But to the tribe of Levi he gave no inheritance, since the food offerings presented to the LORD, the God of Israel, are their inheritance, as he promised them. – Joshua 13:14

Today's Scripture Reading (April 4, 2025): Joshua 13

I spoke to him over the phone. To be blunt, I had heard very little that was good about the man. He had led a church for almost a quarter of a century and had built the physical church where the church continued to meet. He was the originator of an unparalleled music ministry during that era. Part of that directly resulted from the physical church he had built; the acoustics were terrific and intentional. 

When I spoke to him, the church was preparing to celebrate a significant anniversary, and I wanted to hear his stories about the over two decades that he had led the church. One church leader had laughed when I suggested that I was thinking about phoning this pastor. He had one sentence to sum up my intention. "Why would you spend time talking to someone so insignificant in the history of the church?" However, I couldn't get my head around the twenty-four years the pastor had spent leading the church and the word "insignificant."

I went ahead with my phone interview and heard the story of what happens when a church goes wrong. We talked about his last days at the church. The campaign that this church leader, who had called this pastor insignificant, had waged against him. He told me about being kicked out of the church-owned home where he had lived and raised his kids for over two decades. We talked about his last trip to the church on the day he left the city, sitting in the church's parking lot with his car packed with all his worldly possessions but with nowhere to go. And I couldn't imagine the pain that existed in that car on that day. 

The priests and Levites were to receive no land inheritance. Yes, they would receive some land around the Levitical cities where they would live, but nothing more. The idea was that the Levites would receive the offerings which were brought into the Temple. And that system worked as long as the people followed the instructions of God. The problem was that, for long periods, the people refused to bring their tithes into the Temple. And it was the priests and Levites who paid the price. Like my new friend, they were left on the outside with not enough to live on and nowhere to go. It was and continues to be a sad narrative about the plight of these servants of God who sacrificed much to minister to the people. The story of my friend is one that remains in my memory as a cautionary tale about what happens when we lose sight of the task with which God has charged us and allow personal feelings to lead us instead of the will of God. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Joshua 14