It is in our nature to be independent.  Even though infants are totally dependent on our moms and dad to provide all that is needed; they will independently cry out, loudly, when they think their need is not being met immediately. Infants cry when they make a mess in their diapers, when stomachs signal the need to be immediately filled, when gas bubbles cause irritation, when a brother touches them or a sister comes too near to them, when mom does not hold them all day long and into the night or any moment they feel need and want to control their new environment.  Crying their only tool to communicate and independently declare what they want in this dependent state of being.  And it works!  We hear the cry and we run to fix it because of our love for these precious ones who with just a smile can melt our hearts. Who’s really in control here?

The Levites have been chosen by God to be fully dependent on God and His people for daily needs.  Their work is great and the load is heavy.  They must deal with the sins of the people in specific ways as commanded by God.  They must prepare the place of God’s choosing and keep it ready at all times so when He comes there is nothing left undone.  The Levites have a lot of specific tasks to be done daily such as cleansing the tools and places for sacrifices to be made. They also prepare for all the celebrations mandated by God as a time to “remember” and revere God who provides. 

Levite priests were judges for the towns in which they live when the disputes could not be settled among the people themselves.  But Levites have no income, no land to own, and no way to provide for their families. Their inheritance was with God alone.  God promised to take care of His appointed, anointed, consecrated, and ordained people from the tribe of Levi. They, in return, loved and served Him and the entire Israelite nation.  The Levite tribe’s only way of sustenance for food for their families came from the offerings presented to the Lord by the people of Isarael. 

Levite priests were dependent entirely on God who provided for them and became their inheritance—just as He promised.  They were able to move from town to town and minister in the Name of God and share equally in the offerings from the people as provision. 

God will also send prophets to speak for Him, chosen from among the nation of Israel.  Hold that thought as we continue our journey from Genesis through Deuteronomy and beyond!  They will be fully dependent on God, too.  They will cry out, but with God’s words in their mouths.  Unfortunately, some of the people will cry out like infants, wanting only what they want.   

Deuteronomy 18

Offerings for Priests and Levites

The Levitical priests—indeed, the whole tribe of Levi—are to have no allotment or inheritance with Israel. They shall live on the food offerings presented to the Lord, for that is their inheritance. ² They shall have no inheritance among their fellow Israelites; the Lord is their inheritance, as he promised them.

³ This is the share due the priests from the people who sacrifice a bull or a sheep: the shoulder, the internal organs and the meat from the head. ⁴ You are to give them the firstfruits of your grain, new wine and olive oil, and the first wool from the shearing of your sheep, ⁵ for the Lord your God has chosen them and their descendants out of all your tribes to stand and minister in the Lord’s name always.

⁶ If a Levite moves from one of your towns anywhere in Israel where he is living, and comes in all earnestness to the place the Lord will choose, ⁷ he may minister in the name of the Lord his God like all his fellow Levites who serve there in the presence of the Lord. ⁸ He is to share equally in their benefits, even though he has received money from the sale of family possessions.

Occult Practices

⁹ When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. ¹⁰ Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, ¹¹ or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. ¹² Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you. ¹³ You must be blameless before the Lord your God.

The Prophet

¹⁴ The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the Lord your God has not permitted you to do so. ¹⁵ The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him. ¹⁶ For this is what you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the Lord our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.”

¹⁷ The Lord said to me: “What they say is good. ¹⁸ I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him. ¹⁹ I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name. ²⁰ But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, is to be put to death.”

²¹ You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?” ²² If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

God provided precise instructions to the Israelites for governing themselves and honoring the divine moral code. God commanded his people how to care for the Levites who served them.  God also tells the future in our passage today!  He told the people of a prophet who would come, one of their own, to whom they should listen. Read verse 15 again!  This is a prophecy of the coming of Jesus!  Jesus will come to earth and move into the neighborhood of humanity to “seek and to save the lost” and who will ultimately be the once and for all, perfect without blemishes from sin sacrifice for our sins! 

What will this mean to us?  Jesus’ sacrifice of His body willingly laid down for our sins will be the end of animal sacrifices.  Animal sacrifices offered as specifically commanded by God to the Levites to reverently officiate merely covered over the sins of the people in an act of atonement.  The hand of the priests on the goat that symbolically carried those sins out to wilderness beyond where the people lived is no longer necessary.

Jesus’ blood shed on that agonizing, cruel Roman cross that day paid the debt of all the sins of the world and removed them—to be remembered no more!  What a difference Jesus made in God’s new way to reconcile his created to Him who created us—all of us!  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17

Don’t miss this…Because Jesus was resurrected in power on that third day; Jesus won the victory over death and provides eternal life for ALL who believe!

But wait, there’s even more!  Let the holy scriptures speak to us—

Because of Jesus, He is our Source of rebirth to Life:

“The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” John 1:9-13

Because Jesus is for all—all are adoption into God’s family:

“For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” Romans 8:14-17

Because of Jesus, whoever believes have eternal life with Him:

“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”—Jesus, John 11:25-26

By Jesus’ example, we are called to point the Way to Jesus, living as God’s children.  We have new rights with new responsibilities to testify of the goodness of God and the redemption provided by His Son:

“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!  And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, NLT

God will take of those who believe, trust, and obey His call: 

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” I Peter 5: 6-7

God gives us His Holy Spirit to reside in us to help us daily:

“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. —Jesus telling his disciples the work of God’s Holy Spirit, John 16:13-14

We can learn to be led by the Spirit of God and avoid being swept away by deception.  Romans 12:1-2 tells how with the holy discipline of daily offering ourselves as an offering to God; 

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:1-2

We are called to be dependent on God alone for all things of this life:

“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” –Jesus, Matthew 5:31-33

“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” Galatians 5:24-25

Lord,

Thank you for leading us remembering who we are in you.  Thank you for your Word that explains our rights as joint heirs with you, dear Jesus, with reminders of our calling with responsibilities!  We who belong to you must love like you so others will know you, too! Help us by the power of Your Holy Spirit.  Lead us to all that is truth.  Guide our words to others seeking You. 

In Jesus Name, Amen