“For the LORD your God has chosen them and their descendants out of your tribes to stand and minister in the LORD’s name always.”
~ Deuteronomy 18:5
Hi James and Ellen,
Do you know why your grandmaa and grandpaa are living in Guatemala? Do you know why your grandmaa and grandpaa lived for ten years in Bolivia? Your grandmaa, your grandpaa, your dad and your Aunt Lynn went to Bolivia in August of 1978. Your Aunt Lynn was five years old. Your dad is almost seven and a half years older than your Aunt Lynn. Your dad began eighth grade the day after he arrived in Bolivia. Your Aunt Lynn began going to school for the very first time when she arrived in Bolivia. Your grandmaa and grandpaa went to Bolivia because God chose them to go there. Your grandmaa and grandpaa were living in Aberdeen, South Dakota when God told them that He was calling them to be missionaries. Do you know what a missionary does? One time when she was little, your Aunt Lynn told your grandmaa that she thinks a missionary is someone who lives in a different country so that he or she can send postcards to their families back home. Your grandmaa and grandpaa like to send you postcards but . . . your grandmaa and grandpaa really are here in Guatemala because God called them to be here.
How would you like to be in a family with twelve bros? Jacob – who had his name changed to Israel by God, had twelve sons. God chose Jacob’s boys to begin a nation which is known today as Israel. Your grandpaa wrote two days ago about two of Jacob’s boys – Simeon and Levi. Simeon and Levi did something horrific to the guy who had done something appalling to their sis Dinah. What they did was wrong for them to do. Do you think that God will do something bad to you if you do something bad to someone else? When you do something bad, what does your ma and dad do to you? Do they take away privileges? Privileges can be thought of as being blessings. Today we read in Deuteronomy 18 what God did for Levi. God chose or called Levi for a special blessing. That blessing for Levi is seen in verse 5 which states “for the LORD your God has chosen them and their descendants out of your tribes to stand and minister in the LORD’s name always.” Levi is one of Jacob’s twelve boys. The families of Jacob’s twelve boys would be called tribes. Sometimes families can become very large – like the family of your great grandmaa on your grandpaa’s side. There were thirteen brothers and sisters in your great grandmaa’s family. Your grandpaa’s great grandmaa and great grandpaa on your dad’s grandmaa’s side had sixty-six grandchildren. God is still choosing people today to do what He chose the Levite tribal clan to do. God chose the Levite tribal clan ‘to stand and (to) minister in the Lord’s name always’. God chose the Levite tribal clan as His designated tribal clan to offer sacrifices to Him as His desired way to be worshipped. Ask your dad to explain to you what a sacrifice is. Levi’s bros would have homes, land and animals while the Levite tribal clan did not get to have anything. This may sound unfair but who do you think got blessed the most? God blesses those who serve Him. There is a temptation to sometimes ask God what He will do for you instead of asking God what you can do for Him. When you ask God what He would like you to do for Him, God will bless you by giving you the privilege and the blessing to serve Him. Your grandmaa and grandpaa are missionaries today because during a missions conference a missionary asked the mas and the dads who were attending the conference to encourage their kid or kids to pursue missions if God called them to be missionaries. The missionary asked mas and dads to stand up as a way to promise their kid or kids that they would support him, her or them to pursue a missionary vocation if . . . your grandpaa did not stand up to show your dad and your Aunt Lynn that he would support them to be a missionary if God should ever call them to be a missionary. When your grandpaa did not stand up, your grandmaa did not stand up. Your grandmaa was not happy that your grandpaa did not stand up as almost everyone else in the church stood up. Your grandpaa did not stand up because your grandpaa knew that he and your grandmaa were still young enough to be missionaries and that your grandmaa and grandpaa would be able to take your dad and your Aunt Lynn to another country to live. When your grandpaa told your grandmaa what your grandpaa had heard God telling him to do, your grandmaa understood. Your grandmaa wants to always support your grandpaa in what your grandpaa believes God is leading them to do. Your grandmaa and your grandpaa are very grateful that God chose them to be missionaries for His kingdom sake.
Why would God choose one tribe out of twelve Israelite tribes to be the designated tribe to worship Him? The other Israelite tribes were to reclaim a land called the Promised Land. There were people already living in this land. These people did not worship God. One of the things that these people did was to practice witchcraft. People still practice witchcraft today. Someone who is doing or practicing witchcraft is asking the devil – who is your enemy, to help them. Your enemy only wants to help you do things which are bad or wrong to do. There are guys and gals in Bolivia who practice witchcraft. There are guys and gals in Guatemala who are called Mayans who worship spirits. Some of the Mayans worship an idol like thing that they call Maximón. This idol like thing to your grandpaa looks like a filthy old man. Mayans give gifts – like cigars, to this thing. Guys and gals are serious about giving gifts to this thing as they think that if they do that the thing will be good to them. Your grandmaa and grandpaa are today in Guatemala because God sent them there to tell guys, gals and kids who believe in Him how to live their lives for Him. Your grandmaa and grandpaa as God’s ambassadors are telling guys, gals and kids why it is wrong to trust in something else other than God. Your grandmaa and grandpaa know that it is a privilege and a blessing to serve God.
Deuteronomy 18 (8)