Although because of his cruel disposition Levi did not receive Jacob’s blessing, because of their faithfulness to Jehovah his descendants received the Urim and Thummim (Deut. 33:8) and took up the charge of the priesthood. As recorded in the book of Exodus, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the tables and saw the people worshipping the golden calf in disobedience to God’s commandments, he angrily cast down the two tables, burned the golden calf, and called all those who belonged to Jehovah to come to him. Eventually, out of all the tribes, only one tribe, the tribe of Levi, gathered together to him (Exo. 32:19-20, 26). Moses said to them, “Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor. And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men” (Exo. 32:27-28). Concerning this incident, Deuteronomy 33:9 says, “Who said unto his father and to his mother, I have not seen him; neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own children: for they [the Levites] have observed thy word, and kept thy covenant.” Thereafter, the sons of Levi were separated from their brothers to replace the kingdom of Israel in taking up the charge of God’s priesthood (Exo. 32:29; Deut. 33:10).
The priesthood that Levi received is one of the three blessings included in the birthright, and it is the particularly sweet and intimate portion of the birthright. The Levites had the privilege of drawing near to God and of serving God. Furthermore, they could wait before God and could offer to God the fat and the blood of the sacrifices to satisfy God’s righteousness, holiness, and glory. When they entered the Holy Place, they bore the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment, and they put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim, by which God spoke (Exo. 28:29-30). This shows that through the priesthood the Levites were able not only to bring satisfaction to God but also to bring God’s people into His presence. Moreover, they were able to receive God’s guidance that they might teach the people God’s law and God’s judgments.
Judah’s special characteristic was his love for his brothers. In particular, he took care of Joseph, who was in tribulation, and prevented him from being murdered by his brothers (Gen. 37:26-27). When the whole earth was struck by a famine, Jacob sent his sons to Egypt to buy food. Joseph, intending to test his brothers, told them that when they came back to buy food, they were to bring with them Benjamin, who was Jacob’s youngest son, Jacob’s beloved, and who had stayed behind in Canaan. When his father was greatly troubled about this, Judah comforted him, assuring him that he would bring Benjamin back and that, if he did not, he himself would bear the blame forever. This was a manifestation of his love for his brother (Gen. 43:8-9). Then, when Joseph again tested his brothers, using a cleverly devised scheme to keep Benjamin behind, it was Judah who, with deep feeling, told Joseph that his father’s life was bound up in his youngest brother’s life, that he could not bear to see his father’s gray hairs go down to Sheol in sorrow, and that he would be willing to remain as a servant instead of Benjamin, so that Benjamin could go back with his brothers to see their father (Gen. 44:1-34). Here, Judah’s love toward his brother and his concern for his father were manifested to the uttermost. This picture of love is representative of the love for the brothers spoken of in the Bible and shows that all God’s children should care for the heart of God the Father and be willing to suffer loss, even to die, for the brothers (1 John 3:14, 16).