1 Chronicles 23

“The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel—four in all.  The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses; and Aaron was set apart, he and his sons forever, that he should sanctify the most holy things, to burn incense before the Lord, to minister to Him, and to give the blessing in His name forever. Now the sons of Moses the man of God were reckoned to the tribe of Levi. The sons of Moses were Gershon and Eliezer.” 1 Chronicles 23:12-15 (HCSB)

Several years ago, a friend showed me a magazine advertisement for a high-end tequila maker.  No, we were not planning a church staff party.  He brought the ad because the tequila company was owned by the son of a relatively well-known pastor friend.  My friend could not understand how the son of a successful pastor could be engaged in such a worldly business venture.  I assured my friend that ministry callings cannot be assumed or thrust upon the next generation.  Apples may not fall far from the tree, as they say, but even preachers’ kids must choose whether they will personally remain connected to the tree’s root!  (John 15:5)

Aaron’s sons Nadab & Abihu chose to offer unauthorized fire to the Lord, and they got toasted for it!  Despite the efforts of Hebrew scholars to protect Moses’ image (changing the spelling of Moses’ name in Scripture), God has allowed it to be exposed that Moses’ grandson initiated pagan worship.  (Judges 18:30)

“Then the children of Dan set up for themselves the carved image; and Jonathan the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land.”  Judges 18:30 (NKJV)

Moody University’s Dr. Michael Rydelnik, in the New American Commentary Studies The Messianic Hope, exposes the Hebrew Masoretic Bible compilers’ wrongful edit.

“This verse records the establishment of the first pagan priesthood in Israel.  The consonantal text’s original reading indicated that “msh” (Mosheh or Moses) was the grandfather of Jonathan, the founder of this pagan priesthood.  The Masoretes inserted the raised letter “n” (or “nun”), making the word read “mnsh” (Menasseh or Manasseh).  According to the Hebrew scholar Tov, the suspended “nun” was a correction of ‘an earlier reading which ascribed the erecting of the idol in Dan to one of the descendants of Moses…the addition can therefore be understood as a deliberate change of content.’”  Rydelnick goes on to say, “The motive for the change is critical.  Keil and Delitzsch cite R. Tanchum, who said that the written ‘Moses’ reading ought to be corrected with a suspended “nun” so that it would read ‘Manasseh.’  Keil and Delitzsch also quote Rabba bar bar Channa who argued for the ‘Manasseh’ reading ‘because it would have been ignominious to Moses to have an ungodly son.’  Therefore, the nun was suspended to protect the honor of Moses.”

Important to note is how God is no respecter of men (or their children).  We stand before the Lord as individuals, each of us called into a holy priesthood.  (1 Peter 2:9)