Today’s Text: Numbers 1-4
Key Text: Numbers 3:11-12
“And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn….The Levites shall be mine’….”
They were not God’s only “children.”
They were not the only ones among the people of Israel whom God cared for.
They did, however, have a very unique and important calling.
The Levites were to “guard over” Aaron as high priest, over the “whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle. They (were to) guard over all the furnishings of the tent of meeting” and “keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle.”
In other words, watching over the holy things and the holy life of the people was their direct responsibility.
What a daunting task!
Happily, though, they were not left to do it alone. God directed them directly as they wandered in the wilderness on the journey he had destined for them.
We too are on a holy journey. It may also feel, at times, like we are wandering in the wilderness.
We must keep the faith though – that we are not alone – we are never alone.
God’s holy presence – and God’s holy guidance – is always there – just ahead.
All we must do is faithfully follow.
Like this:
Like Loading...
Related
By Paul Simrell
The Reverend Paul W. Simrell has served for over thirty years in a variety of congregational and institutional settings. He is a recognized minister with standing in the Virginia region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada and is nationally endorsed by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for specialized ministry in both pastoral counseling and chaplaincy. Ordained in 1982, he has served congregations in Kentucky, Texas, Florida, and Virginia. He currently serves as the pastor of Elpis Christian Church, a small, historic congregation located just a few miles west of Richmond, Virginia. Elpis is the Greek word meaning “expectant hope.” He also serves on the associate clinical staff of the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care, Richmond, Virginia, both as a pastoral counselor and a ministerial assessment specialist, specializing in executive, clergy and relationship coaching. He is a graduate of the University of Florida and Lexington Theological Seminary and has done advanced clinical training in chaplaincy and pastoral counseling at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky, Children’s Medical Center and Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas and the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care in Richmond, Virginia. He is a Certified Pastoral Counselor, an ACPE Practitioner, and a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. He is a Certified Facilitator of the Prepare-Enrich relationship assessment and skills-building program and served as a volunteer chaplain for over twenty years with the CJW Medical Center campuses in Richmond, Virginia. His avocational interests include playing the piano and drawing. He is very happily married to his wife Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell, a free-lance writer, who is also a Certified Facilitator for the Prepare-Enrich program.
Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton
View all of Paul Simrell's posts.