Tag Archive | royal priesthood

Numbers 3&4 – Whatever your hands find to do…

Oct29

Good morning Y’all. Today we are looking at Numbers 3 and 4

I struggled a lot with these two chapters 😦 to find something that I can apply to my life. with more research and help of the Holy Spirit, I was able to come up with the points below

I pray you are blessed as you read 🙂

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1) God is a God of order. He has a order in which things need to be done. He gave specific instruction to the Moses, Aaron and the Levites on how to carry out their tasks and in the order it has to be done.

“Then the Lord said to Moses,  “Summon the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron as his assistants. They will follow his instructions and perform the sacred duties at the Tabernacle on behalf of all the people of Israel. For they are assigned to him as representatives of all the people of Israel. They are in charge of all the furnishings and maintenance of the Tabernacle. However, only Aaron and his sons may carry out the duties of the priesthood; anyone else who presumes to assume this office shall be executed.” (Numbers 3: 5-10 TLB)

2) We are set apart for Gods use.  The moment we gave our lives to Christ, we transferred ownership of all that we are or ever hope to be to God. Not that it was ever ours anyway 🙂 . We are set apart for His use just as the levites were.

Eph 1: 4-5  says “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure” (NLT)

1 Peter 2:9 says ” But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (NKJV)

3) Each of us has a part to play in Gods kingdom. Just as the levites each had a task to perform (see Numbers 3: 21 – 37), so also we have individual roles to perform.

“When their names were recorded, as the Lord had commanded through Moses, each man was assigned his task and told what to carry”. Numbers 4:49 NLT

Each of us has been assigned a role to play and we should do it cheerfully no matter how small or big it may be. Notice the Levites weren’t envious or trying to do another persons role. I guess after God made an example of Nadab and Abihu (see Numbers 3:4), they understood the importance of obeying and doing things Gods way.

I found the below commentary by David Guzik regards verse 49 –

“Each according to his service and according to his task: Each of these had a role to play in doing the work of tabernacle, and God made them all dependent on each other to do that work. “It is worthy of note that these Levites, although they were all equally consecrated to God, had not all exactly the same work to perform. God is not the God of all uniformity. There is a wondrous unity of plan and design in all that he does, but there is also an equally marvelous variety.” (Spurgeon)
Paul says the church is to work like a body – many parts, looking different, doing different jobs, meeting different needs, some more visible, some less, but all essential – and all with the same DNA code!
Much trouble is caused in the service of the Lord by those who desire a different calling than they have, or who are jealous of those who have a different calling, or by those who exalt one calling and abase another. Everyone has a place and a job, and all can be about doing it!” (Guzik, David. “Commentary on Numbers 4”. “David Guzik’s Commentaries
on the Bible”. ;. 1997-2003)

In summary, let’s remember that our God is a holy God and delights in our obedience. Let us carry out our roles with gladness and not look down on the task we have been given. if our role is to clean the toilets in Gods house, lets do it cheerfully, if its too lead people in worship, lets do it cheerful and unto God. scripture says whatever your hands finds to do, do it with all your might (Eccl 9: 10, Col 3:23). Scripture also says he who is faithful in little things will also be faithful in much (Luke 16:10)

Thanks for joining today. Pls feel free to share your thots on the chapter.

Have a blessed day 😉

***With God all things are possible***

Exodus 19

Jan29

Good morning y’all. Today we are looking at Exodus 19.

Be blessed 🙂

“Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me”.(Exodus 19:5 NLT)

We are Gods special treasure. A treasure is defined as ‘a valuable or valued item’. To God, we are very valuable and important.  The amplified version says “… My own peculiar possession and treasure…”. Even though God owns the whole earth, He has decided in his mercy to make us his own treasured possession. This is awesome to know that God who created the whole earth delights in us and sees us as people to be treasured 🙂

Before we get carried away, there is a condition to the above promise. The condition is OBEDIENCE. The beginning of verse 5 says “Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant….”. That is, we have to yield ourselves in obedience to God. We have to follow his instructions and do all he has commanded us to do, then we can enjoy all of the promise that He has for us.

“And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.’ This is the message you must give to the people of Israel.”(Exodus 19:6 NLT)

A kingdom of Priests – Priests are Gods representatives to the world. As christians we are to represent God here on earth like Jesus did. We are to yield ourselves in obedience to him and let him use us to evangelise the world.

A holy nation – That means we are to be set apart for his use. As christians, we are called to holiness. 1 Peter 1:15- 17 says:
“But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.” And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time here as “temporary residents.”(NLT)

Verse 5 and 6 of this chapter reminds me of 1 Peter 2:9.

“But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light”.(NLT)

Gods desire His children is to be priests and a holy nation who serve him in obedience and holiness.

The question today is: are we being a representative of God and living in the holiness he has called us to or are we spending our time serving and representing the kingdom of this world?

Remember the condition in verse 5 to obey Him. Let’s be people who will use our freedom to obey God.

“Then the lord told Moses, “Go down and prepare the people for my arrival. Consecrate them today and tomorrow, and have them wash their clothing. Be sure they are ready on the third day, for on that day the lord will come down on Mount Sinai as all the people watch”.(Exodus 19:10-11 NLT)

God is a holy God and as such when we approach him we must do so with holy reverence. Jesus has made it possible for us to have access to God 24/7 but we still need to show God the honor and reverence due His name whenever we come into His presence.

God asked for them to be consecrated. That is, they needed to be set apart from those things that distract them from seeking God wholeheartedly. It’s the same for us too, we need to daily consecrate ourselves to God and set ourselves apart from anything that distracts us from God. We are called to holiness.

“On the morning of the third day, thunder roared and lightning flashed, and a dense cloud came down on the mountain. There was a long, loud blast from a ram’s horn, and all the people trembled”.(Exodus 19:16 NLT)

God said He was going to come down on the 3rd day and He did just that. He came down on the third day to meet with the people. This tells me that God is reliable and dependable. He can be trusted to do exactly what He says He will do. God has integrity. So whatever God has told you, know that He is able and will do just that. Numbers 23:19 says:
“God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?”(NLT)

Prayer:
Dear Lord we thank you for today. Thank you for delighting in us and choosing us to be your treasured possession. We ask for grace to yield ourselves in obedience to you. Pls help us daily consecrate ourselves to you and rid us of anything that distracts us from you. Thank you dear Lord. In Jesus Name we prayed. Amen.

Thank you for joining today.

Have a blessed day 🙂

***With God all things are possible***