“They are the Israelites who are to be given wholly to me.”
Numbers 8:16a
Of all the people in the world, the Israelites were God’s chosen people. Of these Israelites, the Levites were even more special. They were set apart from the rest of the Israelites who were devoted wholly to God. In chapter 8 of Leviticus, we see God’s commands in the setting apart of the Levites. They were to shave their whole bodies and wash their clothes and in doing so, purified themselves. Now, today we take showers almost daily. In these days, taking a bath was more of a luxury and a rare event. It stands to reason that over time, their clothes would be full of body order and dirt. Washing their clothes and body and shaving would rid them of much filth.
Now, after this, Moses presented them at the front of the Tent of Meeting with the whole Israelite community. Keep in mind, this was a one time event. The point of which was to consecrate them for service. But what if after this event, the Levites sin? They would follow the same rules as the rest of the Israelites following according to the rules set out in Leviticus and perform the correct offering with the priest. However, this does not change or invalidate the fact that they are still consecrated wholly to God.
This is a picture of salvation for us. Jesus died for our sins which was not applied to us until we believed with faith in what Jesus did for us. Once applied, we became marked with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13). Now, if we sin does this seal go away? Does this seal need to be re-applied? No! It is a one time event. No matter how much you sin, you cannot change this. Our slate is clean when we received Christ. And, this slate never stains from our sin. The Levites were devoted once to God and then followed the rules for their sin.
So does it matter how much we sin? Of course it does. Paul said “should we sin that grace may abound?” We obviously need to curb our appetite for our own sinful destruction. The power for righteousness is in the Holy Spirit which is within us. Have you ever felt after sin that you did not want to approach God? This is called condemnation.
Have you ever had a point of realization of the sin in your life that came with a deep desire to rid yourself of it and grow closer to God? This is called conviction. Satan comes to condemn us. The Holy Spirit comes to convict us of our sin. If we allow the Holy Spirit to do its work in our life, we will grow closer to God.
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