The tribe of Levi holds some fascination for me. It has a varied history. Its father and namesake, Levi the son of Jacob, may not have started out as a promising candidate to sire what would become an important tribe. You might remember that he, together with his brother Simeon, exacted a terrible revenge upon the Hivites for the defiling of their sister Dinah. Jacob had arranged a marriage so that Dinah may not be completely dishonored, but Levi and Simeon took it upon themselves to deceive and slay the men of that city, dishonoring their father's word among strangers (Genesis 34). The consequences of their actions began to reveal themselves in Jacob's blessing several years later, as Jacob foretells that they will be divided and scattered in Israel, intimating that they would have no inheritance in the Promised Land (Genesis 49).
However, this is not the whole story, not for Levi. Remember again the scene at the base of Mt. Sinai, when Moses had been gone "too long" from among the camp of Israelites, returning with the stone tablets in hand to find a raucous party (to put it in nice terms) going on the base of a golden idol, a calf. Moses called for anyone righteous to stand with him against the offenders, and it was the Levites who gathered to him, and they defeated all the offenders in the camp, exterminating them. This, then, brought a blessing on the tribe of Levi for the zeal they showed for the Lord, that they be consecrated and sealed to serve before the Lord (Exodus 34).
As we learn in this chapter, it is the Levites alone who were allowed to dwell close to the tabernacle, to guard it and keep it, to care for the priesthood. One interesting thing I noticed is that the Lord harks back to the exodus from Egypt again. Referring to the plague on the firstborn, the Lord declares that when he took the firstborn of Egypt, and passed over the Israelites, He consecrated all firstborns to Himself. However, rather than take every firstborn into His service, He allowed the Levites to stand in as substitutes. This, at the latest, would have come just a few years after the exodus, as we know they were only left Sinai two years from the exodus (Numbers 10:11, though I need to double check my timeline on this to make sure I understand this verse correctly). The events of that night and of the passover would have still been vivid in the Israelites minds, at least enough, I would think, that they would heed this. Instead of claiming the firstborn, the Lord took the Levites, and to make up any difference, the Israelites were able to redeem their children with redemption money, which then helped to pay the priests for their services, as the Tabernacle was their work. Isn't it interesting to see both how the Lord works His intentions and actions together as well as how He provides for those who serve Him? All that was given to the Lord, there was a portion for the priests to support their daily living so that they would be free to work. (Not much unlike a portion of our tithes to our church going to pay for the pastors who make it their life's work to serve us.) God is so cool.
Tomorrow's Reading: Numbers 4:1-49
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