And Jehovah said to Aaron, In their land thou shalt have no inheritance, neither shalt thou have any portion among them I am thy portion and thine inheritance among the children of Israel.
God speaks here directly to Aaron, the priest. The nation is on its way to a land of its own, yet Aaron's family will get no field and no share of the soil. Instead God offers Himself — and commentators ask whether that is a loss or the greatest gift a man can be given.
The timing matters. God was leading Israel toward a land of their own, and there He told the priests they would own none of it.
We must not miss the point made in verse 20. Though it was a day when God was leading a people into an earthly inheritance, there was no such inheritance for Aaron and his house. In verses 23 and 24, we find the Levites also had no inheritance among the tribes. They were devoted to the service of God. They were given places to live, but no special part of the land, for the call of God separated them from the common people. Today our calling is not to an earthly inheritance but to a heavenly one. So it is no surprise that in 1 Peter 2, right after we are told of our priesthood, both "holy" and "royal," we are called "strangers and pilgrims." Because God brings us so close to Himself, our old links with the world-system are cut.
It looks at first as if the priest lost out. One writer faces that objection and answers it.
"I am their inheritance … I am their possession." The priests have no inheritance, no possession in Israel. Is this a loss? Can it be a loss to be an heir of God, to have Him as one's inheritance and possession? Instead, it is the highest possible place of nearness and blessing, where what God is becomes the portion of those He blesses. What gives God His rightful place more than this? The whole man is lifted up to Him. In Him all his resources are found, and from Him all his expectation must come.
The Levites are given a tenth as their reward, while Aaron is given God Himself. The difference is not neglect.
Aaron held a position so high that any inheritance in earthly things would have been degrading to him. The Levites, looked at in one way, did not have this high standing, but they had much hard work. So Aaron's very place and service was "his reward," while the Levites had to receive a tenth for "their reward."
Enemies can seize land. They could not seize what Levi held — though that same nearness carried a cost.
One writer hears the voice of Jesus in a psalm of David, and links its words about inheritance straight back to this verse.
We know from the Holy Spirit, in Acts 2:31, that this Psalm is the utterance of Jesus through David. It is the language of the Lord consciously dwelling in God's house as a priest or worshipper. So He will have no other God, and takes His inheritance (like a priest, Num. 18:20) only from God, judging it the best; and in constant communion He finds confidence and joy and praise and hope.
Because God's servants owned nothing, the rest of the nation had a part to play. One writer calls that part a privilege.
The Lord's servants depended on Him alone for their portion. They had no inheritance or possession except Himself. What an inheritance! What a portion! Faith knows none like it. God took care of His dependent servants. He also let the whole congregation of Israel taste a holy privilege — and it truly was one. They became co-workers with Him, providing for those who had gladly given themselves to His work and left everything else behind.
Writers apply the arrangement directly to believers, who are given both God Himself and what He delights in.
By the commandment of the Lord, neither Aaron (Num. 18:20), nor the priests, nor any of the tribe of Levi could have any inheritance in Israel. Their inheritance was on the one hand "the Lord God of Israel," and on the other "the sacrifices of the Lord God of Israel made by fire." It is the same for us, His heavenly people. We have no portion on earth, but our privilege is to stand before God and to serve Him, and more than this to possess Him... Christ according to all the perfection of His work and His Person before God.
- Emptied — God's call cut Aaron's family off from the land. Nearness to God took the place of owning a share among the people.
- Filled — losing a field to gain God is no loss. It is the highest place of nearness, where all a man's resources are found in God.
- Unshakeable — enemies can seize fields, but not this portion. Yet those closest to God feel His people's poverty most sharply.
- Fulfilled — Christ Himself takes this priestly ground, holding God alone as His portion.
- Shared — believers stand on the same ground, with God Himself as their portion. And God lets His people provide for His servants, working alongside Him.
And to the children of Levi, behold, I have given all the tithes in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they perform, the service of the tent of meeting.
The Levites were the one tribe in Israel with no farmland of their own. This verse tells them how they would live: the nation's tenth is their inheritance, and it is pay for their work at the tent of meeting.
Priests and Levites both owned no land. God fed them by two different routes, and both routes ran from His hand.
The priests had all the offerings and sacrifices that a man might share in. The Levites had the tithes from all Israel. The one was fed from within, the other from without. But both received from Jehovah, for He was their inheritance. Otherwise they were miserable — what else did they have?
The tithe is not charity. It is pay for service, and one commentator does the arithmetic to show how generous that pay was.
The twelve tribes were to give one tenth of their produce to God. He handed it to the children of Levi as a reward for the service they gave Him. So God provided for them generously. Suppose the twelve tribes were about equal in numbers and possessions. Take 100 as the produce of each tribe. Each tribe would then be left with 90, while the Levites would receive 120. But the Levites had to offer the Lord a tithe of the very best they received. That would leave 108 for their own use. This short calculation may help to show us that God does not mean to underpay His servants.
Notice that the verse does not say the people give to the Levites. God says, "I have given."
Ask the children of Israel, "To whom do you give the tithes?" The godly would answer, "We give them to the Lord." Ask the faithful Levites, "From whom do you receive the tithes?" They would answer, "We receive them from the Lord."
The gift passed through God's hands first. That left His workers depending on Him alone for everything they needed.
Verses 20-32 teach us that the priests and Levites — God's worshippers and workers — were to have no inheritance among the children of Israel. They were to depend entirely on God Himself for all their need. It is a most blessed position. The children of Israel were to bring their offerings and lay them down at the feet of Jehovah. Then, in His infinite grace, He told His workers to pick up these precious offerings — the fruit of His people's devotedness — and feed on them in His own presence with thankful hearts. So the circle of blessing went round. God met every need of His people. His people had the privilege of sharing the rich fruits of His bounty with the priests and Levites. And these last could taste the rare and exquisite pleasure of giving back to God what had flowed from Him to them.
Receiving the tenth did not free the Levites from giving. And for Christians, no fixed fraction replaces it.
In receiving tithes, the Levites were not exempt from paying tithes. When the other tribes brought in their tithes, the Levites were to offer God a tenth of the tithes as their own contribution (v.26). In our present day of grace there is no law about tithing. Instead the measure of our giving is "as he may prosper" (1 Cor. 16:2) or "as he has decided in his heart" (2 Cor. 9:7). Each believer settles the amount by his own spiritual exercise. The people of God may give support, as to the Lord, for the need of the Lord's servants. The servant is to be just as exercised as they are about using funds for the Lord's sake, and glad to give as the Lord prospers him.
The same writer applies this pattern to gospel work today, and draws a careful line.
The Levites received the tithes of the people (Num. 18:21), and in this way God provided for their support. In the same way God has ordained that those who preach the gospel should "get their living by the gospel." This does not mean the preacher himself is free to take collections or to charge anything for his preaching. This is written not to the servant but to the assembly. It stresses the assembly's responsibility to provide such support willingly — not as a salary, but entirely by voluntary exercise.
If the tithe is God's, then keeping it back is not just meanness towards a neighbour.
The Jews had taken for their own use the tithes and offerings that were Jehovah's by right. The portions of the priests and Levites laid down by the law (Num. 18:8-24) were not forthcoming... The priests and Levites were the direct sufferers, but the Lord counted it an offence against Himself.
- No portion — the Levites owned no land. God Himself was their inheritance; without Him they had nothing.
- God's portion — the tenth was the Lord's first. Israel gave it to Him, and the Levites received it from Him, not from men.
- A worker's portion — the tithe was pay for real service. The numbers show God does not mean to underpay His servants.
- A shared portion — the gift moved in a circle. God supplied the people, the people laid it before God, and the workers ate it in His presence and gave back out of it.
- Your portion — grace sets no fixed fraction. The measure is "as he may prosper." Withhold what is God's, and He counts it an offence against Himself.
Neither shall the children of Israel henceforth come near the tent of meeting, to bear sin and die.
At the end of the previous chapter the people panicked and cried that anyone who came near God's dwelling would die. Verse 22 turns their own words into law — yet the same chapter names who will carry the danger for them.
Fear came first, and the command followed. One writer traces where their thinking went wrong:
They had a conscience of sin, and it opened their eyes to see the "token." The rod stood there as a testimony. Israel could not come near without remembering their sin and its judgment. They cry out, "Behold, we perish, we are all undone. Everyone who comes near the tabernacle of the LORD shall die. Are we all to perish?"... Blind unbelief! They were not forbidden access to God through the priest, but only to take up the function of priesthood that belonged to Aaron and his sons. They expected death if they came near. They connected death with their access to God, not with their sin.
The ESV does not use the word "henceforth" here, but older translations do. That one word marks a change:
Verse 22 of our chapter makes the separate place of Aaron and the Levites more pronounced. The mass of the people were not to come near the tabernacle. The word "henceforth" shows that before this they had come nearer than they were now allowed to come. The change came because they had displayed their "rebel" character so sadly.
Their own words came back on them. The same writer shows where that landed them:
They said that anyone drawing near to the tabernacle would die. The result is that their drawing near is forbidden. For their standing before God, their unbelief and mistrust of Him is more serious than their earlier presumption. They are brought down to the level of the outsider: "any outsider who comes near shall be put to death." From now on Israel cannot come nearer than the outsider. That privilege is lost.
The barrier was not God abandoning the people. The same chapter appoints priests to carry what would otherwise have destroyed the nation:
"You and your sons and your father's house with you shall bear iniquity connected with the sanctuary." This is plainly in answer to the question, "Are we all to perish?" The priests and the Levites kept the charge of the tabernacle and of the altar "that there may never again be wrath on the people of Israel." The priesthood, which had been the target of rebellion, was to be their security. Without that priestly service the wrath of God would have consumed them all. Christ is again in view here — He who always lives and intercedes for His own people. He bore the iniquity and the wrath Himself.
The Levites carried a share of that burden, and their service was fenced off too:
The work was theirs alone. Other Israelites were not to come near and take any part in the service God had given the Levites. They were no more to do that than to intrude on the service of the priests. In their measure the Levites too were to "bear their iniquity." That is, they took responsibility for the iniquity of the people of Israel, as those identified with the priests, who alone could offer the sacrifices for that iniquity.
Under the law the way in stayed shut. One writer sets that against what the cross changed:
Israel had "an earthly place of holiness," and their worship had that same character. "The way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing." But the blood of Jesus has opened the way. The same stroke that killed the Lamb tore the veil from top to bottom... There is no outer-court worship now for the people and temple worship for the priest, as under the law. These distinctions are unknown in the Church of the living God. All are equally near. All have equal liberty. All are equally acceptable, through the presence and intervention of the great High Priest of His people.
- Cry — The people declared that anyone approaching God's dwelling would die. Verse 22 is God taking them at their word. Fear spoke first, and the fence followed.
- Cost — Their misreading of God cost them ground. God brought them down to the level of the outsider, and they lost a nearness they had once had.
- Cover — The ban came with a provision. Priests and Levites now bore the iniquity of the sanctuary, so that wrath would not fall on the nation again.
- Christ — The very priesthood the rebels had despised became Israel's security. It points to the One who bore the iniquity and the wrath Himself.
- Come near — What Israel could not do, believers now do. The torn veil ends the split between outer court and sanctuary. All are equally near, through the great High Priest.
But the Levite, he shall perform the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity it is an everlasting statute throughout your generations. And among the children of Israel shall they possess no inheritance;
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
for I have given for an inheritance to the Levites the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as a heave-offering to Jehovah; therefore I have said of them, They shall possess no inheritance among the children of Israel.
Israel gives a tenth of its produce to the Lord, and He passes it straight on to the Levites as their inheritance. That raises two questions: what does it mean to lift a tithe up to God, and why does this leave the Levites with no land of their own?
Older translations call this contribution a "heave offering." One writer sets it beside the wave offering to show what each word meant.
The idea behind a heave offering was taking up a part of something to offer it to God. The idea of the wave offering is more general. It means consecration to God, for the gift was waved before the Lord. A gift might therefore be called both a heave offering and a wave offering. But not every wave offering could also be called a heave offering. To heave, you needed a larger amount to lift the portion out of. To wave, you needed only the gift itself.
So the tenth reached the Levites only after it had passed through God's hands.
The verse ends by saying the Levites will own no land. One writer explains what that meant day to day.
The Levites needed the tithes for their support. Like the priests, they had no inheritance among the children of Israel. They were scattered among the tribes and had no property of their own as a tribe.
Another writer sees their landlessness as a gain, not a loss.
The priests and Levites — God's worshippers and workers — were to have no inheritance among the children of Israel. They were to depend completely on God Himself for the supply of all their need. What a blessed position.
One writer puts the same question to both sides, and finds the same name in both answers.
If you asked the children of Israel, To whom do you give the tithes? the answer of the godly would be, We give them to the Lord. And if you asked the faithful Levites, From whom do you receive the tithes? their answer would be, We receive them from the Lord.
The gift then travels all the way round, back to where it began.
The children of Israel were to bring their offerings and lay them down at the feet of Jehovah. He, in His infinite grace, then told His workers to pick up these precious offerings — the fruit of His people's devotedness — and feed on them in His own blessed presence, with thankful hearts. So the circle of blessing went round. God supplied every need of His people. His people had the privilege of sharing the rich fruits of His bounty with the priests and Levites. And God let these last taste the rare and exquisite pleasure of giving back to Him what had flowed from Him to them.
One writer applies the same principle to those who preach the gospel today.
Some are truly called of God, gifted by Christ, and fitted by the Holy Spirit to preach the gospel. If they give themselves to that glorious work constantly and diligently, they have a moral right to support for their daily needs. But they should not look to those they preach to for a fixed sum. There is no such idea as this in the New Testament. The workman must look to his Master, and to Him alone, for support.
Another writer turns to how much the giver should give now.
In our present day of grace God gives no law about tithing. Instead the measure of our giving is "as he may prosper" (1 Cor. 16:2) or "as he has decided in his heart" (2 Cor. 9:7). The amount is left to the spiritual exercise of each individual. The people of God may give support, as to the Lord, for the need of the Lord's servants.
God Himself gives a hard name to keeping the tithes back.
He says, "Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me" (Mal. 3:8). Doesn't it seem an extraordinary expression to you — robbing God? And it certainly is; yet it was the truth all the same. The Jews had taken for their own use the tithes and offerings that were Jehovah's by right. The portions of the priests and Levites, prescribed by the law, were not forthcoming. The priests and Levites were the direct sufferers, but the Lord counted it an offence against Himself.
- Lifted up. A heave offering means lifting a part out of a larger amount. Israel raised the tenth out of its harvest and put it in God's hands first.
- Handed over. What Israel gave to God, God gave to Levi — so the giver gave to the Lord and the receiver received from the Lord.
- Landless. The Levites held no property and were scattered through the tribes, so their whole living came from God's hand.
- Returned. The circle closed when God's workers fed on the gift in His presence and gave back to Him what had flowed from Him.
- Owed. Keeping back what was lifted up to God robs God Himself. Today the measure is not a fixed tenth but "as he may prosper" — and the servant looks to his Master, not to men.
And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,
Numbers 18:25 opens with God speaking to Moses again. What follows is a rule for the Levites, the workers who lived on the tithes of Israel: they must hand a tenth of that tithe back to the Lord. So what does a person owe God when everything he has was already a gift?
The repeated formula "the LORD spoke to Moses" is not filler. One commentator points to the pattern, then follows where the giving in this chapter ends up.
The reader will notice, in this chapter, as elsewhere, that the words "And the Lord spoke to Moses," or "to Aaron," introduce every fresh subject. … The children of Israel were to bring their offerings and lay them down at the feet of the Lord. Then, in His infinite grace, He told His workers to pick up these precious offerings — the fruit of His people's devotedness. They were to feed on them in His own blessed presence, with thankful hearts. So the circle of blessing went round.
The Levites lived on what the other tribes brought in. The next verses show that this did not excuse them from giving.
However, in receiving tithes, the Levites were not exempted from paying tithes. When the other tribes brought in their tithes, the Levites were to offer God a tenth of those tithes as their own contribution (v.26). In our present day of grace God gives no law about tithing. Instead the measure of our giving is "as he may prosper" (1 Cor. 16:2) or "as he has decided in his heart" (2 Cor. 9:7). Each person settles the amount before God. The people of God may give support, as to the Lord, to meet the need of the Lord's servants. The servant should care just as much as they do about using money for the Lord's sake, and be glad to give as the Lord prospers him.
Ask either side of this exchange who is involved, and the answer names the same Person.
If one asked the children of Israel, To whom do you give the tithes? the answer of the godly would be, We give them to the Lord. And if one asked the faithful Levites, From whom do you receive the tithes? their answer would be, We receive them from the Lord.
The same writer sets out the order: receiving comes first, response second.
As soon as we receive, the first thing to see is that the Lord has given. The next thing to do is to own the Lord in what He has given.
The Levites did not hand back whatever they could spare. One commentator notes what God asked for, and what followed for the rest.
The Levites were to take these tithes from the best of what they received (v. 29). This is an important principle for us, for the Lord is always worthy of the best. After that, they were free to use the rest as food for themselves and their households (vv. 30-31). But verse 32 stresses that they must not dare to profane the holy gifts God had put in their charge. God must be first, and He would punish any breach of His rights with death.
Another writer sees Christ's own interest in this final tenth.
Lastly, the Levite tithe: for the ministry pays its tribute to worship, and that of its best. In all this, that Christ should desire and should receive His part is sweet to think about.
God sets His own value on the smaller gift, and one writer places it beside a scene from the Gospels.
It is very precious in all this to see how those who have little stand before God in their offerings alongside those who have much. The Levites had a smaller offering for the Lord than the children of Israel. Israel had the tithes of the fullness of the land; the Levites had only the tithe of the tithe. Yet of it the Lord said, "And your contribution shall be counted to you as though it were the grain of the threshing floor, and as the fullness of the winepress" (v. 27). This was because the Lord accepted them according to what they had, and not according to what they had not. And so the poor widow put in her two small coins to the offering of God, while many rich people put in much. Christ's estimate of her two coins was that she put in more than all of them (Mark 12:41-44).
after
The same writer applies this arrangement to those who serve God today.
It is a sad thing when God's people and Christ's servants look to the world for support. They tremble at the thought of that support being withheld. … The world is the world still; and the Church is not of the world, and should not look for the world's gold and silver. God will take care of His people and of His servants, if they will only trust Him.
- Given — The tithe reaches the Levites as God's provision, not as wages from men; every gift begins with Him.
- Owned — What we receive, we then own as His gift. That is what the tithe of the tithe does.
- Best — What goes back comes from the best. God must be first, and the holy gifts must never be treated as common.
- Counted — A tithe of a tithe is small. Yet God counts it as full grain and full winepress, and accepts each person according to what he has.
- Circled — Israel gives to God. God feeds His workers. The workers give back to God. It is one circle of blessing, and those inside it look to Him alone for what they need.
And to the Levites shalt thou speak, and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer a heave-offering from it for Jehovah, the tenth of the tithe.
The tribe of Levi served at the tabernacle and owned no land, so a tenth of Israel's produce fed them. Here God turns the rule back on the Levites: the men who received the tithe had to give a tenth of it back to Him.
Priests and Levites did not live on the same portion. One commentator sets out the difference:
Numbers 18 explains the place of the priests and the place of the Levites. Aaron and his sons bear the iniquity of the sanctuary. How far this is from human, earthly ambition! Theirs were the holy things to eat. The tithe was for the Levites, not for the priests, except a tithe of the tithe given by the Levites to Aaron.
Older translations call the "contribution" of this verse a "heave offering." The writers quoted below use that older wording.
The Levites lived on what others brought in. That did not excuse them from giving:
The Levites received tithes, but that did not exempt them from paying tithes. When the other tribes brought their tithes in, the Levites were to offer God a heave offering of one tenth of them (v.26). In our present day of grace God gives no law about tithing. Instead the measure of our giving is "as he may prosper" (1 Cor. 16:2)… The amount is left to each believer to weigh before God. God's people may give support, as to the Lord, to meet the need of the Lord's servants. The servant must weigh his use of those funds before God just as carefully, and be glad to give as the Lord prospers him.
The tenth of the tenth went up to God, yet it reached Aaron. Aaron pictures Christ, and that shapes how a Christian gives:
It was a heave offering, so it emphasizes the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. He is presented to God on a level above mere earthly things. They offered it to God, yet it went to Aaron, who is a type of the Lord Jesus. So we give all our material offerings as to the Lord Himself, however He chooses to use them.
Giving back a tenth might look like a loss for a tribe with no fields. The figures say otherwise:
The twelve tribes were to give one tenth of their produce to God, and He handed it to the Levites as a reward for the service they gave Him. So they were well provided for. Suppose the twelve tribes were about equal in numbers and possessions. Take the produce of each tribe as 100 for the calculation. Each tribe would then be down to 90, while the Levites would have 120. But the Levites had to offer the Lord, in sacrifice, a tenth of the very best they received. That would bring what they kept for their own use down to 108. This short calculation may help to show us that God does not mean to underpay His servants.
The verse keeps God at both ends. He gave the tithe to the Levites, and they gave part of it back to Him. So no tribe was in another tribe's debt:
Ask the children of Israel, "Who do you give the tithes to?" The godly would answer, "We give them to the Lord." Ask the faithful Levites, "Who do you receive the tithes from?" Their answer would be, "We receive them from the Lord."
Commentators agree the tithing law does not bind believers today. Its measure still stands as a floor, not a ceiling:
As Christians we are not under law but under grace. Still, we feel the rightness of what people often say. Our response to grace given should not fall below our response to the demands of law. It should go beyond it. Suppose every Christian gave to the Lord and His service, as the Lord has prospered him. Suppose they left the world's schemes, even the "good" and "charitable" ones, to the world that starts them and can well afford them. Then there would be no lack for the genuine service of God.
- Received — the tithe was the Levites' inheritance because God gave it to them. It came through Israel, but it came from the Lord.
- Returned — being on the receiving end exempted no one; a tenth of what came in went straight back up to God as an offering.
- Best — they gave back the finest of what God gave them, not the leftovers.
- Supplied — even after giving, the Levite had more than the tribe that paid him. God does not underpay His servants.
- Exceeded — the law's tenth is not the Christian's rule, yet grace should carry a believer past it, not below it.
And your heave-offering shall be reckoned unto you, as the corn from the threshing-floor, and as the fulness of the winepress.
The Levites lived on the tithes of the other tribes. Out of what they received, they had to hand a tenth on to the priests. Here God tells them how He views that second tenth. It is no leftover passed along. He counts it as their own harvest, as if it came from their own threshing floor and winepress.
One writer tests both ends of this arrangement with a simple question.
If one asked the children of Israel, To whom do you give the tithes? the answer of the godly would be, We give them to the Lord. And if one asked the faithful Levites, From whom do you receive the tithes? their answer would be, We receive them from the Lord.
Support did not excuse the Levites from giving. Commentators apply this to Christian giving today, where no fixed percentage applies.
In receiving tithes, the Levites were not exempted from paying tithes. When the other tribes brought in their tithes, the Levites were to offer God a heave offering of one tenth of them (v.26). In our present day of grace God gives no law about tithing. Instead the measure of our giving is "as he may prosper" (1 Cor. 16:2) or "as he purposes in his heart" (2 Cor. 9:7). Each person settles the amount with God. The Lord's servant should be just as careful as the givers are in using funds for the Lord's sake, and be glad to give as the Lord prospers him.
The Levites had no fields. Their tenth of a tenth was small next to what the tribes brought in. How God measured it reaches past Israel.
It is very precious to see how those who have little stand before God in their offerings, right beside those who have much. The Levites had a smaller offering for the Lord than the children of Israel. The one had the tithes of the fullness of the land; the other had only the tithe of the tithe for their offering. But of it the Lord said, "And your contribution shall be counted to you as though it were the grain of the threshing floor, and as the fullness of the winepress" (27). He accepted them according to what they had, and not according to what they did not have. And so the poor widow put her two small coins into the offering of God, while many rich people put in much. Christ's estimate of her two coins, compared with the much that the rich put in, was that she put in more than all of them (Mark 12:41-44).
The Levites' portion was a heave offering. Where it ended up says something about every gift to God's servants.
This heave offering of the Levites would have the same value as the firstfruits of grain or of the winepress (v.27). Being a heave offering, it emphasises the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, presented to God on a level above mere earthly things. While it was offered to God, it was given to Aaron, a type of the Lord Jesus (v.28). So all of our material offerings are given as to the Lord Himself, whatever way He may dispose of them.
Priests and Levites owned no land. Everything they ate moved out from God and then back to Him.
The children of Israel were to bring their offerings and lay them down at the feet of the Lord. He, in His infinite grace, told His workers to pick up these precious offerings — the fruit of His people's devotedness — and feed on them in His own blessed presence with thankful hearts. So the circle of blessing went round. God supplied every need of His people. His people had the privilege of sharing the rich fruits of His bounty with the priests and Levites. And these last were free to taste the rare and exquisite pleasure of giving back to God out of what had flowed from Him to them.
Giving away the best did not leave the Levites poor. One writer does the arithmetic.
Suppose the twelve tribes were about equal in numbers and possessions. Take the produce of each tribe as 100 for a basis of calculation. Each tribe would then be down to 90, while the Levites would have received 120. But against this the Levites were to sacrifice to the Lord a tithe of the very best they received. That brought what was left for their own use down to 108. This short calculation may help to show us that God does not mean to underpay His servants.
- Given. What the Levites held came from the Lord, not from the tribes — the giver gave to God, and the receiver received from God.
- Given back. Receiving God's provision never excuses anyone from giving. The Levites tithed the tithe, and gave the best of it.
- Counted. God counts a small gift from a small income as a full harvest — the same scale on which the widow's two coins outweighed the rich men's much.
- Lifted. Offered to God, then handed to Aaron: gifts to the Lord's servants go to the Lord Himself, however He chooses to pass them on.
- Enough. The circle closes where it started — God supplies the people, the people supply His workers, the workers give back to God, and God does not underpay.
Thus ye also shall offer Jehovah's heave-offering of all your tithes, which ye take of the children of Israel; and ye shall give thereof Jehovah's heave-offering to Aaron the priest.
The Levites lived on the tithes brought by the rest of Israel. Here God tells them that what they receive must not stop with them. They are to lift out a portion for the Lord and place it in the hands of Aaron the priest.
The tribe set apart for God's service owned no farmland. Its whole income came from the offerings of others. Even so, it still had to give.
When the law came, God set up the priesthood in one family of the tribe He chose for divine service. He kept that tribe apart from the land inheritance He gave to the other tribes of Israel. So the Levites had the tithes of the children of Israel as a heave-offering to the Lord. But out of this they had to offer a tenth of the tithes to the priests, who also had their own special portions by the Lord's command.
The portion belongs to the Lord, yet Aaron is the one who takes it. One writer holds both together.
Being a heave offering, it emphasizes the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, presented to God on a level above mere earthly things. Though offered to God, it went to Aaron, who pictures the Lord Jesus. So we give all our material offerings as to the Lord Himself, whatever way He chooses to use them.
Ask either side where the tithe came from or went to, and the answer names the Lord.
If one asked the children of Israel, To whom do you give the tithes? the answer of the godly would be, We give them to the Lord. And if one asked the faithful Levites, From whom do you receive the tithes? their answer would be, We receive them from the Lord. … As soon as we receive, the first thing to see is that the Lord has given. The next thing to do is to own the Lord in what He has given.
One writer traces the full loop this giving makes.
The priests and Levites — God's worshippers and workers — were to have no inheritance among the children of Israel. They were to depend on God Himself alone for the supply of all their need. Most blessed position. … The children of Israel were to bring their offerings and lay them down at the feet of the Lord. He, in His infinite grace, told His workers to pick up these precious offerings — the fruit of His people's devotedness — and feed on them in His own blessed presence with thankful hearts. So the circle of blessing went round. God met all the needs of His people. His people had the privilege of sharing the rich fruits of His bounty with the priests and Levites. And these in turn were allowed to taste the rare and exquisite pleasure of giving back to God out of what had flowed from Him to them.
The Levite's offering was far smaller than the farmer's. That did not lower its worth before God.
It is very precious in all this to see how those who have little stand before God in their offerings alongside those who have much. The Levites had a smaller offering for the Lord than the children of Israel. The one had the tithes of the fullness of the land; the other had only the tithe of the tithe for their offering. But of it the Lord said, "Your contribution shall be counted to you as though it were the grain of the threshing floor, and as the fullness of the winepress." The Lord accepted them according to what they had, not according to what they did not have. So too, the poor widow put in her two small coins while many rich people put in much. Christ compared her two coins with the much the rich gave, and His estimate was that she put in more than all of them.
The fixed percentage belonged to the law. One writer shows what takes its place now.
In our present day of grace God gives no law about tithing. Instead the measure of our giving is "as he may prosper" (1 Cor. 16:2) or "as he purposes in his heart" (2 Cor. 9:7). Each person settles the amount in his own spiritual exercise. The people of God may give support, as to the Lord, to meet the need of the Lord's servants. The servant should be just as exercised as they are about using funds for the Lord's sake, and glad to give as the Lord prospers him.
- Received — the Levite's whole living came from God through the hands of the people. He owned nothing God had not given him first.
- Returned — receiving did not excuse him from giving. He lifted a tenth of what came in back out for the Lord.
- Routed — the portion went to God, yet Aaron received it. A gift placed in a servant's hands reaches the Lord Himself.
- Reckoned — God counted the tithe of a tithe as a full threshing floor. He measures by what a person has, not by what he lacks.
- Repeating — the giving runs in a circle: God to His people, His people to His workers, His workers back to God.
Out of all that is given you ye shall offer the whole heave-offering of Jehovah, -- of all the best thereof the hallowed part thereof.
The Levites lived on the tithes of the other tribes. This verse tells them what to do with what they received: a tenth of it went back to God, taken from the best. Two questions follow. Does a person supported by God's people still have something to give? And does God care about the quality of a gift, not only the size?
Living on what others gave did not put the Levites outside the duty to give.
Even though the Levites received tithes, they were not excused from paying tithes. When the other tribes brought in their tithes, the Levites had to offer God a heave offering of one tenth of them (v.26). In our present day of grace there is no law about tithing. Instead the measure of our giving is "as he may prosper" (1 Cor. 16:2) or "as he has decided in his heart" (2 Cor. 9:7). Each person decides the amount before God. God's people may give support, as to the Lord, to meet the need of the Lord's servants. The servant should care as much as they do about using money for the Lord, and be glad to give as the Lord prospers him.
Giving back a tenth did not leave the Levites short. One writer runs the numbers.
Suppose the twelve tribes were about equal in numbers and property. Take 100 as the figure for each tribe's produce. Each tribe would be left with 90, while the Levites would receive 120. Against that, the Levites had to give the Lord a sacrifice: a tithe of the very best they received. That brought what they kept for their own use down to 108. This short calculation may help to show us that God does not mean to underpay His servants.
The verse does not just ask for a tenth. It asks for a tenth taken out of the best.
The Levites had to take these tithes from the best of what they received (v. 29). This is an important principle for us, for the Lord is always worthy of the best. Once they had done this, they were free to use the rest as food for themselves and their households (vv. 30-31). But verse 32 stresses that they must not dare to profane the holy gifts they were put in charge of. God must be first, and any breach of His rights carried the death penalty.
The same standard appears earlier in this chapter, and it makes a personal test.
God also provided for the support of the priests. Besides parts of the various offerings, it was written, "All the best of the oil and all the best of the wine and of the grain, the firstfruits of what they give to the LORD, I give to you" (Num. 18:12). That is another example that the first and best of all we are and have should be devoted to God. When we weigh our own state, few questions matter more than this one: do we make a habit of giving God our first and best?
The gift goes up to the Lord, yet the previous verse hands it to Aaron.
This is a heave offering, so it points to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, presented to God on a level above earthly things. While it was offered to God, it was given to Aaron, a type of the Lord Jesus (v.28). So all our material offerings are given as to the Lord Himself, whatever way He chooses to use them.
Ask both sides where the tithes came from. The answers name the same giver.
If you asked the people of Israel, "Who do you give the tithes to?" the godly would answer, "We give them to the Lord." And if you asked the faithful Levites, "Who do you receive the tithes from?" their answer would be, "We receive them from the Lord."
The Levites' tenth of a tenth was much smaller than Israel's tithe. God still valued it as a full harvest.
The Levites had a smaller offering for the Lord than the people of Israel. Israel had the tithes of the full produce of the land. The Levites had only a tithe of that tithe to offer. Yet the Lord said of it, "And your contribution shall be counted to you as though it were the grain of the threshing floor, and as the fullness of the winepress" (v. 27). The Lord accepted them according to what they had, not according to what they did not have.
- Received — everything the Levites had came from others. Their giving started with a gift, not with wages.
- Returned — being supported did not excuse them. A tenth of the tithe went back, and the Lord's servant today should care about giving as much as anyone else.
- Best — God asked not just for a portion but for the choice part. The rest was then theirs to enjoy.
- Christ — the offering went up to God and came into Aaron's hand, a picture of the Lord Jesus, so our giving goes to Christ Himself.
- Reckoned — God counts a small gift as a full harvest, because He accepts us according to what we have, not what we do not have.
And thou shalt say unto them, When ye heave the best thereof from it, then it shall be counted unto the Levites as produce of the threshing-floor, and as produce of the winepress.
Numbers 18 gives the Levites the tithes of Israel as their living. Now the same law asks something back from them. Verse 30 sets the order: the best goes to God first, and only then does the rest count as ordinary food.
The Levites lived on what the other tribes brought in. God still asked a portion back from them.
However, in receiving tithes, the Levites were not exempted from paying tithes. When the other tribes brought in their tithes, the Levites were to offer God a heave offering of one tenth of those tithes (v.26).
One writer sums up the whole arrangement in a sentence, and sees in it something God delights to receive:
Lastly, the Levite tithe: for the ministry pays its tribute to worship, and that of its best. In all this, that Christ should covet and should receive His part, is sweet to think.
The verse does not say a tenth of the leftovers. It says the best. God's share comes off the top, before the Levite touches any of it.
The Levites were to take these tithes from the best of what they received (v. 29). This is an important principle for us, for the Lord is always worthy of the best. Once they had done this, they were free to use the rest as their own food, together with their households (vs.30-31). But verse 32 emphasizes that they must not dare to profane the holy gifts God had put in their charge. God must be first, and any breach of His rights carried the death penalty.
This sequence runs right through Scripture, and a godly Israelite would not have dreamed of reversing it:
All through Scripture, true godliness insists that God must have His portion first, before the believer can rightly take and enjoy his own. We feel how right it is to put God first. It is due to Him, and true in everything. If we do not give Him His portion, we must suffer the bitter consequence.
A Levite's offering was small — a tenth of a tenth. God valued it as though it were a full harvest of grain and a full vat of wine.
It is very precious in all this to see how those who have little stand before God in their offerings on common ground with those who have much. The Levites had a smaller offering for the Lord than the children of Israel. Israel had the tithes of the full produce of the land. The Levites had only the tithe of the tithe to offer. Yet the Lord said that this offering of theirs would be counted to them as though it were the grain of the threshing floor and the fullness of the winepress (v. 27). He accepted them according to what they had, and not according to what they had not. And so the poor widow put her two small coins into the offering of God, while many rich people put in much. Christ's judgment of her two coins, set beside all that the rich gave, was that she put in more than all of them (Mark 12:41-44).
Some fear that what goes up to God is subtracted from the servant. The arithmetic of the chapter says otherwise.
The twelve tribes were to give one tenth of their produce to God. He handed it to the children of Levi as a reward for the service they gave Him, and so they were well provided for. Suppose the twelve tribes were about equal in numbers and possessions. Count the produce of each tribe as 100. Each tribe would then be left with 90, while the Levites would receive 120. But the Levites were to sacrifice to the Lord a tithe of the very best they received. That brought what was left for their own use down to 108. This short calculation may help to show us that God does not mean to underpay His servants.
The chapter keeps God at both ends of the transaction — the people gave to Him, and the Levites received from Him. Neither side was looking at the other.
If one asked the children of Israel, To whom do you give the tithes? the answer of the godly would be, We give them to the Lord. And if one asked the faithful Levites, From whom do you receive the tithes? their answer would be, We receive them from the Lord.
Does this law still bind a Christian today? One writer answers plainly:
In our present day of grace God gives no law about tithing. Instead the measure of our giving is "as he may prosper" (1 Cor. 16:2) or "as he has decided in his heart" (2 Cor. 9:7). Each believer settles the amount before God. The people of God may give support, as to the Lord, for the needs of the Lord's servants. The servant is to be just as exercised as they are about using funds for the sake of the Lord, and glad to give as the Lord prospers him.
- Receive — the Levite's whole income was a gift; asked where it came from, he would answer, from the Lord.
- Reserve — lift off the best first. The Lord is always worthy of the best, and God must be first.
- Reckon — God valued a tenth of a tenth as a full threshing floor and winepress. He accepts what a person has, not what he has not.
- Rest — only after the best goes up does the rest become theirs to eat. The numbers show God does not underpay His servants.
- Repeat — God commands no percentage now. Each giver measures it by how the Lord has prospered him, and the servant who receives support gives too.
And ye shall eat it in every place, ye and your households; for it is your reward for your service in the tent of meeting.
The chapter has just set the Levites apart with no land of their own, and this verse tells them where their living comes from. Their tenth is not charity but pay, and it raises two questions: what does it mean for God Himself to be a man's income, and how does He support His servants now?
The Levites served at the tent of meeting — the tabernacle — and owned no land. What they ate came from God's own hand, but it reached them by a different route than it reached the priests.
The priests had all the offerings and sacrifices that man might share in; the Levites had the tithes from all Israel: the one fed from within, the other from without. But both received from the Lord, for He was their inheritance. Otherwise they were miserable — what else did they have?
That difference explains the phrase "in any place." The priests ate holy things at the sanctuary; the Levites carried their portion home.
There were separate provisions made for the support of the priests and the Levites: those who served in the holy place were sustained by what belonged to it; those who served outside had ordinary food supplied to them. The priests fed on what was offered in sacrifice (Num. 18:9); the Levites fed on the tithes of all the fullness of the land.
The verse calls the tithe a reward, and that word sets the Levite apart from Aaron. Aaron's place was itself his pay. The Levites did the heavy work and took a tenth instead.
Aaron held a position so truly high that any inheritance in earthly things would have been degrading to him. The Levites, looked at in one way, did not have this high standing, but they had much hard labour. So while Aaron's very place and service was "his reward," the Levites had to receive a tenth for "their reward."
Work out the arithmetic of the chapter and the wage turns out to be generous rather than bare.
The freedom of this verse follows an obligation. The Levite gives the best first; then the rest is food for him and his household.
The Levites were to take these tithes from the best of what they received (v. 29). This is an important principle for us, for the Lord is always worthy of the best. After that, they were free to use the rest as their own food, together with their households (vv. 30-31). But verse 32 stresses that they must not dare to treat the holy gifts in their charge as common. God must be first, and any breach of His rights would be punishable by death.
Seen as a whole, the arrangement ties both giver and worker to God alone.
From verses 20-32 we are taught that the priests and Levites — God's worshippers and workers — were to have no inheritance among the children of Israel, but were to depend entirely on God Himself for all their need. What a blessed position. Nothing could be lovelier than the picture here. The children of Israel were to bring their offerings and lay them down at the feet of the Lord. In His infinite grace, He told His workers to pick up these precious offerings — the fruit of His people's devotedness — and feed on them in His own presence with thankful hearts. So the circle of blessing went round.
The tithe fed families, not just individuals, and one writer draws a line from that to the home life of anyone who serves God.
In Israel the Levites were maintained by the tithes of the common people. If we take the Levites to picture what we are as the Lord's servants, and the common people what we are in our home and business life, we see how much depends on being faithful in the home and business circles. Going on with God in daily life shapes the soul, so that instead of family and business being a hindrance, the Lord can use them to make His servants more effective in His work, as in the discipline of everyday life they learn more of His grace and faithfulness.
The principle did not end with the tabernacle.
The Lord has ordained that those who preach the gospel should live by the gospel. Just as the priests and Levites of old lived on offerings presented by the people, so now the same holds for those whom God truly calls, whom Christ gifts, and whom the Holy Spirit equips to preach the gospel. Those who give themselves constantly and diligently to that glorious work have a moral right to material support. It is not that they should look to those they preach to for a certain fixed sum. There is no such idea in the New Testament. The workman must look to his Master, and to Him alone, for support.
- No inheritance. The Levites owned no land; the Lord Himself was their portion, and the tithe was how that portion reached their table.
- A reward, not a handout. The verse calls the tenth their reward — pay for real work at the tent of meeting — and the sums show God does not underpay His servants.
- Best first. The Levite handed over the best tenth of what he received before the rest became freely his; God's rights come before personal use.
- Any place, every household. What the priests ate at the sanctuary, the Levite ate at home with his family — service and ordinary daily life joined together.
- The circle closes. The people gave to God, God gave back to His workers, and His workers fed on it in His presence — the same order that now supports those who live by the gospel.
And ye shall bear no sin by reason of it, if ye heave from it the best of it; and ye shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel, lest ye die.
Numbers 18 closes with a warning attached to a generous arrangement. The Levites live on Israel's tithes, but they must lift out God's portion first — and keeping it all would cost them their lives.
The verse looks back to a condition already laid down. Once the Levites had set aside the part belonging to God, the rest was theirs to eat without guilt. One writer walks through the order, then the warning that closes it:
The Levites were to take these tithes from the best of what they received (v. 29). That is an important principle for us, because the Lord is always worthy of the best. When this was done, the Levites were then free to use the rest as their own food, together with their households (vv. 30-31). But verse 32 stresses that they must not dare to profane the holy gifts they were put in charge of. God must be first, and any breach of His rights would be punishable by death.
The order matters. Eating the rest does not clear them; the giving that came first does.
The Levites received the tithes for their service, yet they were not exempt from giving. One writer sees in their tenth of a tenth what all service owes:
Last comes the Levite tithe, for the ministry pays its tribute to worship, and gives its best. In all this, it is sweet to think that Christ should desire and receive His part.
Work for God never replaces worship of God. The one who serves still has something to hand over.
Why would keeping the whole tithe profane it? Because the tithe never came from Israel in the first place. One writer puts the point as a pair of questions:
Ask the people of Israel, "To whom do you give the tithes?" A godly Israelite would answer, "We give them to the Lord." Ask the faithful Levites, "From whom do you receive the tithes?" They would answer, "We receive them from the Lord."
So the Levite who kept the whole tithe was not shortchanging men. He was withholding from the Lord.
The warning sits inside an arrangement that was far from stingy. One writer works out the numbers:
The twelve tribes were to give one tenth of their produce to God, and He handed it to the children of Levi as a reward for the service they gave Him. So they were to be amply provided for. Suppose the twelve tribes were about equal in numbers and possessions. Taking the produce of each tribe as 100 for calculation, each tribe would be reduced to 90, while the Levites would receive 120. But against this, the Levites were to offer in sacrifice to the Lord a tithe of the very best they received. That would reduce what was left for their personal use to 108. This short calculation may help to show us that God does not mean to underpay His servants.
The tenth they gave back still left them better off than those who gave to them.
Verse 32 addresses the people who handle what others have given. That responsibility has not changed, even though the fixed percentage has:
However, in receiving tithes, the Levites were not exempted from paying tithes. When the tithes came in from the other tribes, the Levites were to present to God a contribution of one tenth of the tithes (v. 26). In our present day of grace no law is given about tithing. Instead the measure of our giving is "as he may prosper" (1 Cor. 16:2) or "as he has decided in his heart" (2 Cor. 9:7). The amount is left to the spiritual exercise of each individual. Support may be given, as to the Lord, by the people of God for the need of the Lord's servants. And the servant must weigh his own use of funds for the Lord's sake just as carefully as they do, glad to give as the Lord prospers him.
- Source. The tithe came from God, not from the givers. Israel gave to the Lord; the Levites received from the Lord.
- Best. The Lord is always worthy of the best, so His portion comes out first. Even those who serve pay tribute to worship.
- Clean. Once they give that portion, the rest is their own food, with no sin attached.
- Provision. God does not mean to underpay His servants. Even after giving back, the Levites held more than the tribes who gave.
- Reverence. God must be first. Withholding His portion profaned the holy gift, and under the law that breach cost a life.