SPECIAL SERIES #2: The Levites - Biblical Characters and How They Finish

Hal Habecker discusses the biblical perspective on retirement, focusing on the Levites who retired at age 50 to serve in 48 cities across Israel. Despite the modern concept of retirement being less than a century old, Habecker emphasizes that the Bible addresses it implicitly. He highlights the Levites' post-retirement roles as pastors, judges, and teachers, stressing their continued contribution to the community. Habecker argues that older people, like the Levites, should remain active in their faith, mentoring younger generations and fulfilling God's purpose. He encourages continuous growth and service in all stages of life, advocating for a multi-generational approach to ministry.

Transcript

Unknown: 0:20

Music.

Dr Hal Habecker: 0:27

Welcome to our series on How did characters in the Bible finish in the end of their lives? This whole series is focused on how we finish life, and not only how we finish it, but how we live the final decade, the final decades, how we live now this day, none of us know when God's going to say your life's up, like he did to Hezekiah, and we'll see him in one of these series as well. But in general, how do we live in retirement? How do we live the last decades of our life? A lot of people say the Bible doesn't really speak of retirement, and in a sense, it doesn't. But having said that, it does, it makes a difference in our life. In this session, I want to look at the Levites. Do you know God had a retirement age for them? And before we go there, there's a little line at the bottom of your screen there by Crawford laritz, which I love. You'll see this everywhere, on every on every introductory screen. Don't let me drown in shallow water. Don't trip me up at the end of my life with simple sins that detract us or derail us, or even bigger sins, but little things creep up on us, and God wants us to stay on the cutting edge, on the growing edge of our life every day. So let's look at this series again. I have this poem by Robert Browning. I won't quote it. You can see it there. Just grow old along with me. The best is yet to be. And you'll see that in the Levites that their last years were their best years. Howard Hendricks says the same thing, old age is as important and meaningful. Part of God's perfect will is youth. He's interested in both the waxing and waning of life, just as potential is locked up in young people and often never developed. We don't want that to happen in our latter years. In fact, the work of God, he says, will be greatly enriched when more attention is given to releasing and utilizing this hidden resource. Older people represent the greatest potential resource and labor pool within our churches, though consistently ignored and before I go to the next slide, I just want to say I think the church is a little bit shaped by the world we live in. Our world marginalizes older people, and I think the church does too. So part of this series is to awaken pastors, lead pastors, associate pastors and older people in congregations to the idea that God has a real purpose for me by older age. We'll see that later on in another part of our series, but I want to consider the Levites in retirement. You know, a lot of people say retirement is not mentioned in the Bible, but it is. But just first a word about retirement. It's a relatively recent phenomenon. In 1889 Germany's Chancellor Bismarck set age 65 as the time to pay benefits to older survivors. Life Expectancy then in Germany was 55 in 1935 the US signed into law the Social Security Act by FDR, so retirement is less than a century old. The word retirement itself literally means to withdraw, to retreat. It's a military word. Now, withdraw from the work of the force, the labor force that you've been in. You retire, you take a step back, you ref, you know, withdraw from engaging in your work every day. That's retirement. Now let's learn about retirement in the Scriptures, the Lord spoke to Moses. Listen to this saying, This is what applies to the Levites. Watch this from 25 years old and upward, they shall enter to perform service in the work of the Tent of Meeting. But at the age of 5050, they shall retire from the service of the work and not work anymore. They may, however, assist their brothers in the tent of meeting to keep an obligation, but they themselves shall do no work. Now, do you remember what the work of the Levites was really in the sacrificial system? They were butchers, if I could use that word, slaying cattle and lambs and everything, skinning them, cutting them apart and sacrificing them in the altar to burn to God for sin, and there was heavy work, as you remember, thus you shall deal with the Levites concerning their obligations. They had to retire at age 50. So let me ask you a very practical question. So what did they do after they retired? This is so instructive to me, and I hope it is to you. Watch this. How many cities are on there? If you count them, there were 48 Levitical cities that God set up throughout Israel. Well, what was the work of those 48 Levitical cities? Now, watch this. Go with me. I'm going to read a number of verses out of the Old Testament, which all say the same thing, but I want you to get a breadth of that so you can see it. Joshua. 21 when Joshua settled the new land, all the cities of the Levites, in the midst of the possession of the sons of Israel, were 48 cities with their pasture lands. These cities each had its surrounding pasture lands. Thus it was with all the cities. Listen closely to the words of other scriptures as they describe the work of the Levites after retirement, if any case is too difficult for you to decide between one kind of homicide or another, between one kind of lawsuit or another, and between one kind of assault or another being cases of dispute in your courts, then you shall rise up and go to the place which the Lord your God chooses. That's one of those 48 cities. So you shall come to the Levitical priest or the judge who is in the office in those days, and you shall inquire of them, and they shall declare to you the verdict in the case. So these Levites, after they retired, they fanned out to all these 48 cities across Israel to do the work of a pastor, a judge, a teacher, in servicing the Israelites as they walked with God, helping them to live. Watch this now. If a Levite comes from any of your towns throughout Israel, where he resides, and comes wherever he desires to the place which the Lord chooses, then he shall serve in the name of the Lord, his God, like all his fellow Levites who stand there before the Lord, so the Levites could go live wherever they wanted to live in all of Israel, but they had a task there that was to serve the people they taught in Judah, having the Book of the Law, A Book of the Law of the Lord with them, and they went throughout all the cities of Judah and taught among the people. So they were traveling itinerant, Pastor teachers, they would be available to judge cases. But really, I think age 50 and over, having had a season of wisdom and learning everything. God's purpose for them was to fan out to all local areas across Israel to teach people the law. They were the pastors and teachers. Now, in the seventh year of Jehoiada strengthened himself and he took captains of hundreds. Azariah, the son of Jehoram, Ishmael, the son of jehanen, and azaziah, the son of Obed Messiah, the Son of adiah and Elisha fat the son of zikri. And they entered into a covenant with him. Now listen, they went throughout Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah and the heads of the Father's households of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem. So whenever there was a big convocation in Jerusalem, the Levites would come with the heads of houses from all over Israel. For, you know, one of the festivals, for one of the the celebrations, look at Nehemiah. And these are different characters, not only in Moses, but with Joshua. With Nehemiah, we will also bring the first of our dough, our contributions, the fruit of every tree, the new wine and the oil, to the priest at the chambers of the house of God and the tithe of the ground to the Levites. For the Levites are they who receive the ties where in all the rural towns you get in the picture, these Levites scattered all over Israel to teach and mentor the next generations on the law and the. Purposes of God. Nehemiah, again, the leaders of the people who lived in Jerusalem and the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of 10 to live in Jerusalem, the Holy City, while nine tents remained in other cities. Nehemiah, 11, verse 20, the rest of Israel and of the priests and the Levites were in all the cities of Judah, each in their own inheritance, one more Nehemiah, 12. Now at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, they sought out the Levites from all their places to bring them together so that they might celebrate the dedication with gladness, with hymns of thanksgiving and the songs to the competent of cymbals, harps and lyres. You know, I asked the question, Why does God allow us to age? Well, you know, here's the reason. Just for the Levites, he allowed them to age so that after their retirement from the temple work, the tabernacle work, they fanned out into all of Israel to teach the law, to mentor people, to lead men in the heads of households, teaching their kids and building a people of God throughout every nook and cranny of Israel. So when they were tired, let me tell you, they didn't go to the beach. They didn't go relax. They didn't say, I've given my time, and God's doesn't have a use for me anymore, and this is my own time. No, hardly. So my question, Why does God allow us to age? Why does he ordain the elder years as a part of life. Well, it is so that we can be priest in the body of Christ everywhere. Isn't that what First Peter calls us? We're a priest. We're a priestly kingdom as His servants. So when you retire, God wants you to scatter through your own sphere of influence and become what the Levites were, that is men and women of reference and purpose and leading generations coming behind them, with their own family being active in their own local congregation. What are his purposes in our latter years, to keep representing him, really? I mean, this is mind boggling. I mean, we have just as much of a purpose in our 70s, 80s and 90s as we ever did at any point in our life, because God wants us, wants to use us to continue that message. What are the advantages of each of us having older and younger people in our lives? I mean, God designs these Levites who scattered out. They were part of a multi generational community where grandparents, parents, kids, grandkids, all were a part of the active work of God in life in Israel, and these retired priests circulated in those generations. I love it. And what are the advantages of elders and sages in the life of a congregation. Well, isn't it the same thing? Why does God have elderly people? Older people, elders? That's a term I, like anybody over 60, is kind of an elder. If you're retired, you're more of an elder, and you're there to help people understand God's purposes in their life. So you want to pay attention to every generation in the church coming behind you, and as the church, we ought to look to retired people as leaders in the church. We'll see that in another verse later on in our series. This is what God wants. I first, I would say God wants us to keep growing and trusting him for all that he wants us to be to us and in us in our aging years. The best thing about us as we age is to keep our life in Christ as contemporary and real as we possibly can, to grow in him every day, like Peter says in Second, Peter 318, his last epistle may be written weeks or months before his execution at middle age, 60s, 6465 I want to grow in Christ more than ever. God wants us to keep growing, to keep connecting, to keep caring and loving those he designs to be a part of our lives. And this is part of the seven essentials. Second we are convinced that one of the reasons God leaves us in this life for our aging years is for the purpose of investing our lives in the generations of following us. The following key scriptures bring this biblical truth into clear focus. I love Psalm 7117 and 18. Oh God, you have taught me from my youth, and I still declare your wondrous deeds, even when I'm old and gray. Oh god, don't forsake me until I declare your strength to. Generation, your power to all who are to come. Remember those Levites, I think God wanted them to talk about his work in their lives as personal examples of the power of God and following him in Psalm 78, three of couple Psalms later, the writer says he established a testimony in Jacob appointed a law, a standard in Israel, which he commanded our fathers that they should teach them to their children, that the generation to come might know, even children yet to be born, that they may arise and tell them to their children, that they should put their confidence in God and not forget the works of God, but obey and keep His commandments. That's our mission as we age, to remind generations following us the importance of following Jesus every day in our our lives, in their lives, and we set the bar as aging people who are committed as ever to continue following Jesus. So consider this one. This is Jesus, Matthew 2818 and 20. Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, make disciples of all nations, baptizing, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you and lo, I am with you all, even to the end of the age. And I would add even to the end of your own age. Personally, when you finish your life, note, the multi generational aspect of the church shall be in the last days. God says that I will pour forth my Spirit on all mankind, your sons, your daughters, will prophesy. Your young men shall see visions. Your old men shall dream dreams. Isn't that the pattern of the Levitical life of Israel? Isn't that the pattern of the church on the day of Pentecost Peter saying, This is how we live. Older people have a purpose in life. We need to continue to make disciples at every age, at every season of our life. Just because we're retired, that doesn't exclude us from the privilege of leading other people coming behind us to learn of Jesus, to come into His kingdom through salvation, and to train them for the gospel. You know, as this chart shows, there are seven or so generations in any community at any time. So think back to the Levites. They're there serving in the midst of all these generations. You were there in your church in the midst of all these generations, reaching them with the importance of living for God, setting examples for younger generations following you. Paul says this is intriguing to me, and with this, we'll begin to wrap this session up. Paul says, in his middle 60s, as he's writing this from prison in Rome, he says, I haven't arrived yet. I'm not perfect, but I press that I may lay hold of that for which I was laid hold of by Christ, Jesus. I've not gotten there, but I forget what lies behind, and I want to press forward to what lies ahead. Let me ask you a very personal question. As you age, are you pressing forward to what God has ahead for you, if you're a younger believer in a younger generation, 30s and 40s, are you catching a vision for how God wants you to live in your 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, every day of your life. Let me tell you, it makes all the difference in the world. That's why God has us here. Then we'll be able to say with Paul Second Timothy, Paul says, I've fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I've kept the faith. In the future, there's laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord the righteous judge will award me on that day, and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing. You know, that's his vision for us who follow Jesus every decade of our lives. So as you look down the future of your life, I don't know how long you wish you would live, but God has a purpose for every decade you live, and that's why we live. He's coming back for us. Final slide, I'll close every one with this. You should memorize Psalm 9012 by the end of this series. So teach us the number our days that we would present to you a heart of wisdom, O God. And that's our mission in finishing well ministries. We want to encourage every one of us to finish well, to lay hold of that in our aging years, the last three or four decades, whatever it. Us to be the kinds of men and women God calls us to be. I hope you'll join me and you make that your mission as well. God bless you. You.