(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
Numbers 18:1–7, “And the LORD said unto Aaron, Thou and thy sons and thy father’s house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary: and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood. And thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring thou with thee, that they may be joined unto thee, and minister unto thee: but thou and thy sons with thee shall minister before the tabernacle of witness. And they shall keep thy charge, and the charge of all the tabernacle: only they shall not come nigh the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar, that neither they, nor ye also, die. And they shall be joined unto thee, and keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, for all the service of the tabernacle: and a stranger shall not come nigh unto you. And ye shall keep the charge of the sanctuary, and the charge of the altar: that there be no wrath any more upon the children of Israel. And I, behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel: to you they are given as a gift for the LORD, to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation. Therefore thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priest’s office for every thing of the altar, and within the vail; and ye shall serve: I have given your priest’s office unto you as a service of gift: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.”
The Lord had just demonstrated that Aaron and the tribe of Levi were specially selected to act on His behalf for Israel and to act on Israel’s behalf for the Lord. They were to deal with the issue of sin by offering sacrifices to the Lord. This was an hereditary task and would always belong to this tribe. If anyone from another tribe tried to act as a priest or a Temple servant they would be rebelling against the Lord. They were entirely responsible for all the ceremonial aspects of Israel’s religion. Ever since Adam and Eve sinned mankind was tainted by sin. The Lord was offended by mankind’s sin and no one could presume upon His goodness. The Lord freely gave of His grace and sought to effect reconciliation with mankind but this could only be done on the Lord’s terms. The entire sacrificial system was devised to allow Israel to deal with sin and be the means whereby the Lord would use them to bless all the families of the world. However, this could only happen because the Lord is gracious and merciful and acted from His own goodness. We cannot demand that the Lord deal with us on our terms but come to Him on His terms.
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