Good morning and happy Tuesday. Today we read Numbers 7-8. While only two chapters, the first is very long, but repetitive. We will talk about that in a moment.
Equal giving
There are two areas America has strayed from: the path set by the Lord, which we see as we read through these two chapters. These are the areas I believe have led us to this dysfunctional system we have. Correcting it will require a paradigm shift.
In chapter 7, we hear that all twelve tribes of Israel gave the exact same offering.
To believe that all the tribes were blessed and prosperous would be foolish. Some were farmers, others hunters, and even some warriors.
Nowhere do we see that when warriors returned with plunder, they had to split it among all the clans. We know there were markets and people bartered and traded. However, society categorized several classes of citizens, such as the shepherds, as lower class.
Two lost principles
Still, they were not to give based on their ability. They all gave according to the demand of the Lord.
The nation of Israel was a Theocracy. The rulers in the synagogue were the rulers of the government. Moses and Aaron were not just spiritual leaders, they were the rulers and the judges.
Later, God will appoint judges and anoint kings, but at this point, the church was the government.
I am not advocating for a Theocracy for America. We can see from history that governments and churches, for that matter, become corrupt.
We have lost the principle that God chooses and leads the people’s leaders.
After ratifying the Constitution, each state insisted on Christian principles, if not Christian men, guiding their representatives.
These are the two guiding principles we have lost.
Instead of a nation led by God, through men consecrated to Him. We have a land led by a government which has placed itself in the seat of being God.
Therefore, the government wishes to be the provider and provisioner of everything within our society. The farther we get from being led by God, the more corrupt we become.
They established the Levites as the government to minister to the people and relay the Lord’s commands. They would meet with God and then relay the messages and administer the directives.
American people, persuaded by the media, choose our representatives, not God. They don’t answer to God; they answer to the people who provide them funding to get elected.
We need to get back to a place where people of God, chosen by God, intervene for the citizens according to the will of God.
Then the people need to realize that it is God who provides, and that all must give. If God blesses some people with more, this doesn’t mean they need to give more. They need to give more to God, that is separate. But, to the government, the precedent set here in Numbers is that all gave the same amount.
Because of their faithfulness, God blessed them according to His will.
All according to God’s design
He is in control. If He were to make all shepherds wealthy, there would be no one to tend the sheep, and their food supply would be at risk.
At times, He would take a shepherd and make Him into a king. That is God’s prerogative.
We have twisted this to put ourselves in control, instead of God. Therefore, we believe all people deserve to have the same blessing, and that those with more should be sharing it with the rest.
We see in these chapters that is not God’s design at all.
The next time you, or someone else you know, think they deserve more, or should have to provide less, ask yourself – is this God’s will, as shown in scripture? Or is this man’s plan, which leads to destruction?
Term limits
The last point I would make today deals with Numbers 8:24-25. The Levites were all to serve from age twenty-five, but after age fifty, they could assist, but not do, the work.
We have people in our government who have been in office for over thirty years. This should never happen. Term limits are needed. There could be an avenue for them to contribute as advisor or in some other fashion, but the work needs to be done by people who have been part of the population they represent.
Someone who has been living in Washington D.C. for over thirty years should not be representing the people of California, or Wisconsin, or anywhere else.
