Beauty from Ashes

Reading the inspired account of God's dealing with Levi in the book Education, I am awed by His unfailing mercy. His amazing work, using those very sins that cause Him so much pain to draw me closer to Himself is incomprehensible to my finite mind.

Levi was one of the cruelest of Jacob's sons.

 Levi's characteristics, reflected in his descendants, incurred for them the decree from God, "I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel." Genesis 49:7. But repentance wrought reformation; and by their faithfulness to God amidst the apostasy of the other tribes, the curse was transformed into a token of the highest honour. (Ed 148)

 As we see in Deuteronomy 10:9, "Levi hath no part nor inheritance with his brethren; the Lord is his inheritance." (emphasis mine) What a privilege! What more could you want? And it holds true today. Even my worst failures, (if I surrender ALL to God), can become my greatest blessings! Out of the sin and degradation, out of the ugly things of life, He brings forth a thing of beauty.

  And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. Exodus 34:6,7