God as Our Inheritance: The Economics of Worship Text: Numbers 18:21-24
Introduction: The Politics of God's House
We live in a time when the church is frequently embarrassed by the subject of money. Pastors hem and haw, elders shuffle their feet, and the congregation braces for the annual, awkward sermon on giving. We have somehow absorbed the world's cynical view that talk of God and talk of money are two separate things, and that when they mix, the latter must be corrupting the former. But the Bible knows no such squeamishness. God is intensely interested in economics because He is the one who invented it. The entire created order runs on a divine economy of giving and receiving, of sowing and reaping, of work and reward.
Nowhere is this clearer than in the administration of His own house, the Tabernacle, and later the Temple. In the aftermath of Korah's rebellion, where men who were not authorized by God sought to seize the ministry for themselves, God does something essential. He doesn't just reaffirm who is in charge; He lays out the entire political and economic structure that supports the ministry. He establishes the duties, the dangers, and the dignity of the priesthood. And then, in our text, He explains how it is all to be paid for. This is not a mere administrative footnote. This is theology. This is worship. How the ministry of the gospel is supported is a direct reflection of what we believe about God, about worship, and about our place in His kingdom.
The principles laid down here in the plains of Moab are not dusty relics for us to observe with detached historical interest. They establish a pattern, a type, a shadow of the substance that we now enjoy in Christ. If we do not understand the economics of the Levitical priesthood, we will misunderstand the economics of the new covenant ministry. We will fall into one of two errors: either the sentimental pietism that expects ministers to live on air and angel food cake, or the crass commercialism that turns the church into a business enterprise. God's way is neither. It is a way of glorious, dependent, and dignified provision.
The Text
"Now to the sons of Levi, behold, I have given all the tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they perform, the service of the tent of meeting. And the sons of Israel shall not come near the tent of meeting again, or they will bear sin and die. Only the Levites shall perform the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, and among the sons of Israel they shall have no inheritance. For the tithe of the sons of Israel, which they raise up as a contribution offering to Yahweh, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance; therefore I have said concerning them, ‘They shall have no inheritance among the sons of Israel.’"
(Numbers 18:21-24 LSB)
The Divine Exchange: Tithe for Service (v. 21)
We begin with the foundational principle of provision.
"Now to the sons of Levi, behold, I have given all the tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they perform, the service of the tent of meeting." (Numbers 18:21)
Notice the first word from God's mouth on the subject: "behold." This is a call to pay attention. This is important. God Himself is establishing the salary, the payment structure, for those in full-time vocational ministry. And what is it? The tithe. The tenth of all the increase in Israel. This was not a suggestion or a freewill offering. It was God's flat tax, and He directs its payment to the Levites.
But look at the language. It is given "for an inheritance." This is a crucial theological point. The other tribes of Israel were about to enter the promised land and receive allotments of real estate. They would have farms, vineyards, and pastures. Their inheritance was tangible; it was dirt. But the Levites were to have no land. Their inheritance was the tithe. Why? Because their true inheritance was God Himself. As God told Aaron just a verse earlier, "I am your portion and your inheritance among the children of Israel" (Num. 18:20). The tithe was the tangible expression of this reality. It was the way God provided for His ministers through His people. The people give a tenth to God, and God, in turn, gives that tenth to His ministers.
This is not a handout. It is a payment, an exchange "in return for their service which they perform." The Levites worked. Their service at the tent of meeting was hard, physical, and sometimes dangerous labor. They were guards, janitors, musicians, and assistants to the priests. They were the support staff for the central institution of the nation. Their work was vital, and it was a full time job. They could not farm their own fields and simultaneously perform the service of the sanctuary. Therefore, God established a system where the eleven tribes who worked the land supported the one tribe that worked the liturgy. This is the foundational principle for the support of the ministry. Those who preach the gospel should make their living from the gospel (1 Cor. 9:14). It is not welfare; it is wages.
A Holy Quarantine: The Danger of Unmediated Worship (v. 22)
Next, God gives the reason for this specialized service, and it is a sobering one.
"And the sons of Israel shall not come near the tent of meeting again, or they will bear sin and die." (Numbers 18:22)
This sounds harsh to our modern, egalitarian ears. We want worship to be casual, accessible, and user-friendly. God's primary concern, however, is not our comfort but His holiness. The tent of meeting was the place where heaven and earth met, where the transcendent God condescended to dwell among a sinful people. To approach that presence improperly was not just a breach of etiquette; it was fatal. The ordinary Israelite was quarantined from the immediate presence of God for his own protection.
To "bear sin" here means to suffer the consequences of that sin, which in this case is death. Think of it like a nuclear reactor. Only trained technicians with the proper equipment can approach the core. If an ordinary man in street clothes wanders in, he will be dead in minutes. It is not that the reactor is evil; it is that it is powerful. God's holiness is an uncontainable power, and sinful man cannot survive direct, unmediated contact with it. The Levites were God's ordained technicians, the mediators who stood in the gap, guarding the holiness of God from the people and guarding the people from the holiness of God.
The Burden of Office: Bearing Their Own Iniquity (v. 23)
This mediation came with a heavy responsibility.
"Only the Levites shall perform the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, and among the sons of Israel they shall have no inheritance." (Numbers 18:23)
The Levites are given the exclusive right to perform the service, but this privilege comes with a burden. They must "bear their iniquity." This does not mean they are atoning for their own sins in a final sense. Rather, it means they are held to a higher standard. They are accountable for any and all failures in their service. If they are negligent, if they perform their duties improperly, if they allow the sanctuary to be defiled, the guilt falls on them. They bear the responsibility for their office. It is a dangerous job. Nadab and Abihu were struck down for liturgical sloppiness (Lev. 10:1-2). Uzzah was struck down for touching the ark, a task reserved for the Levites (2 Sam. 6:6-7).
This principle of higher accountability for those in ministry is carried straight into the New Testament. James tells us, "Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment" (James 3:1). To be a minister of the Word is a weighty thing. We are handling holy things, and we will answer to God for how we do it. This is why the church must take the qualifications for elders and deacons so seriously. This is not a social club; it is the house of the living God.
The Logic of Inheritance (v. 24)
God concludes by summarizing the logic of His divine economy.
"For the tithe of the sons of Israel, which they raise up as a contribution offering to Yahweh, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance; therefore I have said concerning them, ‘They shall have no inheritance among the sons of Israel.’" (Numbers 18:24)
The structure is clear. The people give the tithe to Yahweh. It is His. It is a "contribution offering," a heave offering. They are acknowledging that He is the ultimate owner of everything. Then, Yahweh, the owner, gives His portion to the Levites as their inheritance. This is a transaction between God and His ministers. The people are simply the means of delivery. This protects the dignity of the ministry. The minister is not a beggar, dependent on the whims and moods of the congregation. He is a servant of the Most High God, and his provision comes directly from the hand of God.
And because this is their inheritance, they are to have no other. They are to be set apart, detached from the normal economic pursuits of the world. Their focus is to be singular: the service of God's house. This prevents them from becoming land barons, distracted by worldly wealth and power. Their treasure is not in the dirt, but in God. This is a perpetual statute. The principle endures.
The New Covenant Ministry
So how does this apply to us? The tent of meeting is gone. The Levitical priesthood has been fulfilled in the final priesthood of Jesus Christ. But the pattern remains. The church is now the temple of the living God (1 Cor. 3:16), the house of God (1 Tim. 3:15). And God has still ordained that there be men set apart for the full-time service of this house: pastors, elders, and teachers who labor in the Word and doctrine.
And how are they to be supported? The principle of the tithe continues. Not as a matter of ceremonial law, but as a matter of equity and worship. Paul argues that just as the priests who served at the altar shared in the offerings of the altar, so also the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living from the gospel (1 Cor. 9:13-14). The tithe is the historic, biblical baseline for our giving. It is the training wheels of Christian generosity. Our giving is a contribution offering to the Lord Jesus, and He, in turn, uses it to provide for those who minister His Word. When you give to the church, you are not paying the pastor's salary. You are giving to God, and God is paying the pastor's salary.
The separation also remains, but in a glorified way. In Christ, we who were far off have been brought near (Eph. 2:13). We can all now enter the holy place with confidence through the blood of Jesus (Heb. 10:19). Yet there is still a distinction. God has appointed under-shepherds to lead His flock, and they still bear the iniquity of their office. They have the weighty responsibility of watching over your souls, as men who will have to give an account (Heb. 13:17).
And finally, the inheritance. The New Covenant minister, like the Levite, is to be singularly devoted to his task. His inheritance is not a 401k or a real estate portfolio. His inheritance is Christ. And the cheerful, systematic, priority giving of God's people is the earthly means by which God allows him to live in that reality. It frees him from worldly cares to devote himself to prayer and the ministry of the Word (Acts 6:4). Your giving is not just about keeping the lights on. It is a theological act. It is a declaration that the ministry of the Word is valuable, that God's servants are worthy of their wages, and that our ultimate inheritance is not in the things of this world, but in the Lord Himself.