Becoming a Modern-Day Levite

There is such dissonance between God’s law-word (His revealed character) and the state of our own lives, our family life, our churches and communities, and our nation, that the resulting tension breaks the status quo and energizes one to reform these entities.

The reality of the weaknesses of our enemies becomes clear as you read or listen to R. J. Rushdoony’s teachings of God’s law-word. You can feel yourself growing a backbone as you act on these Biblical teachings. Then you realize your character is becoming conformed to God’s character. First, you are compelled to have your own house in order, and then you feel compelled to urge others to sit at the feet of Rushdoony and listen to and learn God’s law-word. Yes, you are becoming a modern-day Levite.

Rushdoony teaches, in his lessons on Numbers, that the Levites were full-time soldiers who were always at war. Continuously at war with bad doctrine, heresies, worship of false gods, injustice, waywardness among the people, and ignorance and misapplication of God’s law-word; they were not judges or prophets but teachers and advisors. We see their importance in that they received the tithe from the people; they then gave a tithe of the tithe they received to the priests. You could not be a wayward priest and expect to make a living unless the people were corrupt. It was up to the people to identify the true Levites, those who were true to their calling, and pay the tithe to them.

Today, when you pay for educational curriculum, Christian schools, and college education for your children, you are tithing for the Levitical function to be carried out. Are your dollars supporting those who faithfully teach the true doctrines of the ongoing validity of all of God’s laws?

Note: I am not taking into account here the poor tithe, which provided for welfare to the poor widows (over sixty years of age) and orphans, or the celebratory tithe that paid for pilgrimages and feasts to thank God for His manifold blessings.

Reestablishing the Levitical Function

In 2 Chronicles 17:3–12 we see the Levitical function in operation.

And the LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto Baalim; But sought to the Lord God of his father, and walked in his commandments, and not after the doings of Israel. Therefore the LORD stablished the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah brought to Jehoshaphat presents; and he had riches and honour in abundance. And his heart was lifted up in the ways of the LORD: moreover he took away the high places and groves out of Judah.

Also in the third year of his reign he sent to his princes, even to Benhail, and to Obadiah, and to Zechariah, and to Nethaneel, and to Michaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah. And with them he sent Levites, even Shemaiah, and Nethaniah, and Zebadiah, and Asahel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehonathan, and Adonijah, and Tobijah, and Tobadonijah, Levites; and with them Elishama and Jehoram, priests. And they taught in Judah, and had the book of the law of the LORD with them, and went about throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught the people.

And the fear of the LORD fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were round about Judah, so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat. Also some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents, and tribute silver; and the Arabians brought him flocks, seven thousand and seven hundred rams, and seven thousand and seven hundred he goats. And Jehoshaphat waxed great exceedingly; and he built in Judah castles, and cities of store.

The Levites had the princes and the priests with them to give authority and blessing to their teaching, but they had to know and be able to teach the book of the law of Jehovah. And what was the result? Instead of making war on them, the Arabs brought gifts and were a blessing to Israel. There is your real peace process, a good model for peace in the Middle East that would work today just as well.

People today need professional care: doctors who will prescribe correct doctrine and professors who will profess these doctrines and apply them to the whole of life. This was originally the whole reason for our university system. Its authority to grant credits was based on the credibility it gave to God’s law. Degrees were granted to a disciple of a particular discipline when a degree of knowledge and understanding of God’s law, as applied to a particular area, was demonstrated. It did its job, more or less, of doctoring society until the humanists began to take it over during the Enlightenment (a misnomer if there ever was one). Now, rather than being a source of healthy doctrine, the universities have become a source of societal sickness and heresy. Only in the hard sciences, and then only in the lab, is a smidgen of integrity left.

Can you say, “Ripe for the picking?” The modern universities (actually multiversities) are houses of cards populated by incoherent quacks and charlatans. It is amazing no one has pushed them over. Giving them a push is what Chalcedon is all about. To use another metaphor, we need to proclaim that the emperor of modern miseducation has no clothes. But it helps your credibility to have a real set of clothes on yourself.

One of the most important things we need to do is reestablish the authority of Scripture in people’s minds. That is the beginning, even for many churchgoers.

For this purpose our family has purchased a DVD duplicator on eBay for about $700. We use it to duplicate the seven-DVD set of Kent Hovind’s (www.drdino.com) Creation Seminar series—anyone may duplicate and distribute them as long as one does not charge for them. We make extras of the first DVD, The Age of the Earth, and hand them out like candy to anyone who might be interested. If they respond with real interest, we give them the whole set. They are also up on video.google.com.

Once the authority of Scripture has been established, we introduce people to God’s law with the introductory lessons in the Institutes of Biblical Law MP3s available from Chalcedon.

My family has begun the process of transforming ourselves into modern-day Levites. How about yours?