"Of all the people of Israel, the Levites are reserved for Me. I have claimed them for Myself in place of all the firstborn sons of the Israelites; I have taken the Levites as their substitutes. For all the firstborn males among the people of Israel are Mine, both of people and of animals. I set them apart for Myself on the day I struck down all the firstborn sons of the Egyptians. Yes, I have claimed the Levites in place of all the firstborn sons of Israel. And of all the Israelites, I have assigned the Levites to Aaron and his sons. They will serve in the Tabernacle on behalf of the Israelites and make sacrifices to purify the people so no plague will strike them when they approach the sanctuary." (Numbers 8:16-19 NLT)
Do you remember the story? Moses went to Pharaoh and gave him the message from the LORD: let my people go. Pharaoh refused. Nine plagues later, Pharaoh still refused. The tenth plague would be the last. All the firstborn sons of Egypt died that night. The Hebrew slave sons were saved. God set His people free.
On that night, something special happened to the firstborn sons. They were set apart. God pulled aside an entire tribe of Israel to represent the firstborn sons. The tribe of Levi would take their place. They would become God's workers. He would employ them full time. Their work in the tabernacle and, later, temple would "purify the people so no plague will strike them when they approach the sanctuary." The sanctuary was the place where God dwelt. Their work purified the people so they wouldn't be struck down upon approaching God.
Our sin is an affront to God. When we approach Him, we should be struck down...but we are not. He accepts the work of another firstborn son who was set apart to do His work. This son's work would purify the people so God will not strike them down, either.
After His baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on Him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is My dearly loved Son, who brings Me great joy." (Matthew 3:16-17 NLT)
"For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent His Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him. (John 3:16-17 NLT)
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