The Lord God gave the
Levites to the nation of Israel as an example of the manner in which
they were to worship Him. The Levites were the chosen tribe of Israel
who were awarded “life and peace” because of their awe and
reverence for the Lord. In chapter two and verse six of Malachi's
prophecy, we see more of the traits of the tribe of Levi which
pleased the Lord where we read:
The law of truth was in
his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me
in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity.
The verse begins, “The
law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his
lips:” The first trait
mentioned by the Lord in this verse is the “law of truth”
or “firmness, faithfulness, sureness, reliability,
stability, and continuance” “according to the law of God” which
was “in his mouth”. When the priests of the tribe of Levi
spoke, the word of God was in their voices. The people who heard them
knew they were speaking the “truth” of God. In addition,
the priests spoke so “iniquity” which means “injustice,
unrighteousness, or wrong” “was not found in his lips”.
In other words, when the priests from the tribe of Levi spoke, the
people could trust that they were speaking the truth without
falsehoods about God and injustice toward men.
The
verse goes on to say, “he walked with me in peace and
equity,...” The condition of
the lifestyle of the priests of Levi were that they “walked
with” God “in
peace and equity”. The idea
behind “peace” is
“completeness, soundness, or welfare”, and “equity”
refers to a “level place, or uprightness”. The lives of the
priests of Levi were such that they lived not only in “peace”
with God and others, but there was “uprightness” in all they did
and said.
Finally the verse says, “and
did turn many away from iniquity.” The
result of the Levites' behavior before God and people was they “did
turn many away from iniquity”
or “perversity, depravity, iniquity, guilt or punishment of
iniquity”. Their speech and their lives were so affective that
“many” people
turned from doing that which was contrary to the Lord to doing that
which was obedient unto Him, and the Lord commended the Levites for
doing so.
As an exercise for
understanding Malachi's words, let us imagine for a moment that we
are the priests of Levi of whom he wrote. Would the Lord be able to
say that “the law of truth” is in our mouths? Would he
declare that “iniquity was not found” in their lips? Would
the Lord affirm that we walk with Him “in peace and equity”,
and would He see that our lives affect others in such a manner that
“many” of them “turn away from” their
“iniquity”? The Levites of old of whom the Lord speaks
were an example of the way the priests of Israel were to be, however,
their contemptible behavior toward worship and their fellowman left
much to be desired. Because the Lord makes reference to the former
ways of the priests in the tribe of Levi, we may know that He desires
those same traits not only in Israel, but also in us. May the Lord
help us to understand where we fall short in these areas, and may the
Lord Jesus Christ give us the grace to continue in our relationship
with Him as we grow in these areas every day.
Next
time we see what the Lord has to say about the Levites as messengers,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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