Reader, if you have not as yet got the question of sin settled between your conscience and God, ponder, I do beseech you, what I have now stated; for to know this principle in spirit is life eternal. Christ has, _once for all_, borne sin's deepest curse in His own body on the tree, and now even _Levi_ can lift up his head; for although he be by nature only conversant with "_instruments of cruelty_," things which must have kept God forever at a distance from "his secret and his assembly;" although he be by nature _cruel_, _fierce_, _self-willed_, _scattered_, _and divided_, yet God can, in the exercise of His mercy, make him conversant with "the instruments of the tabernacle," bring him into the enjoyment of the covenant of _life_ and _peace, in union_ with the great head of the priestly family, and, in the power of this blessed union, cause him to have his "_lights and perfections with his Holy One_" (Deut. xxxiii. 8; Mal. ii. 4, 5). However, we must not anticipate the teaching of passages which are yet to come under our notice; I will therefore close my remarks on this part of our subject by requesting my reader to compare attentively the character of Levi, as above recorded, with that which the apostle Paul, quoting from the Psalms, has given of man generally, whether Jew or Gentile: "There is _none_ righteous, no, not one; there is _none_ that understandeth, there is _none_ that seeketh after God. They are _all_ gone out of the way, they are _together_ become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: _their_ FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD: _destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace have they not known_: there is no fear of God before their eyes" (Rom. iii. 10-18).
EXODUS xxxii. 25-29.
"And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:) then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the Lord's side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. And he said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor. And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men. For Moses had said, Consecrate yourselves to-day to the Lord, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that He may bestow upon you a blessing this day."
Here a new scene opens to us, and we are called to witness the dawning of a new day upon Levi; a day, moreover, which may justly lead us to anticipate great things. It is true we get him here likewise with his sword by his side, but, oh, for what a different purpose, and in what a different cause! It is not now in anger and self-will slaying a man, but in holy jealousy and care for the honor of the Lord God of Israel, and in simple obedience to His command; and although this may, and will, lead to the very cutting off of a brother, a son, or a friend, Levi cares not; for the word is, "Consecrate yourselves to the Lord, that He may bestow upon you a blessing." This was enough for Levi; and although by nature he was vile and utterly unfit either for the fellowship or service of God, yet is he now the foremost in jealous vindication of His holy name and worship against those who would seek to "turn their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass." Nor is Levi now seen "_joined_" with his brother Simeon--no, he might join in league with him in the days of his wickedness for the perpetration of deeds of blood; but here, as I before observed, we get the opening of a new scene, and therefore he is seen "joined" with the Lord and His servant Moses for the execution of righteous judgment upon idolatry.
And henceforth, in following the footsteps of Levi, we shall find that, instead of being "swift to shed blood," they are to be "swift" in following the movements of the cloud, and "swift" in performing the service of the tabernacle.