Button Hole Principle
The “Button Hole Principle” deals with the fact that when one button is out of place then every button in the sequence will be all out of place as well. This principle has application to Levites because if they forsake God’s grace and get out of faith then they can end up with the first button out of place and their entire lives will be ruined having every button out of place for every decision that they could possibly make from that time thereafter.
Starting Projects of Human Origin
If God guides someone to start a project or build something then they can know that God will bring in the provision for it because it is God’s plan. But if a man starts a project of his own human invention and he lies and says that God told him to do so then he will be required to labor by extreme self-effort trying to keep that project afloat. Everything will be difficult in fund raising and trying to meet the expenses because he missed God and started a project of his own initiation. Once he starts down this road then there is no end to the constant fund raising by self-effort to keep the project going. It would be better to just admit he was wrong and drop the project and stop than to double-down on trying to justify himself by pushing on with a project that God did not originate.
Starting a project in the “flesh” means that someone started something that was not God’s will and therefore God is under no obligation to bring in the finances to pay for something that was never His idea in the first place. But spiritual pride can keep a man from admitting he was wrong and this spiritual pride can keep him going on something that should not have been started in the first place.
When men are under financial pressure they will often do things that are outlandish or things that are outrageous and out of character for them. They may start “faking-it-in-the-flesh” to pretend they have the anointing of God in order to raise more funds. They may try to borrow money from the world’s system by taking out a bank loan. Once they start doing these things then they dig themselves a hole that is even deeper and they cause themselves even more problems.
Sometimes such men will even get bitter at God for not bringing in the needed finances but again God is under no obligation to pay for something that he did not initiate. If someone starts a big project out of his own human idea then he is going to have to pay for it out of his own self-effort.
Trying to pay for a project “out of human self-effort” is like trying to dig a pit in dry loose sand. They can shovel and dig but the more they throw out the more loose sand pours bag into the depression again. It seems that they will never get ahead when they are laboring by self-effort.
Starting a work out of a man’s own idea is one example of putting the first button in the wrong hole. If they refuse to repent and stop then they can continue their vain labor for decades and never find success. They can lose everything and come to complete ruination if they have the first button in the wrong hole which will result in everything that they touch going bad for them.
Marriage to a Non-Levite
I know a number of pastors who married a laywoman wife instead of a Levite woman as they should have done. One married a laywoman who worked in real estate and one married a school teacher and one married a medical professional. In every case this was a great mistake because these women were not happy to support a husband who was in the ministry. This is out of order because it is the man who is to be the provider for the household and not the woman. In every case where a Levite married a laywoman they always ended up in disaster and often such couples ended up in divorce. Marrying the wrong woman can ruin their lives forever.
See the link “Levite Choosing a Specific Woman” for more details.
Ahab Marries a Pagan Woman
1 Kings 16:29-33 (NKJV)
29 In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab the son of Omri became king over Israel; and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years.
30 Now Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him.
31 And it came to pass, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians; and he went and served Baal and worshiped him.
32 Then he set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal, which he had built in Samaria.
33 And Ahab made a wooden image. Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.
Ahab was actually Jewish but he married a pagan woman who was the daughter of the King of the Sidonians who was the king over an idolatrous nation. Jezebel became notorious for her efforts to eradicate the worship of God from the land of Israel and to replace the worship of God with Baal worship.
1 Kings 21:17-26 (NIV)
17 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite:
18 “Go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He is now in Naboth’s vineyard, where he has gone to take possession of it.
19 Say to him, ‘This is what the LORD says: Have you not murdered a man and seized his property?’ Then say to him, ‘This is what the LORD says: In the place where dogs licked up Naboth’s blood, dogs will lick up your blood–yes, yours!'”
20 Ahab said to Elijah, “So you have found me, my enemy!” “I have found you,” he answered, “because you have sold yourself to do evil in the eyes of the LORD.
21 ‘I am going to bring disaster on you. I will consume your descendants and cut off from Ahab every last male in Israel–slave or free.
22 I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat and that of Baasha son of Ahijah, because you have provoked me to anger and have caused Israel to sin.’
23 “And also concerning Jezebel the LORD says: ‘Dogs will devour Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.’
24 “Dogs will eat those belonging to Ahab who die in the city, and the birds of the air will feed on those who die in the country.”
25 (There was never a man like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the LORD, urged on by Jezebel his wife.
26 He behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols, like the Amorites the LORD drove out before Israel.)
Ahab and his entire dynasty was completely destroyed by God’s judgment and the reason for this was that Ahab was a passive beta-male who allowed his wife Jezebel to rule his household and even rule the nation of Israel through usurped authority. God said that Ahab sold himself to do evil because he was urged on by his evil wife Jezebel.
This is a case where marrying the wrong woman in direct defiance to God’s commands caused Ahab to be judged by God and destroyed completely! Just marrying the wrong person is an example of having the first button in the wrong hole and after that everything that he did was wrong and led to his complete destruction.
See the link “Forsake Not Grace” for more details.
Moses Marries a Pagan Woman
Exodus 2:21 (HCSB)
21 Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses ⌊in marriage⌋.
When Moses fled from Egypt he ended up staying with the family of Jethro a pagan priest who gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses as his wife. But this pagan woman later almost got Moses killed because she had been resisting Moses from obeying God.
Exodus 4:18-20 (HCSB)
18 Then Moses went back to his father-in-law Jethro and said to him, “Please let me return to my relatives in Egypt and see if they are still living.” Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.”
19 Now in Midian the LORD told Moses, “Return to Egypt, for all the men who wanted to kill you are dead.”
20 So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and returned to the land of Egypt. And Moses took God’s staff in his hand.
Moses obeyed God and began his return journey back to Egypt again and he brought his pagan wife Zipporah and his two sons with him.
Exodus 4:24-26 (HCSB)
24 On the trip, at an overnight campsite, it happened that the LORD confronted him and sought to put him to death.
25 So Zipporah took a flint, cut off her son’s foreskin, and threw it at Moses’ feet. Then she said, “You are a bridegroom of blood to me!”
26 So He let him alone. At that time she said, “You are a bridegroom of blood,” referring to the circumcision.
The Lord confronted Moses about his disobedience in not circumcision his second-born son. Apparently Zipporah witnessed the circumcision of the first born son and then refuse to ever allow Moses to circumcise the second son. But this point of disobedience nearly got Moses killed. Zipporah knew why she was about to be made into a widow so she took the second son and circumcised him and threw the severed foreskin at the feet of Moses as he was lying on his back near death. She said, “You are a bridegroom of blood” referring to the circumcision. This pagan woman displayed get disdain from Moses and his God and his Jewish religion and for circumcision. She evidently had resisted Moses and fought him to keep him from circumcising his second son. But this was a breach of etiquette God and God sought to kill Moses as a result. But when the boy was circumcised then God let Moses go and he did not die.
It seems that Moses then sent this pagan woman Zipporah back to her father and he went on to Egypt alone. He did not need this woman resisting him from obeying God because she almost got him killed for his disobedience. A man cannot honor humans more that God and this includes even his wife.
Moses made a big mistake when he married this non-Jewish woman who did not understand his religion and resisted him from obeying God’s commands. This is an example of putting the first button in the wrong hole and everything was amiss after this and almost resulted in Moses being killed in judgment!
It is OK for a laywoman believer to have a job when she is single as a means to provide her needs while she waits for God to bring her spouse into her life. But generally, laywomen should not be serving in the role of “provider” once they are married because God has given this role to their laymen husbands.
But in the case of Levites, they are not allowed to have job or business or investments but they are required to live by faith from the ministry of God’s word.
See the link: “Levites Commanded to Live of Ministry” for more details.
But there have been some Levites who purposely mismarried a laywoman with the idea in mind that she could support them financially while they did the work of the ministry. But in every case, this has always been a big mistake and I have never seen this work out well for the Levite.
In one example I know a Levite who married a laywoman who was a real estate agent. This woman however soon resented having to support this Levite husband of hers and even viewed him as a “freeloader” of her labor. She began to put great pressure on her Levite husband to bring home money and he in turn began to teach on the subject of “giving” in his church but he did so out of a “bad-spirit” to get money because of the constant pressure of his laywoman wife at home!
It should be noted to the Levites that the “spirit” of the message is more important than the message itself. If the subject of “giving” is taught in a good spirit then it will bring great blessing to the congregation and help them to prosper by faith in God. But if the same teaching is given out of a “bad-spirit” of greed to push the people to give then it will have a bad effect upon the people. The Levite with a “bad-spirit” in his teaching may even use all of the same scriptures that a man with a “good-spirit” uses in the teaching of giving. But because he has a “bad-spirit” it will turn-off the people to giving entirely. Anyone I have ever met who were turned-off to giving were only those who were offended by someone teaching the doctrine of “giving” with a “bad-spirit.”
So, the Levite in my example was being pressured at home by his laywoman wife to bring home more money and this pressure caused him to go to church and put pressure on this own congregation to give. It is an example of the button-hole-principle put into effect because his first mistake was to marry a laywoman real estate wife. She had no understanding of spiritual things and only put pressure on her Levite husband to bring home money.
Later this same couple finally divorced when this laywoman left her Levite husband and did not want anything to do with a church or religion or having a husband she viewed as a “freeloader” off of her salary. When this Levite man was divorced, he in fact “disqualified” himself from the ministry because those who are in the Fivefold Ministry must have their households in order with a submissive wife and obedient children. This Levite man begged her not to leave him but she had enough of him and divorced him anyway leaving his life in ruins.
The congregation he left behind however was damaged terribly by the bad experience of this Levite man using the word of God deceitfully to twist their arms to give more money. A friend of mine tried to lead this congregation after the divorced pastor left them. But the church was forced to close down because the people were so turned-off to giving that they refused to ever give a dime to church ever again. The church closed down completely being unable to even pay the utility bills to keep the place open!
So, this is an example of the Button Hole Principle that started off with marrying a laywoman in order to live off of her income. Below are examples of seven buttons that were all placed in the wrong holes:
1. Marriage to Laywoman
2. Pressure to get money
3. Teaching God’s word deceitfully
4. Divorce and departure of wife
5. Levite forced out of ministry
6. Congregation offended at doctrine of giving
7. Church closed down
This all started when a Levite man did not look to God for provision and sought to marry a laywoman to support him from her own wages. This type of thing never works because eventually such women will resent having a husband who is not a provider and they will typically divorce him. Only a Levite woman can understand the requirement of a Levite man to live by faith and look to God alone for their own income. If a Levite is looking to God alone then he could teach the doctrine of “giving” without causing offense by teaching them from a good heart that desires to help the people prosper.
See the link “Giving and Kingdom Finances” for more details.
This button hole principle has a wide range of applications including any Levite who gets out of faith and looks to humans for his support. Marrying a laywoman for support is something that is a wrong slot for a button every time! But the same is also true of looking to congregation or borrowing money from a bank for a project and then being under huge financial pressure to meet obligations. I know of other Levite men put under pressure by bank loan payments. He also taught about “giving” with a wrong “spirit” the same as the Levite man pressurized by his laywoman real estate agent wife to bring home more money.
Financial pressure can cause Levite men to get into the “flesh” of “self-effort” in trying to raise funds. Some more wrong button hole examples are:
1. Borrowing money from a bank
2. Fund raising with newsletters, camp-meetings, and selling “products” to raise money.
3. Faking-it-in-the-flesh to “pretend” to be anointed in hope of receiving big offerings.
4. Exaggerations and downright lies told to raise funds by fabricated miracle testimonies.
Once a button is in the wrong hole (like marrying a laywoman for support or borrowing money from a bank) then the pressure is on to raise money by self-effort to keep things floating. There is no end to all of the wrong button-hole examples that come from a Levite putting his first button in the wrong slot!
This is how good Levite men of faith can drift away from God and look to human self-effort and eventually end up far away from God just as King Asa drifted from God after he had at one time been a man of faith in the beginning.
See the link “Forsake Not Grace” for more details.
The main point for all Levites is the way to get their first button in the wrong hole is to depart from having faith in God for provision and looking to human help like laywoman wives or banks or supporters etc. Everything will go wrong for the Levite once he starts down this wrong path.
It is the product of wrong button holes that even causes false religions to be created. Those who are only trying to make money from religion are those who are involved in false religions.
See the link “Religious Vultures” for more details.
If, however the Levite determines to guard his heart motives and refuses to start any false projects derived of his sin nature then he can live free of financial pressure and just obey God and see God’s provision without slipping into all of the mess that Levites fall into when they start a “flesh-project” and have to keep it going in the flesh by fund raising in self-effort.
I know of a Levite who built a church building with borrowed money from a bank and the interest alone on his bank loans was over $200,000.00 USD per month! That created huge financial pressure to raise funds and it is no wonder they slipped into so many questionable means of fund raising and solicitation that were in fact a great “shame” to the Body of Christ!
Again, if a Levite man will determine to do nothing more and nothing less than what God told them to do then they will not fall into the trap of having to finance their “flesh-projects” by self-effort in raising money. If God really told them to do it (as many falsely claim) then God will provide for it. It is only when someone does something in the flesh of self-effort that the avenue of faith is blocked and God cannot provide otherwise, they will give credit to their own schemes of fund raising.
God will not share his glory with any humans and he will not give his praise to idols when humans try to take credit for things God did for them. God is a jealous God and so God will bring human projects to ruination whenever they forsake faith in God and engage in their own self-effort in fund raising.
This should be something that all Levites should be aware of. It is also of vital importance that all Levite men marry a fellow “Levite” wife or they will forever be unequally yoked with a laywoman wife and create untold misery for themselves.
See the link “Levite Woman” for more details.
So, the “Button-Hole-Principle” has a wide application to Levites and if they make one bad decision it can result in every decision thereafter all being bad and leading them toward their own ruination. When they are in the wrong button hole it will affect everyone around them and can ruin their marriage and family and offend an entire congregation and destroy a church completely. Most of the offense caused by preachers is a result of some Levite getting into the wrong button hole and then everything he does after that is all wrong! This gives occasion to the unbelievers to mock and scoff because even they can see God is not behind these works of the flesh projects that these men falsely claim God has told them to do.
Levites must be careful to never tell anyone that God has said to do this or that thing until after it has been confirmed to “indeed” be the will of God. They should not flippantly say, “Thus says the Lord!” and utter all of their own ideas from their sin nature! Then they will spend the rest of their lives trying to feed that project of the flesh which consumes money like a “black-hole” and drives them into perdition!