The Levitical heritage we have as believers began when the tribe of Levi made a choice back in the book of Exodus. Moses ascended Mount Sinai and spent 40 days and nights communing with God. After a while the Israelites thought Moses to be as good as dead and turned to Aaron asking him to fashion them a god to worship. Following Egyptian culture and religion, Aaron had the Israelites bring him all the gold they had and he melted it down to make a golden calf. After 40 days Moses descended the hill holding two stone tablets with the ten commandments written by God Almighty. In his anger after seeing the pagan worship and golden calf among the Israelites, Moses smashed the two tablets on the ground. God’s judgement was ready to consume the people but before it did Moses asked the LORD to remember the promise He made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and He relented. Moses then addressed the Israelites and said, “Whoever is for the LORD, come to me.”
25 Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies. 26 So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Whoever is for the LORD, come to me.” And all the Levites rallied to him.
27 Then he said to them, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.’” 28 The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died. 29 Then Moses said, “You have been set apart to the LORD today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day.” Exodus 32:25-29
All the Levites gathered around Moses. They physically positioned and set themselves apart. By doing so they said they are FOR THE LORD!
No one else among the people of Israel responded the same way.
Because of the Levites decision to remain committed to the Lord, they were given authority to cleanse the people of Israel. The Levites executed Gods judgement by killing about 3,000 with the sword. It is after this the Lord affirms the Levites and responds to their dedication by saying they have been set apart. The LORD became their inheritance.
As people who are set apart by the washing with the blood of Christ, we are called into the royal priesthood.
4 As you come to him, the living Stone [Jesus]—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:4-5
Every single person who has been washed by the blood is called to be a priest unto the LORD. When we choose the free gift of salvation we also make that physical separation of oneself from the rest of the crowd similar to the way the Levites did all those years ago! We walk and stand set apart by God by making that free will choice to be for Him. Being a priest and a modern day Levite is not just for pastors or musicians but it is a calling for all born-again believers. The call to minister to the heart of the LORD with every thing we are is the way to live out the greatest commandment of all.
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37-40
There has been confusion in the American church. The enemy has planted a lie and it has taken root and spread across denominations. The confusing lie is that the priesthood is meant only for pastors and leaders and that laypeople are simply meant to follow, imitate, and consume the revelation of those pastors and leaders. We are in a new covenant and through the blood of Jesus the curtain to the Holy of Holies has been torn. As Francis Chan says, “I’m not meant to be your Moses.” There was a time and space for the Levitical priesthood to be carried out by a few but that time is no more. Now the call is to everyone in the Kingdom to be a priest unto the LORD.
The church was never meant to have a human mediator, but we were always meant to behold and follow the LORD. Imitation and living off of someone else’s revelation (manna) is a disease in the Church. The habitual copycat tendency many believers have stifles creativity and suppresses a move of the Holy Sprit. When we are constantly looking at what other believers, leaders or churches are doing we stop looking at Jesus. Like the Israelites who stopped beholding God on Mount Sinai and imitated the worship of their captive Egypt, are we too idolizing a golden calf and calling it worship? Simply feeding on the revelation of others and imitating their response to God will not sustain an individual or the Church.
There is an intense desire the LORD has to have deep fellowship with us all on individual and personal levels. Community is good and learning from others as iron sharpens irons is beautiful but it cannot be our daily meal. We must go into the secret place with the Most High God and be transformed into a lovesick Bride [Psalm 91]. He requires our time and is so worthy of it. There is so much to discover in the LORD, so much love to be shared with Him. Do not refuse the LORD, but present yourself to God as a spiritual sacrifice acceptable through Jesus day in and day out discovering the depths of Him who is Love.
Jesus is our Great High Priest and we as believers are now part of the holy priesthood. Our hearts are the altar and we are also the living sacrifice. God is the all consuming fire and as He burns us up we are refined into the image of His son Jesus. Our job is to stay on the altar as we remain in a constant state of being poor in spirit and enter into intimacy with God. In this state we acknowledge our ever present need for Christ, our Great High Priest to surround us in His presence so we can behold His beauty.
Are you on fire?