Christ in all the scriptures Maintaining the sanctity and integrity of the house

 Christ in all the scriptures

Maintaining the sanctity and integrity of the house  Numbers 18

There is no higher calling in life!  To serve the living God is the highest honour accorded to man.  Aaron and his sons were were given that honour, and their wider family the Levites joined with them in the great work (there is a play on words as Levi means "joined").   This honour applies to all believers today, who, by reason of new birth, serve as priests of the living God, as we have established many times in these studies.  However, with high honour comes responsibility and protocol; with authority comes accountability.  The central verse in this chapter is 18v5 "And ye shall keep the charge of the the sanctuary, and the charge of the altar: that there be no wrath any more upon the children of Israel".  Due to their sin and rebellion in questioning the authority of Moses and Aaron, the Lord made it clear they were challenging the authority of God Himself.  They were to learn that sin brought the wrath of God, even upon His own people.  Association with God called for sanctity of living and service.  Chapter 18 and 19 declare the nature of God's holiness; in 18, the priesthood can be defiled by carelessness and human error; in 19, contact with a dead body brings defilement.  God is very sensitive to sin in all its forms.  Even the most sacred work of temple service can be defiled, and unwitting and unintentional contact with a dead body defiled them.  To grasp the importance of this we must realise what we are in Christ: 

Our bodies are the temple of God-1st Corinthians 6v19-20, "What? know ye not that your body is the temple (the inner shrine) of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?  For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."

Our local church is the temple of God-1st Corinthians 3v16-17, "Know ye not that ye are the temple (inner shrine) of God, and that the the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy, for the temple of God is holy, which ye are."

The church, the body of Christ, is the temple of God-Ephesians 2v21-22, "In whom all building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple (inner shrine) in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded for an habitation of God through the Spirit."

Believer, grasp it, since your new birth in Christ, there is never a time in your life when you are not endowed with holy privilege.  The challenge is to live up to the high calling.  Paul appeals to the Ephesian believers..."And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby ye are sealed unto the the day of redemption.  Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be kind one to another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you"-Ephesians 5v30-32.  It grieves Him when we we sin, He is very sensitive to it. Don't continue it such that He must act in discipline.  Sin can raise its ugly head even in the most sacred duties.  We are called to highest service, as Aaron and the Levites were, to perform holy service free from sin.  

The chapter is full of principles of service that are timeless, and we should observe them.

Every servant will bear the iniquity of the sanctuary and of the priesthood.   "Thou and thy sons and thy father's house shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary: and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood"-18v1.  This emphasises the importance of the Priests and Levites to maintain the sanctity of the Holy Place, and to bear the iniquity associated with it.  This involves not only the integrity of the physical structure but the moral integrity of those operating within and around it.  This is a reminder of the holiness required in all of us in worship and in personal conduct.   For example, the men who pray in public are to "lift up holy hands without wrath or doubting"-1st Timothy 2v8.  Again those who preach in public are to "speak as the oracles of God"-1st Peter 4v11.  There are many Divine sanctions on those who fail in this of minor and major proportions.  The sanctuary must be preserved from defilement of any nature.

There are diversities of tasks in the congregation of the Lord.  The Priests alone operated the sacrifices and the sacred vessels; the Levites tended to structure and coverings in maintenance and transportation of the tabernacle; the people brought their gifts and tithes for the upkeep of tabernacle worship.  All were endowed with Divine gifts for their contributions.  God provided the Priesthood as a gift for the people as mediators between Himself and them; He provided the Levites as a support group to the Priesthood; He endowed the people to maintain the worship service.  The Priests and their families were fed from the residue of the sacrifices nominated by the Lord.  The Levites were paid out of the tithe offerings of the people.  The principle is declared in the New Testament that "they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel".  We have all been given different gifts for the purpose God has for us.  Anything we offer to Him is out of what He has generously given us.  He is a God of great diversity as is evident from the material creation, and a God of great generosity.  All of us have been fitly endowed for the role He would have us play in His sanctuary.

The allotted work was given to each as a charge-refer 18v3, v4, v5, v8.  This word is strong (mishmereth) and describes a sacred charge given in trust.  It is similar to the Greek parangello, also translated charge (or commandment)-1st Thessalonians 4v2; 1st Timothy 1v3, 1v5, 1v18; 4v11; 5v7; 6v13, 6v17.  The service of God is a sacred deposit, given to us to keep and to share.  Note the emphasis in the chapter: "And they shall keep thy charge, and the charge of the tabernacle"-v3; "And ye shall keep the charge of the sanctuary and the charge of the altar"-v5; "to you they are given as a gift for the Lord to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation"-v6; "Thou and thy sons shall keep your priest's office for everything of the altar, and within the veil; and ye shall serve"-v7.  This is an active repetitive service in the sanctuary of God, and it requires commitment and skill to maintain it.  There is a need today to see our service, whatever it be, as a solemn charge to the Lord.

The offerings were described as heave offerings and wave offerings (v8-11).  The heave shoulder and the wave breast, portions of the sacrifices to the Lord, represented the strength of the shoulder and the affection of the heart.  There was to be no mere ritual associated with the offerings, it must be with all strength and all heart affection....Deuteronomy 6v5. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul and with all thy might".  Less of saying prayers and more of really praying!  Less of repetitive worship and more of real worship is what is pleasing to Him.

The first and best to be brought to the Lord (v12-19).  "All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine and of the wheat, the firstfruits of them which they shall offer unto the Lord, them have I given thee.  And whatsoever is first ripe in the land, which they shall bring unto the Lord, shall be thine; every one that is clean in thy house shall eat of it"-18v12-13.  All offerings to the Lord first, and then we partake, is the principle.  What we bring is of the best produce.  Applied to all Christian service now, what a difference it would make to our gatherings!  King David said, "I will not offer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God of that which doth cost me nothing"-2nd Samuel 24v24.  In contrast the people brought to the Lord "that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick...thus ye brought an offering: should I accept this of your hand?"-Malachi 1v13.  What we bring, and how we bring, reflects our reverence toward Him.  He deserves the first and the best from all of us.  He gave His best for us, may we render our best in return!  "Out of all your gifts ye shall offer every heave offering of the Lord, of all the best thereof, even the hallowed  part out of it"- Numbers 18v29.