this through several times and like I shared on our 13th Anniversary, Joseph isn't listed as a tribe... Ephraim and Manasseh are. So, when I got to the twelfth day I stopped and had to ask? Which tribe got left out??? Let me tell you so you don't have to go back through many pages of lists. It was the tribe of Levi. Now, I wouldn't have even noticed this if I had skimmed. I would have seen 12 days, 12 tribes... we're good! BUT I saw that Ephraim and Manasseh both had been mentioned and you can't add them both without changing the number to 13 unless someone is not accounted for. This is why we need to still read lists because we might just be missing something vital. So, why wasn't Levi represented? The answer is found in chapter 8:5-26. The entire tribe of Levi was not required to bring an offering to the Lord because they literally were an offering! The whole tribe! They were the ones God set apart unto Himself to serve in His temple. This tribe had been chosen by God to stand in, so to speak, for all of the first born of Israel. The entire tribe was a gift to Aaron and his family, the priests, to work in the Lord's house and to make atonement for the nation of Israel. They weren't included in the list because the gift they brought to the Lord was themselves.
Stop and think about that for a minute... the list was long and extensive that the others had to bring for the dedication of the altar but it had an end. Once they had given their gift they were done. The Levites, their gift went on before the Lord into perpetuity. Their gift was their lives. Now, some people might see that and think that they got the short end of the stick but isn't that what our lives are to be like when we become Christians? Aren't we laying down everything to serve Him and Him alone? Isn't that what our hearts should be like? Not just giving our tithes and offerings each week and then going home with no thought to the Lord all week until the next Sunday or the next crisis. Shouldn't we all strive to be like the Levites because God, in sending His Son for us, He chose us just like He chose the Levites! We serve in ministries before the Lord in our churches and outreaches and missions. And we stand in the gap between God and the world, ambassadors and intercessors. We know what the world is going to look like when we are gone... hell on earth. So we truly are like the Levites that we are chosen because of the atonement Jesus, to make intercession for the world. That is a powerful thought isn't it? We make a difference everyday by living our lives as unto the Lord... an offering of ourselves. The Levites didn't chose to be in the place they were in. God chose them and yet we see them in the pages of the Bible moving forward, for years they are continuing to do the work of the Lord in the temple. God chose them BUT they also chose God! What an amazing thing to be chosen by God! But I think its far more amazing when someone chooses God back! What it must do for His heart to see those He has chosen return the choice.
All of this from lists in Numbers! Can you see why it is important to read the lists? I loved Lynsi's comment this morning as well. "Mom, I think He put all those lists of what everyone gave because He wanted us to know that each of them were important to Him and He saw each one!" Another great thought from reading the lists. Its time to stop the sighing, eye rolling, huffs and complaints when we get to the long repeating lists in the Bible. Let's ask the Lord to show us something every time we open the Word and to not miss out on the nuggets of wisdom and truth He has for us, even in Numbers! Have a blessed rest of your day, Church Family! Blessings, Pastors Sheli and Steve
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