Levitical Ministry - Part 2of4 — T. Austin-Sparks

Malachi’s Prophetic Vision of Pure Worship

Prophecies of Malachi, Prophecies of Malachi, chapter 1, verse 11. From the rising of the sun, even unto the going down of the same, my name shall be great among the nations, and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering, for my name shall be great among the nations, saith the Lord of hosts, chapter 2, verse 4.

Ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant may be with Levi, saith the Lord of hosts. My covenant was with him of life and peace, and I gave them to him that he might fear, and he feared me, and stood in awe of my name.

Lord truth was in his mouth, and uprightness, unrighteousness was not found in his lips, and he walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many away from iniquity. The priests' lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts, chapter 3.

Behold, I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom ye seek will suddenly come to his temple, the messenger of the covenant whom ye desire. Behold he cometh, saith the Lord of hosts, but who can abide the day of his coming?

Who shall stand when he appeareth? He is like a refiner's fire, like fuller's soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi, and refine them as gold and silver.

They shall offer unto the Lord offerings in the name of the Lord. In righteousness. With the matter that the Lord brought us to face this afternoon, the matter of what is represented by the Levites in the Old Testament, and again, may I say what has often been said here, in all these things are dealing with spiritual realities, and not just the forms of their embodiment and presentation.

The Spiritual Meaning of the Levites

When we speak about Levites, naturally think of an Old Testament order and system. We need constantly to remind ourselves that we are living in a world that whatever God has done, however he has expressed himself from time to time, the history of this world, all the different forms and means of expression are only means of conveying spiritual and abiding eternal realities.

And that is very true of the Levites. About them we use their title, realize all the time that we are in the presence of great divine spiritual realities that belong to our time as ever they belonged to any people of God.

So that this our time is not limited to the time of the Levite, something comes right into this very hour, into this very place tonight. Now the hope to comprehend and cover this whole matter, even though we were here for days, I am not attempting to do that, only to lift out some of the most vital elements in this whole matter.

Let us then begin by clarifying our minds on this one point. We are dealing with a spiritual conception and not with a formal ecclesiastical system when we speak of priests and Levites. That latter does not obtain in our dispensation.

But the spiritual conceptions govern this dispensation. Now when we try to get to the heart of this matter, right to the very heart of it, asking ourselves this question, what is the innermost and deepest meaning and significance of this whole matter, of Levitical spiritual ministry?

I think the answer is association with God in His work. That is a very simple way of putting it, Ancelty, association with God for His work. We have to bring before ourselves that the word of God revealed as to the nature of God, the nature of God, the nature of God.

Holiness as the Basis of Association with God

If we were to put the nature of God into one word, surely we should have to say holiness, holiness. You might say love, but love is governed by His holiness. Love is qualified by His holiness. It is holy love.

Whatever other word you may use to describe or define the nature of God, you may say truth, many other things, they are but the expression of this innermost thing, His holiness, His holiness. And association with God, that is a tremendous thing to contemplate.

In this book of Malachi's prophecies, it is that that is governing, is dominant throughout. And the one charge that the Lord had against the people there and then was that they had lost a sense of His holiness.

So much so that when they were charged with certain most conspicuously wrong things, they said how? They couldn't see it. They'd lost the sense of His holiness. Then He brings them to the point. He says you offer on my altar the blind, the lame, the blemish.

Then He puts it like this. Don't offer that to your governor. See what he'll say. What will he say? You dare to offer me a blind sheep, a lame, a blemished animal? Who do you think I am? What sort of a person do you think I am?

See what your governor would say. But am I not greater than your governor? Yet you do it to me. The Lord has startling ways of bringing people face to face. I'm only using this by way of getting at this whole matter.

The Levitical Vocation and Covenant of Life and Peace

Association with God. Just think of it. The Levites were called into association with God. That was God's covenant with Levi of life and peace. Think of it. Come right into touch with God. That with such a God as He is.

Come right into touch with His things. Before Him lived it would be impossible to live in His presence of life and peace. In touch with such as He is in peace. There would be war unto the death if there were not a right foundation, basis.

My covenant was with Levi of life and peace in association with me in my work. I'm trying dear friends, I know so imperfectly and falteringly to impress you with the greatness of this vocation. If it is true what we were trying to say this afternoon, this is not a special cult or class or denomination of people.

It's what the church as a whole is called into. When the church as a whole fails the Lord, He looks inside those who will not fail Him in this matter. He's done that again and again. And that is the history of the Levites.

Levi’s Separation from Corruption

Now let's go back. And all the knowledgeable people will be patient. Everybody here hasn't got all the knowledge that you have. What happened with the Levites? Well first of all you know what we read this afternoon.

How they came into view with the Lord at all. The time of the golden calf. The breaking loose of the nation. And Levites separating of themselves from that corruption and pollution and taint. Standing right outside of it and then at great cost to their own souls taking the sword against breaking in of evil powers.

That's how they came into view first of all. And you know that later the Lord took the tribe of Levi in the place of the first born sons in Israel. The first born in every household was the official priest.

He functioned as the priest of the household. Israel defaulted as a nation. There was not that which the Lord required in priesthood in the whole nation. He separated the tribe of Levi on the basis of the half shekel of silver and made the tribe of Levi representative of all the nation as the church of the first born ones.

Representative that is in the Levites now all the families of Israel are represented. Represented in holiness in satisfaction to the Lord. A people in the midst of the people giving God his satisfaction for he must have it.

You are familiar with that principle. I am not going on with the history of the Levites. You can pursue it. There is much more. That is enough for us to get right at the meaning of this. This law of the Levite is the law of the innermost association with God.

Levitical Ministry as Mediation and Intercession

The work of God in a priestly way. We say that. We mean mediation. Intercession. Standing between God and his people to bring them together. Mediate from God what he wants his people to have. To bring his people into touch with God and his resources.

It is a spiritual thing. And in that sense you are all called to be priests and Levites. You are wondering. You are saying this is very technical. Very ecclesiastical. But no it is very simple. There is a piece of work going on in Denmark just now which is growing, expanding, bearing all the marks for very real movement of God for ten years.

Five centuries old sisters. Not by any means young. Certainly not influential in this world. Poor in the things of this world for ten years those five sisters prayed this thing into being. Not till after ten lonely, patient years with much heartbreak and disappointment coming to the place where sometimes you wondered whether ever anything could be.

At the end of the ten years the thing broke. I call that Levitical ministry. It was hidden. The world knew nothing about it. It went on. God knew all about it. You may be a lonely soul in some place. You may be a lonely little group in some place.

You may be larger. But whether alone, whether in larger greater companies, the thing is this is what you are called to be. God's Levites. Not between him and the world. Yes that is between him and his own needs in and purpose for his own people.

That's a vocation which was the vocation of the Levites. And dear friends if you need impressing with the importance of that to the law. There is not something that is well optional. That is extra. You can take it or leave it.

The Purification of Levi for God’s Name

Let me take you back to what I read to you from the first chapter of Malachi. Do you not see the link? In my bible I've got lines drawn across the pages. And those lines link things up. And I read to you in chapter one.

My name shall be great among the nations. And in every place incense shall be offered unto my name. And a pure offering for my name shall be great among the nations. My line runs across to Levi. To the covenant made with Levi.

And then from there the purifying of the sons of Levi. I believe that is the right kind of link. You see it? That if his name is really to be great among the nations he needs a Levitical body after this kind.

He needs a people. Within his people it may have to be. That is not his appointment originally. He would have all his people on this basis representing the church of the first born God. If the whole is not like this, as we have said so often, he looks inside for those who will serve him in this way.

The purpose is his name great among the nations. Let's put it round the other way. If the Levites are corrupt and defiled and out of their place the name of the Lord is dishonoured among the nations. If the Lord has not got this kind of thing, that he needs this ministry by such a people, the nations suffer loss.

And the name of the Lord suffers loss. See the Lord here brings it right back here. The reproach, the reproach upon the Lord from the nations is dishonour. He focuses right down on the Levites. And in order that the reproach on the name of the Lord should be removed and that his name should be great among the nations, he must purify the sons of Levi.

The Holiness and Privilege of Association with God

Now you see we begin here, association with God. Let's take that to ourselves individually. I can think of nothing more simple than that. I am searching for me to have association with God. Well of course it will depend upon my idea of God, won't it?

But if I have any right conception of God, and of God he is, he is infinite. Association with him. You are allowed to come near him. Come into his presence, proximity to him. That's a tremendous thing.

That's a tremendous thing. We should think it a great thing. We were allowed to have association with some people in this world. High honour and responsibility for them to bring us into association with them.

Think that a great thing. Association with God. For his work. His work. He do his work by us. So we need, God grant, it may be one of the upshots of this time, this very hour, a new conception on the one side of the holiness and greatness of God.

Shall we say the awfulness of God? And on the other side, the infinite, infinite mercy and grace of God to call us into association with himself. What an honour. What a privilege. He will do his work through us.

The Need for Cleansing and Walking in the Light

Oh, we dear friends haven't got a right conception of God's work. Take it into our defiled hands. Project ourselves into it. Spread ourselves over it. Try to become something in it. Strut about as though we were something.

Isaiah saw his holiness, holy, holy, holy and cried, woe is me. I'm undone. This we need to recover and then to realise he calls us into that association and for the purpose of fulfilling himself, his work through us.

I want to pause there and put in brackets something. When we speak on this matter of holiness and sin and unrighteousness, perhaps begin to feel something about it and ourselves. It is just possible for us to wrongly call to our rescue certain scriptures.

Wrongly call to our rescue. There is therefore no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. And wrongly take the covering of that scripture and such like scriptures and hide behind them. There is a difference.

Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. See the point? Oh yes, we'll always be very imperfect. Always be much to be done in us to the end. In cleansing, sanctifying and saving, it's got to go right on.

And if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship, one with another, that is himself and ourselves. The blood of Jesus Christ, his son, goes on cleansing us from all sin. But there is such a thing as not walking in the light and excusing it by saying, yes, I know I am very imperfect and I am a sinner, but there is no condemnation in Christ.

You see what I mean? Well, we can't get away with that. These people in the churches, in the revelation, in the seven churches, those where there was wrong, when it was mentioned to them, they are wrong, thou hast there this and that and the other thing, which thing I hate, they might have said, but there is no condemnation for them that are in Christ.

The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from that. That won't do. If we are going to really be in association with God for his work, the refining powers of God to do their work, and the sons of Levi must be purified.

We must be a purified people. We must be walking in holiness. We must, with all the values of the precious blood cleansing, the Holy Spirit sanctifying, we must be walking in the light and we must correspond to the Lord for association.

Sonship, Service, and the Undivided Heart

It is the effect, it is the service, it is service that takes pre-eminent place here as you see. Israel was called out of Egypt to serve the Lord. Let my son go that he may serve me. The whole idea of God in sonship is service.

It is practical. It is to do his work. It is to minister to him. And that in the midst of the nations, Israel was called out from Egypt to serve the Lord on the basis of sonship. When the whole nation showed its weakness and its defilement, its divided heart, half toward the land and that very largely it became clear for their own gain.

And the other half back in Egypt and that for their own convenience and comfort. And that was all dragged out into the light. The Levites were taken as the people of an undivided heart. That was the test.

You see, Moses said that put every man his sword, gird every man his sword on his side and go in and out, slay your own brother and your own friend. No man of a divided heart could undertake that. A man's heart must be whole to be able to do a thing like that.

They were really put to the test about this in a very practical way. And they stood up to it. They went through with it. They therefore right in the very center of the nation represent the principle of the undivided heart for the Lord.

It is essential to association with the Lord. That is essential to the thing that the Lord calls his service. Not what man calls the service of God, the work of God, but what God calls his service. And mark you, dear friends, it is true, solemnly true, that sooner or later, sooner or later, if we really mean business with God, if we are honest with God, sooner or later we will be brought up against this.

We may have gone on for a long time doing a lot of things for the Lord and a lot of work for the Lord with things that the Lord did not agree with in our lives, but sooner or later the Lord says, we've gone far enough on this, now then.

And at that time all our life work is coming either to an end or there's going to be something new and something more. It's the crisis of our testimony and the crisis of our work. That's what Levi represents, you see.

It's just that. That's what Levi represents, you see. It's just that. God looking on the heart. God looking on the heart. Oh, forgive me if I seem too heavy, severe, but I think the Lord is after something.

Levi and the Pursuit of Holiness

What I'm keeping my eye on is not the process, the outcome. I'm quite sure the Lord wants to do a new thing, a mightier thing. A thing for his glory, that he has purpose in view. Something more, something more.

And as I see it, this Levitical principle is just that. How God will go on and how God will do greater things and do more and reach his end. And it is with him that overcome it. That is the Levi of our time.

Levi stood and stand for what is most precious to God. Most precious to God. And what is most precious to God is holiness of life. You can't dispute or challenge that. All this book of Malachi, these blemished offerings, these lame and blind offerings, the Lord said, I'll waver them.

I've no delight, no pleasure in your offerings at all. Take them away. These blemished things give me no pleasure, no preciousness in those to me. It's what is most precious to the Lord and unblemished, unblemished thing that is hope before the Lord, what is most.

God is jealous. Very jealous. He's a jealous God. In one sense, God is the only person who has a right to be jealous. Our jealousy is all wrong, isn't it? All wrong. But God's jealousy is a holy and a pure thing.

And he has a right to be jealous. He is jealous for his name. Jealous therefore for his. Now do you see, do you recognize that all this, all this explains the Lord Jesus. All this explains the Lord Jesus.

Christ as the Perfect Levite

It explains his coming into this world. It explains his life while he was here. It explains his cross. It all explains the Lord Jesus. We said this afternoon that he is the great Levite. He commenced his ministry at the age of 30 as the Levites commenced theirs.

He is the great Levite. Here you come to your whole matter of sonship again. Sonship unto service to satisfy God. Here is one who is in the closest association with God. If Christ, the point is, if Christ is our example and if we are foreordained to be conformed to the image of God's son, if Christ really governs everything in life and work, then here we are.

We are in the presence of one whose heart is not divided, whose heart is holy and utterly for God, whose association with God is complete and absolute, marked by his own choice. We are not thinking now of his identification with God in Godhead.

We are thinking of him as the Levite, the man representative amongst the Lord's people. One in real association with God. One fulfilling the purpose and doing the work of God. I must work the works of him that sent me.

Or we must work the works of him that sent me while it is day. Here is the perfect Levite. Now what is the point? In order that we may work the works of God we must be conformed to the image of God's son.

We must come into Christlikeness. Now you see that opens your whole Bible again because from beginning to end, whenever God has taken a step in the history of this world, whenever he has taken a step, and every successive step of the numerous steps, he has always taken that step on the basis of Christ.

Have you seen it? Did he take a step with Abel? Was Abel a step? It is not difficult to see the feature of Christ that Abel represents. One who is separated unto God, whose heart is undivided where God is concerned.

God’s Movements on the Ground of Christ

So we go on now. Did you see? Every step with every new man in the beginning, every new man, Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, John, came to the people of Israel, came to the Levites, and on you go. Every step that God took, he took on the basis of Christ.

God has never moved on any other ground but his son. You and I will be outside of the movements of God if we are not moving on the line of Christ. Christ is this all-comprehending Levite who has a heart only for God, who at any cost, any cost, will prove that his heart is holy for God.

He will react, violently react against any insinuation from the enemy that would take something from the Father. Follow that. The Levites did that when they took the sword. It was a violent reaction against a breaking in to take something from God.

That is Christ. So that being called into fellowship with God's Son is being called into a Levitical position of absolute separation unto God, wholeheartedness for God, reaction against everything that would take from God, and dishonor his name, and all the rest that the Levite stands for.

The Levitical Principle for the Church Today

Now I trust that you are catching the truth, the thought, the idea, the data is too much, all the details, too many to cover this ground. But here we are, we are faced with this. The Lord would take new steps.

The Lord would go on. The Lord would lead his people on. But his way has always been, all time, either a man or a people of the Levitical order, like that. He's got that. He can do something more. He can go on.

He needs that today, and he needs that everywhere. We need not all be together in one place for that. We are scattered over the earth, but the principle of holiness unto the Lord, principle of the undivided heart, principle of a jealous, red-hot, jealous reaction against any touch of corruption from the enemy, the Lord will come along that line.

He cannot do this willy-nilly. I think, you know, we've had too cheap an idea of the Lord's service, and of our relationship to him. Too cheap. It's just too easy. Anybody will do. Anything will do. Generality.

Oh no. If this says one thing to us, it says no. No. Not at all. God is jealous, and God is jealous for his holiness, and for his name. May he write that, put that into our hearts. Just explain to himself what he means by speaking to us in this way.

So much is at stake. My name. My name. Great. In all the nations. I'm sure that appears to our hearts. We pray.