Prepare
Opening Prayer
Father, thank you for the blessing of reading your Word and following you. Help us understand; we need your Spirit to apply it to our lives. In Jesus' name, amen.
Read
Scripture Passage
Tithes for Support of the Levites
21 “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. 22 Hereafter the children of Israel shall not come near the tabernacle of meeting, lest they bear sin and die. 23 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. 24 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.’ ”
The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Nu 18:21–24.
A — About
What Is This Passage About?
The Lord gives Israel's tithes to the Levites as their inheritance and compensation for tabernacle service. They bear responsibility for that work and receive no territorial inheritance among Israel.
B — Best Verse
Which Verse Best Summarizes the Passage?
Numbers 18:21, 23
Bryan explicitly says he would underline verse 21 and also has verse 23 underlined, joining the Levites' provision to their weighty service.
C — Called or Christ
C — Christ Connection
Recognize Jesus as the one heavenly High Priest and believers as a nation of priests. Give cheerfully as God prospers you, remembering you are a steward under the generous covenant King.
Additional Notes
Prayer for Understanding
A prayer initiates the session, seeking wisdom and understanding from God to rightly interpret and apply His Word to life.
Focus: Numbers Chapter 18, Verses 21-23
The speaker dives into Numbers 18, highlighting the Levites' role and the concept of tithing. The Levites are granted all tithes in Israel as inheritance for their service in the tabernacle, reflecting God's provision and the seriousness of approaching Him.
Key Takeaways
Levites' Inheritance: The Levites receive tithes instead of land, emphasizing their unique role and responsibilities in serving and protecting the tabernacle.
Economic and Spiritual Responsibilities: This system illustrates not only an economic model but also underscores the spiritual responsibilities shouldered by the Levites.
Personal Reflections on Tithing
The speaker reflects on the New Testament perspective, noting that while the context may have changed, the principle of supporting God's work remains. There's an encouragement to give cheerfully, recognizing all blessings as from God.
Call to Support Ministries
Encouragement is given to support ministries and individuals doing God's work, much like how people supported Jesus's ministry. It’s a call to give as one has prospered, honoring God as our king and stewarding His blessings well.
Closing Prayer
The session concludes with a prayer of gratitude for God's grace, especially through Jesus Christ, our high priest. It's a prayer for a generous heart, praising God for His provision.
Final Thoughts
Listeners are left with an invitation to reflect on their support for spiritual work and a blessing for their faith journey.
Key Message
This episode of "Coffee and Devotions" presents a deep dive into the concept of tithing and service in the context of the Levites, bridging the ancient practice with modern-day application. It's a call to honor God with our resources, recognizing everything we have as a blessing from Him.
Devotional Study
Transcript of the devotion. Minor transcription errors may remain.
hey hey good morning good morning good morning welcome to coffee and devotions is where every weekday morning you and I we get together we have a little bit of coffee we get into God's word and we grow in our love for the Lord together our love not W our love for the Lord together in this year 2024 Lord willing make it through the books of Numbers Deuteronomy and Hebrews no kids in with me today let's just have some coffee we'll pray and we'll get into God's word let's pray father we thank you so much for what a bless bling it is to get to read your word father we pray that you would please help us to understand it we need your spirit to apply to our lives Lord thank you so much for the blessing it is to follow you in Jesus's name amen all right here we go Numbers chapter 18 beginning at verse 21 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 levite 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 tithe of the children of Israel which they offer up as a heave offering to Jehovah 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 well we need to ask ourselves our three questions a what's this about B what's the best verse to summarize this and C what are we called to do right so what's this about the Levites are to have the tithe right there the people come and they bring a tenth of all their stuff they present it to to Jehovah himself the king of their Covenant people it's their payment to him for bringing the Harvest for keeping themselves keeping them safe for watching over them right they're they're bringing it as with Thanksgiving offerings and all these things and so the Lord says now the Levites right they shoulder the burdens they carry the stuff they do the things so they're the ones who get the 10% the tithe why well they don't get an inheritance right they don't have a permanent land they're going to get isolated cities here here here here here right around Israel but they don't get whole plot of land themselves so he says they're the ones who get it now they also though bear their iniquity because they have a very difficult job right they they act almost like a guard around the Tabernacle right if they come and approach God in an unworthy way if somebody goes into the Tabernacle right they're they they are the ones who will be held responsible they're not allowed to do whatever they want they're they they have a burden upon them God takes their job seriously now remember the context of all this with kora's rebellion and people kind of vying for power and things like this and the Lord says Levites you do have a blessing you do have a job but you also have obligations but you need to be renumerated for your your work as well and so this is how the economy or how the household working of the Lord's people are going to be the Levites are going to be cared for Aaron and his sons are going to be cared for right they get the offerings and stuff like this the Levites get the the tithe but both of those groups the closer you are to God in responsibility the weigher that responsibility is oh what's the best verse to summarize this well in my Bible I would probably have underlined vers 21 but I also have underlined verse 23 well what are we called to do right well I don't think this is a passage that we can just directly say oh Old Testament New Testament one for one I just don't think that's the case right I might be a pastor but I'm no levite right I may be a pastor but I am not set apart as a priest like Aaron right I may have been ordained as a pastor but we have one high priest and he is in heaven his name is is Jesus Christ and we are now a nation of priests and so some people will go to a passage like this and they'll say see you need to give your tithe to the church still I'm not sure I'm always so comfortable with that actually we'll find out as we keep going through there are a number of different tithes that the people would make altogether the Israelite uh economy would be about a third of their paycheck that they were giving uh whether it was of their sheep or whether it was their fields right they were to give a portion to the poor they were to give a portion to the Lord's work they were to give a portion as almost like a savings account as they were to go up for their Tabernacle Journeys or for their Temple Journeys so I'm just not sure there's a direct correlation do I think a tie the 10% is a is a decent marker sure that's fine right but each person needs to consider in their own heart what they give unto the Lord and not out of uh being strong armed or or being manipulated but the lord loves a cheerful giver and so this is where right when we see others doing the work of the lord we look at that and go you I I want to support that type of person you know I feel this way right I be honest with you I often and I'll tell the congregation this you know this I get a a little uncomfortable when I think about this because I don't like receiving money in in this way and yet I remember I was reading through just recently where there are multiple women who supported Jesus's ministry right how was Jesus able to eat and buy the last supper and stuff like this right because there were people who did support him they saw the work he was doing and they cared for him what Ministries are you supporting what do you support your local Pastor your local church I think this is one of those things that we can cheerfully give not out of a sense of obligation and drudgery because the Lord has blessed us and so we give to him as he prospers us because because we're just stewards right what the Lord gives me is because he's gracious what the Lord gives you because he's gracious so do we give to the Lord as he's prospered us is he our covenant King as he the one we follow let's pray father we thank you so much for what a blessing it is to be under the Covenant of Grace Lord we thank you that you are our God and our King and that you have entrusted so many good things to our hands Lord our our life truly is blessed and father we love you we pray that we would not be stingy holding on to this world's Goods but Lord that we would cheerfully praise you for all that you have given us most of all we thank you that you have given us Jesus Christ our high priest in his name we pray amen may the Lord bless you may you love him with all your heart mind soul and strength and I'll see you next time bye thanks for listening to this week's message from God's word for you a Ministry of Sharon RP Church in rural Southeast Iowa we pray that the message would be used by God to transform your faith and your life this week if you'd like to get more information about us feel free to go to the website Sharon rc.org we'd love to invite you to worship with us our worship time is 10:00 a.m. every Sunday at 25204 160th Avenue Morning Sun Iowa 52640 may God richly bless you this [Music] week