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LEVITICAL SERVICE
Numbers 3:1 - 13, 44 - 51
J.T. An important fact was dwelt upon whilst we were considering the first two chapters of this book yesterday in regard to the numbering of the congregation. In chapter 1 the numbering begins with Reuben, who was Israel's firstborn, whereas in chapter 2 Judah comes first. In the one case it represents God dealing with us on the ground of our responsibility here; whilst in the other case it is a question of God's sovereignty. We are taken account of in our responsibility; but then, as regards our position with reference to the tabernacle, it is a question of God's sovereignty. He puts forward whom He will; so that Judah becomes the leading tribe in the arrangement. I do not know whether you have noticed that.
J.G. Yes, I have. Chapter 1 is the natural order; chapter 2 is the sovereignty of God.
J.T. Yes; and while we were reading this chapter it occurred to me that the same thing is seen in the Levites. It is said that Gershon was the eldest of the sons of Levi; and yet, when the arrangement of the service comes in, in chapter 4, Kohath is taken first. That, I think, is a principle of the very greatest importance as regards our walking together. Priority is not according to what we may be here naturally. The arrangements in connection with the sanctuary, and in connection with the testimony, are according to the sovereignty of God; it is whom He will; whom He selects. Judah generally stands for the counsel of God. It settles a good many difficulties, if we recognise that God is sovereign; and that in the arrangement of things in the assembly, nature has no place; and even our acceptance of responsibility to serve, does not prove the nature of our service. We are all responsible, whether as military men, or Levites; we are taken account of, and held responsible; but when it comes to actual work, the sovereignty of God is seen. So, in chapter 4 Kohath is seen to have to do with the most sacred things. One might plan to be or to do something, and might culture himself accordingly; but, after all, God may pass him by.
Rem. The desire to serve is not a qualification.
J.T. No; the desire is right, but it is not a qualification. The qualification comes from the Lord: "unto everyone of us is given grace", but it is "according to the measure of the gift of Christ", Ephesians 4:7. And then we read, "he gave some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers".
T.M.G. The first verse you quoted would be the responsibility: "unto every one of us is given grace".
J.T. Yes, everyone has received a gift; but then, there are specific gifts which the Lord gives; and He gives them according to His own sovereign wisdom.
T.M.G. Do you not get the same principle in Matthew 25 in the parable of the talents; and also in Luke 19 in the case of the pounds? Every one has a pound; there is responsibility. In Matthew 25 it is according to the giving of God: there it is five, and two, and one.
Rem. No amount of ability can determine things in connection with God's testimony.
J.T. I think the principle that is set forth in Numbers would overthrow the existing order of things around us, if it were accepted that the Lord has supreme rights. That is not admitted in the religious denominations, for there it is a question of arranging matters according to man.
Ques. Would you not say that that spirit might get amongst those even where outwardly the authority of the Lord is recognised; and that is what we have to guard against?
J.T. It is very important to distinguish between natural ability and spiritual ability. Where there is spiritual ability, you have to support it, because that is the evidence that there is a gift from the Lord.
T.M.G. There might be a good deal of natural ability, and very little spiritual ability.
J.T. Quite so.
Ques. Would the desire to serve always go with the ability?
J.T. Well, of course one may neglect one's gift, you know. It is right for one to "take heed to the ministry" God gives him, and see that he fulfils it. Numbers 3 opens with the generations of Aaron and Moses, in the day that the Lord spake with Moses in mount Sinai. It is well to note that, before we take up the subject of levitical service, because it is to bring to light the true position of Christ and the assembly, before you have the Levites presented. You will observe that Moses' sons are not mentioned; it is a question of Aaron. Moses had sons, we know; but they are not mentioned here.
Rem. Moses sets forth Christ as the Apostle.
J.T. Yes; He is the Apostle. The epistle to the Hebrews does not give us apostles; it gives us one Apostle. But, then, there should be a company of priests; and so you have Aaron's sons. Another thing worthy of notice is that Aaron is mentioned first. So you can see in these things that the priesthood is in the mind of the Spirit; whilst the authority of the Lord is seen in Moses. In the sixth verse Moses is instructed to "bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest that they may minister unto him. And they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of the congregation, to do the service of the tabernacle".
W.K. What do you understand by "keeping his charge"; it occurs very often in connection with the priests, and the Levites generally.
J.T. Well, the high priest is charged with the service of the sanctuary, and the Levites are at his bidding, to carry out his instructions. So that all ministry really flows from the direction of the Lord in that way, as Priest.
T.M.G. "A minister of the sanctuary".
J.T. Exactly; it is, as it were, God taking account of the service; and He brings in the Levites, and presents them in that way to the Lord, as priests; so that He may have them to aid Him in the service of the tabernacle.
W.K. In verse 38, where the various tribes of the Levites were to encamp is spoken of, we read; "but those that encamp before the tabernacle toward the east, even before the tabernacle of the congregation eastward, shall be Moses, and Aaron and his sons, keeping the charge of the sanctuary for the charge of the children of Israel; and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death". Very frequently that question of the charge is put in this connection.
J.T. Yes; and does it not remind us what a very serious thing it is to be placed in connection with the things of God. It is no light matter.
W.K. Had not the apostle Paul the sense of that in his service?
J.T. I think so. 2 Corinthians 11 gives us the best example of levitical exercises in the New Testament. Paul says, after recounting what he had passed through; "besides these things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches".
W.K. That is, he had it all the time.
J.T. Paul was a man under a charge. He says, "Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is offended, and I burn not?" And then in 1 Corinthians 9, he says, "Necessity is laid on me; yea, woe unto me if I preach not the gospel". If people become exercised about coming into fellowship, it is a question of whether they are going to take up the charge. Another important principle comes in, and that is, the Levites began to take up the charge at twenty-five years of age; but the full age was thirty.
T.M.G. Why twenty-five?
J.T. Well, they had to learn, you know; it is a kind of apprenticeship. The general age of the Levite in service is from thirty to fifty; but entrance into it at twenty-five shows that to take up the charge certain development is required.
W.K. You have to be educated.
J.T. This book is written after the people had been a year and a month in the wilderness; showing that a certain experience for military service is required, and they were reckoned from twenty years of age to be soldiers. But to have to say directly to divine things requires more than that; you require experience; thirty is really the age at which the Levite begins properly.
W.K. They entered fully into the service then.
Rem. You would like to see young people pray to the Lord in the assembly, would you not?
J.T. Yes; where there is prayer in the assembly, there is evidence of levitical exercises.
T.M.G. "Behold, he prayeth", is said of Saul, Acts 9:11.
J.T. That is a good commendation.
W.K. It showed he was suitable for the service; he was in practical dependence on the Lord.
J.T. It is well to have the priestly family defined; so they are brought into evidence first; and then the Levites are brought forward, and presented to the high priest.
W.K. What is the point in the different families; I mean the Kohathites, and the Gershonites, and the Merarites?
J.T. Well, when you come to chapter 4 each family is allotted its special work; and the fact that there were different families shows that there were different services; but all were under the same authority.
T.M.G. "Differences of administrations, but the same Lord".
W.K. That would be like Romans 12, where all are in the body, and all acting for the good of the body; but each one has his own particular burden to carry. Let each one mind his own work, according to whatever service has been given him to do.
T.M.G. And yet not acting in independence.
J.T. All is to be under the superintendence of the priest.
Rem. "In the sight of Aaron their father". They would have the consciousness that the eye of the high priest was upon them.
T.M.G. What is said to the Thessalonians is, "Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father".
Ques. What is the thought of giving the Levites the place of the first-born?
J.T. Well, that signifies God's rights; and even the deficiency between the number of the Levites and the firstborn of the children of Israel, was made up by money; showing there is nothing passed over by God; nothing slipshod. So that His rights are recognised in the congregation.
Ques. Is not the thought of the firstborn peculiarly finked up with the affections?
J.T. I think so; the firstborn has a double portion; so that the assembly comes in for that.
T.M.G. "The assembly of the firstborn".
J.T. God has the right to put a family in heaven; "for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sin, hath quickened us together with Christ ... and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus". That is His sovereign right; no one can dispute that. Then He has a right to take account of us in service down here, on the earth. It is a question of the sovereign rights of God in either case. There is nothing that men are so slow to admit as that; we are all inclined to resent it, and yet our blessing in every possible respect depends upon it.
Rem. We all admit the doctrine of it, but when it touches us, it is then we are tested.
J.T. There should be great exercise. I am sure our blessing lies there, in admitting the rights of God; and He has the right to place a family in heaven.
T.M.G. As has been said, He exercises His rights in mercy.
J.T. The Levites were taken account of from one month and upwards; whereas the military are numbered from twenty years and upwards.
T.M.G. Why the difference?
J.T. Being taken from a month old signifies that God holds the believer for service. He does not necessarily put him into it then. When the time comes for putting him into it, then God shows His sovereignty.
T.M.G. Once he is taken up, he belongs to God.
J.T. So you can understand that the Levite represents the firstborn; they represent all the saints; because when you come to Christianity, the Levite is not different from the military man; he is the same person; but viewed as a Levite, you belong solely to God for His service.
T.M.G. And that is what God had in view in taking him up.
J.T. Yes; you see we are needed down here, and we are needed in heaven. There is nothing that can be more precious to the heart than that thought.
God really requires us there; and He is going to place us there because of His great love wherewith He loves us. But, in the meantime, we are needed here. Our place in service down here, and our place up there, are according to God's wisdom.
Rem. So that this time down here is of all importance.
J.T. Yes. A babe of a month old is held for service, as much as a man of twenty years.
W.K. So that all are training and qualifying with a view to that service.
J.T. Yes; Paul speaks of himself as separated from his mother's womb, and called by God's grace. You see, he was in God's mind separated to Him from his childhood; and in due time he was called, and then he was put into the ministry: that was when he was put to work. It is interesting to consider that all our exercises in regard to the saints is in reference to Christ. The Levites are given to the high priest.
W.K. "Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister unto him".
J.T. Then in the 9th verse it reads, "Thou shalt give the Levites unto Aaron, and to his sons; they are wholly given unto him out of the children of Israel".
W.K. Yes, they come in, and are identified with him; but the great point is Aaron.
J.T. So that the Levite is not as great as the priest; and his levitical qualities do not entitle him to priesthood. The great sin that came out in this book was that the Levites assumed to be equal to priests.
T.M.G. Is not that what is done in Christendom today?
W.K. Does that mean that your service does not qualify you to approach into God's presence as a worshipper?
J.T. True levitical service is according to state. But in Christendom a class has grown up that assumes priesthood, and that is because they are Levites, or ministers.
T.M.G. That was the sin of Korah.
Ques. Would you say that was infringing on the sovereignty of God?
J.T. Yes.
Rem. That principle might be a test among ourselves.
J.T. I think anyone is liable to assume a place according to his gift; but it is not according to God. The greatest gift even Paul, ministered to the priests.
T.M.G. It is not a question of gift in the assembly.
W.K. You mean in function. Because you may be a great preacher, you may think you are therefore on different footing to others.
Ques. Will you say a word about verse 13, "I hallowed unto me all the firstborn in Israel?"
J.T. The force of it is that they were set apart.
W.H.M. The first charge was that they were to be brought near to Aaron.
J.T. Yes; it is very important for the Levites to keep near to the priest.
W.H.M. Yes; and then they had ability to serve in a godly way.
J.T. In this book they have the charge of the children of Israel; whereas in the book of Joshua they have a heavenly portion, having no inheritance on earth.
Ques. Would 1 Corinthians 12, answer to levitical service?
J.T. Yes; in the way we have been speaking of. I think God delights in variety; but it is variety in unity. All the heavenly bodies set that forth; there is variety, but perfect unity.
W.K. They all work to a common end.
J.T. "He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ". It is that all might come "in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ". Levitical service does not go into eternity; but the results of it remain; and how important it is that you are working for eternity.
W.K. You may be very small, and able to do very little, but if God works through you, that will remain.
J.T. So Paul says, "Your labour is not in vain", though it may seem to be in vain in your own eyes.
Rem. "I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought", Isaiah 49:4.
J.T. It is very interesting to connect that with the Lord's ministry here. Really, the Lord's ministry was connected with conditions He found here; hence He has to say, "I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain; yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God". Outwardly, it was in vain; but it all came out in resurrection. Hence we have in the resurrection chapter (1 Corinthians 15), "your labour is not in vain in the Lord". We are now on a different platform: "be not weary in well doing"; you may not see many results, but be not weary in it; "in due season we shall reap if we faint not". There are many things the Levites may be engaged in, as we may see in chapter 4, but it is a precious thing to be brought near to the High Priest; to be brought near to Christ, and to be presented to Christ, so as to be constantly under His eye. And then to find each family numbered carefully, so that the Lord knows each name.
W.H.M. Is not that God's thought? A people near to Him. There can be no service apart from that.
J.T. Quite so; and no true servant wishes it otherwise. What can you do without the Lord?
W.H.M. We are perfectly helpless.
J.T. You would feel a most feeble individual, if trying to serve without the Lord.
Rem. And that is why it is so important to have divine principles kept before us.
J.T. If the Levite is going to serve, not only the Lord, but also the saints, what a valuable man he is. You must not assume you are honouring a man because you listen to him. If a man has a gift, he is given to the sons of Aaron, as well as to Aaron; and, as a gift from the Lord, he is a valuable man, and ought to be cared for.
Rem. That is a very important principle. You recognise him as coming to you from the Lord.
J.T. Yes; and it is for you to care for him. The book of Deuteronomy insists on that.
W.K. You put your hand in your pocket.
J.T. Yes. Take a woman like Lydia; see how she valued the Levites. Now, she says, If you count me worthy, come into my house. She felt honoured by the apostle's presence in her house.
Rem. God claims their cattle, as well as themselves.
J.T. Well, all that emphasises the thought of God's rights; all that appertains to a Levite is God's.
Rem. Jehovah is their inheritance; but they are Jehovah's.
J.T. Yes; just so. The cattle are very useful. If a man has a business, it belongs to the Lord; so all that appertains to the Levites is the Lord's.
Rem. You find that coming out in the beginning of Acts.
J.T. Yes; Barnabas was a Levite; and he had land, which he sold; and he brought the money which he got for his land, and laid it at the apostles' feet. He recognised that they could dispose of it more wisely than he could. But you cannot do that nowadays; because there are no apostles. You have to be responsible yourself, and act as a steward in regard to your possessions.
T.M.G. And as we read in Luke 16, "If ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?"
J.T. I believe it would be a wholesome thing if we valued the Levites more. Here you see they are brought to Aaron, and given to him; and then to the sons of Aaron. The Lord values the Levites.
W.K. And we are to esteem them very highly for their works' sake.
Rem. Imitation is seen in Acts, in the case of Ananias and Sapphira.
J.T. Yes, they pretended to give all, and kept back part. A Levite may assume to be more than he is; and that works out evilly. The Levite is to keep the priest's charge; he cannot be greater than the priest, and that keeps him humble.
J.McF. What would answer to the Kohathites?
J.T. That comes under the divisions of service. However, as you mention it, the Kohathites had to do with the precious things: the things within the veil, and the things in the holy place, and they carried them on their shoulders; only they were not allowed to touch or look upon any holy thing.
W.K. They had no wagons; the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari had.
J.T. That shows there are some things that are more sacred than others in connection with the service of the tabernacle. There is another thing the Kohathites are the most favoured of the servants.
W.K. You have spoken of the Levites, and the priests; will you just make it clear that there are not two classes now.
J.T. There are not two classes; for we are all priests and Levites; only, if you get up to minister to the saints, you are thinking of promoting the priestly state in them. But you do not interfere with the Levites in what has been given them to do. The Lord says to Peter, when he asked Him "Lord, and what shall this man do?" "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee Follow thou me". Peter, and the man he was asking about, were both Levites. But if you go to visit the saints you regard that as priestly.
Rem. In going to see one who may be sick, you would place yourself, as it were, at the disposal of that person.
J.T. If a Christian is right, when he is visiting, he says to himself, 'Well, the Lord has given me this man to visit, to help to carry'. That is the mutuality of love.
Ques. How can that be more promoted amongst us?
J.T. I think John 13 is the great chapter for levitical work.