The priests, the Levites, [and] the whole tribe of Levi, shall have no portion nor inheritance with Israel Jehovah's offerings by fire, and his inheritance shall they eat,
Deuteronomy 18 settles how the tribe of Levi would live once Israel entered the land. They got no land of their own, only a share of what the people brought to God — a loss, or something better than land?
The verse names priests and Levites together. One writer traces this to the whole aim of Deuteronomy.
Here, as in every part of the book of Deuteronomy, the priests are classed with the Levites in a very marked way... Weigh the opening words of our chapter, "The priests the Levites." Compare them with the way the priests, the sons of Aaron, are spoken of in Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers. Why the difference? We believe it is this: in Deuteronomy God's object is to bring the whole assembly of Israel more into prominence. So the priests, in their official capacity, rarely come before us. The great idea running through Deuteronomy is Israel in direct relationship with the LORD.
Their food came from the offerings given to God. Their table was His table.
Deuteronomy 18 brings in the priests the Levites in another way. They were to have no part or inheritance with Israel, but they were to "eat the offerings of the LORD made by fire and His inheritance. Therefore they shall have no inheritance among their brothers. The LORD is their inheritance, as He has said to them." So God marks again their special place of having Himself for their portion, so that what went to Him fell to them. This gave a deep sense of identification with the LORD.
Read one way, "no inheritance" sounds like exclusion. Another writer turns the question round and answers it.
The priests have no inheritance, no possession in Israel... Is this a deprivation? Can it be, to be an heir of God, to have Him as one's inheritance and possession? Rather it expresses the highest possible place of nearness and blessing, in which what God is becomes the portion of those so blessed. What more than this gives God His rightful place? The whole man is lifted up to Him. In Him all his resources are found, and from Him all his expectation must come. It reminds us of the Christian place — heirs of God, joint-heirs with Christ... in whom we have obtained an inheritance, into which we are brought according to the riches of His grace.
Living off the altar had two sides.
Levi's portion, in one sense, could never be attacked. Neither the people living in the land nor a foreign enemy could touch it. Even in the darkest day of Israel's failure, when the people of God had fled to caves and holes in the earth for fear of the enemy, Levi could look up to the unclouded heavens and say to the LORD, "You are my portion and the lot of my inheritance." Yet in another sense Levi would be the first to suffer in the day of Israel's trouble. The sacrifices of Israel were Levi's portion, and these would fail when the enemy held Israel captive. And so it is. Those nearest to Christ rejoice in a portion that can never be taken away and never changes. Yet they are the first to feel the sharpness of the spiritual poverty of the saints, or their suffering under the enemy.
That was the pattern in Israel's history. When the altar was cared for, the servants were supplied; when it was neglected, they went hungry.
The people were to bring their offerings to God, and He shared them with His servants. The priests the Levites were not to demand anything of the people, but the people were privileged to bring their gifts to the altar of God, and He allowed His servants to feed on the fruit of His people's devotedness to Him.
The same writer asks what all this has to do with the church today.
"The Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel." Just as the priests and the Levites of old lived on offerings presented by the people, so now those who are truly called of God... have a moral right to support for their daily needs. It is not that they should look to those they preach to for a fixed sum. There is no such idea in the New Testament. The workman must look to his Master, and to Him alone, for support... If the people failed in their offerings, the Levites had to go to their fields and work for their living.
Another writer draws the line from Levi's tribe straight to believers now.
The priests, the Levites, were the servants of the LORD... They were both dependent on the Lord and closely identified with Him. And this is true of us, who in Christ are made priests and called to Levite service.
- No portion. Levi holds no land and no estate among the other tribes.
- God the portion. God Himself is their inheritance instead. Commentators call this the highest place of nearness, not a loss.
- God's table their table. Because they feed on the offerings, what goes up to God comes back to them; their supply is bound to His altar.
- Shared fortunes. No enemy can seize their portion. Yet those nearest to God are the first to feel it when His people grow cold — Levi went back to the fields when the offerings stopped.
- Same principle today. Those who preach are entitled to support. But their eyes belong on their Master, not on the people they preach to.
but they shall have no inheritance among their brethren Jehovah, he is their inheritance, as he hath said unto them.
Every tribe in Israel received land except one. God left Levi out on purpose and gave them something better instead: Himself.
Levi gave up land and received instead what Israel brought to God. One writer traces that swap and shows how Deuteronomy keeps returning to it. (He quotes an older translation, which calls the offerings God's own inheritance.)
The text says they were to have no part or inheritance with Israel. Instead they were to "eat the offerings of Jehovah made by fire and His inheritance. Therefore they shall have no inheritance among their brothers. Jehovah is their inheritance, as He has said to them." God again marks out their special place of having Himself for their portion, so that what went to Him fell to them. This gave them a deep sense of being identified with Jehovah. And all through the book of Deuteronomy you will find this kept up and applied more than in all the other books of Moses.
Levi owned nothing and lived as God's servants. That pattern did not stop with Israel.
The priests, the Levites, were the servants of Jehovah and had no inheritance with Israel, but Jehovah Himself was their inheritance. Moses now commands how the people are to provide for them. They were both dependent on the Lord and closely identified with Him. And this is true of us, who in Christ are made priests and called to Levite service.
Levi had no region of their own. Jacob had said they would be scattered through Israel, so they lived everywhere and owned nowhere.
Levi was "scattered in Israel," according to the prophecy of Jacob; but Levi's portion was the most sacred and the most precious of all. Wherever the other tribes lived, there was Levi. Wherever godly people in Israel worshipped the Lord, there Levi had his inheritance. The Lord — not a position — was Levi's lot… And so it is that the happiest and wealthiest Christians are those who find their portion in the Lord Himself.
But this closeness costs something. Levi's food came off the altar, so whatever hurt Israel reached Levi first.
Levi would be the first to suffer in the day of Israel's trouble. The sacrifices of Israel were Levi's portion, and these would fail when the enemy held Israel captive. And so it is with those nearest to Christ. They rejoice in a portion that can never be taken away and never changes. Yet they are the first to feel, and to feel sharply, the spiritual poverty of God's people or their suffering under the enemy.
God's altar and God's servants rise and fall together. Israel's history shows it.
Look through the history of Israel. Whenever things were in anything like a healthy state, the people cared well for the altar of God, and as a result the priests and Levites were well supplied. If Jehovah had His portion, His servants were sure to have theirs. If He was neglected, so were they. They were bound up together. The people were to bring their offerings to God, and He shared them with His servants. The priests, the Levites, were not to demand anything from the people. The people had the privilege of bringing their gifts to the altar of God, and He let His servants feed on the fruit of His people's devotion to Him.
"As he promised them" was all the security Levi had. Owning no field, they had to take God at His word.
God gave the Levites no inheritance in the land. The offerings made by fire to Jehovah God of Israel — yes, Jehovah Himself — were their inheritance, as He said to them. The workmen of the Lord stood on a different footing from the rest of His people. He called them to special confidence in His provision for them and in His word about them. If they failed in this, could they wonder that their words had little power?
- Portion exchanged. Levi gave up land. In exchange God gave them what Israel offered to Him, so what went to God fell to Levi.
- Portion as Person. Their inheritance was not a place or a rank but the Lord, which is why the same portion is open to every Christian today.
- Portion shared. God fed His servants from His own altar. When His people gave God His portion, His workers had theirs. Neglect God, and His servants go without.
- Portion tested. Those nearest to God hold a portion that never changes. Yet they feel it first and most sharply when His people grow cold.
- Portion trusted. Levi's security rested on God's word alone. Trusting that word is what gives a servant's own words power.