Anyone who confesses with his mouth that Jesus is Lord and believes that He died and rose from the dead is saved.
If you read the Bible and study about the Levites being prepared for the Lord’s service in the Old Testament, you will clearly see a clear picture of a parallel to Jesus and His followers. Let’s dive in to understand where we should stand today.
The High Priest, Priests, and Levites
After the Lord confirmed His covenant and had given the tablets of stone containing the law, it was time to build His sanctuary so He could dwell in their midst. Moses explained God’s instruction on the contribution to be collected, consisting of “gold, silver and bronze [or copper], blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, goats’ hair, tanned rams’ skins, goatskins, acacia wood, oil for the lamps, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, onyx stones, and stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece” (Exodus 25:3-7).
Now, the Tent of Meeting needed people for specific services. And the Lord appointed His priests. “Then bring near to you Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the people of Israel, to serve me as priests—Aaron and Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar” (Exodus 28:1). Aaron and his sons were tasked to keep guard over the sanctuary and the altar, anything within the veil. Their work included performing the laws of all the offerings. They were later consecrated through an ordination ceremony (Exodus 29, Leviticus 8).
In the same way, the Lord chose the Levites from among the 12 tribes to be His, separate from the rest. They were to keep guard over the priests and the whole tent, but they were not to come near or touch the vessels of the sanctuary.
Aaron, his sons, and the Levites would receive no inheritance from the land that God promised. God gave them so much more, when He said, “To the Levites I have given every tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service that they do, their service in the tent of meeting… For the tithe of the people of Israel, which they present as a contribution to the LORD, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance,” (Numbers 18:21, 24a). Deuteronomy 10:9 confirmed how much better their inheritance was: “Therefore Levi has no portion or inheritance with his brothers. The LORD is his inheritance, as the LORD your God said to him.”
Later, “the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle” (Exodus 39:34).
The High Priest Forever
The Spirit of God descended upon Jesus when He was baptized by John in the Jordan. A voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). God’s confirmation of Jesus came again when He was transfigured before Peter, James, and John, when a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 17:5).
Jesus taught with authority beyond that of the religious leaders as He proclaimed the kingdom of God, His Father’s. For this, He was delivered to Pilate by the chief priests and the elders of the people and sentenced to die by crucifixion. Before His death came, “He cried out… with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom” (Matthew 27:50-51a).
The tearing of the curtain of the Temple signified the wonderful truth that Jesus paved the way for us to approach the throne of God through faith in Him. “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God…Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:14, 16).
Jesus also finished the work of the priests and the need for animal sacrifice. His death on the cross was the greatest sacrifice for sin, “for the death he died he died to sin, once for all…” (Romans 6:10a). So, now, “we have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 6:19-20).
The Royal Priesthood
Anyone who confesses with his mouth that Jesus is Lord and believes that He died and rose from the dead is saved. He admonishes His followers, those who profess their love for Him, to keep His commandments. Jesus also said, “Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do…” (John 14:12).
We, followers of Christ, like to talk about how we need to be more like Jesus. Somehow, we fail because we clearly do not understand the power living in us to do greater things in His name. In our slowness to submit and obey, God is unable to fully execute His perfect plan so that we can embrace our purpose to worship Him with everything we have.
The Apostle Peter said these words: “You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ…But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people” (1 Peter 2:5, 9-10a).
Clearly, Jesus, the Cornerstone and Rock on which we should be standing, is building us to be His esteemed Temple, far greater than any place of worship built by human hands. Being alive in Christ and dead to our sins should completely make room for God’s righteousness to live in us. As He cleanses and prepares us for His service, we become the pleasant offering to God, our lives bringing the sweet aroma of Christ—not the old smell of death—because of unrighteousness.
What humility we should practice knowing that we are chosen to be God’s people! This special honor conferred to us should bring unending joy and move us to action, bringing to life the works that we have heard and seen Christ do so people will recognize who He is to us. We can show God’s light that drove the darkness out of us (and keeps darkness out of us) to further His cause.
What of the Future?
When God installed the Levites, He gave them various assignments to perform. Some carried the vessels of the Tent of Meeting. Others provided music with songs and instruments. Ssome cleaned the ashes from the offerings.
In the Book of Revelation, there will be a multitude standing before the throne, clothed in white robes, washed in the blood of the Lamb. They will come out of the great tribulation. John, in his vision, said, “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple” (7:15a).
And when the New Jerusalem comes from heaven, “the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God” (21:2-3). And what is fascinating to know is that the new city’s Temple “is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb” (v.22). Not made by man. Not His people. But God Himself.
Our guaranteed inheritance, through faith in Jesus Christ, will come in the fullness of time. God, having tested the genuineness of our faith and with our recognition of how truly precious our salvation is, will give us a great treasure, our inheritance “that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading” (1 Peter 1:4).
It’s mind-blowing to think of how God really looks at us—with so much love that He wants us to experience eternity with Him. But He is also mindful to make us go through the refining process to prepare us for what is to come. God, the “imperishable, undefiled, and unfading,” is our inheritance and will not let anyone “unclean…detestable or false” to enter His presence (Revelation 21:27).
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Anton Aleksenko
Luisa Collopy is an author, speaker and a women’s Bible study teacher. She also produces Mula sa Puso (From the Heart) in Tagalog (her heart language), released on FEBC Philippines stations. Luisa loves spending time with her family over meals and karaoke!
