We help with the high school youth group at our church on Sunday nights. I must say, there are things going on in my heart and head from the day, and even the past few months, that make me come to Scripture tonight with the longing for something "relevant". Something that speaks to where my heart and head are at. But I am so thankful for our youth minister's lesson tonight; God spoke to me through him, and I hope our kids were hearing it as well.
Tonight, Travis, our youth pastor, talked to the high schoolers about the word of God, why all of it matters. It's about the whole story. If you ignore or gloss over any portion of the Bible, you're missing out on the whole story. Genealogies difficult to read? Well, yeah, but if you miss them, then you're missing the whole story. There is information in them we should know. The allotments of Israel's inheritance? Yes, it's important. It's part of the whole story. The passage tonight: it's part of the story of the Levites and God's relationship with them. It began, in part, with Levi himself, his sin against Shechem, and the prophecy his father Jacob made on his death bed. It also began at Mt. Sinai, when they stood for the Lord at the Golden Calf incident. It continued with the selection of Aaron's family as the priesthood, choosing the Levites to serve before the Tabernacle, outlining their duties, and here, God fulfilling the promise to Levites to give them an inheritance scattered among the people (just as Jacob said) so that they might serve the Lord among the people.
Travis talked about how the historical books like Joshua, Judges, Ezra, and Nehemiah show that God is involved. He's not just sitting on the sidelines, but he is involved in the activities and daily-doings of Israel. God was involved (and still is) in the story of the tribe of Levi. Here in this chapter He is fulfilling His promise to them. At the beginning the chapter, it plainly states that it was by the Lord's command that Levi was given these cities and pasture lands as their inheritance. God was involved even in the smallest detail of who got what city and the land that surrounded it, because remember some of the cities awarded in Judah did not come with pasture land as it was given to Caleb as a result of God's promise to him.
These two lessons really encourage me in my reading tonight. Maybe I would have preferred a Scripture that spoke more directly to the things on my mind. But you know what? No matter where I am in the Bible, I can learn something about God. I see here, in these cities, that God is indeed involved with man. He fulfills His promises. He is concerned with the smallest of details. He follows through. He's not distant, unconcerned, or uncaring. If He was, wouldn't He have told Joshua, "Eh, work it out amongst yourselves"? But instead, it was by His command, by the throwing of lots, which they did to understand God's word (and which the did for the last time just before the Holy Spirit came to indwell all believers) and God's will. It was not their decision, nor chance, but God's direction through the Urim and Thummim. (That's not something I've ever really discussed in this blog, but if you need the background, the Urim and Thummim were given to the priests to read and interpret God's will on certain questions.) God cares. And that's good enough for me tonight. I know that whatever I'm thinking or sorting out or dealing with, I can take to Him in prayer and He will be involved and respond. God is good. Amen.
Tomorrow's Reading: Joshua 22:1-34
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