The Lord has been telling Aaron what belongs to the priests and Levites out of the sacrifices and offerings the people bring to the tabernacle. We continue with the second half of this portion today.
"I give to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return for the work they do while serving at the tent of meeting." (Numbers 18:21) Leviticus 27 dealt with the subject of giving to the Lord a tithe (a tenth) of everything a person gained from the land, such as crops or the offspring of the animals in their flocks and herds. Tithes in modern times are generally paid with money; a person gives a tenth of their income to the house of the Lord.
These tithes are part of the pay of the men who serve the Lord at the tabernacle, in addition to the things they shared in according to yesterday's passage. No one who is not of the tribe of Levi is to serve at the tabernacle and tithes are not to be paid to anyone else. "From now on the Israelites must not go near the tent of meeting, or they will bear the consequence of their sin and they will die. It is the Levites who are to do the work at the tent of meeting and bear the responsibility for any offenses they commit against it. This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. They will receive no inheritance among the Israelites. Instead, I give to the Levites as their inheritance the tithes that the Israelites present as an offering to the Lord. That is why I said concerning them: They will have no inheritance among the Israelites." (Numbers 18:21-24) The Levites won't be given territories in the promised land because their occupation is to do the Lord's work. Therefore their pay is to come from the house of God. They deserve to be a paid a living wage for themselves and their families because they bear a great deal of responsibility for the community as a whole and for themselves---that they would be careful to perform their duties honorably and not commit offenses against the Lord in the carrying out of their responsibilities.
Jesus never said anything about tithes in the gospel accounts and that has led some to believe Christians don't need to tithe. I am not sure that's the case. Jesus didn't preach on every law and commandment of the Old Testament but I don't think that means He was making invalid any of the godly principles of the Old Testament. If we don't give to our churches, how will we pay our pastors? If we don't give to our churches, how will expenses be paid for maintaining the church? Jesus didn't speak about tithing but He did talk about offerings, and He praised one offering in particular in which a poor widow cast into the treasury only a few cents, but those few cents were all she had. He used her as an example of great faith and in doing so He honored her sacrificial giving. She gave more than a tithe; she gave all she had. So we see that the Lord still expects us to give to the house of God and that we should give enough that it means something to us. To further support the concept of tithing even though Christians aren't living under the law of Moses, we found Abraham giving a tithe to the priest Melchizedek in Genesis 14. Abraham lived long before the law was given. He paid tithes even though he wasn't living under the law. I think this suggests that Christians, who don't live under the law of Moses, are to bring both tithes and offerings to the house of God.
Suppose you want to tithe but you have a spouse who is against it. What are you to do then? Well, I once heard a pastor counseling that if both marriage partners aren't on board with tithing then the Lord wants peace maintained in the home. The person who wants to tithe can devote a tenth to the Lord in some other way than money, such as volunteering to the church a tenth of their free time each week or spending a tenth of each day praying for the church and the church leadership or spending a tenth of each day in Bible study and prayer. I know we are commanded to obey the Lord more than to obey human beings, but the Bible also says that married persons are to have some say-so in what their partners do. In the Old Testament a husband could void any pledge his wife made and could release her from contracts if he wasn't in agreement with them. (Numbers 30:13) In the New Testament we are told that a husband doesn't have the final say in whatever he does and neither does the wife; they each have a say in what the other person does. (1 Corinthians 7:4) If you are a married person who wants to tithe and your spouse does not want to tithe, the Lord accepts your willingness of spirit. He will bless your desire to tithe even though you may not be able to at this time. I don't think it would honor Him to have conflict and anger in the home over the matter of tithing, and unless you and your spouse are in the habit of maintaining separate finances, the use of household finances should be a mutual decision and perhaps the one who wants to tithe should lay the matter aside and devote themselves to the Lord in other ways while continuing to pray for the Lord to change the spouse's mind about tithing.
"The Lord said to Moses, 'Speak to the Levites and say to them: 'When you receive from the Israelites the tithe I give you as your inheritance, you must present a tenth of that tithe as the Lord's offering.'" (Numbers 18:25-26) The Levites are also to tithe. They must give to the Lord a tenth of everything brought to them by the Israelites.
"Your offering will be reckoned to you as grain from the threshing floor or juice from the winepress. In this way you also will present an offering to the Lord from all the tithes you receive from the Israelites. From these tithes you must give the Lord's portion to Aaron the priest. You must present as the Lord's portion the best and holiest part of everything given to you." (Numbers 18:27-29) These men aren't farmers or shepherds but the Lord makes a way for them to bring offerings too. Giving is important for growing in the faith.
"Say to the Levites: When you present the best part, it will be reckoned to you as the product of the threshing floor or the winepress. You and your households may eat the rest of it anywhere, for it is your wages for your work at the tent of meeting. By presenting the best part of it you will not be guilty in this matter; then you will not defile the holy offerings of the Israelites, and you will not die." (Numbers 18:30-32) If these men fail to give the Lord their best they will be under His wrath.
We owe the Lord our best because He gives us His best.
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