Friday, December 21, 2012

God's Provision for our Pastors


Numbers 35:1-5 - On the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho, the LORD said to Moses,  "Command the Israelites to give the Levites towns to live in from the inheritance the Israelites will possess. And give them pasturelands around the towns.  Then they will have towns to live in and pasturelands for their cattle, flocks and all their other livestock.  "The pasturelands around the towns that you give the Levites will extend out fifteen hundred feet from the town wall.  Outside the town, measure three thousand feet on the east side, three thousand on the south side, three thousand on the west and three thousand on the north, with the town in the center. They will have this area as pastureland for the towns.

 

God made sure his appointed priests were included in the inheritance of Canaan. He had each tribe…according to the total number...choose an appropriate number of towns to give from their inheritance.  The tribes that had many people….gave many towns.  The tribes with fewer people….gave fewer towns. Each city given was to be encircled by a pastureland a specific number of feet around the town. In this way God provided for his chosen priests.

 

God knew that the people were going to spread out over a vast area…and the priests would need to scatter with them….to help them…to continue to teach them…to show them how to continue to worship God in their communities….since the temple would be so very far away. This way…each tribe would have several priests within a day’s walking distance ….to provide assistance with religious teaching and matters of the soul.

 

God will choose a central place for the tabernacle…and give the people directions for offering some sacrifices in the confines of their communities later….but for now it is important that they know God is amongst them….wherever they settle. He wants the priests he chose to be a part of each community…to continue to model for them God’s way.

 

The inheritance God gave these Israelites was expanded to the whole world the day he gave his son to die on that cross. ..the people of God being scattered around the entire world, The Levites that God once called to offer leadership to the Israelites has also been expanded into several kinds of ministers today. God calls them by many different names.  Some settle down in our communities and provide the leadership for our various churches….some are called to travel on a continual basis and evangelize….and some are even called to move to countries where God has never been preached…and become missionaries. It is still our Christian calling to care for them all…so they can focus on the work God called them each to do…without worrying about the bills they might incur as the serve.

 

Father…thank you for my pastors….bless them the way they have blessed me. Thank you for the vision you give them…and leadership that has made our church a strong presence in my town.  Help me Lord to know just what I can do honor and support them. Help me to be faithful with the monthly tithes I bring that support them financially.  Show me your vision for supporting the evangelists that you send out from my community…and show me which missionaries you have chosen for me to support with the many blessings you shower on me to do your work. Amen.

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