Levi, Leviticus, and Us ｜ Justin

In one paragraph

Justin, who with his wife Carla attended Tribe for about three years before moving to Victor, brought week six of the Leviticus series. He traced the story of the tribe of Levi from its troubled origins all the way through to what it means for anyone who follows Jesus today. The thread running through the whole message was that God has always been working to close the distance between himself and...

Read together

1. Genesis (Leah naming Levi) Leah says 'now my husband will be attached to me because I have born him three sons', explaining the meaning of Levi's name
2. Exodus 2 Moses sees an Egyptian mistreating an Israelite slave and murders him
3. Malachi 1-2 cited as an indictment against the priesthood and the Levitical service for corruption and polluted offerings
4. Malachi 3:1-4 prophecy of a coming messenger who will purify the Levites like a refiner's fire
5. Hebrews 4:14-16 Jesus as great high priest who sympathizes with our weakness, tempted as we are yet without sin, so we draw near to the throne of grace with confidence
6. Hebrews 9:11-14 Christ as high priest entering the greater tabernacle in heaven with his own blood, securing redemption once for all
7. 2 Corinthians 3:7-11 the ministry of the Spirit is more glorious than the ministry that brought death engraved on stone
8. 2 Corinthians 3:12-18 with unveiled face we behold the glory of the Lord and are transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another
9. 1 Peter 2:4-5, 9 believers called living stones built into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, a chosen people and royal priesthood to declare God's praises
10. Romans 11-12 briefly referenced in connection with offering our bodies as a living sacrifice
11. Hebrews 12:1-2 surrounded by a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight and sin, run with endurance looking to Jesus the founder and perfecter of our faith

What was said

• If you have been going through the same motions to connect with God and it feels hollow, try something different this week, whether that is a walk without headphones, a different posture in prayer, or simply sitting in silence and listening.
• Think of one person you cross paths with regularly at work, on the bus, or running errands, and ask God to show you how to love on them the way Jay described, even when it costs you something.
• Pick one area of your life where you have kept the door closed to God, name it honestly, and ask him to remove whatever veil is keeping you from seeing him clearly in that space.
• Go back and listen to Renee's week-four message from this Leviticus series, which Justin specifically recommended during the sermon.
• If you left this morning still carrying something heavy, take Justin and the team up on their standing offer and reach out to Tribe for prayer this week rather than carrying it alone.

Talk about it

1. Justin walked through how Levi started out marked by anger and violence, yet God later set his descendants apart for his own service. What does that tell you about how God sees people whose past looks like a liability?
2. The priests in Malachi's day were going through the motions, offering polluted sacrifices and compromising the law, even after returning from captivity. Where do you see that same drift toward going through the motions in your own life with God?
3. Malachi pictures God as both the refiner's fire and the refiner sitting at the pot, working until he can see his own reflection. What does it feel like in practice to be in that refining process, and what makes it hard to stay in it rather than pull back?
4. Lissa pointed out that the Israelites walked with God in a pillar of fire and a cloud by day, yet the moment Moses was gone they built a golden calf, and she said we do the same thing with our phones and other tangible things. What are the golden calves you reach for when God feels distant or unclear?
5. Justin described several ways the New Testament priesthood of all believers connects to what the Levites did, including carrying the holy things, speaking instruction, and providing access to God for people who are far off. Jay gave the example of conversations on the bus or at the gas station. What does that kind of priesthood look like in the specific spaces you move through each week?