![]() ![]() Just as the Levites were attached to the Lord, so all Israel will be the Lord’s Heritage through their Messiah and High Priest. This, so that all Israel would become a kingdom of priests unto the Lord. The priests were to attach themselves to the Lord through intimate prayer and service and attach Israel to the Lord by interceding and administering their sin offerings, making atonement and peace with God. However, their underlying primary responsibility in serving God was to bring the Jewish people close to Him. The Levites were called to teach and administer God’s Law to the Jewish people, including the Laws of atonement for sin. Prayer is critical for renewing our connection with God and about petitioning Him for our needs and provision. Similarly, the Hebrew word for prayer, tefilah, also means “to connect.” Therefore, we see a correlation between praying to God and serving Him as His priests. At the same time, Cohen, Kagan, Katz, and Azulay are examples of common priestly ( kohen) names of Aaron's descendants. For example, Levine, Levy, Segal, Horowitz, and their various iterations are all trademark Levi surnames. However, our focus here is on the surname, where it most frequently distinguishes Levi's progeny. ![]() The name Levi (לוי), as derived from Hebrew means, “attached to me.” Levi can be used as a first name. And regarding Israel’s future redemption, it is written, “It shall be, in that day, Says the Lord, That you will call Me My Husband… I will betroth you to Me forever Yes, I will betroth you to Me In righteousness and justice, In lovingkindness and mercy I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, And you shall know the Lord” (Hosea 2:16-20). Regarding Israel’s current rejection, it is written, “Bring charges against your mother, bring charges For she is not My wife, nor am I her Husband” (Hosea 2:2). And yet, Levi and Judah were foreshadowed of Israel’s Messiah and her future redemption and restoration as the Kingdom of God-a royal priesthood of believers united in Christ, one people comprised of both Jews and Gentiles who will serve both God and man. Therefore, both the priestly and kingly lineages of Yeshua would come through a mother who her earthly husband did not love. Interestingly, Leah’s fourth son, Judah, became the patriarch of King David (Figure 1). However, scripture tells us that Jacob loved Rachel more than Lea- “When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb but Rachel was barren… She conceived again and bore a son, and said, ‘Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called Levi’” Genesis 29:31, NKJV). Laban deceived Jacob when he switched his two daughters on the night of Jacob’s wedding. He was the third son of Leah-the older daughter of Laban, Jacob’s uncle. We first read about Levi in the Book of Genesis. So, do we have one eternal priesthood or two? We will find out. Further, God’s covenants can never, and let me reemphasize, never be annulled. Let us remember that Christ came to fulfill the Law, not to destroy or do away with it. We will prove this to be a false theology. Some incorrectly presume that Christ has done away with Aaron’s priesthood and replaced it with a new one for the church that follows a different order- “the order of Melchizedek.” To further complicate things, Christology has adopted another form of supersessionism regarding the Levitical priesthood. However, there is little mention of God’s eternal covenant with Levi and his descendants through Aaron, the first High Priest of Israel after Moses. We often hear about God’s covenant with King David.
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