Sermon Tone Analysis

Do we have all we need for the christian life?

Essentials for survival

Fire

Shelter

Signalling

Food and Water

First aid

If there were a survival kit for the Christian life.

Things absolutely essential to keep believer walking with Jesus, what would you put in there.

Not just material things.

Think about it?

I wonder if we every feel like something missing.

Tempting to hear stories of mircales and feel like we are missing out.

Or wondering if there is some secret to Godliness that we do know about.

Silver bullet of sancitfication.

Another pasasge today full of long names and lists - but I hope by now seen the richness that is to be found if we are willing to dig.

And today my prayer is that our hearts will...

Praise God who has given everything you need for Life and Godliness!

Two questions for reading.

Where do the Levites live and what do the Levites get?

(Clue - Levites include Kohathites, Gershomites and Merrair)

READING

God’s people in the land, enjoying peace and prosperity, in a land of justice - what we saw last week.

Writer comes back to Levites.

Remember back in 13-19, onlt ones not to get land as inheritance.

No shock to them - According to instructions made long ago back in Numbers 35

Background

Levites are decendends of Levi - great grandson of Abraham. 1 of 12, became tribes of Israel.

Levites were mix of blessing and curse.

Levi was cursed after slaughtering Schechemites, and his tribe was scattered as punishment.

But also Levites were blessed - when pepole worshipped golden calf, and faced God’s punishment, it was Sons of Levi who showed loyalty to God in face of unfaithfulness - and became preist and support staff for the tabernacle and later the temple.

They became the Lord’s select tribe to lead Israel in the worship of God.

Important.

Because here find ISrael in promised land.

12 tribes.

and where are Levites - scattered, sojourners, no cities to call their own, and yet with privaledged position of leading people in worship of God.

Significance - What God says, he will do, every promise of God comes true.

After all this has been dominant theme throughout.

God’s faithfulness to promises and generousity to his people.

End of chapter serves as vain runs through whole book - Summary of all that has come before

language of all, every side, not one, all, all.

every.

Heart of this chapter is about God’s glorious provision for his people, see in 2 ways, as writer focuses now on Levites.

Levites arereally helpful parable of the Chrstian life, they did not inherit land, sojourners, temporary residents of land not theirs - to be a permenant remidner for the peopel that though they were in promised land, and had recieve inheritance - it was not their ultimate inheritance final inheritance.

And true for us.

We are foreigners in this land - awaiting our heavenly dwelling, and so this passage speaks to us about God’s provision for us on the journey.

And this chapter we see this played out in 2 ways

God provides for our earthly needs

Names make it a bit baffling, but simply, writer describes is what the Levites recieve.

v3-7 get summary, before more detail in v8-40, before conclusion in v41 - 3 parts Kohathites, Gershonites and Merarites, who all played their part in overseeing the right worhip of God.

This was to be their joy and privaledge, this was their inheritance - but they also had same basic need as everyone else - to live and eat!

This is where come to one of questions - what did God give the Levites - each of the various tribes within it?

Noticed this straight away, spent ages looking for deeper meaning - was it to do with providing for the sacrifices - would have be good, but not told.

Simple point author wants us to know.

Essential theology for the Christian life.

God keeps his promises and provides his pepole what they need.

God gives themm somewhere to live and provide food for themselves.

He gives his pepole their daily bread!

Sometimes just enough, but always enough.

Psalm 23.

think of meadow of grass and abundance - but let me show you scene orginal writer and hearer had in mind.

Treasures Untold: Psalm 23 (kristintigges.blogspot.com)

Why shepherd would lead from front because sheep would know that he would lead them to daily provision.

- just what they needed.

Reliant on good shepherd.

So often we worry because we get caught up in the stuff we don’t need and forget to praise God for giving us what we do need.

Matthew 6 image

What is the answer to worry - its worship.

Lord’s prayer - doesnt start with give us our daily bread.

Starts

Where do you need to remember God’s earthly provision.

Every good gift is from.

He will give you what you really need.

so that you might live and serve him.

But he also provides much more - providing for our deepest need.

God provides for our spiritual needs

In one sense the focus on Levites highlights for us God meeting the Spiritual need of the people.

The responsibility for the tabernacle, and sacrifices and offerings, so that the peopel could enjoy a right relationship with God.

We’ve seen previously how this language of tabernacle and offering and sacrifice is a picture of God’s Holiness, and our need of reconcilation and mediation, fulfilled of course in the Lord Jesus through his death and ressurection and recieved through faith.

Our greatest Spiritual need has been met in Jesus, as we have been reconciled to God, through faith becoming the people of God.

But I don’t think that is focus of this passage.

There is no mention in this passage of Levites performing any preistly duty, or any details of the tabernacle.

In this passage what writer is showing us is how God provides for our every day Spiritual need.

How he in the everyday administers his grace to this people that they might keep trusting him.

Seen in second question I asked.

Where do the Levites live?

Is it one location or many?

Aren’t all centred around Shiloh (place of rest).

Image of spread (either real or symbol)

Why spread?

Just part of curse?

Purpose

That the worship of God remain the very centre of the people of God wherever they are.

What would be function of priests - to minister the word of God to the people in the different cities and tribes and regions, so that they might continually remember who God is, be protected from turning away, and worship God in local expresisons.

God meets the peoples Spiritual need by meeting them where they are, with constant reminder of his promises as the Levites continually live and minister the word of God - with goal that people might cling to his promises, to live in obdience to his word.

How does he do this - through preisthood scattered amoungst the people.

Also a contant reminder that though they have so much, this is not their final inheritance.

Its this dispersion of the Levites I think writer wants us to focus on.

Because it’s in this we see our application through lens of the gospel.

How does God administer his presence amoung his people today?