Welcome to Delight in Grace. The Teaching Ministry of Rich Powell. pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. The tribes of Israel were each allotted an inheritance. their own share of the promised land.
Well, all except for the Levites. They were people set apart to minister for the Lord. The Lord would be their inheritance and their provision. Pastor Rich unpacks God's expectations for the treatment of the Levites and the way Israel would receive knowledge about the future. not through Spiritism like the other nations around them, but through the Lord's prophets.
Now, I imagine very few of us listening are Levites. But Deuteronomy eighteen has a message for all of us. Entrusting ourselves to He is enough. Let's listen to this message titled, The Lord Has Chosen Him to Stand and Minister. The text this morning is Deuteronomy chapter 18.
Deuteronomy chapter 18. Verses 15 through 22. You can turn there or follow along on the screen. The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you. From your brothers.
It is to him you shall listen. Just as you desired. of the Lord your God at Horeb. On the day of the assembly, When you said Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God. or see this great fire anymore.
Lest I die. And the LORD said to me, They are right in what they have spoken. I will raise up for them a prophet like you. from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth.
And he shall speak to them. All that I command him. And whoever will not listen to my words, that he shall speak in my name. I myself will require it of him. But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak.
or who speaks in the name of other gods. That same prophet shall die. And if you say in your heart, How may we know the word that the Lord has not spoken? When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true. That is a word that the Lord has not spoken.
The prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him. Let's pray. Father. We are thankful for your son.
The true prophet. The prophet who only spoke the words that you gave him. The truth. But not only prophet, but priest. and king.
who now stands on our behalf. Reconciling the world to himself. Father, I pray that. this morning our hearts will be open. to your truth.
and that our lives would be changed. It's in Christ's name I pray. Amen. Thank you, First Lieutenant. I guess I should only say that when he's in uniform, right?
Yeah. Turn with me in your copy of the scriptures to Deuteronomy chapter 18. We are today, we are covering the last chapter of the third section of Deuteronomy. Third section of Deuteronomy. This section is called A People Who Worship.
So, this section has been all about. Focusing on how they worship and what God's requirements of them are. And and then the next section that we're going to get into would be section four. And that will be chapters 19 through 26. And that is a that the title of that section is A People Set Apart.
And it's in that section that we'll get into a lot of various and very specific. laws that were very specific. specifically under the old covenant, under the Mosaic law.
So we'll be covering that over the next several Sundays. But let's look at chapter 18 today and the I've titled this message. The Lord has chosen him to stand and minister. This is going to be covering two important roles. for God's people.
in under the old under the old covenant Uh specifically Priests and profits. God begins through Moses telling them in chapter 18: of the Levitical priests of the tribe of Levi shall have no provision or inheritance with Israel. They shall eat the Lord's food. food offerings as their inheritance.
So what he's talking about here in the beginning of chapter 18 is the provision, God's provision for those who serve as ministers of God's people, leading them in the worship of Jehovah God. Because God had a very specific prescription for how his people would worship him. And the Levi, the whole tribe of Levi, all of those were involved in that. The priests, sons of Korah, all of that, in the music. They were leading the nation of Israel in the worship of Jehovah.
And because they were of the tribe of Levi, they did not have a land inheritance. What is important about land? Very simply. That's how you are sustained. That's how you get food.
Okay?
So they don't have land and that's why the offerings that the pre that the people bring those offerings would be that which provides for in part provides for the tribe of Levi in providing food and sustenance for them So in chapter 17, Moses was talking about civil authorities, judges, officers, and kings, but here in chapter 18, those who are serving in the worship of God's people according to God's prescription, prophets, priests, and prophets. Those who, as it says in verse 5, those who stand and minister in the name of the Lord. Look at verse 5 with me, for the Lord your God has chosen him out of all your tribes to stand and minister in the name of the Lord, him and his sons, for all time. As long as this covenant was enforced.
So stand and minister in the name of the Lord. And they are this: the people of the tribe of Levi were set apart. To minister in the name of the Lord. Hence, the word chosen. God has chosen them, all right?
The whole tribe of Levi. No land inheritance, in other words, no means of sustenance on their own. They would be provided for by the people that they led in worship. Through their offerings. And so if that's written down, look at verse 3.
And this shall be the priests' do from the people. From those offerings and sacrifices, whether an ox or a sheep, they shall give to the priest the shoulder and the two cheeks and the stomach.
So that's where they got their food. What is important here, look at verse 2 with me. They shall have no inheritance among their brothers. The Lord is their inheritance as he promised them.
Well, that's nice, but how do we get food? The Lord is their inheritance. The word inheritance here can be translated portion. or part. It is speaking of hereditary property?
So, get what God is saying here: I am your inheritance. I am your inherited property. I am your sustenance. He is saying to the priests. It's interesting if you were to look at Psalm 16, it says, The Lord is my portion.
The Lord is my portion, writes the psalmist in Psalm 16. Look at Psalm 16, verses 5 and 6 here. The Lord is my chosen portion. And my cup. You hold my lot.
Look at this. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places. What is he? He's using the analogy of property lines. This is my portion.
This is my inherited land. And who is it? It's the Lord. He's not talking about land, he's talking about the Lord. I have a beautiful inheritance.
You make known to me the path of life. In your presence, there is fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasures evermore. Isn't that a beautiful picture? The Lord is my inheritance.
Now how does this How does this translate for? What does this mean for us? Here we are in the 21st century. What does this mean for us? Well, let's consider first what Peter writes, 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 4.
We're familiar with this in our study of Peter. The Lord has Called us to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.
So we are called to an inheritance, and what is our inheritance? Let's consider now that we are under the new covenant. What is God's blessing for us in this way? What is our inheritance? 1 Peter 2.
Why do we have this inheritance? But you are a chosen race, a royal what? Did you know you're a priest? We are a royal priesthood.
Now, take that back to the Mosaic law. And what was the inheritance of the Levites, of the priests? The Lord said what? I am your inheritance. And if we are a royal priesthood, He is our inheritance.
A people for his own possession that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. We are that priesthood and the Lord is our inheritance. Like what it says in Revelation chapter 1 verse 6, he made us to be a kingdom, priests to his God and Father. To him be glory, dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Because We are priests. He is our inheritance. Again, Revelation 5.10. And you have made them a kingdom and priest to our God, and they shall reign on earth. That's describing us, the church, the company of the redeemed.
Those who belong to God. We are a Priesthood. This is why the writer of Hebrews says, of the very throne room of God. that you and I can enter into with what? Boldness.
What is boldness? Aha! It's not boldness. That is arrogance. What do I mean by boldness?
Confidence. Confidence. You don't come to the throne room with God saying, Am I allowed to come in here? You enter in. humbly, with deep gratitude and worship and awe.
Thanks for joining us here at Delight in Grace. You've been listening to Rich Powell, the lead pastor at Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. The Delight in Grace mission. Is to help you know that God designed you to realize your highest good. and your deepest satisfaction in him.
the one who is infinitely good. We hope you'll join us again on weekdays at 10 a.m.
