"For all the firstborn among the children of Israel are Mine, both man and beast, on the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them to Myself. I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn of the children of Israel."
Interesting to note that God does not take the Levites and have them do nothing; rather, they are brought into service for God. As Matthew Henry states in his commentary, " God takes them for his own, that they may serve him. All that expect to share in the privileges of the tabernacle must resolve to do the service of the tabernacle. As, on the one hand, none of God’s creatures are his necessary servants (he needs not the service of any of them), so, on the other hand, none are taken merely as honorary servants, to do nothing. All whom God owns he employs; angels themselves have their services. " [From Blueletterbible.com.
Today, we are expected to serve God in a way that provides a service to Him. If we look to God for what He desires, we will provide the service that He desires and has directed us to, just as He did the Levites, and still does for His angels.
The nation of Israel followed God's divine guidance as they traveled through the wilderness. We read in Numbers 9:23,
"At the command of the Lord they remained encamped, and at the command of the Lord they journeyed; they kept the charge of the Lord, at the command of the Lord by the hand of Moses."
God was instrumental in giving the direction to Israel for when to move and when to camp. While today, we don't have God's physical presence in the form of a cloud to guide us through life, we do have His word The Bible and we do have our relationship with Him. However, Moses and the leaders of Israel provided guidance and leadership in the everyday facets of life, and we need leaders today that do that as well. For example, take the workplace. Every organization is on a journey, and to successfully manage the ups and downs of growth, leaders need to be sensitive to timing; when to press forward, and when to stay put; or to camp. If we make God our guide, we'll be sure to stay on the right path.To help Moses with direction and guidance, he called upon his father-in-law to help, and told him in Numbers 10:32,
"And is shall be, if you go with us - indeed it shall be - that whatever good the Lord will do to us, the same we will do to you."
Moses does not make a promise on behalf of God, he makes it on behalf of Israel. Moses was careful not to make promises for God. But Moses had the authority to speak for Israel, and Moses also knew when he needed help, and he went to the most experienced person he knew to get them through the desert. When we need help, we should look to experience people as well; it could be a pastor, a senior, someone that has knowledge of God and can provide practical help, just as Moses knew that Hobab could.
As people began to grumble and complain, God directed Moses to prepare for His resolution. On questioning, God replied to Moses in Numbers 11:23,
"Has the Lord's arm been shortened? Now you shall see whether what I say will happen to you or not."
I find it fascinating the Moses even questioned God and what he should do given all that God had done so far. That is the basis of God's response. Maybe God was surprised as well, but as it turned out, many of those that grumbled ended up dead at the hand of God.
What God provides is for His glory, not necessarily ours. God will provide our needs, and we should consider ourselves blessed with whatever He provides.
Blessings to all
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