Land or God - Which Would You Want?

It was an Old Testament class and we were going through a rather uninteresting stretch of passages in the book of Numbers. This tribe got this much land and its territories stretched from here to there. This tribe got this area and that tribe got that area. A student raised an issue that bolted me to attention. The student felt that the tribe of Levi got cheated because they did not get any land. The remaining twelve got land and the Levites got none. The professor pointed out that the Levites were the only tribe assigned to serve in the presence of the LORD in the tabernacle.

The student still felt the tribe got cheated.
Let’s see: land or presence of God – which would you choose?

My suspicion is that the student had never encountered the presence of God. The amazing, tangible sense of God with you can make you bold and brave or tear-filled and weak. When the presence of God surrounds you, you are profoundly changed.

Perhaps the student has encountered the presence of God and is so accustomed that God invites everyone to come boldly before Him on a daily basis that the understanding that God’s presence was limited to only one tribe was not registering.

The student did change the way I read about the tribe of Levi. They were privileged with the most incredible access and exposure to God than all the other tribes. You and I have that same privilege every day, in fact, every moment.

Hebrew 4:16
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Revelations 3:20
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with Me.

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