Levi, Leviticus, Levite, and Us

In one paragraph

Justin, who worshipped with Tribe for about three years before moving to Victor, brought week six of the Leviticus series. He traced the tribe of Levi from its origins in Genesis through the Old Testament priesthood, then followed that thread into the New Testament and into the lives of believers today. The throughline was this: God has always been working to close the gap between his holiness and...

Read together

1. Genesis (Leah naming Levi) Leah says 'now my husband will be attached to me because I have borne him three sons'
2. Exodus 2 Moses murders an Egyptian who was mistreating an Israelite slave
3. Malachi 1-2 indictment against the priesthood and Levitical service for polluted offerings and corruption
4. Malachi 3:1-4 prophecy of a messenger preparing the way and the Lord refining the Levites like gold and silver
5. Hebrews 4:14-16 Jesus as great high priest who sympathizes with our weakness, tempted as we are yet without sin
6. Hebrews 9:11-14 Christ as high priest entering the perfect tabernacle with his own blood, securing redemption forever
7. 2 Corinthians 3:7-11 the ministry of the spirit is more glorious than the ministry of the law engraved on stone
8. 2 Corinthians 3:12-18 the veil removed through Christ, and believers beholding the glory of the Lord being transformed from glory to glory
9. 1 Peter 2:4-5, 9 believers called living stones, a holy priesthood and royal priesthood, to declare the praises of God
10. Romans 11-12 offering our bodies as a living sacrifice
11. Hebrews 12:1-2 laying aside every weight and sin and looking to Jesus the founder and perfecter of our faith

Talk about it

1. Justin walked through the idea that Israel turned to a golden calf almost immediately after God had rescued them from Egypt. Where in your own life do you notice yourself reaching for something tangible instead of trusting God directly?
2. The sermon described the Levites as people marked by a violent family history who were still set apart for God's service. How does that sit with you, and what does it suggest about how God uses people whose past is messy?
3. Malachi pictures God as both the refiner's fire and the one sitting and doing the refining, working until he can see his own reflection in the metal. What has the refining process looked like in your life, and what has it cost you?
4. Justin and several people in the room talked about what it means to be a priest in everyday life, whether on the bus, at work, or pumping gas. What does that priesthood look like practically in the spaces you move through each week?
5. The closing passage from Second Corinthians says we are being transformed from one degree of glory to another as we behold Jesus, but Justin also said that removing the veil can feel disorienting and painful, like lights coming on in the middle of the night. What veils, whether sin, shame, or wrong belief, might be keeping you from seeing God more clearly right now?