A GIFT FOR THE LORD

The chapters preceding Numbers chapter 18 describe the com­plaint that certain of Israel made against Moses and Aaron, particularly regarding the right to exercise priesthood. All this was despite the fact that God had clearly given this exercise to Aaron and his sons to the exclusion of all others, Exod. 28. 1. This challenge met with severe judgement from the Lord when the earth opened up and swallowed the rebels.

Having dealt with the rebellion, God now moves to re-estab­lish the exclusive rights of Aaron and his sons to exercise priesthood and to describe the supportive role of the sons of Levi. Aaron and his sons were given responsibility for the priest­hood, whereas the sons of Levi had responsibility for the service of the tabernacle. Note that the Levites are said to be ‘given as a gift for the Lord, to do the service of the tabernacle of the congre­gation’, v. 6. Indeed, the priesthood could never have functioned without the practical support of the Levites.

In our day, there is no such division of offices and all believ­ers fulfil the anti-typical roles of both priest and Levite. In the church, God has recovered His original ideal for Israel, And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel’, Exod. 19. 6. All believers, without exception, have the privilege to exercise priesthood. There was a variety of responsibilities given to the Levites that they needed to fulfil in connection with the tabernacle. Similarly, when it comes to activities of service each believer has been given a unique gift of service from the Lord. The apostle Paul reminds us, ‘Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit’, 1 Cor. 12. 4. It is in this way that the ‘body’ is sustained when each member exercises the gift that has been given for the mutual benefit of the whole. As members of the body, we are interdependent and cannot function effectively without the support of other members. Again, the apostle Paul wrote, ‘That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another’, 1 Cor. 12. 25. The challenge is, are we functioning for the Lord as we ought?