Provisions for the Levites

Good morning,

In Joshua 20 we find that the final step in allocating the Promised Land was to designate cities in each of the various 12 tribal areas for the Levites: the priests and their families.  I must confess to a lot of ignorance about the Levites and how they supported their families.  According to my current understanding, this is how it went down.

Aaron, Moses' brother, was the first Levitical priest.  He had three sons:  Kohath, Gershon and Merari.  Each of the heads of these clans drew lots to see who would be the first to get a land allocation; Kohath's clan drew the first lot.  Then, after Kohath's clan was appointed its cities, the other two clans received their portion of cities.

Each apportionment included pastureland around the cities as well (about 2/3 of a mile around each city).  The Levitical priests were farmers and tradesmen, as were their Hebrew brothers and sisters. The distinction was that, once a year, for a two-week period, each Levitical priest served in the Temple or Tent of Meeting (precursor to the first Temple).  The rest of their year, they were self-supporting. There were 24 divisions of priests, according to 1 Chronicles 23-24.  With each division serving about 2 weeks, you can see how this makes almost an entire year.  The high, holy days, the feast days, were an exception to that routine.

I used to think that the Levitical priests lived off the tithes of their fellow man.  However, this was not the case.  Tithes were only brought to the Lord in Jerusalem on special feast days.  These funds were used to support the functioning of the Temple and to sustain the priests during their two-week term of service each year.  (Sort of reminds me of how the GA National Guardsmen serve one weekend a month during their time in the Guard...They are paid for that weekend of service.  But, the rest of their lives are spent in their own occupations/professional endeavors.)

Now, you may be thinking that this does not jive with the priesthood of Jesus' day.  And, that is true. By that time, more and more of the Levitical priests were living permanently in Jerusalem, and frequently at the Temple.  Moreover, they had managed to become wealthy off the backs of the poor. Jesus condemned them for that (and more).  (Matthew 23:23-24 and Luke 20:46-47).  This type of usury was not what God intended.  "Devouring widows' houses...."

God is not opposed to our wealth, but He expects us to use it for His service and the furtherance of His kingdom, not to lavish it on our own selfish desires.  And, He certainly does not condone our getting wealth by taking advantage of the unsuspecting, the downtrodden or the hopeless.

Peter says that we are all "priests" in Christ's kingdom.  What an awesome responsibility and honor! When Christ came, He was not a priest after the order of the Levites, but after the order of Melchizedek. That's a topic for at least one blog post.

Father, you know that my mind is all over the place this morning.  Thanks for teaching me about the Levitical priests and how they were supported in their work.  Thanks also for reminding me that you have given me great gifts, which you expect me to use for Your kingdom.  In Jesus' name, amen.

Source:

http://redeeminggod.com/pastoral-pay-levitical-priesthood/