Holy Heritage

“...and of the priests: the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Koz, the sons of Barzillai, who took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called by their name. These sought their listing among those who were registered by genealogy, but it was not found; therefore they were excluded from the priesthood as defiled. And the governor said to them that they should not eat of the most holy things till a priest could consult with the Urim and Thummim.” ‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭7:63-65‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/neh.7.63-65.nkjv

Beside the peculiar heritage of being counted as special people in covenant relationship with God, the Levites are separated as having the right of priesthood. However, the names of the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Koz, and the sons of Barzillai (or possibly, only the sons of Barzillai were particularly singled out) were missing from the genealogy register. The implication is exclusion from the rights and responsibilities as pertaining to the priesthood, and being considered as defiled. While the exclusion might simply be an error of omission, an error of commission may not be ruled out: these sons "took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called by their name". Apparently, the rights to the priesthood were traded for the beauty of the daughters of Barzillai, and fully paid for by their agreement to drop their father's name. Unknowingly, being called a Levite is more than just a name; it is a holy heritage and a right to an intimate relationship with God. Sometimes in life, our desires for the necessities of life, like a future partner, family provisions, professional relevance, and societal breakthrough, appear indispensable. Nevertheless, our relationship with God remains an indispensable holy heritage that keeps the relevance of other relationships.