With the Levites being scattered throughout Israel, God’s people would have been able to find a Bible teacher in the area where they lived. Most likely these cities served as some kind of base from which the Levites would travel to other towns and villages in their vicinity, sharing their knowledge, making sure that God’s Word ruled amongst his people, and making sure that God’s justice was seen in his land. They were to be salt and light amongst their brothers.
Now, as Christians, we have not all been called to be teachers of God’s Word, and so in that sense we cannot draw a direct line from the Levites to everyone in the church today. However, as those who belong to Christ, we do have an obligation to bear witness to him, to be salt and light in the places where God has put us. In the New Testament the apostle Paul talks about our responsibility to adorn the gospel with our good works (Titus 2:10). The conduct of our lives should make people ask questions and support the testimony of our lips. The Levites were meant to be models of obedience and dedication to God, and certainly as Christians we are to do the same in the world we live in.
And we are to do so because just like the Levites we have been redeemed by God. There was a time when we walked in darkness, seeking to return evil for evil and exact our own vengeance whenever we are wronged; a time when we would murder and steal if we thought we would get away with it; a time where we chased after money and sex. Having come to faith in Christ we still struggle with the sinful desires and we have to fight them on a daily basis, but God has also made us a royal priesthood.
That is why we want to serve God in the places where he has put us. That is why we want to be salt and light not only amongst our brothers and sisters in a church fellowship, but also in our homes, schools, and workplaces. That is also why it is so important for us to hear from God’s Word on a weekly basis. If we are to serve God, we must know what service he expects from us. We must know what his justice looks like. We must learn from him what it means to love.
1 Then the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites came to Eleazar the priest and to Joshua the son of Nun and to the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes of the people of Israel.