Levites of the Living Christ
Author
Faustino de Jesús Zamora Vargas
Summary: The Levites were the tribe of Levi, who were destined to serve the Lord in various functions, including carrying the pieces of the tabernacle, moving the Ark of the Covenant, and practicing the priesthood. They were also responsible for recording and maintaining the historical memory of relevant events, teaching, and advising the people of God. While they were the last to receive lands and cities, they were the first to guide the people according to God's will. Today, as members of the church, we all have some Levites in the body of Christ, and we have inherited the attributes that were previously only imputed to Israel. The church has a mission that transcends cultures, nations, and ethnicities, and it has an educational function of global reach, even if the world denies it. By his obedience and faithfulness, Joshua was able to experience the rest that God granted to his people after the Levites received the cities and lands of the divided inheritance. Christians today have reached the promise of his rest and cherish faith and hope in all the promises of God.
God reveals himself as the generous provider for the tribe of Levi because they were called to permanently consecrated service to the Lord. The Lord has since ruled that the Levites would belong to him entirely. Since Moses, God had ordained that the Levites be assigned cities and land for their families. God's promise to the Levites was fulfilled and they received from the inheritance received by the other tribes of Israel a total of 48 cities scattered throughout the conquered territory.
Who were the Levites? The descendants of the tribe of Levi, destined to fulfill multiple functions of service for the Lord since the time of Moses: responsible for carrying the pieces of the tabernacle and moving the Ark of the Covenant where the people moved and guarantors of practicing the priesthood. They were truly "the apostles" of their time, those in charge of recording and maintaining the historical memory of the relevant events so that the tradition would have continuity in later generations, the teachers, those who preached the Word, the theologians and advisers of the people. of God. The Levites were the last to receive lands and cities, but the first by divine design to guide the people according to God's will. The last were the first. The Lord decreed: "I myself have chosen the Levites ... The Levites are mine" (Numbers 3.12).
What is the church today but the "royal priesthood and people acquired for the possession of God"? (1 Peter 2: 9). The church has inherited from its founder, the Lord Jesus Christ, the attributes that were previously only imputed to Israel: "holy nation, chosen race" (1 Peter 2: 9) to bear witness to him who transferred us from darkness to his light. .
As members of the Christian community within the Lord of Lords church, we all have some Levites in the body of Christ. The gifts of the Spirit were given to us to be in Christ a mere reflection of his grace. Levites heirs of the promise that carry the Ark in the middle of the chest; Temple, still corruptible, but already blessed by eternal life that began to become a reality in us when the Spirit acquired us to be the possession of the Most High God. In God's faithfulness is our hope, the certainty that all that He promised will come true in His time. It is up to us to be faithful, to live the gospel and proclaim it, to be authentic representatives of the Kingdom in a fallen world, moreover a puppet of the enemy who "disguises himself as an angel of light" so that the foot of the righteous slides into the slip and falls.
The Church of Christ has a mission that transcends cultures, nations and ethnicities and is the foundation of its existence, as well as an educational function of global reach, even if the world denies it.
By his obedience and faithfulness Joshua was able to experience the rest that God granted to his people after the Levites received the cities and lands of the divided inheritance. "The Lord gave them rest throughout the territory, thus fulfilling the promise made years ago to their ancestors." (Joshua 21.44a). Author's emphasis.
Christians today have reached the promise of his rest and cherish faith and hope in all the promises of God. The letter to the Hebrews warns us: "... let us fear, lest, while the promise of entering His rest remains, any of you seem to have fallen short of it" (Heb 4.1). The promise of rest is the gospel of reconciliation, it is Jesus himself, in whom we have permanent "city and land" to fulfill his eternal purposes. Today's Levites - missionaries, preacher worshipers, psalmists, teachers, ushers, and humble people who serve the Lord anonymously and joyfully - are privileged to have entered the Lord's rest and to wait in faith for the fulfillment of all his promises.
When the church breaks the molds of manners traditionalism and empty religion to finally meet its Lord, it inherits promise. When the believer inhales the pleasant perfume of salvation looking at the cross as a symbol of atonement for all the evil in the world through the blood of those who suffered it in his flesh, he inherits promise. Let us live as "looking at the invisible", in the rest of Christ, living his Word of eternal life and with hope as the certainty of his coming in glory.
God bless your Word!
Suggested Reading: Joshua 21