Lessons from a Levite
The Christian Journey • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Handout
Handout
Big Idea: God calls His people to know their place, serve faithfully, live as firstfruits to the Lord, and protect what He has entrusted to them.
We’ve been on a doctrinal journey for the Summer months. It didn’t start intentional but it has become such. I believe it’s a beautiful representation of our individual journey’s with the Lord. We find him, start spending time with him, and it grows into an intentionality.
On this journey we began with The Mercy of God
> the Stain of Sin, the saving, redeeming, cleansing blood of Jesus
> Justification, the lord putting things back in their right place
> Sanctification, abiding in the deep love of the Lord, becoming more like him
> Glorification, we have begun the process of becoming like him and will be completed when we see him face to face at the marriage supper of the lamb!
How do we stay consistent in our growth?
How do we steward the many gifts that God has given us?
To answer this question, I want to take us back to the establishment of God’s dwelling place.
The Lord brings his people out of slavery in Egypt and into the wilderness. He’s taking them into a blank canvas!
When they arrive in the desert, he calls for a census of the people (every person matters) and then positions them according to his presence.
The Lord does all this, not to setup a religious system, but to show us how we are to interact with him.
He called his people to be a light to the world and a nation of priests unto God.
6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”
So to show a nation how they aught to be, he establishes a priesthood, not so they can do all the work, but that they can set the example and the nation follow.
Know Your Place
Know Your Place
The Levites were set apart from the other tribes, given specific responsibilities.
Identity comes from the Lord.
47 But the Levites were not listed along with them by their ancestral tribe. 48 For the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 49 “Only the tribe of Levi you shall not list, and you shall not take a census of them among the people of Israel. 50 But appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, and over all its furnishings, and over all that belongs to it. They are to carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings, and they shall take care of it and shall camp around the tabernacle. 51 When the tabernacle is to set out, the Levites shall take it down, and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up. And if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death. 52 The people of Israel shall pitch their tents by their companies, each man in his own camp and each man by his own standard. 53 But the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that there may be no wrath on the congregation of the people of Israel. And the Levites shall keep guard over the tabernacle of the testimony.” 54 Thus did the people of Israel; they did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses.
Levite History
Levite History
One of the twelve sons of Jacob (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob) - the twelve sons make up the twelve tribes of Israel (sort of).
Jacob had 2 wives (Leah & Rachel)
Jacob intended to only marry Rachel. Tricked by Laban (uncle) to marry Leah first. Works 14 years for Laban and ends up with two wives.
Jacob loved Rachel and loved Leah less.
Due to this, God opened Leah’s womb and closed Rachel’s. (A woman’s ability to provide a child was key and even more importantly to provide a son that the lineage would carry on.)
First commandment from God: Be fruitful and Multiply, fill the Earth… (Gen 1.28)
The third son born to Jacob was Levi
Levi means attached. The name Levi sounds like the Hebrew word for attached.
Interesting that in Numbers 18 the tribe that is chosen to tend to the house of the lord came from a wife that was desiring to be attached to her husband. This correlates to God desiring to be attached to Israel in the desert –– covenant. (Num 18.2)
Levite Inheritance
Levite Inheritance
Every tribe was given an allotment by the Lord, yet Levi received something different.
8 At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord to stand before the Lord to minister to him and to bless in his name, to this day. 9 Therefore Levi has no portion or inheritance with his brothers. The Lord is his inheritance, as the Lord your God said to him.)
Now, although, Levi received “no inheritance,” they received the better portion.
They have the Lord!
The richest person in this room is the one that has access to the Lord. The one that has a prayer life that sees mountains move, that has soaked the floor with tears of travail and intercession, that has been engulfed by the spirit of God, has a river of living water flowing from the core of their being because the wellspring of their life is a man named Jesus.
That’s the wealthiest person in the room!
Thriving in Your Place
Thriving in Your Place
I’m concerned we might spend so much time thinking about what we don’t have that we forget to appreciate what we do have.
Don’t let what you lack steal the joy of what you’ve got!x
14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.
3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
Stewardship starts with identity clarity — you can’t steward what you haven’t embraced.
Resist comparison; focus on your calling.
Serve at Your Post
Serve at Your Post
The Levites are assigned posts in the tabernacle service.
5 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. 7 They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle. 8 They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle. 9 And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the people of Israel. 10 And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall guard their priesthood. But if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.”
Faithfulness in the mundane is as important as the prominent roles.
1 This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.
23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.
Guard against abandoning your station because it seems less important.
Live as Firstfruits
Live as Firstfruits
The principle of firstfruits is simple - give God the first.
14 “Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the people of Israel, and the Levites shall be mine. 15 And after that the Levites shall go in to serve at the tent of meeting, when you have cleansed them and offered them as a wave offering. 16 For they are wholly given to me from among the people of Israel. Instead of all who open the womb, the firstborn of all the people of Israel, I have taken them for myself.
The culture of that day was that the first born son was to be sacrificed to the gods of that day.
God makes the same request in that they give up their first born, but he continues on and instead takes the tribe of Levi as the firstfruits offering and spares the first born sons.
The Levites became the first of God’s increase!
James 1:18 – We are a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.
18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
Romans 8:23 – God has in turn given us the firstfruits of the Spirit as we move toward glorification.
23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
Being “firstfruits” means living in a way that reflects God’s ownership.
Protect the House of the Lord
Protect the House of the Lord
53 But the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that there may be no wrath on the congregation of the people of Israel. And the Levites shall keep guard over the tabernacle of the testimony.”
38 Those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons, guarding the sanctuary itself, to protect the people of Israel. And any outsider who came near was to be put to death.
The Levites prevented intrusion and protected the sacred.
It’s not as simple as just getting the glory, getting in his presence, and moving on with our life.
I’ve learned that there is a cost to His presence.
There is a cost for the premium oil.
There is a cost for the exquisite wine.
There is a cost for the sweet honey.
Imagine standing before a pile of logs, some green and some seasoned. You light a match and discover that the seasoned logs burn steadily, while the green logs smolder and emit smoke without igniting fully. In our lives, we must discard the 'green wood'—the distractions and sins that hinder our relationship with God. Instead, we should seek after the 'seasoned wood,' which represents spiritual truths that allow our faith to ignite and burn steadily for Christ.
16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
Protect purity in your own life and in the body.
Lesson Recap
Lesson Recap
Know Your Place
Serve at Your Post
Live as Firstfruits
Protect the House of the Lord
Tie Back to the Doctrinal Journey
Tie Back to the Doctrinal Journey
Why for stewardship
Mercy of God – He set you apart though you deserved judgment.
Sin – Knowing its seriousness makes us guard the sacred.
Salvation – You were rescued for a purpose.
Redemption – Bought with a price to serve.
Justification – Declared righteous to fulfill your role without shame.
Sanctification – Set apart to live differently.
Glorification – The hope that fuels faithful service.
Closing Call
Closing Call
5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. 6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.
2 Timothy 4:5–8 – Fulfill your ministry. Stay at your post until the end.
Are you in your place, serving faithfully, living as God’s firstfruits, and protecting what He’s entrusted to you?
