Numbers 18

The Lord gave special authority to Aaron, his sons (the priests), and his relatives (the Levites). They were responsible to God for offenses against the holy place. Yet, only the priests were responsible to God for their own violations of God's instructions for their service.

The instructions here came from the need shown in chapter 17 for clear boundaries between the people, priests, and Levites. The Levites had special privileges and important responsibilities. One key part of their job was to protect the Tent of Meeting from unauthorized entry (chapter 16).

• all the duties: See 1:47–53; 3:5–38; 4:1–33.

• they must not come near: The Levites could approach only after they had covered the holy objects for transport.

Aaron and the priests represented the people in the presence of the Lord. Their actions affected all of Israel (see 16:18–21).

Only the priests, who were Aaron and his descendants, could perform holy duties inside the sanctuary or approach the altar. This altar was a holy area that deserved special honor. Only the high priest could serve in the Most Holy Place. The Levites could only serve in the courtyard, away from the altar. The exception was when it was time to assemble or disassemble the Tent of Meeting (chapter 4).

Levites … as a gift to you: Numbers 3–4 explains this phrase. See also 3:9; 8:16, 19.

any outsider … must be put to death: This verse warned all Israelites to avoid areas where God did not allow them to be. God prohibited access to certain holy places for those not qualified in a religious sense. Only the holiest members of the community could access these holy areas. Ignoring this rule meant risking one's life because it violated God's holiness (see also 1:51, 53; 3:10, 29–38; 4:1–20).

The priests and Levites received support through the sacrificial system (see, for example, Leviticus 7:28–36). God's chosen representatives deserve payment for their work (compare Matthew 10:9–10; 1 Corinthians 9:3–10).

• Only Aaron and his sons, the priests set apart to serve in God's presence, consumed the most holy offerings (Exodus 28:1; 29:44–46).

• This portion was a holy offering given to God, and the priests had to treat it with respect (Numbers 18:10). Other types of offerings provided food for the priests and their families, but only if they were ceremonially clean (18:11–12).

Offerings set apart for the Lord were available to Aaron and his extended family. The Hebrew term here means a thing or person totally set apart to the Lord. This could involve either destroying or giving the person of thing as an offering. This verse speaks of an offering (see Leviticus 27:28–29).

The Lord supported the Hebrew priests and their families from the offerings set aside for him. The priests received firstborn animal offerings and the redemption fee for Israel’s firstborn sons. People had to redeem both firstborn sons and the offspring of unclean animals with a silver fee, since they could not sacrifice either one (see 3:13, 40–51; Exodus 13:2).

a covenant of salt: These arrangements were part of an eternal and unbreakable covenant (see 2 Chronicles 13:5). The agreement was meant to be permanent because salt, a preservative, symbolized permanence (Leviticus 2:13).

• The priests and Levites did not have a tribal homeland. They lived scattered among Israel's other tribes (see 35:1–8; Deuteronomy 12:12; Joshua 21:1–42).

• I am your portion and your inheritance: Instead of land, Israel's priests had assurance that God himself would be their homeland. The tribe of Levi received tithes as payment for their holy service.

The Israelites gave a tithe, which was one-tenth of their yearly income (see Deuteronomy 14:22–29; 26:12; Nehemiah 10:35–39; Malachi 3:8–12; Matthew 23:23; compare Genesis 14:17–20; Hebrews 7:5–10).

The Levites received a tithe (one-tenth) of the goods of the Israelites (18:24). However, they were not allowed to keep all of it. They also had to give a tithe of that tithe, which means one-tenth of the one-tenth. They gave this portion to the priests as their own harvest offering (18:27).

Levites and their families could eat any food received as tithes. This food was their payment for working at the Tent of Meeting.

The food tithes were holy gifts from the people of Israel. They could not use these gifts for something common by failing to give a portion to the priests.