Mon.’s Devo - The Levites

Read: 1 Chronicles 5:18-6:81; Acts 26:1-32; Psalm 6:1-10; Proverbs 18:20-21
The tribes of Rueben, Gad and half of Manasseh were the ones who wanted the land on the east of the Jordan and didn’t go into the promised land for their inheritance. They started out trusting in God to help them defeat the inhabitants of their land. God helped them become very prosperous but then their fame and achievements went to their heads and they started following the gods of the people they had conquered. So God sent the king of Assyria against them to take them into exile to Assyria.
The tribe of Levi were chosen to attend to the temple, minister to the Lord for the people and teach the people the law. They were scattered all throughout the land and given land in every tribe. Every tribe was to have several cities of refuge which were run by the Levites. They were not given a specific territory because they were gifts to the people. They were like the five-fold ministry of today (prophets, pastors, evangelists, prophets and teachers). Aaron and Moses were Levites.
The Levites were divided into three main divisions: the family of Merari, Gershon and Kohath which were Aaron’s three sons. They presented burnt offerings on the brazen altar and burned incense at the incense altar. They were in charge of atoning the sin of the people and the duty of carrying incense into the Holy of Holies every Day of Atonement. The other Levites were given other duties in the tabernacle.
In Acts, Paul was testifying for himself in front of Festus and Agrippa. He gave them his testimony and when he was through Festus thought he was insane. In his story he told of his commission to go to first his own people but when they wouldn’t believe he was to go to the Gentiles. I think that this was the part that made Festus think he was insane. To think that the Jews and the Gentiles could agree on religious terms was like us thinking there can be peace in Jerusalem between the Jews and the Arabs. It could only happen with an intervention of the Spirit of God.
What Festus and Agrippa did agree on was the fact that Paul was not guilty of anything worthy of imprisonment or death. They would have set him free had he not appealed to Caesar. If they had set Paul free at this point, the Jews would have killed him. His appeal to Caesar was God’s way of keeping Paul safely guarded so he could get to the center of the Gentile world and testify in His name.
Lord, your way does not always appear to us to be the safest or wisest way but you know better and your way is the safest and wisest way. Help us to blindly trust you.