The Super-Glorious Service is a Gift

Jehovah said unto Aaron, Thou and thy sons and thy fathers’ house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary; and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood. And thy brethren also, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring thou near with thee, that they may be joined unto thee, and minister unto thee. but thou and thy sons with thee shall be before the tent of the testimony. And they shall keep thy charge, and the charge of all the tent: only they shall not come nigh unto the vessels of the sanctuary and unto the altar, that they die not, neither they, nor ye…. And I, behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel: to you they are a gift, given unto Jehovah, to do the service of the tent of meeting. And thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priesthood for every thing of the altar, and for that within the veil; and ye shall serve: I give you the priesthood as a service of gift: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death. (Num. 18.1-3,6,7)

And unto the children of Levi, behold, I have given all the tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they serve, even the service of the tent of meeting.... For the tithe of the children of Israel, which they offer as a heave-offering unto Jehovah, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance: therefore I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance. And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, Moreover thou shalt speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithe that I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up a heave-offering of it for Jehovah, a tithe of the tithe.... Thus ye also shall offer a heave-offering unto Jehovah of all your tithes, which ye receive of the children of Israel; and thereof ye shall give Jehovah’s heave-offering to Aaron the priest. (Num. 18.21,24-26,28)

Let us look more closely at the passage from Numbers chapter 18 quoted.

(1) The children of Israel shall not come near to the tent of meeting (v.22).
(2) The Levites shall keep the charge of the tent of meeting; only, they shall not come near to the vessels of the sanctuary or to the altar (v.3).
(3) Aaron and his sons shall be before the tent of meeting (v.2); they shall keep the charge of the sanctuary and the charge of the altar (v.5); they shall keep their priesthood for everything of the altar and for what is within the veil (v.7).

There are great differences among these three classes of people. God does not allow the children of Israel to enter the tent of meeting because they are not sanctified and offered to Jehovah. The Levites are more advanced than the children of Israel; though they can approach the tent of meeting and keep its charge, they are not permitted to enter the sanctuary. Aaron and his sons are especially selected by God from among the chosen ones; they are privileged to draw near to God to fellowship with Him and to do the most holy work of intercession.

The children of Israel are born to be the children of Israel; the Levites are born to be the Levites; and Aaron and his sons, too, are born to be themselves. There is no transference or change as they might possibly wish.

However, we believers who are redeemed by the precious blood are made priests unto God. The children of Israel had their classification determined at birth. But great is our privilege who are born of the Spirit to be priests.
How sad that many believers do not know this privilege and abandon it. According to design, all believers are priests; and as priests we all can hold sweet fellowship with God, sense at all times the reality of His presence, and plead for sinners at His throne of grace.

Yet due to the fact that believers forsake their privilege, there are now in the Church three classes of believers. This refers not to their position before God, it only refers to their experience in life. One class of believers is the merely saved Christians; another class are workers who can only preach and teach; and a third class (few there be) are functioning priests who join themselves to the Lord and pray according to God’s heart for the things the Lord would have accomplished.

What the Levites do are seen by all, for their office is to keep the charge of the tent of meeting and to do its service (Num. 18.3,6). Their works are external, therefore visible to all.

The tent of meeting represents the incarnated Christ. The service of the Levites as recorded in Numbers chapters 3, 4, 7 and 8 is to carry the tent of meeting, together with all the vessels in it. So their labor is visible and sometimes may receive praise and glory from men.

But those who serve as priests of God do not have such kind of notoriety. Their work is hidden, for they dwell in the secret place of the Most High. May God our Father create in us a desire to be near to His heart, enabling us to forsake all the excitement, glory and praise of the world and to fellowship with our Father incessantly by living in His presence and praying for all men.

A further word can be said about those who serve God in the sanctuary: they have no social interaction. Apart from the fellowship they have among themselves, they are separated from the world. If anyone wishes to serve God with all his heart and to live for Him, he cannot occupy himself with many social relationships and functions. He ought to spend more time in fellowshipping with the Father who loves us, and in working for Him.

The sanctuary is not a spacious place, although it is large enough for us to commune with the Lord. The sanctuary is dark because the sunlight cannot penetrate it, and therefore we must walk by faith. The sanctuary is tranquil, solitary, secret and concealed, unseen and unknown by men. Are you willing to be there? To serve our God in this fashion is costly, but the love of Christ ought to constrain us into forsaking all and presenting our bodies for His service alone.

Our Lord has died for us and is now praying for us in the heavenly sanctuary. Should we not be where He is and join ourselves together with Him?
The blood of Christ has already cleansed us so that we might function as priests. Let us therefore come boldly before Him.

Do take note that the priesthood is God’s gift (Num. 18.7). It is a super-glorious service. How we should imitate Christ in doing this glorious work!