Due to the fact that He created these children, and also spared them at Passover, God owned the firstborn. In other words, they were His, not only by creative right, but also by redemptive right. It was the Lord’s original intent that the firstborn of every family in each tribe be a priest. But when only the Levites came forward as those who were on the Lord’s side, they became the exclusive tribe God chose to minister to Him. The men of Reuben, Gad, and Naphtali backed away, knowing they would have to deal with their friends and neighbors. The men of Judah, Benjamin, and Zebulun knew that they would have to inflict pain in order to save the nation. In the end, only one tribe was willing to say, “It’s not a pleasant task, not an easy thing to do, but we’re on the Lord’s side and this needs to be done. So we will do it.” And, as a result, they were blessed (Exodus 32:29).

In this, I understand why oftentimes we are not used to the degree we would like to be or think we ought to be. Hebrews 4:12 tells us the Word of God is quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword. If the Lord so directs, am I willing to unsheathe the sword of the Word and deal with situations which are detrimental, dangerous, or diseased in the lives of friends, neighbors, or family members? Or will I be like Simeon, Issachar, and Asher who shied away?

It’s one thing to say, “I’ll take the sword and deal with the Jebusites, the Philistines, and the Canaanites.” But will you deal with your own family, your own friends, your own co-workers? Proverbs 29:25 says the fear of man is a snare. It will trip me up. At any given moment, I am living in fear. So are you. The question is, whom do I fear? I will either be walking in the fear of God - not wanting to disappoint Him or disobey Him - or I will be walking in the fear of man - concerned about what others think of me.

The fear of man says, “I care more about you liking me than I do about you doing well.” The fear of God, on the other hand, says, “You might not like this, but I’m going to tell you the truth because I care more about you doing well than I do about you not liking me.”

Knowing the story of Levi, I would have thought it would be any tribe but his to step up to the task. After all, it was Levi who, along with Simeon, decided to avenge the rape of their sister Dinah by unsheathing the sword and slaying all the men of Shechem (Genesis 34), an offense of such magnitude that Simeon and Levi were cursed and denied an inheritance in the Promised Land (Genesis 49:5–7). Therefore, when Moses asked who would mete out judgment upon Israel, I would have thought Levi would have said, “Not us. We’ve been down this road before. We’re cursed to this day. Let Reuben do it.” But that’s not what happened, for even though they had failed previously, Levi said, “We will do what’s necessary.” Amazing.

“How can I correct him?” we say. “I failed in the past the same way he’s failing now.” Or, “I have no right to confront her. I made the very same mistakes she’s making.” That’s what Levi could have said. Instead, he did what Paul teaches us to do: he forgot that which was behind, pressed ahead, and did what had to be done (Philippians 3:13). As a result, although the curse remained because the Levites chose to stand for the Lord, not only would they be used in ministry, but God Himself would be their inheritance ultimately (Joshua 13:33).