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Welcome. I'm Cliff Hedges. This is Pastor Cliff's Notes. This is a podcast where we are studying the Bible. We're working our way through the book of Numbers. Today is episode 1636, and we're looking at Numbers chapter 18, verses 21 through 32. The Israelites had rebelled at Keddish Barnea at the edge of the promised land, and God sent them back into the wilderness so that the faithless generation could die off. He said it'll be there for 40 years. Later there was another rebellion led by Korah. He was a Levite. He claimed that all Israelites were holy. Basically, he challenged the priesthood that God had established. And he gathered 250 prominent men who aligned themselves with him. And Moses had them all offer incense at the tabernacle. Well, these 250 men were all burned up by fire because they were making an unauthorized offering. Then the families of Korah and his Reubenite partners were swallowed up by the earth. Then a plague broke out among the people, and it ran until Aaron made a proper incense offering to the Lord. Well that should have been enough to show who the priests really were, but the people were still grumbling. So God instructed Moses to have the leader of each tribe write his name on his staff and give the staff to Moses. So Moses took all their staffs and along with Aaron's staff and left them next to the Ark of the Covenant in the tabernacle overnight. The next morning Aaron's staff had budded and produced almonds. And so he had this clear demonstration of who God has chosen to be his priests. Then immediately after that, chapters 18 and 19 are dedicated to instructions for the priests and the Levites. That brings us to Numbers chapter 18, verse 21. Now we're continuing from where we were last time, where the Lord was speaking directly to Aaron. The Lord said to Aaron, and he had just talked about how the priests were supported through the priest portion of certain sacrifices and the giving of firstfruits and firstborn. So now the Lord's still speaking to Aaron, we think, in verse 21. Look, I have given the Levites every tenth in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work they do, the work of the tent of meeting. So question I raised last time was we saw how the priests are supported. What about the Levites? And so the answer is right here. They receive this tenth. Often we call it a tithe. Tithe is old English for tenth. That's what's used in the King James Bible. And this was covered in Leviticus 27, verses 30 to 33, where God said, Okay, as you farm, a tenth of your crop that you harvest will be given to God, and a tenth of the animals will be given to God. And that's the tithe, the tenth that he's talking about here. And so now he's saying, This is the inheritance for the Levites, this tenth that the Israelites bring every year. Verse 22. The Israelites must never again come near the tent of meeting, or they will incur guilt and die. Well, he's referring, I think, here to the rebellion that we just had with Korah and his followers, where people decided everybody can approach the tent of meeting. Everybody can approach God because we're all holy. And God showed them that no, you can't. I say who goes near the tent of meeting. And he says, try it again, you're gonna die again. Verse 23. What's that mean? It's hard to say because he doesn't really define what that means, but most people think, okay, this means that if you do your job wrong, you're gonna bear the consequences of that sin. Much like we saw with the priests so many times, if you do it wrong, you will die. And here it's applied not in exactly the same way, but to the Levites that you'll bear the consequences of your sin. A lot of people want to apply this to one of the big duties of the Levites, and that is guard duty. They are to guard the area around the tabernacle. That's why they're camped around the outer perimeter of the tabernacle courtyard. And part of their role is to guard it, to keep people away from it. Because as just said, approach it, you're gonna die. And so the guards are there to one, protect the people from their own misdeeds, but also protect the integrity of the tabernacle. And if you let somebody get through, well, they think that meant, okay, the intruder would be killed, but also the guard who let him through. Doesn't say that specifically, but just you're responsible to do what you've been called to do, do it correctly. Continuing, the Levites will not receive an inheritance among the Israelites. This is a permanent statute throughout your generations. So we saw this dealing with the priests. The priests, who are Levites, will not receive a land inheritance. Part of what we'll see later on is as they go into the promised land, the division of the promised land amongst the tribes. Each tribe will get an area, that this is their tribal area, not the tribe of Levi. The Levites will receive forty-eight cities, and that's where the Levites will live when they're not on duty in these cities, because they don't receive an inheritance, the tithe is their inheritance. Verse 24. Prior to this the Lord had been speaking to Aaron. Now it shifts to the Lord speaks to Moses. Verse 26. Speak to the Levites and tell them, When you receive from the Israelites the tenth that I have given you as your inheritance, you are to present part of it as an offering to the Lord, a tenth of the tenth. Okay, so the Levites receive the tithe that the Israelites are bringing, but they're not exempt from giving. They're to take this tenth that the other tribes have brought, and they're to give a tenth of it to the Lord. Verse twenty seven. So I'm saying you're no different than anybody else. You have income, you're to give a tenth of it to the Lord. Okay, so give some of it, not some of the tenth of a tenth, but some of the tenth, that is a tenth of it. You're to take that tithe that you have received from the other tribes, take a tenth of it, your own tithe, and give it to the priests. Verse 29. You must present the entire offering to the Lord from all your gifts. The best part of the tenth is to be consecrated. Okay, weed through all that. The Levites receive the gifts that the other tribes bring, their tithe. A tenth of their crops, a tenth of their animals. They receive it, and they're to inspect it and take the best of it, and a tenth of that give it to the Lord. They're not to take the animals that aren't looking so good, probably won't make it. The grain that maybe is a little bit moldy, not looking so good, they're supposed to find the best part and give that to the Lord. Specifically give it to the priests. Because it was consecrated, it had been given to the Lord. And so the instructions here for the Levites are, yes, this tenth that was brought as a gift to the Lord that the Levites are getting, as soon as they take the tenth out of it that are given to the priest, they're not restricted in where they eat it. Verse 32. Now, while they're receiving this tithe from the rest of the tribes, they have to remember that this was being given to God. This is important stuff. Now, God had said the Levites get this, but you still have to be aware this was gifts given to God and treat it with respect, treat it with dignity, and make sure the first thing you do is remove the tenth that you're going to give to the priests. So the priests are supported by the priest's portion of the offerings, firstfruits, firstborn, and the tithe they receive from the Levites. The Levites are supported by the tithe from the other twelve tribes. So we see here how the Levite tribe, including the priests, are supported by the rest of Israel. Thanks for joining me. Join me in next time as we continue working through numbers.