[S] Numbers 1:47-54 --
47The Levites, however, were not numbered among them by their fathers' tribe.
48For the LORD had spoken to Moses, saying,
49"Only the tribe of Levi you shall not number, nor shall you take their census among the sons of Israel.
50"But you shall appoint the Levites over the tabernacle
of the testimony, and over all its furnishings and over all that
belongs to it. They shall carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings,
and they shall take care of it; they shall also camp around the
tabernacle.
51"So
when the tabernacle is to set out, the Levites shall take it down; and
when the tabernacle encamps, the Levites shall set it up But the layman who comes near shall be put to death.
52"The sons of Israel shall camp, each man by his own camp, and each man by his own standard, according to their armies.
53"But the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that there will be no wrath on the congregation of the sons of Israel So the Levites shall keep charge of the tabernacle of the testimony."
54Thus the sons of Israel did; according to all which the LORD had commanded Moses, so they did.
[O] The reason for not including the Levites in the census is because they were set apart to oversee the tabernacle where God's glory was present. They were not to get mingled into the every day tasks the rest of the people were responsible for. They were not to get involved in the wars the rest of the people had to fight. Another passage outlines how they were not to have any land either. Their role was to keep complete charge of the tabernacle. Even though this may be implied, we also see that for forty years wondering the wilderness, the Levites never had any issues of survival because they worked in harmony with the rest of the community. Who are today's "levites?" I believe they are those on staff to local churches -- both pastors and other paid staff members. Their fully dedicated responsibility of keeping charge of the church and also to work in harmony with the rest of the congregation/community is what God designed in the first place. In many ways, they should not worry too much about the every day chores but to fully dedicate their focus on keeping the church in line with God's leadership. However, from my observation, we seem to be veering further from this mainstream because more and more pastors and staff members have to worry about financially sustaining for them and their family resulting in less and less coverage of the needs of the church itself. The thoughts from today's passage may not be a spiritual one but nevertheless a critical one for us to support each other in our community such that we would fully function on the tasks God desires for us to focus on.
[A] I need to pray for pastors serving at our church (adult, youth, children) and to volunteer my hours in the Spring cleaning day.
[P] Dear God, please open our eyes to see Your "business plan" for our ministry so that we would most efficiently and effectively achieve Your purposes designed for our church to carry out. We, as the congregation, must harmoniously support our paid staff members and their families such that they would not have to distract themselves away from guarding and keeping in charge of Your tabernacle. In Jesus' name. Amen.