Today’s Bible Reading: LEVITICUS 27:1-3, NUMBERS 1:1-54
Numbers 1:49-50
Only the tribe of Levi you shall not number . . . but you shall appoint the Levites over the tabernacle.
Just before their exit from Mount Sinai, God commanded that a census be taken. They were to number all the fighting aged men available for times of aggression. At first glance there seems to be little spiritual insight from this text, but actually there is a great wealth of instruction found here.
The Levites were not numbered in the census. Their omission was not because they were not important, but because they were. They were assigned to a different army and fought a different battle. Theirs was a spiritual not a physical struggle. They fought not with spears and swords, but with sacrifices and supplication.
They were the men of the priesthood. They were called and commissioned by God to manage and maintain the tabernacle. They were charged with the teardown, transport and set up of the tabernacle during their wilderness wanderings. They were tasked with performing the various acts of worship within the tabernacle.
You see the Levites were not exempt from battle, but intensely engaged in it. They tabernacle was the place of the earthly presence of the Lord. They were not just performing some religious rituals, but they were protecting His residence, His realm. Their work was indispensably important to secure a victorious outcome. If the battle is the Lord’s, then their service to the Lord was vital in securing His favor and having Him stand with them in their fights.
Their preparation for battle involved purification not practice. They didn’t spare with each other or develop strategies for future attacks. There were no swords or shields involved in their training. They went through multiple ceremonial cleansings to enter the fight. These washing were not a waste, but their process of preparing themselves for warfare. Their preparation was purification.
Their battle attire was not the armament of a solider, but of a servant. In the place of a helmet, they wore a turban. Their breastplate was not designed to guard them, but to guide them. Their enemy was not visible, but invisible. The blood they shed was not on the arena of battle, but on the altar of sacrifice..
Unlike the rest of the men of Israel, their participation in the battle was perpetual. They were constantly engaged in the spiritual struggle. Daily they did battle. Daily they fought in the fight. These were not periodic skirmishes with the enemies of Israel, but persistent assaults by the enemy of Israel. His pursuit was relentless, so they couldn’t relent from their routine to be able resist him. Every day the priest battled the powers of darkness so that God’s people would not be overcome by them.
We too must respond like the Levites. We are told in Scripture that we are a temple of the Holy Spirit. We are a walking tabernacle. As such, we must prepare for and participate in spiritual warfare. We must arm ourselves with the spiritual armor we have been given and stand in the power of the Holy Spirit to fight our unseen enemy. We must never let down our guard or we will suffer spiritual defeat. We must be vigilant to be victorious. Our daily disciplines will be a decisive factor in our daily battles. Like the Levites, we must purify ourselves and protect the realm, the reign and rule of Christ within us. We must never give in or give up.
Today thank the Lord that the battle is His. Praise Him that He has tasked us to serve Him in the spiritual struggle. Thank Him that He provides the spiritual armor and aid necessary for our daily battles. Ask Him to help you to maintain your spiritual disciplines so you can defeat the endless assaults of the enemy. Ask Him to empower you by His Spirit so you can stand in your spiritual struggles.
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