Burunche’s Blog

Deuteronomy 33:1 – 11 “This is the blessing that Moses, the man of God, pronounced upon the Israelites before his death. He said: “The LORD came from Sinai and dawned upon us from Seir; He shone forth from Mount Paran and came with myriads of holy ones, with flaming fire at His right hand. Surely You love the people; all the holy ones are in Your hand, and they sit down at Your feet; each receives Your words— the law that Moses gave us, the possession of the assembly of Jacob.

So the LORD became King in Jeshurun when the leaders of the people gathered, together with the tribes of Israel.

Let Reuben live and not die, nor his men be few.”

And concerning Judah he said: “O LORD, hear the cry of Judah and bring him to his people. With his own hands he defends his cause, but may You be a help against his foes.”

Concerning Levi he said: “Give Your Thummim to Levi and Your Urim to Your godly one, whom You tested at Massah and contested at the waters of Meribah. He said of his father and mother, ‘I do not consider them.’ He disregarded his brothers and did not know his own sons, for he kept Your word and maintained Your covenant. He will teach Your ordinances to Jacob and Your law to Israel; he will set incense before You and whole burnt offerings on Your altar. Bless his substance, O LORD, and accept the work of his hands. Smash the loins of those who rise against him, and of his foes so they can rise no more.”

Moses is beginning his song of blessing over the tribes of Israel, and his descriptions are very telling. The Tribe of Reuben gets a bare mention. The Tribe of Judah is blessed with help against their enemies. But look at the blessing for the Tribe of Levi!

To understand why Levi was selected for the priesthood in the first place, we need to go back to Exodus 32. Moses has spent 40 days and nights on Mount Sinai while God has been giving him the Ten Commandments, as well as the rest of the law. Meanwhile, the Israelites have pressured Aaron to make them an idol of a golden calf, one of the Egyptian deities they are used to, and they are having an orgy.

Exodus 32:25 – 29 “Moses saw that the people were out of control, for Aaron had let them run wild and become a laughingstock to their enemies. So Moses stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Whoever is for the LORD, come to me.”  And all the Levites gathered around him. He told them, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each of you men is to fasten his sword to his side, go back and forth through the camp from gate to gate, and slay his brother, his friend, and his neighbor.’” The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people fell dead. Afterward, Moses said, “Today you have been ordained for service to the LORD, since each man went against his son and his brother; so He has bestowed a blessing on you this day.”

Moses and Aaron were from the Tribe of Levi. Moses put out a general call, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.” Anybody from any tribe could have answered that call.  Anybody could have stood with Moses and received a blessing, but only the Levites responded. Interestingly enough, ALL the Levites gathered around Moses. Evidently, the Levites found Uncle Aaron to be a major embarrassment and wanted no part of idol worship! When Moses ordered the Levites to go back and forth through the camp and slay their brothers, their friends, and their neighbors who were involved in the orgy, the Levites did not hesitate, but killed three thousand people. Because the Levites valued God above those most dear to them and maintained the covenant, God chose the Levites to serve Him. Not only were the Levites blessed abundantly, but also the enemies of the Levites would be cursed.

APPLICATION: We read the story of the Levites and wonder how they could ever have done what they did. It’s quite possible that the Levites might have been weeping bitterly as they carried out Moses’ order, but they were obedient. In some respects, the Levites were forced to make blood sacrifices of those most dear to them. By choosing God rather than family and friends, the Levites secured an everlasting priesthood and eternal blessings.

Has God ever asked you to do something you knew would hurt your family members? Several times we have departed for the mission field, leaving elderly parents behind to grieve our absence. When we left for Ghana in September 2011, we knew that it would be the last time we saw my father before eternity. My father’s heart was failing and there was little that anybody could do. But my father gave us his blessing, and we left knowing that this was God’s will for all of us.

1 They cast their nets in Galilee
Just off the hills of brown;
Such happy, simple fisher-folk,
Before the Lord came down.

2 Contented, peaceful fishermen,
Before they ever knew
The peace of God that filled their hearts
Brimful, and broke them too.

3 Young John who trimmed the flapping sail,
Homeless, in Patmos died.
Peter, who hauled the teeming net,
Head down was crucified.

4 The peace of God, it is no peace,
But strife closed in the sod.
Yet, brothers, pray for but one thing–
The marvelous peace of God.

PRAYER: Father God, help us to choose to follow You even when things are difficult and when that choice might seem hurtful to our families. Thank You that You love our families far more than we do. Bless all those who make that difficult choice. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

This entry was posted on January 26, 2022 at 9:30 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.