Year 1, Day 123: Numbers 8

The Work of God

I was reading Richard Lawrence this morning.  Richard makes an interesting point in his commentary called The Bible Reader’s Companion.  He says, “Some view heaven as a place where the redeemed stand idle, strumming harps. But throughout the O.T. those who have been closest to God have been the most active!  Heaven will be filled with work and worship.  And those committed to work and worship experience a foretaste of heaven now!”

Why do I bring forth this point about heaven as we read about Numbers 8?  Well, it is really simple.  This chapter states {again} that the Levites are a special people, chosen from among the Hebrew people.  But what is it the Levites are called to do?  We know from a few chapters ago that they weren’t allowed to fight.  We also know that they were given a separate place among the community to dwell – as a buffer between God and the people.  This points us towards what the Levites were called to be.  They were not just called to be separate, but they were called into a work for the Lord. 

They didn’t work for themselves.  In an interesting twist of fate, they don’t even work for the Hebrew people, although their work certainly does benefit the Hebrew people.  They work for God and for God alone.  It goes back to the quote with which I began this blog entry.  Those who are the closest to God are often the most active in His work, and those truly committed to God now can work and worship God now!  As God’s priests under Christ, this same principle applies to us.  Those closest to God are going to be about His work in this world.

Retirement of the Levites

We then turn to the retirement of the Levites.  They have a mandated retirement age.  However, notice what it says here.  The priests may help after retirement, but they are not to actually do the work themselves.  They can still be involved, but the burden of responsibility is passed on to the next generation.

I wonder how often this principle is overlooked in our churches.  How often do people who are afraid of their church “changing” insist on keeping hold of the reins?  Rather than pass along the baton to the next generation, who are equipped with the ability to bring about change in order to meet the spiritual sensitivities of the upcoming generation, people hold onto the reins and intentionally block change.  By holding on longer than they should, the church stays the same while the culture changes around it.  Pretty soon the church may have a relevant message but it has no relevant means by which to communicate this message.  This is most easily brought about by people who are too focused on both preventing change and refusing to trust in the upcoming generations to lead.

Remembering Leviticus 7

Now, this puts me back in conflict with the points that I blogged about yesterday.  Does the shape of our worship or Christian life matter so long as it is genuine?  If we are to embrace change, what can be said for appreciating the rote about which I spoke yesterday?  Let’s look at this from two perspectives:

From God’s perspective:  God desires genuineness in worship, not perfection.  God desires a heart that longs for Him rather than a rehearsed tradition that happens without thought.  I believe that God can enjoy, accept, and appreciate true worship in whatever shape that happens to be – so long as it brings glory to God.  This can be with contemporary music, hymns, guitars and drums, prayer service, liturgies and a bunch of other things too many to mention.

However, from an evangelical perspective I believe our worship form absolutely matters.  If people are walking into the service and are uncomfortable, they are not likely to return.  Again, the shape of discomfort can take many forms.  Some people may feel discomfort in traditional liturgy.  Others may feel discomfort in a contemporary style.  Still others may find discomfort in a rock service.  Others may find discomfort in a healing service, or a prayer service, or whatever.  There is no one right form for worship.  From a human perspective it is absolutely important that the worship be structured so as to be able to be one tool in our evangelistic nature.  Ultimately, I think this is one of the main reasons why the Levites are forced to retire.  They can assist, but they cannot get in the way of ministry meeting the culture where the culture actually is.

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