The ministry and its support - lessons from Numbers

Text Numbers 18 Time 30/09/12 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church

In Numbers 18 and 19 we turn again from narrative or story to material of a more instructive kind. The connection is between the way some of the Levites had challenged the legitimate priesthood and so we now have chapters that deal with the division between Levites and priests and their respective duties and the importance of providing for both Levites and priests as well as other matters. We will just consider Chapter 18 this evening.

Obviously today there are no tribal divisions among God's people and so no Levites as such. There is no temple either. Rather, we are all, men and women, priests to God under our one High Priest the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is the one greater than the temple and the head of his church in which each individual is a temple to God and together part of a living temple to God's praise.

Nevertheless there are two clear principles underlined here that have an application beyond the immediate situation and that are important for us to always keep in mind as New Testament Christians. These are the principles of service and support. And so we say

1. Never forget the principle of service in Christian ministry

In verses 1-7 and for some of the following verses God speaks directly to Aaron (not Moses). This is rare and only happens one other time in Leviticus 10. On both occasions it follows an incident that has put the temple ministry under grave threat. The point of the verses is that there is to be a clear distinction between the work of the priests (Aaron and his sons) and their fellow Levites and everyone else. There are three categories then – Priests, Levites, people. What is said is that

First, there is a general rule that applies to Aaron, his sons and the whole family. They together are to bear the responsibility for offences against the sanctuary. Together, all the Levites are responsible to make sure that it is only priests and Levites who look after the sanctuary where God is worshipped.

Then, on the one hand, it is Aaron and his sons alone who are to bear the responsibility for offences against the priesthood.

On the other hand, their fellow Levites are

1. To be brought from your ancestral tribe to join you and assist you when you minister before the Tent of the Testimony. The work of the Levites is to assist. The word to join is a play on the name Levi in the original Hebrew.

2. They are to be responsible to you and are to perform all the duties of the Tent, but ... must not go near the furnishings of the sanctuary or the altar, or both they and you will die. The Levites are to work under the direction of the priests. They are not to go into the Holy Place and touch the lampstand or the table or the altar of incense. No, it is (5) the priests who are to be responsible for the care of the sanctuary and the altar, so that wrath will not fall on the Israelites again as it so recently had done.

3. The Levites, Aaron is told, are to join you and be responsible for the care of the Tent of Meeting - all the work at the Tent - and no one else may come near where you are.

The whole arrangement is summed up in verses 6 and 7. God says

I myself have selected your fellow Levites from among the Israelites as a gift to you, dedicated to the Lord to do the work at the Tent of Meeting.

The Levites are chosen by God, they are a gift to the priests and they are

dedicated to the Lord to do the work at the Tent of Meeting.

On the other hand, only Aaron and his sons may serve as priests in connection with everything at the altar and inside the curtain. God says I am giving you the service of the priesthood as a gift either in the sense that it is a gift to be a priest or that the priests are a gift to all Israel. Anyone else who comes near the sanctuary must be put to death.

Do you know any Jewish people? Two common names among Jews or people with a Jewish background are Levy/Levi and Cohen/Coen/Cohn. (Daniel Levy, chairman of Spurs; Primo Levi, the writer/Ben Cohen, the rugby player; Sasha Baron-Cohen). Levy/Levi/Halevi suggests that the person is a descendant of Levi. Cohen means priest and suggests that the person is a descendant of Aaron. All other Jewish names are from other tribes of Israel. After the destruction of the Temple and the end of the sacrificial system being called Levy or Cohen hasn't been much different to being called Goldberg, Bloom or Feinberg. However, Levi and Cohen do retain some marks of honour. Firstly, the firstborn of either doesn't need to be ceremonially redeemed. In the synagogue they are called first to read the Torah or Law – any Cohens first and then any Levys. People called Cohen are also sometimes called upon to bless the community. So even today the Jews maintain some sort of difference between the two.

For believers the difference is not important. Whether you are called Cohen or Levy or Brady or Smith, whatever your surname, you need to repent from your sins and trust in Christ. Then you must learn to serve the Lord and his people and do the work that needs to be done. The Levites were dedicated to the Lord to do the work at the Tent of Meeting and Aaron and his sons were to serve in the tabernacle. They were to minister before the ark. Their calling was not to lord it over others. Now in the same way, under the new covenant, we are to serve. Now you may be called a minister – well, you must serve as that is what the word minister means. You may be a deacon, well (surprise, surprise) that word means servant too! And you may have not title at all but you still are called to serve. As Jesus said (Mark 10:45) Even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many. He also said (Mark 9:45) If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all. Some are called to serve at the very heart of the temple, as it were. Some assist them. Some do neither of those things but they still come near to God in worship. Whoever they are they must serve. $ I had a phone call from Belgium this week. A church in Brussels is looking for a pastor and they are thinking of someone many of us know. So they wanted to ask me lots of questions about him. One of the questions was – is he servant leader? That's an interesting question. Thankfully I could say yes I think he is. That is the sort of leader every church needs. The term is used not just by Christians but in business too. A servant leader is defined as one who listens, who empathises with people. He is aware of what is happening and is a healer and a persuader not a pusher. Pray for such characteristics in Christian leaders and in yourself too.

2. Never forget the principle of support in Christian ministry

The rest of the chapter is really to do with the matter of how the Levites and priests are to be provided for. Again both groups are set apart from the rest of the Israelites though there are differences. The lesson in particular here for today concerns supporting those who are set apart to regular ministry. The things to note are that

1. There are to be gifts to provide for ministers

Priests. The first thing that is talked about is the major way priests were to be provided for which was by receiving parts of the sacrifices made at the temple. This is followed by three further categories of gift.

• Parts of sacrifices. In verses 8-10 the Lord says to Aaron, I myself have put you in charge of the offerings presented to me; all the holy offerings the Israelites give me I give to you and your sons as your portion and regular share. You are to have the part of the most holy offerings that is kept from the fire. From all the gifts they bring me as most holy offerings, whether grain or sin or guilt offerings, that part belongs to you and your sons. Eat it as something most holy; every male shall eat it. You must regard it as holy. So apart from the burnt offering which was a holocaust each sacrifice included a part just for the priests and their male family members.

• Wave offerings. It goes on (11, 12a) This also is yours: whatever is set aside from the gifts of all the wave offerings of the Israelites. I give this to you and your sons and (this time) daughters as your regular share. Everyone in your household who is ceremonially clean may eat it.
• Firstfruits. Further (12b, 13) I give you all the finest olive oil and all the finest new wine and grain they give the Lord as the firstfruits of their harvest. All the land’s firstfruits that they bring to the Lord will be yours. Everyone in your household who is ceremonially clean may eat it.
• Things devoted. Then there is (14-18) Everything in Israel that is devoted to the Lord .... The first offspring of every womb, both man and animal, that is offered to the Lord is yours. But you must redeem every firstborn son and every firstborn male of unclean animals. When they are a month old, you must redeem them at the redemption price set at five shekels of silver, ... But you must not redeem the firstborn of an ox, a sheep or a goat; they are holy. Sprinkle their blood on the altar and burn their fat as an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the Lord. Their meat is to be yours, just as the breast of the wave offering and the right thigh are yours.

To sum up (19, 20)

Whatever is set aside from the holy offerings the Israelites present to the Lord I give to you and your sons and daughters as your regular share. It is an everlasting covenant of salt before the Lord for both you and your offspring.

The phrase covenant of salt is used only once elsewhere (2 Chronicles 13:5). The idea is of salt preserving for a long time.

Levites. In verses 21-23 God says

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.

The distinction between Levites and Israelites is then underlined.

From now on the Israelites must not go near the Tent of Meeting, or they will bear the consequences of their sin and will die. It is the Levites who are to do the work at the Tent of Meeting and bear the responsibility for offences against it. This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come.

Here the law lays down how the priests and Levites are to be provided for. Under the new covenant we are not under law. Nevertheless the principle of providing for those who minister is underlined. It is our responsibility as Christians to provide in one way and another for those who minister. When Paul talks about providing for ministers in 1 Corinthians 9, he alludes to these practices. He says (13, 14) Don’t you know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.

It is important that we keep this principle in mind. It is right for those who preach the gospel to receive their living from the gospel. $ In the old Communist days ministers of churches were often labelled parasites. Others think of ministers in that way but not the Bible.

2. The best thing ministers have nevertheless is the Lord himself

In verse 20 the Lord continues speaking about the priests

You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any share among them; I am your share and your inheritance among the Israelites.

Similarly (23d, 24) the Levites

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.

So on the one hand, priests and Levites did miss out. They had no inheritance in the land unlike the other Israelites. Nevertheless they were provided for in another way and above that to the priests God says wonderfully I am your share and your inheritance among the Israelites. Being a full time minister often means missing out on certain things that others perhaps take for granted. However, no minister ever misses out. The Lord himself makes it up to him. What is true of the ministry itself is to true of any act of sacrifice in God's service. God is no man's debtor.

3. Ministers must give to support the ministry too

The final thing is in verses 25-29.This time the Lord speaks to Moses and tells him to tell

the Levites … 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. 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.

They can eat the other 9 tenths where they wish. 30-32

... 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.

Always the first and best part is to make up the gift. The main application though is that the minister must give a portion of what he receives too. He is not exempt.

The corollary is that he doesn't need to feel ashamed about enjoying the rest of it. Sometimes people think ministers live on air and are not like normal people. No, they need food and clothing and recreation like the rest of us and they are free to spend what has been given to them as they wish, as long as they remember to give too. We do not expect them to spend all their money on tracts and donations to the poor!