Scripture:
““Behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work which they perform, the work of the tabernacle of meeting. Hereafter the children of Israel shall not come near the tabernacle of meeting, lest they bear sin and die. But the Levites shall perform the work of the tabernacle of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be a statute forever, throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance. For the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer up as a heave offering to the Lord, I have given to the Levites as an inheritance; therefore I have said to them, ‘Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.’ ” Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak thus to the Levites, and say to them: ‘When you take from the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them as your inheritance, then you shall offer up a heave offering of it to the Lord, a tenth of the tithe. And your heave offering shall be reckoned to you as though it were the grain of the threshing floor and as the fullness of the winepress. Thus you shall also offer a heave offering to the Lord from all your tithes which you receive from the children of Israel, and you shall give the Lord’s heave offering from it to Aaron the priest. Of all your gifts you shall offer up every heave offering due to the Lord, from all the best of them, the consecrated part of them.’ Therefore you shall say to them: ‘When you have lifted up the best of it, then the rest shall be accounted to the Levites as the produce of the threshing floor and as the produce of the winepress. You may eat it in any place, you and your households, for it is your reward for your work in the tabernacle of meeting. And you shall bear no sin because of it, when you have lifted up the best of it. But you shall not profane the holy gifts of the children of Israel, lest you die.’ ” Numbers 18:21-32 NKJV https://bible.com/bible/114/num.18.21-32.NKJV
Observations:
• One clarification for the big picture of the Old Covenant: there were multiple tithes under the Law, totaling 23% or so yearly. However, this one was for the support of the Levites specifically.
• Notice that the Levites tithed the best on the tithe they received, the “pastors” and “Christian workers” weren’t exempt.
• The people gave the tithe not to the ministers but to the Lord; likewise the Levite gave their tithe not to themselves but to the Lord. This was not a welfare system but a system of giving to the Lord and He in turn multiplied and furthered His work through it.
• Notice also the repeated wording that this reward/payment/wages for the Levites’ service was accounted as if it were grain or produce in the Lord’s sight. In other words, it was not a dedicated offering that must be eaten within the Lord’s presence, rather it was groceries. It became “common provision” rather than a “blessed observance.”
Application:
Giving to the Lord is fundamentally to the Lord Himself, not a donation to His work. We can give gifts of “donation” above and beyond but our regular giving should be of the best of the fruits of our labor to the Lord. We do not give to the pastor or the church really and if we are, we are doing it wrong. We are to give unto the Lord. And ministers’ you ain’t exempted.
Prayer: pray the passage and how the Holy Spirit has convicted you back to the Lord. Ask Him to do in You what His Word teaches.
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Mission
The Genesis 1 to Revelation 22 Project often follows the simple SOAP method to equip you to delve into your Bible and share God’s Word with others.
S cripture – read the Bible
O bservation – observe the context
A pplication – apply to life and worldview
P ray – in line with the Word
Ryan, also has a focus on Expository-Apologetics when teaching Gen1toRev22. This means that there is an undergirding, prayerful motivation that as the message of the Bible is exposed and explained that there is an opportunity to answer questions, defend, and share the Christian Faith.
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