Thought from today’s Bible reading from Ezra 1-3.
We hear people today talk about “undocumented immigrants.” This term refers to immigrants who have come into this country but do not have the necessary papers (documentation) showing that they can legally be here. This has led to a great political debate about what to do with these “undocumented immigrants” – deport them, grant them amnesty, ignore their lack of documentation, etc.
When the Jews returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the city, they had to deal with another “undocumented” group. Certain priests did not have the appropriate documentation showing their ancestry and, therefore, could not prove that they had a lawful place in the priesthood. Notice what was done with these undocumented priests:
“Of the sons of the priests: the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, the sons of Barzillai, who took a wife from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and he was called by their name. These searched among their ancestral registration, but they could not be located; therefore they were considered unclean and excluded from the priesthood. The governor said to them that they should not eat from the most holy things until a priest stood up with Urim and Thummim” (Ezra 2:61-63).
Notice a few points about the undocumented priests.
- The priests under the Law of Moses had to come from the tribe of Levi (Numbers 3:5-10). Therefore, every other tribe was excluded (Hebrews 7:13-14).
- With no way to prove that they were from the tribe of Levi, these men were to be excluded from the priesthood. They may have, in truth, been qualified. But with no way to prove this, they were to be excluded. Truth is not based upon the claims of any man.
- Only a direct revelation from God could place them in the priesthood – this is what the Urim and Thummim were for (Exodus 28:30; Numbers 27:21).
Refusing an undocumented priest a place in the priesthood was not an act of hatred or unfairness, but an act of respect for God’s law. We need to respect God’s law and follow it in all things today.
Tomorrow’s reading: Ezra 4-6; Psalm 137
[I’m using the Chronological reading plan on the Bible Gateway website if you’d like to follow along, too.]
Daily Notes & Observations contains all 365 articles from this series and is available in paperback from Gospel Armory.
