THE SONS OF LEVI

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>>>>> "Fretwell" == Fretwell  <Fretwell@aol.com> writes:

    Fretwell> 	        THE SONS OF LEVI There are some wonderful
    Fretwell> words of hope and encouragement in the book of Malachi.
    Fretwell> He was a Prophet of the last days, and what he wrote
    Fretwell> pertains to us who are living today.  Let's look at a
    Fretwell> portion of his message, with some added emphasis on my
    Fretwell> part, for I believe God is trying to tell us something
    Fretwell> here.  Malachi 3:1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and
    Fretwell> he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom
    Fretwell> ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the
    Fretwell> messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold,
    Fretwell> he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.  Malachi 3:2 But
    Fretwell> who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand
    Fretwell> when he appeareth? for he [is] like a refiner's fire,
    Fretwell> and like fullers' soap:

    Fretwell> 	Malachi 3:3 And he shall sit [as] a refiner and
    Fretwell> purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of
    Fretwell> Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may
    Fretwell> offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.  We
    Fretwell> sometimes get the impression that when he writes about
    Fretwell> the sons of Levi, he is meaning the Levitical
    Fretwell> priesthood.  But such is not necessarily the case.  Look
    Fretwell> at Isaiah 66:21 And I will also take of them for priests
    Fretwell> [and] for Levites, saith the LORD.  Isaiah was speaking
    Fretwell> of a group of people, who "tremble at My Word" (vs 2),
    Fretwell> and were not mentioned as being of the tribe of Levi.
    Fretwell> What does it mean to tremble at the Word of the Lord?
    Fretwell> Whatever it means, there will be a people who qualify
    Fretwell> for the category.  It is doubtful if their
    Fretwell> qualifications are based as much on the sovereignty of
    Fretwell> God as on their response to the Word of God.  Our
    Fretwell> response is very crucial.  I wonder sometimes, if we
    Fretwell> should not be more diligent in seeking the face of God
    Fretwell> for an inward purification, rather than going after
    Fretwell> material prosperity.  One endures-- the other will
    Fretwell> perish.  What does it mean to "offer unto the Lord an
    Fretwell> offering in righteousness?"

Bro. Fretwell, I believe that the passage you quoted from Malachi is
refering to the person who is about to be filled with the Holy Ghost.
An offering in righteousness is an offering made by someone who is not
in sin.  It is therefore a clean offering, a better offering that a
sinful person could give.  Only repentence and baptism in Jesus' name
can clean a person like fuller's soap and a refiner's fire.  The
passage, "the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple,"
lines up with "your bodies are the temple of the LORD."  That word
"sit" means to "occupy", to remain.  It has connotations of giving one
a favored position with royalty.  This is why the fire "sat on every
one of them" on the day of Pentecost.  It conferred a kingdon upon
them: the kingdon of heaven.

-- 
--------  "And there came a writing to him from Elijah"  [2Ch 21:12]  --------
Robert Jay Brown III  rj@eli.wariat.org  http://eli.wariat.org  1 847 705-0424
Elijah Laboratories Inc.;  37 South Greenwood Avenue;  Palatine, IL 60067-6328
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