The Tribes and Us: Levi and the Inheritance

[Genesis 49 is the record of Jacob’s prophecies about his sons and Deuteronomy 33 is Moses’ blessings to each of the tribes those sons engendered.  This is an exploration of these passages and others about the tribes of Israel and what we can learn from them for us today.]

Deuteronomy 10:8 – At that time the LORD set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the LORD to stand before the LORD to minister to him and to bless in his name, to this day.

Deuteronomy 18:1 – The Levitical priests, all the tribe of Levi, shall have no portion or inheritance with Israel. They shall eat the LORD’s food offerings as their inheritance.

Joshua 13:14 – To the tribe of Levi alone Moses gave no inheritance. The offerings by fire to the LORD God of Israel are their inheritance, as he said to him.

Joshua 13:33 – But to the tribe of Levi Moses gave no inheritance; the LORD God of Israel is their inheritance, just as he said to them.

Levi’s tribe is the only one that did not receive a land inheritance in Canaan.  Yahweh gave Levi the responsibility caring for the ark of the covenant and all the transport and set up of the Tabernacle that housed it, as well as keeping the sacred fire alive at all times, helping Aaron and the high priests, who came from the family of Levi, with the sacrifices, and leading in the worship of Yahweh.

How then could they provide for themselves without land?  The answer was that they would eat from the offerings brought by the people.  A certain portion of each offering became their sustenance.  But on a deeper level this was saying that Yahweh would be their portion, their inheritance.  They were living on the worship of Yahweh’s people and that meant trusting Him to take care of them through the people.  And of course, there were times when that went well and times it did not.

When Israel was steeped in idolatry those Levites who were true to Yahweh might find pickings slim as the temple and worship of Yahweh was neglected.  Or when, as in the period after Israel’s exile and then return to the land, as recorded in Malachi, the kinds of offerings the people were bringing were unacceptable (they were supposed to be the best of the flocks and herds) or insufficient (Malachi 3:6-12), that meant the Levites weren’t eating the best either.

One particular Levite, Asaph, whom David had appointed to lead Israel’s worship at the temple, was struggling at one point with what seemed to be a failure on God’s part to prosper him (Psalm 73).  It seemed to him that people who rejected Yahweh were happily prospering while he was suffering.  He felt that he was being good for nothing, being obedient for no reward.  Yahweh showed him, however, that a judgment was coming on the wicked, but that He was Asaph’s portion, that He had never let go of Asaph’s hand and was caring for him, and that Asaph’s worship was not dependent on how God rewarded him but on how good it was just to be near God.

It made sense to have a tribe dedicated to the worship of Israel.  There are parallels today with those we support financially to help lead us in serving the Lord Jesus Christ.  Our elders and shepherds who serve well, especially in teaching us (1 Timothy 5:17,18) are worthy of “double honor” or “wages” because they help us accomplish the mission God has given us of reaching the world.  Jesus is their inheritance, we might say, using us to provide for these leaders financially so that they can provide for us spiritually.  Are we being obedient to God in this responsibility?