The Terrible Blessing of a Consecrated Priesthood Text: Deuteronomy 33:8-11
Introduction: The Cost of Loyalty
We live in an age of cheap grace and cheaper loyalties. Our Christianity is often a sentimental affair, a matter of personal preference, a therapeutic addition to our already comfortable lives. We want a God who affirms us, a gospel that costs us nothing, and a church that functions like a friendly social club. We have traded the sharp, two-edged sword of the Spirit for a soft, sentimental pillow. We have made peace with the world by blurring every distinction that God Himself established in blood and fire.
But the Word of God does not know this kind of religion. The faith of our fathers is not a safe faith. The call to follow Christ is a call to take up a cross, which is an instrument of execution. And the call to ministry, the call to the priesthood, is the most dangerous calling of all. The blessing that Moses pronounces upon the tribe of Levi is not a comfortable blessing. It is a terrible blessing, a glorious and fearful thing, forged in the crucible of rebellion and consecrated by a bloody, unwavering loyalty to the covenant God.
This blessing is a polemic against every form of compromised, man-pleasing religion. It establishes the non-negotiable qualifications for spiritual leadership. The right to minister before the Lord is not won through seminary degrees, or smooth words, or a democratic vote. It is won through trial by fire. It is demonstrated by a loyalty to God that is so absolute, so total, that it is willing to cut through the most sacred of natural ties, the love of father, mother, brother, and son. If we want to understand why the modern church is so often impotent, we must come to grips with the blessing of Levi. We have forgotten that the priesthood is a warrior caste, and that their ordination is a call to war.
The Text
Of Levi he said, "Let Your Thummim and Your Urim belong to Your holy one, Whom You tested at Massah, With whom You contended at the waters of Meribah; Who said of his father and his mother, ‘I did not consider them’; And he did not recognize his brothers, Nor did he know his own sons, For they kept Your word, And they observed Your covenant. They shall teach Your judgments to Jacob, And Your law to Israel. They shall put incense before You, And whole burnt offerings on Your altar. O Yahweh, bless his substance, And accept the work of his hands; Crush the loins of those who rise up against him, And those who hate him, so that they will not rise again."
(Deuteronomy 33:8-11 LSB)
The Badge of Office, Forged in Trial (v. 8)
The blessing begins by identifying the tools and the testing ground of the priesthood.
"Of Levi he said, 'Let Your Thummim and Your Urim belong to Your holy one, Whom You tested at Massah, With whom You contended at the waters of Meribah;'" (Deuteronomy 33:8)
The Thummim and the Urim, likely meaning "Perfections" and "Lights," were the sacred means by which the high priest would discern the will of God in critical moments. They were kept in the breastpiece of judgment. To possess them was to hold the awesome responsibility of speaking for God. But notice to whom they belong. They belong to God’s "holy one," His hasid, His loyal, covenant-keeping one. This is not a title you inherit by simple biology; it is a character that is proven.
And how is it proven? "Whom You tested at Massah, with whom You contended at the waters of Meribah." These were places of epic failure for Israel. At Massah, which means "testing," the people quarreled with Moses and put God on trial, demanding water (Exodus 17). At Meribah, which means "quarreling," the same thing happened again (Numbers 20). These were moments of profound apostasy and rebellion. The nation as a whole failed the test. But in the midst of this corporate failure, a remnant was found faithful. The tribe of Levi is here commended for having passed the test when everyone else was failing. They endured the trial. They did not join the grumbling mobs. Spiritual authority is not given to the untested. It is granted to those who have been thrown into the furnace of trial and have come out loyal to God on the other side.
The Terrible Test of Loyalty (v. 9)
Verse 9 gives the specific, shocking evidence of Levi's tested loyalty. This is the heart of the matter.
"Who said of his father and his mother, ‘I did not consider them’; And he did not recognize his brothers, Nor did he know his own sons, For they kept Your word, And they observed Your covenant." (Deuteronomy 33:9 LSB)
This is not a verse about being a bad son or a negligent father in the ordinary course of life. This is a direct reference to the single greatest act of apostasy in the wilderness: the worship of the golden calf in Exodus 32. While Moses was on the mountain, the people, led by Aaron the Levite, created an idol. When Moses came down and saw the idolatrous chaos, he stood in the gate of the camp and issued a call to arms: "Who is on Yahweh’s side? Let him come to me." And the Scriptures tell us that "all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him."
And what was their task? Moses commanded them to take their swords and go through the camp, killing the idolaters, "every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor." They did it. They put the Word of God and the honor of God above the most fundamental natural affections. They did not recognize their brothers or know their own sons who were caught up in this rebellion. Their loyalty to the covenant was absolute. This was their ordination. Moses says to them right after this holy slaughter, "Today you have been ordained for the service of Yahweh, each one at the cost of his son and of his brother, so that he might bestow a blessing upon you this day" (Exodus 32:29). The blessing of the priesthood was purchased with the blood of their rebellious kinsmen. This is the foundation of their ministry: a fierce, uncompromising loyalty to God's Word over all other allegiances.
The Twofold Task of the Priesthood (v. 10)
Because they passed the test of loyalty, they are now entrusted with the central duties of the covenant community.
"They shall teach Your judgments to Jacob, And Your law to Israel. They shall put incense before You, And whole burnt offerings on Your altar." (Deuteronomy 33:10 LSB)
The priestly task is twofold. First, it is a ministry of the Word. "They shall teach Your judgments to Jacob, and Your law to Israel." Their job is to instruct the people in the objective, unchanging standards of God. They are to be the guardians and teachers of the divine law. A ministry that does not teach the law, in all its glorious and demanding detail, is a failed ministry. A church that neglects the sharp distinctions of God's judgments is a church that has abdicated its priestly role.
Second, it is a ministry of intercession and worship. "They shall put incense before You, and whole burnt offerings on Your altar." The incense represents the prayers of the saints, ascending to God. The burnt offerings represent substitutionary atonement, the remedy for sin. The priests stand in the gap. They teach the standard, and they administer the remedy for all who fall short of that standard. You cannot have one without the other. To have law without sacrifice is legalism that crushes. To have sacrifice without law is antinomianism that excuses. The Levites were entrusted with both because they proved they loved God's law more than life itself.
The Warrior's Blessing (v. 11)
Finally, Moses pronounces a blessing that is also a prayer of imprecation. Ministry is warfare, and the priest needs divine provision and protection.
"O Yahweh, bless his substance, And accept the work of his hands; Crush the loins of those who rise up against him, And those who hate him, so that they will not rise again." (Deuteronomy 33:11 LSB)
The Levites had no territorial inheritance; Yahweh was their portion. So Moses prays for their provision: "bless his substance." He prays for God's favor on their ministry: "accept the work of his hands." But then the prayer takes a hard, martial turn. "Crush the loins of those who rise up against him."
This is not a prayer for civility. It is not a request for a robust dialogue with their opponents. It is a prayer for the utter, final, and catastrophic destruction of the enemies of God's appointed priesthood. To "crush the loins" is to destroy a man's strength and his posterity. This is a prayer that God would make a final end of those who hate the ministry of Levi, "so that they will not rise again." Why? Because to rise up against God's faithful ministers is to rise up against God Himself. An attack on the embassy is an attack on the king. This is the necessary protection for a ministry that must teach hard truths and confront sin. Such a ministry will always have enemies, and God's people are to pray for their definitive overthrow.
The Greater Levi
This entire blessing finds its ultimate fulfillment in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the true "holy one" of God. He was tested in the wilderness, not at Massah, but for forty days, and He did not fail. His loyalty to His Father was absolute. When His own mother and brothers came to see Him, He gestured to His disciples and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother" (Matthew 12:49-50). His loyalty to the covenant cut through every earthly tie.
He is the one who perfectly teaches the law of God, writing it on our hearts. And He is the one who offered the final, whole burnt offering on the altar of the cross, the sacrifice of Himself. His work is fully accepted by the Father. And God has answered the prayer to crush the loins of His enemies. He has crushed the head of the serpent. And at His return, He will strike through kings in the day of His wrath, and they will not rise again.
The church is now a "royal priesthood," and this is our pattern. Our ordination is not in the blood of our kinsmen, but in the blood of the Lamb. But the required loyalty is the same. We are called to love Christ more than father or mother, son or daughter. We are called to teach the whole counsel of God, not just the parts that tickle the ears. And we are called to be warriors in a great spiritual conflict, confident that our great High Priest will bless our substance, accept our work, and bring all His and our enemies to ruin.