In this message we will cover six further aspects of the rehearsal of the general statutes and judgments.
Deuteronomy 18:1-8 speaks concerning the supply of the Levitical priests and the whole tribe of Levi. Whereas the priests were in the priesthood, the Levites were servants of the priests. The priests served God directly in His presence, and the Levites coordinated with the priests and served them by taking caring of various practical matters.
The Levitical priests and the Levites were not to have portion or inheritance with Israel (vv. 1a, 2a). For their living they depended on God's faithfulness. God, in His faithfulness, took care of them through those among the children of Israel who were faithful to give of the things which God had given them.
The priests and the Levites were to eat Jehovah's offerings by fire and His inheritance (v. 1b). God's inheritance consisted of the tithes offered to Him by the children of Israel. Some of these tithes were to be for the priests' eating. Thus the priests lived on the tithes offered to God by His people.
Jehovah would be the inheritance of the priests and the Levites, as He had promised them (v. 2b). They had no inheritance apart from God Himself.
The portion for the priests included all the shoulders, cheeks, and stomachs of the sacrifices and the offerings of the first fruits of the children of Israel (vv. 3-5; Num. 18:8-19). The priests ate God's food, and they ate this food before God and with God. What a blessing! We surely would be honored to eat with the president of our country. But it is a much greater honor to eat with God. As we eat with Him, sometimes He may encourage us to eat more, and we would then offer Him our thanks. It is possible for us to enjoy God to such an extent. This enjoyment is a very tender blessing.
The portion for the Levites was all the tithes of Israel (Deut. 18:6-8; Num. 18:21-24). The children of Israel offered their tithes not directly to God but to the Levites. The tithes went to the Levites, who then selected the best of the tithes to be offered to God as a particular tithe. This became God's food, which was also the food of the priests. God and the priests lived on the tithes offered to God by the Levites.
The children of Israel were not to forsake the Levites who were within their gates (Deut. 14:27). God's people were to remember the Levites, who served God, who had no inheritance with Israel, and who were supported by the tithes of the people.