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.
And this shall be the priest's due from the people, from them that sacrifice a sacrifice, whether ox, or sheep they shall give unto the priest the shoulder, and the jawbones, and the maw.
Moses is setting out how life in the land will work, and one tribe gets no share of the land at all. Instead of fields, the priests receive named parts of every ox or sheep the people sacrifice — so why would God write a butcher's list into His law?
So what does the tribe of Levi get instead? One writer points to the exchange: what the people gave to God came back to God's servants.
They were to have no part or inheritance with Israel. Instead they were to "eat the LORD's food offerings as their inheritance. They shall have no inheritance among their brothers; the LORD is their inheritance, as He promised them." So God marks their special place once more: He Himself is their portion, and what went to Him fell to them. This gave them a deep sense of being identified with the LORD.
Another writer puts the same arrangement more bluntly, weighing what Levi would have had otherwise:
The priests had all the offerings and sacrifices of which man might partake; the Levites had the tithes from all Israel: the one fed from within, the other from without; but both received from Jehovah, for He was their inheritance. Otherwise they were miserable: what else had they?
Not every sacrifice gave the priest a share. One kind of offering went up to God whole.
They had no inheritance in the land, and they were set apart to care for the interests of God among the people. So they had the right to eat of the offerings that Israel made to the Lord (vv. 1-2). This portion consisted of the shoulders, the cheeks and the stomach of a bull or sheep. It did not come from the burnt offerings, which were all offered to the Lord in fire, except for the skin (Lev. 1:6-13; 7:8). But the priest had his part of the peace offering. He also had part of the sin offering, if its blood was not brought into the holy place (Lev. 7:14-15; Lev. 6:26).
Earlier law had already given the priest the right shoulder. In the land he receives the two cheeks and the stomach as well. One writer reads the shoulder as a picture of Christ.
This rule for the priest who offered the sacrifice was never to be cancelled. In the wilderness the shoulder was his, and in the land too (Deut. 18:3). But in the land the two cheeks and the stomach are named as his portion as well. The right shoulder stands for strength, and it went to the man who pictured the Lord Jesus. For who but the One who gave up His life on the cross could truly know the strength that was needed for that?
The verse says the people give to the priest. He does not take.
The people were to bring their offerings to God, and He shared them with His servants. The priests the Levites were not to demand or claim anything from the people. Instead 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.
One writer uses the rule to expose the sin of Eli's sons, priests who ignored it:
Here are three wrongs. First, they took meat they had no right to. Second, they took it in the wrong way. Third, they took it at the wrong time. So the order to be kept had clearly been fixed already and was well known… First of all, a certain portion was appointed for the priest, and he was not to take it himself; the man bringing the sacrifice had to give it to him. See Deut. 18:3, and Lev. 7:29… The sin of Eli's sons is explained by the rules laid down in the books of Moses.
The priest ate what the altar received. So his table showed the state of the nation's devotion.
When Israel attended to the altar of God with care, warmth and devotion, the priests the Levites had a rich portion, a full supply. On the other hand, when the people treated the LORD and His altar with cold neglect, or served Him in a lifeless routine or a heartless keeping of forms, His servants were neglected to the same degree.
The same writer carries the principle into 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 the offerings the people brought, so now those who are truly called by God… have a moral right to material support. This does not mean they should look to the people they preach to for a fixed, agreed sum. There is no such idea as this in the New Testament. The worker must look to his Master, and to Him alone, for support.
- No land. Levi received no inheritance among the tribes, so that God Himself would be their portion.
- God's share becomes theirs. What the people brought to God fell to God's servants, binding them closely to Him.
- The named parts. Shoulder, cheeks and stomach came from the peace and sin offerings. The burnt offering went up to God whole.
- Given, not grabbed. The worshipper hands the portion over. Eli's sons sinned by taking meat they had no right to, in the wrong way and at the wrong time.
- Altar first, then table. When Israel honoured God's altar, His servants were well supplied. The same rule runs on into gospel work: the servant looks to his Master alone.
The firstfruits [also] of thy corn, of thy new wine, and of thine oil, and the firstfruits of the shearing of thy sheep, shalt thou give him;
This verse lists part of what Israel owed the priest. His tribe, Levi, received no farmland when the country was divided up. So who gets the first of the harvest and the first wool off the sheep?
Why could a priest live off other people's fields? The answer comes a few lines earlier.
They were to have no part or inheritance with Israel. Instead they were to eat the offerings made to Jehovah by fire, and His inheritance. So God marks out 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 Jehovah.
These gifts went into the priest's household. But who was really receiving them?
The people were to give the firstfruits of their grain, wine and oil, and the first of the fleece of sheep, to the Levites too (v.4). The Levites represented God's authority. So these things were given first of all to God. The same holds today when we care for God's servants.
One word carries the force of the verse: "firstfruits."
All through Scripture, godliness makes this vital claim: God must have His portion first, before the believer can rightly take and enjoy his. One feels how right it is to put God first. It is due to Him, and true in everything. If we do not render it, we must suffer the bitter consequence. This was pressed so firmly on the statutes and ways of Israel that no godly person then would have tried to touch his grain before the first sheaf was waved before Jehovah.
The priest's food came from what the people brought to God. So his table showed how much the nation cared.
Look through the history of Israel. When things were in anything like a healthy condition, the people cared well for the altar of God, and so the priests and Levites were well supplied. If Jehovah had His portion, His servants were sure to have theirs. If people neglected Him, they neglected His servants too. They were bound up together... The priests the Levites were not to exact or demand anything of the people. Instead 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 devotedness to Him.
Long after, King Hezekiah applied this command again. By then Israel was no longer one nation.
Hezekiah was right to feel that Deuteronomy 18:1-8 applied to his day and to his conscience. He and the people were responsible to act on it, as far as they were able. Were the priests and the Levites to starve because Israel's national unity was gone? Surely not. They were to stand or fall with the word, the worship, and the work of God. Circumstances might vary, and an Israelite might find himself unable to keep every detail of the ceremonial law. But he could never be in a position where it was not his high privilege to give full expression to his heart's devotedness to the service, the altar, and the law of Jehovah.
The New Testament carries this same arrangement over to those who preach the gospel.
"The Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel." The priests and the Levites of old lived on the offerings the people brought. In the same way, some today are truly called of God, gifted by Christ, and fitted by the Holy Spirit to preach the gospel. They give themselves to that glorious work steadily and with diligence. Such workers have a moral right to material support. They are not to look to their hearers for an agreed sum. There is no such idea in the New Testament. The workman must look to his Master, and to Him alone, for support.
Grain, wine and oil also point past the field.
The grain plainly points to the person of Christ Himself, the One who is the fine flour of the meal offering, and the bread of God. The wine points to His work of redemption... And the oil points to the Holy Spirit poured out — the holy anointing oil.
- First. God's claim is on the firstfruits of grain, wine, oil and fleece — the opening of the harvest, not the leftovers.
- First to God. The gift went to God first, and only then to the man who served Him. The priest was not drawing a wage from his neighbours.
- God as portion. Levi received no land, because God Himself was to be their portion. Whatever went up to Him came back down to them.
- Bound together. A well-served altar meant well-supplied servants. Neglect of God showed up first at their empty tables.
- First still. Hezekiah kept this command when the nation lay in ruins. The New Testament applies it to gospel work, where the worker looks to his Master alone for support.
for Jehovah thy God hath chosen him out of all thy tribes, that he may stand to serve in the name of Jehovah, he and his sons continually.
This verse gives the reason for everything the people brought the priest. The Lord Himself had picked out this man and his family from the whole nation to serve in His name.
The priest did not volunteer, and Israel did not elect him.
Some in Christendom have claimed this testimony for themselves. They are a priestly class chosen by men, and many of them will perish "in Korah's rebellion" (Jude 11). God has not left it to men to choose His priests and Levites. He has chosen them, and to each of them "grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift" (Eph. 4:7). Only this grace, given by God, can enable God's chosen to carry His testimony of Christ.
To minister "in the name of the LORD" is to act for Him. One commentator explains what that closeness to God showed.
Next come the rights of priests and Levites — the ministers of Jehovah, serving in His name. They are identified with Him. Their place is not one of rule. It shows His heart, while the earlier section showed His righteousness. The people in turn were to give them a set portion, since they had no inheritance with the other tribes in the land.
The man chosen to stand before God received no land. He lived on what the people brought to God.
They were to have no part or inheritance with Israel. Instead they were to "eat the LORD's food offerings as their inheritance. They shall have no inheritance among their brothers; the LORD is their inheritance, as He promised them." God again marks out their special place — He Himself is their portion, so what went to Him fell to them. This gave a deep sense of identification with Jehovah.
God shared His own portion with the priest. So the people's gifts and the servant's supply rise and fall together.
Look through the history of Israel. Whenever things were even close to healthy, the altar of God was well cared for, and so the priests and Levites were well supplied. If Jehovah had His portion, His servants were sure to have theirs. If people neglected Him, they neglected His servants too. They were bound up together. The priests and 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.
The choice was not for one generation. Much later, with the nation split, one king still treated this passage as binding.
Note those precious words, "As it is written in the Law of the LORD." Here was Hezekiah's authority. It was the solid basis of everything he did, from first to last. True, the nation's visible unity was gone, and things looked very discouraging when he began his blessed work. But the word of the Lord applied as truly and as directly in Hezekiah's day as in the days of David or Joshua. Hezekiah felt, and rightly so, that Deuteronomy 18:1-8 applied to his own day and conscience. He and the people were responsible to act on it as far as they were able. Were the priests and Levites to starve because Israel's national unity was gone? Surely not.
Commentators carry this pattern forward to Christian service.
Moses now commands how the people were to minister to the priests and Levites. They were both dependent on the Lord and closely identified with Him. And this is true of us. In Christ we are made priests and called to the Levite service.
One writer applies the same rule to those who preach the gospel today:
"The Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel." The priests and Levites of old lived on the offerings the people brought. In the same way, some today are called by God, gifted by Christ, and fitted by the Holy Spirit to preach the gospel. Those who give themselves fully and steadily to that glorious work have a moral right to material support. They should not look to their hearers for a fixed sum. There is no such idea in the New Testament. The worker must look to his Master, and to Him alone, for support.
- Chosen — the priest stands because God picked him out of all the tribes. Men do not choose or appoint God's servants.
- Standing — to minister in the Lord's name is to stand with Him and show His heart, not to rule.
- Portion — he holds no land, because God Himself is his inheritance; what goes to God comes to him.
- Flow — when people honour God's altar, His servants are supplied; when they neglect Him, they neglect His servants.
- Lasting — "him and his sons for all time" outlasts changed conditions. Hezekiah obeyed this passage in a broken nation, and the same rule keeps gospel workers today looking to their Master alone.
And if the Levite shall come from one of thy gates out of all Israel, where he sojourneth, and shall come according to all the desire of his soul unto the place which Jehovah will choose,
Deuteronomy 18 shows how God provided for Levi, the tribe with no land of its own. Verse 6 lets any Levite leave his town for God's chosen place — but what makes him want to go?
The Levites were the one tribe without a share in the land. Their income came from what the people brought to God, so their living was tied to His.
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." Here God again marks out their special place: they have Himself for their portion. So what went to Him fell to them. This gave a deep sense of identification with Jehovah.
Israel's later history showed what that tie meant in practice.
When things were in anything like a healthy condition, the altar of God was well attended to, 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 priests and Levites were not to demand anything from the people. Instead, 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.
The Levite travels to one destination: "the place that the LORD will choose." For an Israelite, that was far more than an address.
It was the dwelling place of Jehovah that was dear to the heart of every true Israelite. Restless self-will might want to run here and there. The poor wandering heart might long for some change. But for the heart that loved God, any change from the place of His presence — the place where He had recorded His blessed Name — could only be a change for the worse.
The verse turns on what the Levite wants. No one orders him or assigns him. He comes because he wants to — one older translation reads that he comes "according to all the desire of his soul."
These Levites also had a special privilege. Wherever there was a longing desire in the heart to live near the sanctuary, no fixed location could prevent it. Such a man could come and minister among his brothers who stood there before Jehovah. He was to find his portion among these. This is a precious witness to us of how God delights in and welcomes anyone who comes as a worshiper to draw near and stay in His presence.
The Levite who arrived was no junior partner and no guest on trial.
Levites were scattered among the tribes. But if a Levite longed in his heart to serve the Lord in the place of God's choice (Jerusalem), the other Levites were to welcome him among them. He would share equally with them in the offerings brought to the Lord.
Commentators carry this pattern forward to those who preach the gospel today. It comes with a warning attached.
"The Lord has ordained that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel." The priests and the Levites of old lived on offerings the people brought. In the same way, some today are truly called by God, gifted by Christ, and fitted by the Holy Spirit to preach the gospel. If they give themselves to that glorious work steadily and with diligence, they have a moral right to material support. 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. Woe to him if he looks to the church, or to men in any way.
The Levites in Israel lived with that same dependence.
If the people failed in their offerings, the Levites had to run to their fields and work for a living. They could not go to law with anyone for tithes and offerings; their only appeal was to the God of Israel who had ordained them to the work.
- Portion — The Levite owned no land because God Himself was his inheritance. What the people gave to God came back to him.
- Desire — The one qualification named in the verse is wanting to come. God welcomes the one who longs to draw near and stay near.
- Place — He comes to the place the LORD chooses. God had marked that spot with His name, and no other place could replace it.
- Parity — Coming from a distant town cost him nothing. He served beside the others and shared the same portion.
- Provision — God's servants are bound up with God's altar. Neglect the altar and they go hungry. Commentators apply this to supporting those who preach — yet the worker looks to his Master alone.
and shall serve in the name of Jehovah his God, as all his brethren the Levites that stand there before Jehovah,
This chapter sets out how Israel was to care for the priests and Levites. Verse 7 takes up a Levite who leaves his home town for the place God chose: what does he do when he gets there, and why does he stand level with the men already serving?
The tribe of Levi received no share of land. That loss was the ground of their service. What the people brought to God became their food.
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 being identified with Jehovah. You will find too that all through the book of Deuteronomy this is kept up and applied further than in all the other books of Moses.
Another writer ties the two together — serving in God's name, and owning no land:
The priest too was one from among "his brothers." He ministered in the name of the Lord his God (18:7). The Lord was his portion, so he had no inheritance on earth among his brothers.
Readers often notice that Deuteronomy keeps saying "the priests the Levites," where the earlier books carefully separate Aaron's sons from the rest of the tribe. Commentators trace this to the aim of the book itself.
Let him weigh the opening words of our chapter, "The priests the Levites," and compare them with the way in which the priests, the sons of Aaron, are spoken of in Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers; and if he should be disposed to ask the reason of this distinction, we believe it to be this, that in Deuteronomy the divine object is to bring the whole assembly of Israel more into prominence, and hence it is that the priests, in their official capacity, come rarely before us. The grand Deuteronomic idea is, Israel in immediate relationship with Jehovah.
Levites lived spread out among the tribes. Where a man lived could not block what his heart longed for.
These men had a special privilege as well. Wherever a man had a longing desire in his heart to live near the sanctuary, no fixed address could stop him from doing it. Such a man could come and minister among his brothers who stood there before Jehovah, and he was to find his portion among them. This is a precious witness to us of how God delights in and welcomes the approach of one who, as a worshipper, would draw near and stay in His presence. Oh for more of this longing of heart among us — the persistent faith of one to whom God must say, let it be done for you as you desire!
The newcomer was not put in a lower place.
Levites were scattered among the tribes. But if a Levite longed in his heart to serve the Lord in the place of God's choice (Jerusalem), the other Levites were to welcome him there (v.7). He was to share with them, on equal terms, in the offerings brought to the Lord.
The Levite's food came out of what the people brought. So his supply rose and fell with the nation's devotion, and Israel's history shows it.
Look through the history of Israel and you see this. Whenever things were in anything like a healthy state, the altar of God was well cared for. 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 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.
Hezekiah faced a day when Israel's national unity was gone. He still treated this passage as binding.
Hezekiah was right to feel that Deuteronomy 18:1-8 applied to his day and to his conscience. He and the people were responsible to act on it, as far as they were able. Were the priests and the Levites to starve because Israel's national unity was gone? Surely not. They were to stand or fall with the word, the worship, and the work of God.
The servant's support came from one source only:
But the priests the Levites had to look only to Jehovah. If the people failed in their offerings, the Levites had to go back to their fields and work for their living. They could not take anyone to court over tithes and offerings. Their only appeal was to the God of Israel, who had appointed them to the work.
- Portion first. Levi had no land. God Himself was his inheritance, and what the people gave to God fed His servants.
- Desire opens the door. No fixed address could keep a Levite from the place God chose — a longing heart was the qualification.
- Equal share. The Levite who came in from outside served on the same footing as the rest, and ate the same portion.
- Bound together. When Israel honoured the altar, the servants had plenty. When Israel neglected it, they went back to their fields.
- Still binding. Hezekiah acted on these verses when the nation was broken. The servant looks to God alone for support, and giving stays the people's privilege.
-- they shall have like portions to eat, besides that which he hath sold of his patrimony.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.