1 Chronicles 6:1-81

The Levites were a special people within Israel.  God chose them to be the ministers in the temple and the leaders of worship before the people.  We have an extensive list of all of the descendants of Levi and we recognize many of these names from the history of Israel.  By far the most significant name from Levi is Moses whom God used to liberate the people from slavery in Egypt as well as write the Law and establish the nation and the system of worship that God revealed to him.  Aaron and the rest of the priests throughout the history of Israel all came from the tribe of Levi.

THE LEVITES LED THE PEOPLE IN WORSHIP: The main job that the tribe of Levi had was to lead the people of Israel in worship.  They were the priests who represented the people before the Lord in offering sacrifices and represented the Lord before the people by proclaiming the Law of the Lord.  Originally Israel was founded as the theocracy where God was the king and so the Levites were also as close as the nation had to political leaders.  However, when the people insisted on having a King, the tribe of Judah ended up being the tribe from which the line of David and eventually Christ was established.  Worship should always be the priority of every person, church and nation.  We were created by God to worship Him, that is our purpose for living and we must be faithful to fulfill this purpose in our lives.


THE LEVITES LIVED IN CITIES OF REFUGE: The tribe of Levi did not receive an inheritance in the Promised Land.  No portion of the land was set aside for them like it was for the rest of the tribes.  However, each tribe was responsible to set aside cities in which the Levites were given a place to live as well as pasture lands outside of the city for them to raise their flock.  These cities of refuge were also places to which a person could flee when he had accidentally killed someone; he could flee to this city to find refuge from the relatives of the person who was killed that might seek revenge.  This arrangement allowed for there to be priests spread throughout the entire land of Israel so that worship would be promoted in the entire nation.  The cities of refuge also provided a wonderful illustration of God’s care as He is our refuge in times of trouble.

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