Commentary on "Priests and Levites"

STEVE PITCHER

 

Day 2: Sunday, November 15, 2009

 

Today’s lesson is titled Division of Labor. The author is attempting to use the example from the passages in Numbers as well as a passage from Exodus to identify that there is a division of gifts among the members of the Body of Christ.

The first question asked is (in relation to Exodus 19:5-6), “How can we relate those words above to ourselves, today, as a church called to bring a message to the world? Is this calling unconditional? See 1 Pet. 2:9, Rev. 14:6–12.”

The covenant spoken of by God in Ex. 19:5 is the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant was a conditional covenant, made between God and his people, the Israelites. The fact that Israel was a “kingdom of priests,” quoted by Peter in 1 Pet. 2:9 does imply that the priests in Israel and the priesthood of believers was the same. The Levitical priesthood was a portion of Israel specifically chosen to officiate in the tabernacle and temple. In contrast, the priesthood of all believers is the entire body of Christ. Unlike the Levites, all of the family of God are able to enter before the throne of God with confidence. This is the authority (Jn. 1:12) of the children of God, to come before their Father with all their praises, needs and intercessions.

The Old Covenant was definitely conditional. Following the passage from Exodus in the lesson, we find a fascinating piece of information about the nature of this covenant. In Ex. 19:7, 8 we find the following: “So Moses came and called the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which the LORD had commanded him. 8 All the people answered together and said, ‘All that the LORD has spoken we will do!’” Here we see one half of a conditional covenant, the people saying, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do!” This is the nature of the Old Covenant. Two parties are involved, the conquering king (in this covenant, the King is God) and the conquered people, the Israelites.

The New Covenant, in contrast, is not a covenant between God and the people. It is a covenant between the Father and the Son. Jesus entered into the covenant in our place (Heb. 7:22). We are sinful, but Jesus always was and always will be completely sinless, which is why he could take our place before the Father. The first covenant made with Israel contained faults. That may seem like a heretical statement to most Seventh-day Adventists, however the book of Hebrews 8:7-13 makes this abundantly clear. This passage reads as follows:

7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second. 8 For finding fault with them, He says, "Behold, days are coming, says the Lord, when I will effect a new covenant with the House of Israel and with the house of Judah; 9 Not like the covenant which I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; for they did not continue in my covenant, and I did not care for them, says the Lord. 10 "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 11 And they shall not teach everyone his fellow citizen, and everyone his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all will know me, from the least to the greatest of them. 12 For I will be merciful to their iniquities, and I will remember their sin no more." 13 When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.

It is no small thing to confuse the conditional covenant with Israel to the unconditional new covenant that is offered to believers in Christ. The lesson author, in wording the first two questions of today’s lesson, has combined the study of Exodus 19:5, 6 with the idea that the calling of the Church to proclaim the gospel is conditional. All believers have been given the “great commission” (Mt. 28:19, 20). This is not conditional upon our particular placement in the body of Christ, nor is it conditional upon the specific gifts of the Spirit that we have been given; it is an unconditional commandment given to all who name Christ as Lord. We are to enter into the presence of the Lord with confidence, and in that confidence, bring others to the throne of grace. Hebrews 10:18-20 tells us:

18 Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin. 19 Therefore, brethren, … we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh.

In the Old Testament (Old Covenant) Israel was the “chosen race.” In 1 Pet. 2:9, the believers who make up the body of Christ, his Church, are called a “chosen race.” This is not a race in the same sense that we are all of the same ethnic origin, as was Israel. Since we have been adopted into the family of God, our birth certificates have been changed to indicate that we have been born of different stock than may otherwise by physically obvious. In the New Covenant sense of the term, a “chosen race” is a title bestowed upon us, not a descriptive term, indicating our physical origin. The lesson author does make this point near the end of today’s lesson, yet it seems to be stated as a secondary point. He correctly points out, “in New Testament times, hereditary roles, such as found with the Levites, clearly have been abolished.”

The similarity between the Levites who officiated in the sanctuary and the priesthood of all believers in the Church is that both Levites and Christians are priests by birth. Levites are priests by being born into the tribe of Levi. Christians are priests by being born again as children of God. Both are by birth.

The true intent of today’s lesson can be found in the Teachers Comments on page 91 of the Teachers Quarterly. In this section it is stated that one of the objectives of this lesson is to have the student “Sense the sacred roles of our spiritual leaders and our interdependence on one another.”

In the body of Christ, our interdependence upon one another is not dependent upon the “sacred roles of our spiritual leaders.” Every member of the body of Christ has a sacred role. People in some positions in society hold no greater position in the body of Christ than do others. Christians do not set apart certain members of the body of Christ for greater glory than other members based on their secular career. It is an unchristian practice which sets individuals, based on their secular employment, as having a calling in God’s work that is greater than the calling of the other members of the body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:12-23 says,

12 For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. 14 For the body is not one member, but many. 15 If the foot says, "Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body," it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear says, "Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body," it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. 19 If they were all one member, where would the body be? 20 But now there are many members, but one body. 21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; or again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." 22 On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; 23 and those members of the body which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable.

There are a few positions within Church life that are different than other positions. These are identified in Timothy, James and elsewhere in the New Testament. People in the body of Christ who are teachers, pastors or elders do receive more recognition and respect in this life. Along with the greater recognition, however, these individuals will be held to a higher standard during the judgment of believers’ works. (James 3:1)

The remaining lessons this week deviate from the first couple of lessons regarding the division of labor among God’s people into other, somewhat related, issues. We will address those items as the week progresses.

At this point we would like to suggest a study of the teaching on spiritual gifts given in several passages of the New Testament (New Covenant). The primary passages on spiritual gifts are:

• Romans 12:1-13
• 1 Corinthians 12
• 1 Corinthians 13 (The “more excellent way” as stated in 1 Cor. 12:31b)
• Ephesians 4:1-16

 

Summary

1. The division of labor among the ancient Israelites was by God calling Levites to officiate in the tabernacle.
2. A comparison between the division of labor among ancient Israel and the Church misses some important differences.
3. All Christians may approach the throne of God with confidence; no one is excluded based on position in the body of Christ.
4. The Old Covenant was conditional. The New Covenant is unconditional. The Old Covenant was a covenant between God and his people. The New Covenant is a covenant between the Father and the Son. The keeping of the New Covenant was guaranteed from the foundations of the world. (See Rev. 13:8, “All who dwell on the earth will worship [the beast], everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.”)
5. Leaders in the Church are in no different spiritual position than other members of the body of Christ. Leaders and teachers, however, will be judged more harshly than other believers.
6. The New Testament teaching of the gifts of the Spirit and the various members of the body of Christ is clear. We suggest reading the following passages for a better understanding of this than you will have from reading Numbers, Exodus, or other Old Testament passages.
   • Romans 12:1-13
   • 1 Corinthians 12
   • 1 Corinthians 13
   • Ephesians 4:1-16
7. Hebrews 4:16 tells us that we may, “draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” This the type of priesthood of which all Christian believers are a part. In Christ, there are no Jews and Gentiles, Male nor Female, Slave nor Free, but all are one. We are not defined by our secular employment or ethnic origin; we are defined by being in Christ.
8. Levites are members of the priesthood by being born into the tribe of Levi. Christians are members of the priesthood by being born again into the family of God.

 

GO TO DAY 3

 

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