KEY VERSE: “I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God (…) The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it.” (Revelation 21:2, 24)

As we have seen previously, the gate of Levi represents the Church. Now, let us take a closer look at the responsibilities given to Levi, and therefore to the body of Christ in society. Moses said in his prayer concerning him:

“Your Thummim and Urim belong to your faithful servant.” (Deuteronomy 33:8)

The Thummim and Urim were stones that the high priest wore on his chest to determine God’s will for the people. When the Lord gave Moses instructions regarding the transfer of leadership to Joshua, He said:

“He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the Lord; at his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the people of Israel with him, the whole congregation.” (Numbers 27:21, Darby)

It was Eleazar’s responsibility, as a priest and therefore a Levite, to discern God’s will in critical situations. The Bible states that he was to do so by the “Judgment of the Urim.” The Hebrew word for judgment here is mishpat, which means “the act of deciding a case” (BDB abridged in Logos). What God was telling Joshua was that whenever there was a controversial matter in Israel, He would make His own decision in the heavenly court, and it was Eleazar the Levite’s responsibility to discern that decision and communicate it to Joshua.

Therefore, one of the most important responsibilities of the Church in a nation is to discern God’s will for that nation.

To discover God’s will for our nation, we must seek it. We often ask God for things in our personal lives, but do we take the time to seek His will for our country? When we have elections in our nations, cities, and states, do we take the time to go before the Lord to ask Him whom we should support?

PRAYER

Holy Spirit of God, equip me with zeal so that I may continually seek Your will for the nations through Your Word, through fellowship, and through worship. I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

APPLICATION

Make it a habit to ask God to guide your heart in everything concerning your life and your country.

This text is an excerpt from the book “BUILDING A HOLY NATION: THE ROLE OF SPIRITUALITY” written by Pastor Gregory Toussaint.

We invite you to read the next article: “THE CHURCH MUST BE MILITANT.”