"But you shall not number the tribe of Levi, nor take the sum of them among the Children
of Israel." Numbers 1:49
One of the reasons the tribe of Levi was not counted was because Yahveh foresaw that everyone over twenty
years of age would die in the forty years the Israelites were in the wilderness. Therefore He said, "The Levites should not
be counted among the others in order not to be included with them. They are Mine since they did not transgress in the sin
of the Golden Calf." The question arises: The decree of dying in the wilderness was for the transgression of accepting the
negative report from the spies, not for making the Golden Calf. The answer is that the Levites also accepted the negative
report of the spies. But the decree of dying in the wilderness was because of the double transgression of the Golden Calf
and the spies' evil report. Since the Levites were not guilty in the incident of the Golden Calf, they were not included
in the decree. We see from here the dangers of listening to evil reports about others. Even though the Levites had the strength
of character not to sin when others did in the incident of the Golden Calf, they still fell prey to accepting the negative
report about the land of Israel.
If you are unable to stop someone from saying negative things about others, walk away.
