The Words of the Huish Family
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The Words of the Huish Family |
Towards the end of November 2010, I started a reading the Bible. "Only now?" you might be asking. Well, I have flicked through it before (the Catholic Bible I used at secondary school looks quite worn) but I've never read the whole thing. So I decided it was about time I committed to reading the whole thing from cover to cover.
Although that has to be taken metaphorically, as I'm actually reading it on my phone through an android app called YouVersion.(www.youversion.com/) If you have a Smartphone, I strongly recommend that you download this free app and start enjoying the many functions it offers. I am following a 1-year reading plan that tells me what chapters to read each day. As long as I follow the reading plan, I will have finished the Protestant canon (66 books) by November 2011.
Those working closely with me will have noticed my recent obsession with particular verses. I recently posted Leviticus 11:44 as a Facebook status and I was pleasantly surprised to see the responses drawn. (Leviticus 11:44: I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves along the ground.)
I'm currently working my way through the book of Numbers. The last few verses of chapter 8 caught my attention:
The LORD said to Moses, "This applies to the Levites: Men twenty-five years old or more shall come to take part in the work at the tent of meeting, but at the age of fifty, they must retire from their regular service and work no longer. They may assist their brothers in performing their duties at the tent of meeting, but they themselves must not do the work. This, then, is how you are to assign the responsibilities of the Levites."
The Levites were the priests, the tribe chosen by God to perform the priestly tasks. The tent of meeting was basically the equivalent of their church building, a mobile church. As I understand it, God is basically instructing Moses that the priests (i.e. the church leaders) should be aged between 25 and 50. Once they turn 50, they "must retire from their regular service and work no longer" although they "may assist their brothers in performing their duties". If we were to take this advice literally, all our church leaders and pastors should retire after their 50th birthday and be replaced by someone aged between 25 and 50. Frankly, that's a rather worrying thought at present. Perhaps that's why True Father requested a few years ago for all national leaders to be under the age of 40.
How closely do you think we should adhere to this advice?