My dear Brethren; – Grace and peace through our Beloved Master!
“And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of the firstborn among the children of Israel: therefore the Levites shall be mine.... I am the Lord” – Num. 3:12,13. With this terse statement by Jehovah God was laid the foundation for the first system of an organized religious system for God's faithful people. Previously, the head of each house was mainly his own priest; he built his altars, and offered his own sacrifices for himself and for his house. (See Gen. 22:9) But, with the call of the Levites things would be decidedly different; and as time developed the religious routine did indeed become most pronouncedly different.
As all Bible Students know, the Levites were the descendants of Levi, one of the twelve sons of Jacob – the “thirteenth” tribe of Israel. This oddity developed when they were called out from among their brethren to perform the various services of the newly‑formed religious system that was to regulate them after their deliverance from bondage in Egypt. Thenceforth, the names of Joseph and Levi were no longer counted among the twelve tribes, these two having been supplanted by the two sons of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh. Here comes the logical query, Why were the Levites thus chosen and separated out from among the other tribes? The episode in Ex. 32:25-29 may give us the answer: “When Moses saw that the people were naked... then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the Lord's side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him .... Moses said, Consecrate yourselves today to the Lord (margin).” But now that the Levites had been separated from their brethren, they in turn experienced a distinct cleavage into priests and Levites. “Thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall wait on their priest's office: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death,” the Lord had told Moses (Num. 3:10 – see also Num. 18:1‑8). Then in turn Aaron's house was given two clear separations – Aaron the high priest, and his four sons, Eleazar, Ithamar, Nadab and Abihu, as the underpriests (Ex. 28:1‑2). Each of these had their specialized services to perform; and the rebellion of Nadab and Abihu from their proper place had brought about their death (Lev. 10:1‑8), leaving then but two underpriests, Eleazar and Ithamar, the elder of which was to advance to the office of high priest as a matter of succession, and the same with his eldest son after him – much the same as the kingship in England and other monarchies. None of the Levites – Priests or lesser Levites – were to have any inheritance in Canaan land when Israel took over there: “Unto the tribe of Levi Moses gave not any inheritance: the Lord God of Israel was their inheritance.” (Josh. 13:33)
Just how pronounced was the distinction between priests and lesser Levites is set forth in Num. 3:9: “Thou shalt give the Levites unto Aaron and to his sons; they are wholly given unto him.” (See also Num. 8:19) When we consider the service of the Tabernacle and all the ceremonial features related thereto, it becomes clearly apparent that it would have been impossible for Aaron and his sons to perform even a small part of it; thus, the necessity for the help of the lesser Levites – a point that will have consideration in viewing the antitype of this arrangement.
