THE PLACE OF HUMANS, ANIMALS AND MACHINES IN GOD'S WORK 1
6 SO MOSES TOOK THE CARTS AND THE OXEN, AND GAVE THEM TO THE LEVITES.
7 Two carts and four oxen he gave to the sons of Gershon, according to their service;
8 and four carts and eight oxen he gave to the sons of Merari, according to their service, under the authority of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
9 BUT TO THE SONS OF KOHATH HE GAVE NONE, BECAUSE THEIRS WAS THE SERVICE OF THE HOLY THINGS, WHICH THEY CARRIED ON THEIR SHOULDERS."
Numbers 7:6-9 (NKJV)
We could see in the above Bible passage that carts and oxen were given to the Levites in order to help or aid them in the doing of their assignments or works (Numbers 7:3-5).
Other sections or parts of the Levites were given carts and oxen to aid or assist them in doing their works, but the sons of Kohath, a part of the Levites were not given because theirs was to carry the ark of covenant which had to be carried by humans on their shoulders and not by carts and oxen.
What is the relevance of this passage to the work of ministry in our contemporary time, or the relationship of It to the work of ministry in our present time?
It has been said or insinuated by some that AI, Artificial Intelligence, would take the place of human in doing many things in a couple of years to come. Some have even said it is now being used to preach or teach God's Word. But this could not be. If it was done, God cannot be part of it. There are things of God that cannot be done without human beings. AI would not replace humans when It comes to the preaching and teaching of the Word of God.
• Would God be reduced to be riding on machines, What would then be the usefulness of the human beings He created?
• What purpose would humans serve in His Kingdom on earth If AI were being used for preaching and teaching of God's Word?
Whoever tries to do that do not understand God and do not know Him. In fact, It is an affront or insult to God! If man would sit down and a machine would now be the instrument being used to relay the messages of God, instead of man. In fact, in such a situation, the words spoken or preached or taught by AI could not have been from God. Because, a message should be what is received from God and relayed to other people.
WOULD God give His messages to AI to be preaching or teaching for Him?
WOULD a genuine minister ask the AI to suggest a message for him or her to preach?
WOULD a serious minded minister receive a message from God and delegated It to the AI to preach or teach or how would it be done?
There are things that could not and should not be delegated in the services of God's Kingdom.
• Preaching and teaching of the Word of God cannot and should not be delegated to animate objects or any nonliving things. When David attempted to use cart and oxen to carry the ark of covenant which supposed to be carried by the Levites on their shoulders, Uzzah who wanted to assist when the oxen stumbled and wanted to fall was instantly smitten (2 Samuel 6:1-7). Why? He was not supposed to peep into or touch the ark. It was David who killed Uzzah, not God. When a leader knows the right thing to do but refuses to do it, the consequences of his negligence would be on the people who are under his leadership.
The act of conceiving and delivering of messages should be done by the servants of God, the ministers, those who are called to feed the lambs and sheep of God—the people of God (John 21:15-17). The feeding of the people of God was the major assignment Jesus Christ gave to Peter who wanted to waiver in his commitment to the assignment given to him. In fact, Jesus Christ came back to appear to the disciples again, which made it the third time after He rose from the dead (John 21:14), because they wanted to lose their focus on the work given to them—because of the mundane or ephemeral things:
15 SO WHEN THEY HAD EATEN BREAKFAST, JESUS SAID TO SIMON PETER, “SIMON, SON OF JONAH, DO YOU LOVE ME MORE THAN THESE?” HE SAID TO HIM, “YES, LORD; YOU KNOW THAT I LOVE YOU.” HE SAID TO HIM, “FEED MY LAMBS.” 16 HE SAID TO HIM AGAIN A SECOND TIME, “SIMON, SON OF JONAH, DO YOU LOVE ME?” HE SAID TO HIM, “YES, LORD; YOU KNOW THAT I LOVE YOU.” HE SAID TO HIM, “TEND MY SHEEP." 17 HE SAID TO HIM THE THIRD TIME, “SIMON, SON OF JONAH, DO YOU LOVE ME?” PETER WAS GRIEVED BECAUSE HE SAID TO HIM THE THIRD TIME, “DO YOU LOVE ME?” AND HE SAID TO HIM, “LORD, YOU KNOW ALL THINGS; YOU KNOW THAT I LOVE YOU.” JESUS SAID TO HIM, “FEED MY SHEEP" (John 21:15-17 NKJV).
The feeding of the sheep or the lamb should not be delegated to AI because AI can never receive a message from God. How would AI deliver a message which was not received from God by the AI? In fact, the people who sit to listen to such a message from AI should be considered to have something wrong with them.
Peace!
TO BE CONTINUED