365 Devotionals: Moses’ Last Words

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. James 1:22 AMP

The Seeds of Promise Devotional Series

In The Sanctuary

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March	Book	Read From	Read Also	Devotional
7^th	Deuteronomy	Chapter 18		In The Sanctuary

Devotional Reading: Deuteronomy 18:1-7 AMP

¹The Levitical priests and all the tribe of Levi shall have no part or inheritance with Israel; they shall eat the offerings made by fire to the Lord, and His rightful dues. ²They shall have no inheritance among their brethren; the Lord is their inheritance, as He promised them. ³And this shall be the priest’s due from the people, from those who offer a sacrifice, whether it be ox or sheep: they shall give to the priest the shoulder and the two cheeks and the stomach. ⁴The firstfruits of your grain, of your new wine, and of your oil, and the first or best of the fleece of your sheep you shall give the priest. ⁵For the Lord your God has chosen him out of all your tribes to stand to minister in the name [and presence] of the Lord, him and his sons forever. ⁶And if a Levite comes from any of your towns out of all Israel where he is a temporary resident, he may come whenever he desires to [the sanctuary] the place the Lord will choose; ⁷Then he may minister in the name [and presence of] the Lord his God like all his brethren the Levites who stand to minister there before the Lord.

The Levites were not given possessions of land or other wealth. Yet, they were wealthy. The LORD himself was their inheritance. If everything belongs to God and He is the inheritance of the Levites, then it follows that the Levites lacked nothing because their inheritance was without end. God commanded that all the Israelites would give offerings to the LORD, and most of these were to sustain the Priesthood (the Levites).

A Levite who may have been traveling and came to another town as a temporary resident, was to be given full access to the sanctuary. I remember being a teenager and having keys to the church that I attended. Services were held there on Sundays, twice a day, twice during the weeknights, and twice during the weekdays for prayer; but my favorite services were the times when I opened the church doors and locked them behind my entrance. I was in the sanctuary alone to serve God. I would sing songs and try to play the piano or other instruments. I did not know much about Levites or Levitical Worshipers in those days. All I knew was that I was created to praise God.

The Bible says that for those chosen and ordained by God to serve Him, their service to Him was to be their profession. That means they were to have no other “job” than serving God. Today, the economy and expenses of merely existing in the world has made many ministers work overtime, in full-time ministry and secular jobs concurrently. I keep hearing the words of the character, Evan, in the movie, “Evan Almighty,” when he says, “He’s [God is] trying to get me fired so I’ll have more time to build the ark.” God will move situations and circumstances to put you in a place to fulfill His purpose for you.

When I was able to enter the sanctuary at any time, those were the happiest days of my life. I am sure that the Levites came to enjoy their work in the sanctuary. It was a privilege and an honor to hold the position of Priest. God was jealous for His place of meeting and those who tended to it. To enter into the holiest place or to touch things hallowed to God when you were not a Levite, was death. God himself said that only the Isrealites had ever looked on God and lived, for His glory had shone in their presence regularly. Other peoples feared them because of the favor they had with God.

Well, I have moved away and no longer have keys to the physical sanctuary. Yet, I have learned that those who worship God in Spirit and in truth carry the glory of God with them. Their very bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit and when they begin to praise God, no matter where they are, God’s glory begins to fill the place where they are. People were created to praise God; mankind is His glory. However, there are people chosen from among the masses to be consecrated to God, just as the Levites (descendants of Aaron) were chosen to be the Levitical Priesthood, which existed until the “Priesthood” was opened to every believer because of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Now, every servant of God is part of the holy nation that God reserves to himself.

⁹But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation, [God’s] own purchased, special people, that you may set forth the wonderful deeds and display the virtues and perfections of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. II Peter 2:9 AMP

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