Note: This part 2 of a series on Prayer Missionaries and Levites
“There are some such to be found in this place today, whom God has taken from among the Gentiles to be priests and Levites unto him… there is a people to be found this day who offer unto God acceptable prayer and praise, and in answer to their prayer, unnumbered blessings come down upon the sons of men.”
Charles Spurgeon
The earliest example of prayer missionaries are the Levites of the Old Testament. Much can be said about this tribe of Israel, but we will give a brief overview here that focuses on their priestly function and their unique prominence in the tabernacle of David.
Who were The Levites?
Jacob had twelve sons whose families became the twelve tribes of Israel. Levi was one of these sons. At the time that God revealed the Torah (the Law) to Moses, He set apart the Levites for a special purpose.
At that time the Lord separated the tribe of Levi to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to minister to Him and to bless in His name, to this day. Therefore Levi has no portion nor inheritance with his brethren; the Lord is his inheritance, just as the Lord your God promised him.)
Deuteronomy 10:8-9
Here the Levites were assigned three primary functions:
- Carry the Ark of the Covenant
- Minister to God
- Bless in His name
The Levites would essentially be responsible for the entire Mosaic priesthood system. They would make sure that the priestly responsibilities of the law were fulfilled – that the tabernacle was set up, that trumpets were blown at the right time, that priestly attire was donned, that incense was burned continually and that adequate sacrifices were offered to God on behalf of His people. The Levites offered sacrifices as Israel’s expression of worship. This was their ministry to Him.
At the center of Moses’ tabernacle was the manifest presence of God, who dwelt between the cherubim on top of the Ark of the Covenant (I Samuel 4:4). As the mediators of God’s presence in the mosaic covenant, the Levites functioned as intercessors. They went to God on behalf of the people, and they went to the people on behalf of God. They stood in the gap between God and man (intercede means to “stand in the gap”). Their duties were both vertical (minister to God) and horizontal (bless the people in His name).
Many things related to the priesthood have changed in the New Covenant. All believers can now access God’s presence and function as a royal priesthood in Christ (I Peter 2:9, Hebrews 10:19-22). Yet the Levites of Moses’ day give us a shadow of our priestly duties. As God’s people, we are all called to host His manifest presence in our lives (ie “carry the ark”), to minister to Him with worship & prayer and to bless the world in His name (ie make disciples). The Levites had Yahweh as their inheritance, and Jesus is our ultimate inheritance, our reward and our prize (Philippians 3:12-14, Psalm 16:5-6).
The Levites Were Paid to Pray
The Levites did not have an inheritance in the Promised Land because they were provided for by the other eleven tribes. They did not need any land to plant crops and care for animals, because the rest of Israel was required to bring a tithe of their harvest to the Levites. There were actually multiple tithes required in the Law, but what is important to understand is that God clearly instructed that the Levites be provided for so that they could tend to the tabernacle and their priestly responsibilities.
Then the Lord said to Aaron: “You shall have no inheritance in their land, nor shall you have any portion among them; I am your portion and your inheritance among the children of Israel. Behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work which they perform, the work of the tabernacle of meeting.”
Numbers 18:20-21
You could say that the Levites were paid to pray.
It is important to note here that God’s desire for Israel was that the entire nation was to be a kingdom of priests (Exodus 19:6). However, the Levites were set apart in a unique way to worship and pray vocationally, as well as to oversee the practical administration of the tabernacle and its related functions. Later descriptions of the Levites in King David’s era make it clear that this was a full-time occupation at that time.
…the Levites, who lodged in the chambers, and were free from other duties; for they were employed in that work day and night.
I Chronicles 9:33
Throughout Israel’s history, the funding of the Levites was an indication of the faithfulness and obedience of a particular generation of God’s people. When the people would fail to tithe, the Levites were forced to go into the fields to work, which was contrary to God’s desire. The effect of their disobedience would be that the tabernacle was neglected, sacrifices were not being offered and the incense stopped burning. Simply put, when the Levites were not funded, God did not receive the worship that was rightly due him. The blessings that flowed from a worshiping people were stifled when the priesthood was devalued.
Spiritual revivals in Israel’s history included the reinstatement of provision for the Levites. This is illuminated clearly in the story of the reforms of Nehemiah.
I also realized that the portions for the Levites had not been given them; for each of the Levites and the singers who did the work had gone back to his field. So I contended with the rulers, and said, “Why is the house of God forsaken?” And I gathered them together and set them in their place. Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain and the new wine and the oil to the storehouse.
Nehemiah 13:10-12
Musicians and Singers: A New Function in David’s Tabernacle
When David became King, he ushered in a new era for Israel and the Levites. He brought the Ark of the Covenant to the top of My Zion. He pitched a new tent and placed the ark in it, while the tabernacle of Moses, void of the ark, was still set up in Gibeon (see I Chronicles 15). This new tent arrangement was bizarre enough, but then David appointed the Levites into an entirely new function that was not even in the Law of Moses. David commanded many of the Levites to praise God with music right before the Ark of the Covenant in Jerusalem (I Chronicles 16:4-6, 37, 41-42). Musical praise had not been a function of the tabernacle of Moses. Not only that, but David himself even wore a priestly ephod and ministered before the presence of God with dancing (2 Samuel 6:14), even though he was not even a Levite!
In other places I provide more comprehensive teaching on the tabernacle of David, but the scandal of David’s actions can not be overlooked here. Theologian Peter Leithart called this dramatic shift the “davidic liturgical revolution.” How did this happen? And why did David do this? Books have been written on this, but the short answer is that David has received prophetic revelation of the heavenly worship liturgy (2 Chronicles 29:25). God invited him into a new priestly order – the order of Melchizedek (Psalm 110:4). In this new heavenly worship order, David established day & night prophetic songs to God (I Chronicles 25), and this praise & worship was led by the Levies. The Levites’ focus shifted away from things like priestly robes, thick curtains and bloody animal sacrifices. The new sacrifices were songs of praise and joy (Psalm 27:6, Hebrews 13:15) offered in a seemingly simple tent. Non-stop prayer replaced the perpetual burning of incense (Psalm 141:2). They now ministered to the Lord with praise and prayer.
If the original priestly responsibilities given to the Levites give us a shadow of the Christian priestly ministry, then the tabernacle of David gives us an explicit example to follow. King David prophetically tapped into the Melchizedek worship order of which Christ is the High Priest (Hebrews 6:20). David reigned in Jerusalem 33 years – the same number of years that the Son of David walked the earth. The day & night worship & prayer in the tent of David mirrored the day & night praise that continues right now in the heavenly throne room (Revelation 4-5). The Levites’ davidic worship is actually Christian worship.
Levites = Prayer Missionaries
The Levites are a profound biblical example of the ministry function I call a prayer missionary. Those who ministered in David’s tabernacle with praise and prayer give us a vivid example of those who worship & pray as their job. While the ministry calling of the Levites was originally rooted in their bloodline, the ministry of New Covenant “Levites” is rooted in their relationship with God through the bloodline of Christ.
“Then they shall bring all your brethren for an offering to the Lord out of all nations…. And I will also take some of them for priests and Levites.”
Isaiah 66:20-21
If you are feeling the sense that you are called to be a modern-day Christian “levite” – a prayer missionary – then I want to provide the same charge to you that Hezekiah gave to the Levites when he reformed Israel and reinstituted davidic worship:
“My sons, do not be negligent now, for the Lord has chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, and that you should minister to Him and burn incense.”
2 Chronicles 29:11