God has given us extraordinary blessings, and with them comes the responsibility to tend and keep them with thoughtful care. During this sacred Feast, we are set apart from an increasingly evil world, and we must use this holy time diligently to strengthen the unity of the body of Christ. We cannot afford to regret missing any of His blessings by failing to see their value or by carelessly misusing them. Our obligation is to remain within the place of safety, which is His holy time, and to use it wisely. We must tend and keep these precious blessings by staying close to Him, discerning the words of truth, and assembling together with brethren of like mind, not just on specific days but throughout all the time we are given. This includes stirring each other to love and noble activities, and considering those who cannot be present with us, supporting them through prayer and other means. God is carefully working to bring us to the place He desires for us, and we must not become world-weary or slip in our duty to tend and keep His investment in us. Recognizing and faithfully tending to these extraordinary blessings with maximum effort is essential, especially during this holy time, as we prepare to be holy as He is holy.

Now the word tend here means to serve, to labor. But the word keep is shamar; it means to keep, to guard and protect. Now I do not know if Adam had the ability to guard the entrances of the garden. And when satan came in as the serpent, I do not know that he had the power or the ability to stop him. But the one thing I think Adam did have the ability to do and that was to guard against the influence and not to be deceived, and guard against committing sin. And as a result of that sin, they were driven out of the Garden. Here the word guard is shamar. It is the same thing. They were kept to protect the presence of God after the sin of Adam and Eve. Through the grace of God, He found a way still to have fellowship with man. When God had turned away Adam and Eve, He still found a way to commune with them. It was not directly anymore, but He did find a way to have fellowship with them because holiness demands respect. And through our sins, we could not come in direct contact with our God. So God made a way. In fact, for example, Moses when he was at the burning bush, he could only come so close; he had to take off his shoes because he was standing on holy ground. And then, when Moses spoke to God face to face, Moses could not see His face. He could only be so close. Then in Exodus 19:12, we see that God at Sinai told Moses to put limits around the mountain because whoever would touch it would be put to death. And so, when they entered into the wilderness, God found a way to be in the midst of His people, and God instructed Moses to build the Tabernacle. This was to be a physical sanctuary so He could dwell directly with His people. Of course, there were specific regulations of the construction, instructions for sacrifices to atone for their sins, and even detailed arrangements for each tribe where they camped around the Tabernacle. And then there were detailed duties for the Levites, all spelled out by God, so He could have a relationship with them. So God established the means for fellowship despite our human impurity. This dwelling place functioned as actually a mobile meeting place, allowing God to lead them, interact with them, and reside in their midst. Now, in Numbers 3, we see that God set apart the tribe of Levi to help the priests, to do the performances of the Tabernacle. And this is where the institution of the gatekeepers begin. Here, again, we have that word keep, and also it means, again, to protect and to watch over your heart with diligence. And I find it very interesting here that God shows us that He is our guard and protector. Through this chapter six times He uses the word keep or preserve, and it is that verb again for shamar, meaning to guard, to keep, watch over, preserve. We have a God that loves us so much, and it is beyond all human understanding. But we have a part to play. We must be active doorkeepers of our hearts. We must fight against the characteristics of people like Korah. We must be on guard against envy and pride and always be more concerned about others than ourselves. And if we see these traits in ourselves, it should be a warning sign to you and should not be left unchecked. How often do we grumble about our position in the world or our lives and we overlook the great blessings that we have been given? And grumbling will lead to destruction if we only see the harm it does because it destroys order, unity, and peace. The sons of Korah learned that true honor is not fighting for the spotlight but in guarding the house, guarding the doors of God's presence. They proved that any position given by God is a position to be honored and cherished because we are all being brought to glory by our Most High God. We need to be humble, grateful like the sons of Korah. We have been given a place of higher status, favor, grace, power. And this has all been given to us by our loving God. Having been saved through His death, we are washed clean by the blood of Jesus Christ. We can s