Mon.’s Devo - The Purification of the Levites

Read: Numbers 8:1-9:23; Mark 13:14-37; Psalm 50:1-23; Proverbs 10:29-30 When they set up the menorah they were to set it up so that the light would reflect forward. The menorah was the representation of revelation knowledge given from heaven. It was to reflect onto the priests and light their way in the Holy Place just like the revelation knowledge of God’s Word and his Holy Spirit lights our path. The Levites were to take the place of the first born so they went through a purification ceremony. They shaved their entire body, washed their clothes and were sprinkled with the water of purification. They brought animal and grain offerings to the Lord. The people of Israel played their hands on them transferring their sin to the Levites. Then the Levites put their hands on their animal sacrifices transferring the sins of the people and their own sins to the animals. They would then stand before Aaron and Aaron would raise his hands in a gesture of offering the Levites to the Lord. One day, Jesus would take the place of the Levites and offer himself as a sacrifice and atonement for our sins. Now the Levites were clean and could serve with Aaron and his sons in the Tabernacle. The Passover was to be celebrated on the fourteenth of Nisan, their first month in the religious calendar every year. If they had touched a dead person or were some way unclean then they could wait till the next month and celebrate the Passover. If they just refused to celebrate it and had no excuse then they would be cut off from the community of Israel. Passover represented salvation. They were saved from the slavery of Egypt and its pagan worship. We are saved from our sin and the evil world we live in. To not be saved means you are cut off from spending eternity in the community of heaven like they were cut off from being a part of the community of Israel. When they stopped to camp, the cloud would cover the Tabernacle during the day and become a pillar of fire at night. When the cloud moved, they knew it was time to move. In Mark, Jesus was explaining the signs of the end. He was at the part about the Great Tribulation. When we see the Antichrist set up pagan worship in the new Temple God’s followers will know it is time to flee to the hills because it is about to get very hard for Christians. The anguish will be greater than any time in the history of the world. God has shortened those days so that a remnant will be able to survive. Lord, thank you for the light of your Word that goes before us to prepare us for the future.