The Lord is Their Inheritance
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
[READING - DEUTERONOMY 18:1-8]
1 “The Levitical priests, the whole tribe of Levi, shall have no portion or inheritance with Israel; they shall eat the Lord’s offerings by fire and His portion. 2 “They shall have no inheritance among their countrymen; the Lord is their inheritance, as He promised them. 3 “Now this shall be the priests’ due from the people, from those who offer a sacrifice, either an ox or a sheep, of which they shall give to the priest the shoulder and the two cheeks and the stomach. 4 “You shall give him the first fruits of your grain, your new wine, and your oil, and the first shearing of your sheep. 5 “For the Lord your God has chosen him and his sons from all your tribes, to stand and serve in the name of the Lord forever. 6 “Now if a Levite comes from any of your towns throughout Israel where he resides, and comes whenever he desires to the place which the Lord chooses, 7 then he shall serve in the name of the Lord his God, like all his fellow Levites who stand there before the Lord. 8 “They shall eat equal portions, except what they receive from the sale of their fathers’ estates.
[PRAYER]
In this section of Deuteronomy, we’ve been talking about Promised Land leadership. We’ve talked about judges, officers, and kings—and tonight we’re going to talk about the Levites.
[TS] We want to notice three parts to this passage…
Major Ideas
Major Ideas
Part #1: Reward (Deut. 18:1-2)
Part #1: Reward (Deut. 18:1-2)
1 “The Levitical priests, the whole tribe of Levi, shall have no portion or inheritance with Israel; they shall eat the Lord’s offerings by fire and His portion. 2 “They shall have no inheritance among their countrymen; the Lord is their inheritance, as He promised them.
[EXP] Through Moses God has already warned His people against forgetting or neglecting the Levites. Here we have more of God’s Law regarding the Levites.
The Levites were, of course, descendents of Levi—one the twelve sons of Jacob, one of the twelve tribes of Israel. God promised Abraham, Levi’s great grandfather, that he and his descendants would given a land in which they would live as the people of God. This Promised Land would be divided into allotments or inheritances divided between the twelve tribes of Israel. The tribe of Levi, however, didn’t receive an allotment of the Promise Land. They received the Promiser as their inheritance.
That’s what vv. 1-2 in Deuteronomy 18 tell us. The Levites will live off the offerings and portions that are brought to the Lord, and they will have no inheritance of land in Israel because the Lord will be their inheritance as He promised.
Why didn’t they receive an allotment of land in the Promised Land? Why did they get God Almighty as their inheritance?
That story starts back to Exodus 32.
God had sent Moses to lead His people out of Egypt. They had crossed the Red Sea. They made their covenant with God. They would be His people. He would be their God. Moses went up Mt. Sinai (in Deuteronomy called Mt. Horeb) to receive the Law of God.
But before Moses could come back down, the people rose up to play. They made an idol and worshipped it as God. They likely engaged in immorality, worshipping God like the pagans worshipped their idols.
When Moses came down the mountain, he broke the tablets of God’s Law because the people had already broken God’s Law by their sinful behavior.
Things were out of control.
It was time to clean up the camp.
It says in Exodus 32:25-29…
25 Now when Moses saw that the people were out of control—for Aaron had let them get out of control to be a derision among their enemies— 26 then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered together to him. 27 He said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Every man of you put his sword upon his thigh, and go back and forth from gate to gate in the camp, and kill every man his brother, and every man his friend, and every man his neighbor.’ ” 28 So the sons of Levi did as Moses instructed, and about three thousand men of the people fell that day. 29 Then Moses said, “Dedicate yourselves today to the Lord—for every man has been against his son and against his brother—in order that He may bestow a blessing upon you today.”
In a crucial moment, the Levites sided with God against the other tribes, against their own people. Therefore, the Levites would be rewarded like no other tribe in Israel.
They had chosen God.
He would chose them.
The other tribes would get land.
They would get God.
He would be their inheritance.
They would be His servants.
They would be placed in 48 levitical cities throughout the Promised Land. During the wilderness journey, they were in charge of transporting, assembling and disassembling, and helping with worship within the Tabernacle.
Because of their work, the Israelites could come to the Tabernacle (and later the Temple) and make offerings to atone for their sins.
Because of their work, the holiness of the place of worship was maintained.
Because of their work, the glory of the Lord dwelt among the people of Israel.
What a privilege it was to be a Levite!
What a privilege to serve God!
What a privilege to assist worshippers in worshipping God!
What a privilege to have God as your reward!
[ILLUS] I want you to imagine a conversation between Lenny the Levite and Jerry the Judahite. Israel has come into the Promised Land. Enemies had been driven back. Joshua has divided up the land between the different tribes.
Jerry the Judahite got his piece of land, and he was well pleased! He could raise sheep and grow crops! His family would be well provided for!
Lenny the Levite, however, got stuck in a rural Levitical city. Yes, he could raise sheep and grow some crops too, but the land wasn’t his. It belonged to a different tribe. Ultimately, he and his family would be dependent on others as they brought their offerings to God.
Jerry the Judahite and Lenny the Levite are good friends and are excited to catch up when they see each other every year in the worship place.
Jerry says to Lenny, “No, I mean God’s been good to me. The land’s producing. It’s well-watered, which is good for the sheep and good for us too. We just couldn’t be more blessed! I don’t see how you Levites do it, Lenny. No land of your own? Aren’t you a bit mad that the other tribes got everything and you guys got nothing?”
How do you think Lenny the Levite would respond? How should He respond?
Let me ask you this, which is the greater reward, the Promised Land or the Promiser?
[APP] As Christians we are not Levites, but we are like the Levites. We are God’s possession, and He is our inheritance. Listen to Ephesians 1:13-14…
13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.
In Jesus, we have heard the Gospel message, the truth about salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus. By the grace of God, we have believed and have been sealed with the Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of our inheritance.
Now, what is our inheritance in Ephesians 1:14?
Our inheritance is the ultimate Promised Land of Heaven, but even more than our inheritance is the Lord Himself. Jesus captures this in John 14 when He says…
2 “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3 “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.
Jesus not only prepares a place for us but receives us unto Himself.
Now, what is God’s own possession in Ephesians 1:14?
We are God’s own possession if we have believed on the Lord Jesus for salvation. We are His possession, and He is our reward!
When Lenny the Levite was listening to Jerry the Judahite talk, he could’ve thought to himself, “I sure wish I had some land that was mine. I sure wish I had more.”
But if Lenny the Levite was thinking straight, he would understand that he had the greater reward because he had the Lord.
There may be times when we think we’d like have more here on earth, but brothers and sisters we have the greater reward because we have the Lord.
There may be time when we think of Heaven and only think of streets of gold and reunion with loved who have died in Christ, but our reward will be greater than that because our reward will be the Lord.
We are His possession.
He is our reward.
[TS] …
Part #2: Provision (Deut. 18:3-5)
Part #2: Provision (Deut. 18:3-5)
3 “Now this shall be the priests’ due from the people, from those who offer a sacrifice, either an ox or a sheep, of which they shall give to the priest the shoulder and the two cheeks and the stomach. 4 “You shall give him the first fruits of your grain, your new wine, and your oil, and the first shearing of your sheep. 5 “For the Lord your God has chosen him and his sons from all your tribes, to stand and serve in the name of the Lord forever.
[EXP] The entire tribe of Levi were Levites, of course, but it seems that not every Levite was a priest. Sometimes the terms Levite and priest seems to be used interchangeably in the Bible, but at other times there seems to be a distinction. Perhaps here in these verse we are to see a distinction with vv. 3-5 specifically applying to Levitical priests rather than all Levites in general.
The tribe of Levi consisted of three families: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. The families of Moses and Aaron were from Gershon but their families were treated as distinct from it. This makes sense given the prominence of Moses and Aaron in the life of Israel. Moses was God’s chosen leader and Aaron, his brother, was Israel’s first high priest.
It was only Aaron’s family, the family of priests, that performed the duties of offering the sacrifices.
Other Levites assisted the priests in their responsibilities by preparing grain offerings and showbread, by purifying all the holy instruments used in the temple, by singing praises to the Lord morning and evening, by assisting the priests with burnt offerings on Sabbath and feast days, and later by keeping watch over the Temple area and the chambers of the priests.
Here though the priests receive their due from the people. Yes, these offerings were given to the Lord, but portions of them also went to the priests for services rendered. Again, the Levites were a gift to the people of God, and without them the people would not be able to worship God as they should.
They were to receive portions from ox and sheep (Deut. 18:3)—the shoulder, two checks, and the stomach.
According to one commentary, the two checks or the head of the animal and the stomach was considered delicacies in the ancient world.
They were to also receive the first fruits of grain, wine, oil, and shearing of sheep (Deut. 18:4).
These things provided food, drink, clothing, and other things as well. Wine and oil, for example, could be used to treat injuries or ailments.
But look especially at v. 5…
5 “For the Lord your God has chosen him and his sons from all your tribes, to stand and serve in the name of the Lord forever.
First, we should notice that Levi’s tribe was chosen by God. Just as the place of worship was chosen by God, just as the king would be chose by God, just as Israel itself was chose by God, so the Levites were chosen by God.
But, second, notice what they were chosen to do—“to stand and serve in the name of the Lord forever.”
In Jeremiah 33:18, God said…
18 and the Levitical priests shall never lack a man before Me to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to prepare sacrifices continually.’ ”
Indeed, for as long as there was a sacrificial system in place (a system that required daily sacrifices to make atonement for the sins of the people), there never ceased to be a Levitical priest standing to offer sacrifices in the place of worship.
But all that ended with Jesus.
Listen to Hebrews 10:11-12…
11 Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; 12 but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God,
Jesus was not of the tribe of Levi. He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah. But He is High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
Having made full atonement for all time for all those who will trust in Him, Jesus sat down at the right hand of God. The perfect sacrifice had been made through His death on the cross.
The work of salvation was finished.
God provides for all our needs.
[ILLUS] Scott and I were talking on Wednesday night. We were talking about the AC unit being installed at the church and working on our own houses and how expensive things are when you have to fix something not to mention having someone else do it. But Scott and I agreed that by now we’ve learned that God is going to provide.
I used to worry (and occasionally I still might), “What if we need a new roof?” But by now I’ve learned that God is going to provide.
The church needed a new AC system in the sanctuary, and what did God do? He provided.
[APP] The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8:32…
32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?
Perhaps God would’ve said to a doubting Levite, “If I haven’t you Me as your reward, do you not think I will provide for all your needs?”
God says the same thing to us as Christians. “If I have given you My Son, do you not think I will provide all your needs?”
[TS] …
Part #3: Fairness (Deut. 18:6-8)
Part #3: Fairness (Deut. 18:6-8)
6 “Now if a Levite comes from any of your towns throughout Israel where he resides, and comes whenever he desires to the place which the Lord chooses, 7 then he shall serve in the name of the Lord his God, like all his fellow Levites who stand there before the Lord. 8 “They shall eat equal portions, except what they receive from the sale of their fathers’ estates.
[EXP] Those Levites that did not minister daily in the tabernacle or temple like the Levitical priests, they could come any time to the place of worship and had the right to serve and a right to sustenance.
Verse 7 speaks of their service, “…he shall serve in the name of the Lord his God, like all his fellow Levites who stand before the Lord.”
Verse 8 speak of their sustenance, “They shall eat equal portions, except what they receive from the sale of their fathers’ estates.”
Just because the Levites didn’t have a share of the Promised Land doesn’t mean that they didn’t own anything. They had goods and property that could be sold as needed to help them survive.
If a Levite showed up in the place of worship, he was to be given what the priests were given from what the people brought to the Lord even if he came to the place of worship with an inheritance.
[ILLUS] Let’s imagine that Lenny the Levite leaves his Levitical city deciding to go serve the Lord in the place of worship. Before he can make the move, he has to sell off some of the stuff he inherited from his father. He shows up to the place of worship flush with cash.
He’s not poor.
He’s not destitute.
And the priests who have been serving in the place of worship long before Lenny ever showed up know it.
The priests say amongst themselves, “Why should Lenny get the same amount as we get? He’s got all that inheritance money, and we’ve been serving here all this time. He can get a little, but he’s not going to get what we get.”
That kind of attitude is forbidden by these verses in Deuteronomy 18.
They were all Levites.
They were all chosen by God.
They would all be provided for equally.
[APP] In Matthew 20, Jesus tells the parable of the laborers in the vineyard.
A landowner goes out and hires laborers to work in his vineyard. He hires some in the early hours and promises to pay them a day’s wage for their work. He hires more laborers throughout the day, saying to them, “Go into the vineyard and work, and whatever is right I will give you.” And the landowner kept doing this all throughout the day.
At the end of the day, the landowner began to pass out the pay. Those hired last were paid first, and to the astonishment of the laborers, those hired last were paid a full day’s wage even if they only worked an hour or two.
When those hired early in the day stepped up to receive their pay, they just knew they would be paid more, but they were given a day’s wage like the landowner promised them.
The grumbled but the landowner said in Matthew 20:13-15…
13 “But he answered and said to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 ‘Take what is yours and go, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. 15 ‘Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?’
We are all ministers of Christ if we are followers of Christ, and we shall all be rewarded for the work we do to His honor and glory.
Will we be rewarded equally?
In terms of salvation, yes, we will be rewarded equally.
In terms of reward, no. Some of you shall be more rewarded than the rest of us.
But we shall all be rewarded fairly.
And we shall always be more enthralled by this reality—the Lord is our inheritance.
Let’s not have an envious eye because is generous with another servant.
Let’s never get over the fact that He is our inheritance.
[TS] …
Conclusion
Conclusion
[PRAYER]