Study #15: LAMED
TWO MEN IN THE BIBLE WHOSE NAMES BEGAN WITH LAMED
There are two famous personages in the Bible whose names began with a LAMED
- LEVI the third son of Jacob and Leah.
- LEVI ( or Matthew ) the tax collector who wrote the Gospel of Matthew.
LEVI means ” in close connection to another”.
The LEVI in the Old Testament was cruel (e.g. he and his brother Simeon tortured an ox in cruel sport and rendered it useless in Genesis 49). He was also ruthless and revengeful ( e.g. he killed the tribe of Schemites because their leader’s son raped his sister Dinah ). But his offsprings were pardoned to be priests unto God. As a result, the Tribe of LEVI was chosen to camp closest to the Tabernacle of Moses in the Wilderness. And LEVI’s famous descendants included Moses and Aaron.
LEVI or Matthew in the New Testament was a despised tax-collector who made his livelihood by dishonestly overtaxing others. When Jesus called him to be His disciple, he immediately left his inglorious trade to become one of the four gospel writers.
Heavenly Father, You pardoned a murderer called Levi and elevated him to be the founding father of the Levitical Priesthood. Jesus called an unrighteous tax-collector to be His disciple to bear witness to His ministry and to record the message of His gospel. The two men called LEVI fulfilled their heavenly mandates found in their name. We are thus encouraged You chose to work in “close association” with imperfect people like us – forgiving our past that we may find our true calling and destiny in You. Indeed we humbly acknowledge You chose us because of Your great mercy not because of any personal merit of our own.
