16.) The Call of the Levites

One of the most momentous days in the history of mankind was the day God the Father and God the Son came down on the top of Mt. Sinai together (1 BC 1103) in a magnificent display of heavenly fireworks to audibly speak the ten commandments to the people they had chosen to represent them and their character to all the inhabitants of earth. Just previous to the actual verbal presentation of the sacred precepts, Moses received an amazing message from God which he took to the people:

“’Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’” Ex. 19:5, 6.

When Moses relayed this message to the people, they responded, “We will do everything the Lord has said.” v. 8. But “when the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, ‘Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.’ Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid. God has come to test you so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.’ The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the think darkness where God was.” Ex. 20:18-21.

Later, when Moses was repeating the story again to the people before he went up on Mt. Nebo to die, he told the story in more detail:

“When you heard the voice out of the darkness, while the mountain was ablaze with fire, all the leading men of your tribes and your elders came to me. And you said, ‘The Lord our God has shown us his glory and his majesty, and we have heard his voice from the fire. Today we have seen that a man can live even if God speaks with him. But now, why should we die? This great fire will consume us, and we will die if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any longer. For what mortal man has ever heard the voice of the living God speaking out of fire, as we have, and survived? Go near and listen to all that the Lord our God says. Then tell us whatever the Lord our God tells you. We will listen and obey.’

“The Lord heard you when you spoke to me and the Lord said to me, ‘I have heard what this people said to you. Everything they said was good. Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!

“Go, tell them to return to their tents. But you stay here with me so that I may give you all the commands, decrees and laws you are to teach them to follow in the land I am giving them to possess.’” Deut. 5:23-31.

What an incredible and poignant interchange between God and His friend Moses! Of course, God knew that the people would react in the way they did, but He gave them the opportunity to have a close and personal relationship with God, just as He had with Enoch, Abraham, and the patriarchs of old. But God had an alternate plan in mind which would preserve the identity of His chosen people, and provide a way for Him to communicate with them. “Then let them make a sanctuary for me,” He said, “and I will dwell among them.” Ex. 25:8.

The sanctuary would bring heaven down to earth, just as God had done on Mt. Sinai. The earthly sanctuary was a replica of the one in heaven where God dwells and keeps in connection with His vast universe, and the pattern of the sanctuary was given to Moses while He was communing with God on Mt. Sinai. Thus God could continue to live among His chosen people and instruct and guide them.

“You are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.” Deut. 7:6.

Later in his last sermon to the Israelite people, Moses again referred to the choice they had made to have someone else speak to them other than God.

“The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him. For this is what you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, ‘Let us not hear the voice of the Lord our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.’

“The Lord said to me: ‘What they say is good. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.’” Deut. 18:15-18. (Emphasis supplied.)

The Jews were still looking for the fulfillment of this prophecy when John the Baptist was preaching, for they asked him, “Are you the Prophet?” John 1:21. Later, they wondered if Jesus was the fulfillment of this prophecy:

“After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, ‘Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.’” John 6:14.

Although Jesus never acknowledged that He truly was the One Moses had told the people would come, He certainly fulfilled the role perfectly and completely. Thus He could say:

“My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me.” John 7:16. (Emphasis supplied.)

“I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” John 8:28, 29. (Emphasis supplied.)

Thus, “Christ alone could fully meet the conditions set forth in Moses’ prediction.” S.D.A. Bible Commentary, Vol. 1, p. 1017.

I hope you can see a picture of God developing in this story about His dealings with the Israelite nation. God’s desire for a close relationship with His people is paramount throughout scripture. Before sin came into the world, God met with Adam and Eve every evening in the cool of the day. After sin, He provided the sanctuary system in rudimentary form at first, and then later in great detail to the Israelites. He formed special friendships with Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and others who were willing to commit themselves fully to Him and obey His covenant requirements. Finally He sent His Son into the world to permanently bridge the gap between heaven and earth, and form an eternal connection with the human race that will never be broken.

But there are conditions to the relationship that God so much desires to have with us. We must come into agreement with Him in order to establish and maintain this connection. In modern terminology, we have to tune in to His frequency if we want to hear His messages to us. Otherwise, our minds will be in tune with worldliness and the principles of the devil and his temptations and allurements and ways of thinking and feeling. When we connect with the principles of this world, it is the same as eating fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Thus we make the choice of listening to the wrong voice without realizing that we have shut down the area of our brains that is sensitive to the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said:

“I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice. . . .

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.” John 10:1-5, 27, 28. (Emphases supplied.)

Notice how many times and ways Jesus emphasizes the necessity of knowing His voice. He makes it very clear that there is an enemy always lurking about, trying to get in and steal the sheep. Their safety is completely dependent upon hearing Jesus’ voice and following Him. The verbiage used here takes us right back to the sanctuary, which God specifically set up for the purpose of providing and maintaining communication with Him. Notice these texts which refer to the sanctuary experience:

“How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. . . .

“Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. . . .Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. For the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.” Ps. 84:1, 2, 4, 10, 11. (Emphasis supplied.)

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” Ps. 100: 4, 5. (Emphasis supplied.)

“Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter and give thanks to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord through which the righteous may enter. I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation.” Ps. 118:19-21. (Emphasis supplied.)

“I will make peace your governor and righteousness your ruler. No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise.” Isa. 60:17, 18. (Emphasis supplied.)

Notice how often the importance of spontaneous praise to God for His goodness is mentioned in these texts. Praise is called the gate because this is the first point of entry into a relationship with God. Of all the kaleidoscope of human emotions, praise is the one that lifts up our hearts to God and connects to God most quickly. In fact, “the melody of praise is the atmosphere of heaven” (HP 94). Praise and thanksgiving takes our minds off of the trials of life, and places us in connection with God so that He can encourage, strengthen and guide us. It opens our minds to the truths of scripture and the healing and comforting presence of the Holy Spirit.

When we are connected to God through the language of praise, our minds are now ready to study the word of God through the enlightenment of the Spirit, intercede for others, and commune with Jesus as our Friend on the deepest levels of intimacy. Thus the sanctuary connects us with Jesus in all areas of life, and when we truly know Him this way, we come into harmony with His will because we have come to love and trust Him because, as Jesus said, we know His voice.

“It is only by personal union with Christ, by communion with Him daily, hourly, that we can bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit. . . .Our growth in grace, our joy, our usefulness, all depend on our union with Christ and the degree of faith we exercise in Him.” SD 290.

“The soul that loves God loves to draw strength from Him by constant communication with Him. When it becomes the habit of the soul to converse with God, the power of the evil one is broken; for Satan cannot abide near the soul that draws nigh to God.” OHC 96.

“We can never attain perfection of character if we do not hear the voice of God and obey His counsel.” SD 90.

But this intimacy with God does not come without a struggle:

“There must be a painful work of detachment as well as a work of attachment. The reason why many find the Christian life so deplorably hard, why they are so fickle, so variable, is that they try to attach themselves to Christ without first detaching themselves from their cherished idols.” 5 T. 231.

“Anything that men love and trust instead of loving the Lord and trusting wholly in Him becomes an idol and is thus registered in the books of heaven.” RC 110.

“Those who are the most closely connected with God are the ones who know His voice when He speaks to them. Those who are spiritual discern spiritual things. Such will feel grateful that the Lord has pointed out their errors.” 5 T. 134.

Now it should be more evident why it was such a devastating decision that the Israelites made when they said, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die” (Ex. 20:19). In a certain way they sealed their doom of ever becoming the nation that God intended for them to be. Of course, through the years there were godly men and women of faith who did hear God’s voice and obeyed Him, such as the David and Solomon and the prophets, and many others who we will never know until we get to heaven. But as a nation, their history is a sad one—never reaching the heights of spiritual leadership in the world that God had intended for them to be. By the time Jesus came, there were comparatively few who could hear the still small voice of the Spirit of God in their hearts.

“When Christ came into the world, darkness covered the earth and gross darkness the people. The living oracles of God were fast becoming a dead letter. The still small voice of God was heard only at times by the most devout worshipper; for it had become overpowered and silenced by the dogmas, maxims, and traditions of men.” 4 BC 1153.

But that is what the people had asked for, wasn’t it? Speak to us yourself, they said, but do not have God speak to us. So the people looked to their leaders for guidance. But leaders do not have the power to change our lives. They can tell us about God and instruct us, but they cannot change our hearts from the inside. Only a personal relationship with Jesus can do that. His word is powerful and creative. He spoke worlds into existence, and when He speaks to our minds, He gives us the power of His love that creates within us the desire and ability to obey His word.

“As the will of man co-operates with the will of God, it becomes omnipotent. Whatever is to be done at His command may be accomplished in His strength. All His biddings are enablings.” COL 333.

After his tragic fall with Bathsheba, David cried out to God:

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.” Ps. 51: 10-13.

David knew that the only way he could ever be restored to holiness was to be recreated. That is the only power that can produce righteous lives in any of us. We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. But through a relationship with Jesus, we too can be recreated from sinfulness to holiness.

In every generation God has looked for people who will value the principles of His law and stand true to Him so that He can work in them to be His chosen representatives upon this earth. Since the Israelites did not choose to be a kingdom of priests as God had desired them to be, God selected the tribe of Levi to represent Him, because they had been loyal to Him when the other tribes worshiped the golden calf at the base of Sinai. Notice the words in Numbers 8:13-16 which describe this sacred calling:

“Have the Levites stand in front of Aaron and his sons and then present them as a wave offering to the Lord. In this way you are to set the Levites apart from the other Israelites, and the Levites will be mine. After you have purified the Levites and presented them as a wave offering, they are to come to do their work at the Tent of Meeting. They are the Israelites who are to be given wholly to me. I have taken them as my own in place of the firstborn, the first male offspring from every Israelite woman.” (Emphases supplied.)

While all other Israelites could come no further into the sanctuary than the outer court, the Levites were to go into the inner rooms where the voice of God sometimes spoke from between the wings of the cherubim over the ark of the covenant. Thus God had a way of transferring His messages and His will through the Levite priests to the people. What a privilege to serve God in this way! This special call to the Levites is further explained in 1 BC 852:

“The Levites were a living offering for service. . . .Instead of the firstborn, who belonged to God. To make an atonement. Literally, ‘To make a covering,’ the same root word from which comes the word translated, ‘mercy seat.’ By discharging these services the Levites made atonement for the children of Israel. . . .The Levites came between God and the congregation, thus providing a ‘cover’ (atonement) for them. Were purified. Literally, ‘unsinned,’ referring to the personal preparation required.”

This plan carried God’s people through centuries of alternating apostasy when the people lusted after the gods of the nations around them, and reformation whenever the sanctuary services were reestablished. Through the years, much of the meaning of these services was lost and they became a ritualistic round of ceremonies. But the presence of the sanctuary and the priestly rituals still held the nation together, and there was always a remnant who were faithful to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and followed Him to the best of their understanding. And always, the anticipation of the coming of the Messiah was the passion that burned in every Israelite heart.

When Jesus came, His message was an announcement that the time had finally come for which they longed. The Messiah—the Holy One of Israel—was in their midst.

“Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” Mark 1:14, 15. KJV. (Emphasis supplied.)

Jesus wanted His people to know that they did not need to look forward to the coming of the Messiah anymore, for He had now come to fulfill the prophecies made about Him. All they needed to do was understand and verify the scriptures which had been written about Him, and follow Him. But the leaders of the people had been so steeped in their own interpretations of the Messianic prophecies and their visions of the deliverance and exaltation of Israel when He came, that they did not recognize Jesus to be the One who would come and fulfill these prophecies. It was hard for them to accept the lowliness and humility of Jesus as being the One they had desired. Thus the final test for the Jewish people passed by, and their probation closed, just as the prophecies of Daniel had predicted.

But there was a remnant of Israel who accepted the message for their time, and carried the truth to the then known world in one generation. The disciples became the nucleus through which the message of the gospel would continue to be preached until the second coming.

Through the long dark ages of apostasy, a small remnant survived and propagated the truth of the gospel, in spite of persecution and martyrdom. God still had a light shining in the darkness of error—those who heard and obeyed the voice of truth speaking to them in the scriptures and in their hearts. Finally the time allotted for the papal reign was ended and the time of the end began. It was time for the heavenly sanctuary to be cleansed of the records of the sins of God’s people throughout the ages, ending with the cases of the living.

“Then I heard one saint speaking . . . How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” Dan. 8:13, 14. KJV.

As Seventh-day Adventists, we know the story of our forefathers and mothers who accepted and preached this message at great cost to themselves because they believed they were being called to a message whose time had come, and which the world needed to hear in order to be prepared for Jesus’ return. And truly, the three angel’s messages have gone around the world, and are continuing to bring understanding and hope to literally millions of people who need these truths to be prepared for Jesus to come.

But there is one more vital message for God’s people to preach before the work of Jesus in the heavenly sanctuary can be closed. It is found in Daniel 12:9, 10:

“Go your way, Daniel, because the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end. Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand.” (Emphasis supplied.)

What could it be that the wise will understand but the wicked will not?

“Jesus sent His angels to direct the minds of the disappointed ones to the most holy place, where He had gone to cleanse the sanctuary and make a special atonement for Israel. Jesus told the angels that all who found Him would understand the work which He was to perform. I saw that while Jesus was in the most holy place He would be married to the New Jerusalem; and after His work should be accomplished in the holiest, He would descend to the earth in kingly power and take to Himself the precious ones who had patiently waited His return. . . .

“I was shown what did take place in heaven at the close of the prophetic periods in 1844. As Jesus ended His ministration in the holy place and closed the door of that apartment, a great darkness settled upon those who had heard and rejected the message of His coming, and they lost sight of Him.” EW 251. (Emphasis Supplied.)

“It is those who by faith follow Jesus in the great work of the atonement, who receive the benefits of His mediation in their behalf; while those who reject the light which brings to view this work of ministration, are not benefited thereby.” EW xxix.

In all ages of history, salvation depends upon finding Jesus and understanding and cooperating with Him in the work He is doing for His people at that time, and what His requirements are for them. It is imperative that God’s people understand the work of cleansing that Jesus is doing in the most holy place right now! God has always had a time message for every generation, and a call to the people to understand and cooperate with Him in order to be safe to save. Today that message is the cleansing and blotting out of sin in the heavenly books of record and correspondingly in our lives. No, we will not sin till Jesus comes, as some are believing and teaching. If we sin until He comes, we will assuredly be among the lost. God’s people will be “purified, made spotless, and refined” before He comes.

In order to cooperate with Jesus in this purifying work, it is an absolute necessity to have a constant relationship with Jesus and to hear His voice speaking to us through the scriptures and in our hearts. Those who depend upon their leaders to be their spiritual guides will fail of the character perfection that only Jesus can do. They will be functioning in a court experience with the Israelites of old, who could not enter the sacred holy places of the sanctuary.

“The truth is kept altogether too much in the outer court. Bring it into the inner temple of the soul, enthrone it in the heart, and let it control the life. The word of God should be studied and obeyed, then the heart will find rest and peace and joy, and the aspirations will tend heaven ward; but when truth is kept apart from the life, in the outer court, the heart is not warmed with the glowing fire of God’s goodness.” 5 T. 547.

“Time is very short, and all that is to be done must be done quickly. The angels are holding the four winds, and Satan is taking advantage of everyone who is not fully established in the truth. Every soul is to be tested. Every defect in the character, unless it is overcome by the help of God’s Spirit, will become a sure means of destruction.” 5 T. 573.

“It is not necessary that anyone should yield to the temptations of Satan and thus violate his conscience and grieve the Holy Spirit. Every provision has been made in the word of God whereby all may have divine help in their endeavors to overcome. If they keep Jesus before them they will be changed into His image.” 5 T. 574.

“The great plan of redemption, as revealed in the closing work for these last days, should receive close examination. The scenes connected with the sanctuary above should make such an impression upon the minds and hearts of all that they may be able to impress others. All need to become more intelligent in regard to the work of the atonement, which is going on in the sanctuary above. When this grand truth is seen and understood, those who hold it will work in harmony with Christ to prepare a people to stand in the great day of God, and their efforts will be successful. By study, contemplation, and prayer God’s people will be elevated above common, earthly thoughts and feelings, and will be brought into harmony with Christ and His great work of cleansing the sanctuary above from the sins of the people. Their faith will go with Him into the sanctuary, and the worshipers on earth will be carefully reviewing their lives and comparing their characters with the great standard of righteousness. They will see their own defects; they will also see that they must have the aid of the Spirit of God if they would become qualified for the great and solemn work for this time which is laid upon God’s ambassadors.” 5 T. 575.

Is not this the very work that was enjoined upon the people of Israel on the Day of Atonement when the high priest was ministering for the people in the Most Holy Place?

“And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all . . . For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the Lord.” Lev. 16:29, 30. KJV.

It is easy to forget in our busy lives that the work that Jesus is doing in the heavenly sanctuary must have a corresponding work in our hearts here on earth if we are to participate with Jesus in preparation for His return. Those who cooperate with Jesus in this cleansing work will be the final product of all the years of God’s work to bring the human race back to the condition of Adam and Eve before they fell. These cleansed ones will be priests before the throne of God and serve Him in His temple. Like the tribe of Levi, they will be chosen for their dedication to God to belong wholly to Him forever as an example of what Jesus can do in hearts that are fully surrendered to Him. This special group is called the 144,000.

“Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they kept themselves pure. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among men and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb. No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.” Rev. 14:1-5.

The 144,000 are the ones who go through the work of Jesus when He comes to His temple to cleanse His people to prepare them to serve in His heavenly temple (See GC 425):

“Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to His temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come, says the Lord Almighty.

“But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in day gone by, as in former years.

“So I will come near to you for judgment.” Mal. 3:1-5.

The 144,000 are the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah that there would eventually be a finished product of the plan of salvation who would represent God’s name and character completely:

“They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. Aliens will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards. And you will be called priests of the Lord, you will be named ministers of our God.” Isa. 61:3-6.

Like the Levites of old, this final product of God’s grace and cleansing power will be very precious to Him. As the Levites were representatives of God for the people, so the 144,000 will represent the saved of all ages who have lived and died for Jesus. They have been with Him through the struggle with the beast and His image (Rev. 17:14), and they will go with Him forever wherever He goes as a wave offering, or firstfruits of the harvest of the earth. May we strive to be among that number who will glorify Jesus forever before the angels and all created beings in the universe.