May 22, 2023
Big Idea
God's instruction can always be trusted.
"All the holy contributions that the people of Israel present to the LORD I give to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due. It is a covenant of salt forever before the LORD for you and for your offspring with you." And the LORD said to Aaron, "You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel."
8 Then the LORD spoke to Aaron, “Behold, I have given you charge of the contributions made to me, all the consecrated things of the people of Israel. I have given them to you as a portion and to your sons as a perpetual due. 9 This shall be yours of the most holy things, reserved from the fire: every offering of theirs, every grain offering of theirs and every sin offering of theirs and every guilt offering of theirs, which they render to me, shall be most holy to you and to your sons. 10 In a most holy place shall you eat it. Every male may eat it; it is holy to you. 11 This also is yours: the contribution of their gift, all the wave offerings of the people of Israel. I have given them to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it. 12 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. 13 The first ripe fruits of all that is in their land, which they bring to the LORD, shall be yours. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it. 14 Every devoted thing in Israel shall be yours. 15 Everything that opens the womb of all flesh, whether man or beast, which they offer to the LORD, shall be yours. Nevertheless, the firstborn of man you shall redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem. 16 And their redemption price (at a month old you shall redeem them) you shall fix at five shekels 1 18:16 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams in silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs. 17 But the firstborn of a cow, or the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat, you shall not redeem; they are holy. You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar and shall burn their fat as a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the LORD. 18 But their flesh shall be yours, as the breast that is waved and as the right thigh are yours. 19 All the holy contributions that the people of Israel present to the LORD I give to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due. It is a covenant of salt forever before the LORD for you and for your offspring with you.” 20 And the LORD said to Aaron, “You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel.
21 To the Levites I have given every tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service that they do, their service in the tent of meeting, 22 so that the people of Israel do not come near the tent of meeting, lest they bear sin and die. 23 But the Levites shall do the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, and among the people of Israel they shall have no inheritance. 24 For the tithe of the people of Israel, which they present as a contribution to the LORD, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance. Therefore I have said of them that they shall have no inheritance among the people of Israel.”
25 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 26 “Moreover, you shall speak and say to the Levites, ‘When you take from the people of Israel the tithe that I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall present a contribution from it to the LORD, a tithe of the tithe. 27 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. 28 So you shall also present a contribution to the LORD from all your tithes, which you receive from the people of Israel. And from it you shall give the LORD's contribution to Aaron the priest. 29 Out of all the gifts to you, you shall present every contribution due to the LORD; from each its best part is to be dedicated.’ 30 Therefore you shall say to them, ‘When you have offered from it the best of it, then the rest shall be counted to the Levites as produce of the threshing floor, and as produce of the winepress. 31 And you may eat it in any place, you and your households, for it is your reward in return for your service in the tent of meeting. 32 And you shall bear no sin by reason of it, when you have contributed the best of it. But you shall not profane the holy things of the people of Israel, lest you die.’”
As the key verses note, the Lord is the Levites' portion and inheritance. He provides for them by generously giving of His own offering from the Israelites. He outlines in Numbers 18:30-31 that after the best, "the rest shall be counted to the Levites as produce of the threshing floor, and as produce of the winepress. And you may eat it in any place, you and your households . . . ." These instructions provided for their practical needs, but how did it demonstrate that the Lord was their portion, and what does it mean for us now? What is our "produce of the threshing floor" and "produce of the winepress"?
I'm immediately reminded of what Jesus said to His disciples at the Last Supper in Matthew 26:16-28. Of the bread, Jesus said, "Take, eat; this is my body." (Matthew 26:26) Of the cup, He said, "Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." (Matthew 26:27-28) Do you see the parallels? God gives the Levites, His priests, the "produce of the threshing floor, and the produce of the winepress." The bread and wine symbolize Jesus' body and blood to His followers.
In John 6:35, Jesus tells the disciples, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst." Then He says, "For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink." (John 6:55) God created man to live in relationship with Him, and mankind has had a pit of unfulfilled hunger since sin separated us from Him. It isn't until we trust in Christ that our hunger is satisfied. We who believe in Christ are now chosen, a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9). God provided for the Levites at the establishment of their nation, and now Jesus sustains us for eternity.
"To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen." (Revelation 1:5b-6)
This month's memory verse
3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
1. Let's take a deep dive into the use of salt in Scripture. See Leviticus 2:13 and 2 Chronicles 13:5 for other "covenant[s] of salt." What are the properties and uses of salt? Why would God use it in covenants, and why do Jesus and Paul use it as illustrations in their ministries? See Matthew 5:13 and Colossians 4:6.
2. Consider the significance of a particular threshing floor throughout the Old Testament. Read the following passages and reflect on Who appeared in the first two. How does His appearance there foreshadow His purpose in the new covenant?
3. Three times the Lord references the Levites' portion being given in return for their service in the tent of meeting (Numbers 18: 21, 23, 31). Those of us who know and follow Christ understand that the only condition of salvation is belief. However, Jesus came to serve, not to be served (Mark 10:45), and those who follow Him are called to be ministers of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18-20a), just like the Levites were. How are you serving others in this regard?
4. What do all of these things that we've read and considered teach you about God? Say a prayer of thanksgiving for Who He is and how He is our eternal provision.
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Hugh Stephenson
Hugh Stephenson
Hugh Stephenson
Michael Sisson
Michelle Ball
Sue Bohlin
Michael Scaman
Amy Lowther