Levi – From Cursed to Chosen

A trip through the book of Genesis reminds us that the Bible is full of way more stories than just Adam & Eve or Noah’s Ark. In reality, some stories aren’t exactly Sunday school friendly, and many will have you questioning why God would have wanted them written at all.

Take Jacob for example, the grandson of mighty Abraham, Father of many nations. Jacob wrestled with God and from him came the 12 tribes of Israel. Talk about a life of worthiness. But read about Jacob’s life of deceit, lack of faith, and poor decisions, and then suddenly you start to wonder why God felt he deserved to be a part of that family line at all.

But the Bible is overflowing with people like him (and worse) who seem so undeserving, so unworthy for a place in God’s kingdom. It’s no surprise that many of the examples lie within Jacob’s own children. Surely, following in the shoes of someone like him could only result in trouble. But what if God says otherwise? What if even our own unworthiness could look so different to God than it does to us?

Instruments of Cruelty

Genesis 34 is about as gruesome as it gets in the world of untold Bible stories. Here, we learn about Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, who ventured off into a pagan town and ended up sexually violated. While a lot can be said on that matter alone (or Jacob’s poor leadership), the story doesn’t end there.

Dinah’s brothers, Simeon & Levi, heard about the matter and saw their father’s lack of action. They were understandably furious and decided to take revenge into their own hands, but their next act was pretty terrible.

The brothers first followed in their father’s footsteps of deceit by tricking all the men of the city. They convinced them all to circumcise themselves in return for their sister’s hand in marriage. As if perverting God’s special covenant wasn’t enough of a crime, the brothers waited till all the men were in pain before going in and massacring every one of them. Then they took captive every creature, child, and woman of the city, as well as raided all of their homes. It was definitely a repay evil with evil situation.

While this is obviously an uncomfortable chapter that one might prefer to skip altogether, I actually had to pause and rewind. Wasn’t this the same Levi that the Levites stemmed from? Weren’t the Levites God’s chosen priesthood? How on earth did his name go from that sort of crime to that sort of ministry?

Even by the end of Genesis, his own father is cursing him and wanting nothing to do with him, yet by Numbers, God is calling his people His. How did Levi end up worthy of that sort of name change?

We Have Redemption

Jacob cursed these brothers to be scattered, and sure enough, the tribe of Simeon was ultimately dissolved into history. However, the tribe of Levi went on to ally with God and Moses at the time of the golden calf (Exodus 32).

So let’s recap: Both brothers committed the same terrible act of mass murder and deceit (among other things). And later on, both were involved in the selling of their brother, Joseph, to the slave traders. Then both were cursed by their father to be scattered on the earth for their cruel anger.

“Simeon and Levi are brothers; Instruments of cruelty are in their dwelling place. Let not my soul enter their council; Let not my honor be united to their assembly; For in their anger they slew a man, and in their self-will they hamstrung an ox. Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel. – Genesis 49:5-7

Straight from their own father’s mouth. How hopeless, evil, and unworthy they must have felt!

And yes, the tribe of Simeon seemed to allow his past dictate his future. His curse came true, and we hear little about him throughout the remainder of the Bible.

But the other, the tribe Levi, redeemed their name at Mount Sinai and went on to be a chosen people of God. What redemption!

 “Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Now behold, I Myself have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the children of Israel. Therefore the Levites shall be Mine,” – Numbers 3:11-12

Let No One Despise You

Why is all of this so important? Rather, ask yourself, have you committed worse sins than Levi? If God deemed him worthy of redemption, despite what he did, despite what his father said, why would God not see the same in you?

Levi could have easily let his past hold him back (as what may have happened with Simeon), but he didn’t. And you don’t have to either. Your past doesn’t determine your future. Your family doesn’t have the final say over who you are. Your sins don’t have to hold you back. All of these things can try to discourage you, can try to make you feel unworthy, but you don’t have to accept any of them as your identity or fate.

It is all a choice. Just as the Levites could have easily worshiped the gold calf, knowing they already had a reputation for evil, but chose not to. Just like the Levites could have continued to follow in the generational curse of disobedience and deceit, but chose not to. They chose redemption. And in turn, they were chosen by God.

Even more so, you have been redeemed by Christ. You may have sinned, but the Word declares we are all sinners, not one of us is righteous, from Levi to you. And if Jesus died for all, which the Word says He did, then He also died for you. Your sins. Your past. For every word that was ever spoken against you and for all that holds you back. He died so that you will be held back no more.

How you continue to live this life is your choice. But know that you were chosen to be set apart, despite your past and despite your sins.

Many snares to sin will come your way. Curses and rejections may be inevitable as the enemy seeks to scatter you. But you have a choice: you can live on to accept that is who you are, or you can move past it all, knowing you have been redeemed – knowing He has called you His!

“But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.'” – Isaiah 43:1