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Scripture Reading: Num. 18:1-14
Before we turn to 18:1-14, I would like to give a further word on the two signs in chapters sixteen and seventeen.
These two signs, one negative and the other positive, were produced through the rebellion of Korah and his company. The negative sign is the cover of the altar made of the censers belonging to the two hundred fifty men who had been judged (16:36-40). This altar, on which the sacrifices were offered, is a type of the cross of Christ. God's judgment of these two hundred fifty men signifies the judgment of the cross on all of man's service to God which is according to man's opinions, by his flesh, and in rivalry with others. The two hundred fifty men were burning incense in the service of God, which was according to their own way. Their service was judged by God, and the result of that judgment was a negative sign, the covering on the altar. The positive sign is Aaron's budding rod, which signifies Christ in resurrection, the budding Christ.
These two signs, signifying Christ in resurrection and His judging cross, are with us today as a reminder and a warning to us regarding our service to God. The negative sign warns us not to serve God according to our opinion, by our flesh, or in rivalry with others, for that kind of service, we should remember, was judged thirty-five hundred years ago. On the positive side, the budding rod — the budding Christ in His resurrection, who not only buds but also blossoms and bears fruit to maturity — is with anyone who truly stands with God and is one with Him.
The almonds produced by Aaron's budding rod point to the enjoyment of Christ. Such terms as enjoying Christ, eating Christ, and drinking Christ are part of a new vocabulary that came to this country with the Lord's recovery. Christ is enjoyable, and He is our portion for our enjoyment. However, as we will see, in the typology of 18:8-10, the Christ who is the priests' portion is actually a part of God's portion reserved for the priests to share. The priests not only eat God's food; they also eat with God and feast with Him. They are invited by God to share His portion.
The divine thought concerning enjoying, eating, and drinking Christ is in the holy Word, but it has been hidden for nearly two thousand years. We did not see the matters of eating and drinking Christ until 1958, at which time I gave a series of messages on enjoying the Lord by eating and drinking Him.
When we come to 18:31, we will see that the vindication of the priesthood is not only by the budding rod but also by the reward given to the priests. This reward is Christ. The more the priests serve, the more they receive Christ as their reward and the more they enjoy Christ. Such a reward is the divine food to be enjoyed by the faithful priests. This is much greater than the budding rod.
Numbers 18 unveils to us the charge or the duties of the Levitical service and the Aaronic priesthood, with their reward. The reward was the compensation the Levites and priests received for their service. After the rebellion in chapter sixteen, which was an attack on the priesthood of Aaron and his household, a definite word was given regarding the service of the Levites and the priesthood of Aaron and his sons and also regarding their reward. I believe that the word here became a statute or an ordinance that was kept by the children of Israel throughout the generations.
The service of the Levites was to take care of the tent of meeting, the tabernacle of the testimony, which is a type of Christ and the church (vv. 1a, 2a, 3-4, 6). In taking care of the tabernacle and its contents, the Levites did not serve God directly; rather, they served the priesthood and the priests, who served God directly.
The Levites were a gift to Aaron and his sons, a gift that had been given to God (v. 6b). God wanted all the firstborn of the children of Israel to do the service. Eventually, God used the Levites to replace them. The children of Israel gave their firstborn to God as a gift, and these were replaced by the Levites. God then gave the Levites, who had been given to Him, as a gift to the priests.
The Levites were to join Aaron and his sons and minister to them. For the Levites to minister to the priests meant that they served the priests.
In English the word priesthood is sometimes used to denote a body of priests, that is, a number of priests who have been grouped together. This word is also used to denote the service of the priests, and this is mainly the meaning here in Numbers 18.
Aaron and his sons were to bear the iniquity of their priesthood (v. 1b). The word iniquity is used here to charge the priests not to make mistakes while carrying out their priestly service. The priesthood was a service to offer all kinds of offerings and sacrifices to God, all of which were types of different aspects of the rich Christ. Thus, it was a very important and serious matter. Any mistake, neglect, or shortage would have been a kind of iniquity. The priests were required to fulfill their charge without making mistakes so that their priestly service would not have any iniquity.
The priests were to keep the charge of the sanctuary, the tabernacle, and of the altar (v. 5). The whole tabernacle was the sanctuary. In the Bible the word sanctuary is used in a very ambiguous way; it may refer to the Holy Place, to the Holy of Holies, or to both. The sanctuary typifies Christ and also the church. The altar, which was outside the sanctuary, signifies the cross of Christ. Therefore, the sanctuary and the altar typify Christ with the church and His cross.
The Levites served under the priests in caring for the sanctuary and the altar. For instance, when the children of Israel were commanded to move, the Levites packed and carried the tabernacle and all its furnishings. When the people arrived at a particular place, the Levites set up the tabernacle and everything related to it.
Numbers 18:7a says, "You and your sons with you shall keep your priesthood for all that concerns the altar and that is within the veil." The ark, which was within the veil, contained three items: the testimony of God (the law), the hidden manna, and the budding rod. Two cherubim were on the cover (lid) of the ark. On the day of propitiation the blood of the sin offering was sprinkled on the cover of the ark. All these matters were under the charge of the priests.
"I give you your priesthood as a service of gift" (v. 7b). The priesthood, as the highest service rendered by God's people to God, was a great gift given by God to Aaron and his sons. This was the reason Korah was ambitious to seek it (16:10).
A reward, or compensation, was given to Aaron and his sons as the priests (18:8-20) and to the serving Levites (vv. 21-32). This reward (v. 31) was altogether Christ. The priests and the Levites had no portion other than Christ. Christ was their house, their inheritance, their land, their clothing, their food, and their everything.
Today, in the New Testament, the Levitical service is combined with the priesthood. There is no difference between the priests and the servants of the priests. This means that the believers in Christ are both the priests and the serving Levites. The only reward, the only compensation, for our priestly and Levitical service is Christ.
To Aaron and his sons were given all the holy portions of the sons of Israel reserved from the fire (vv. 8-10). Every item of these holy portions signifies a certain aspect of the riches of Christ.
In the New Testament the expression "riches of Christ" is used only once, by the Apostle Paul (Eph. 3:8). God gave Paul the grace to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ as the gospel. In the New Testament we can see that Christ is light, life, the divine attributes, and the human virtues. However, the New Testament does not tell us in detail what the riches of Christ are. If we would know the details concerning the riches of Christ, we need to come to the Old Testament and study all the types of Christ.
The holy portions given to the priests were reserved from the fire (Num. 18:9). All the portions of the sons of Israel were given to God for His enjoyment. These offerings were offered to God through fire and were consumed by holy fire as a satisfying fragrance to please God and make Him happy. However, God reserved some parts of the offerings from the fire that they might become the portion of the priests. This means that the priests enjoy the same thing that God enjoys.
God enjoys Christ. When the Lord Jesus was baptized, the Father spoke from the heavens, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I delight" (Matt. 3:17). This indicates that the Son of God, Jesus Christ, is God's delight, enjoyment, and satisfaction. As God's portion, Christ satisfies God and makes Him happy. God saves part of His portion for us, His priests, to enjoy with Him. Therefore, both God and we, the priests of God, are enjoying the same thing — the all-inclusive Christ.
The holy portions of the sons of Israel reserved from the fire included the meal offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering (Num. 18:8-10). All these offerings are types of Christ.
The portions of the offerings reserved for the priests were to be most holy to them because these offerings were food for God (v. 9). The priests ate not man's food but God's food, food which is most holy.
The holy portions were eaten by every male (the stronger ones) of the priests' houses in a most holy place (v. 10). The most holy place here signifies the church, the Body of Christ. According to the typology in Numbers 18, apart from this most holy place, we cannot enjoy Christ very much. Of course, we can enjoy Christ at the altar, but this enjoyment is superficial. In order to enjoy that part of Christ which God enjoys, we need to be in a most holy place. We admit that Christ is everywhere and that we can enjoy Him everywhere. Nevertheless, some parts of Christ we cannot enjoy unless our standing and position are right. Our standing must be in the proper church life, in the organic Body of Christ.
"This also is yours, the heave offering of their gift, all the wave offerings of the sons of Israel; I have given them to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due" (v. 11a). This verse speaks of two particular portions — the heave offering (the ascended Christ) and the wave offering (the resurrected Christ). To heave is to lift up. In typology, the heave offering refers to Christ's being lifted up, to Christ's ascension.
In the New Testament we have a revelation of Christ from eternity past to eternity future. In eternity past Christ was the Word (John 1:1). Then, in time, He was incarnated. Thus we have Christ in His incarnation. He lived on earth in His humanity and was crucified. Then He resurrected and ascended, becoming the Christ in resurrection and ascension. He will come again and will reign in the millennial kingdom. Finally, in eternity future, He will be in the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth. Thus, we have Christ in nine great aspects: as the Word, in His incarnation, in His human living, in His crucifixion, in His resurrection, in His ascension, in His second coming, in the millennium, and in the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth. Whereas this is revealed clearly in the New Testament, in the Old Testament we have Christ in typology, and the details of Christ revealed there are endless.
Concerning the enjoyment of Christ in a stronger way, there is a cycle. If we would enjoy Christ in this way, we need to be stronger. The stronger we are, the more strongly will we enjoy Christ. Then the more we enjoy Christ in a stronger way, the stronger we will be.
The heave offering and wave offering were given not only to the priests but also to the sons (the stronger ones) and daughters (the weaker ones) of the priests. This indicates that as long as we belong to the priestly family, whether we are strong or weak, we can enjoy such a Christ. If we are weak, the enjoyment of Christ will strengthen us.
"Every one who is clean in your house may eat of it" (Num. 18:11b). Here "house" denotes a family. Every clean person who belonged to a priestly house, a priestly family, could eat of the heave offering and the wave offering.
"All the best of the oil, and all the best of the new wine and of the grain, their firstfruits which they give to Jehovah, I give to you. The first ripe of all that is in their land, which they bring to Jehovah, shall be yours; every one who is clean in your house may eat of it" (vv. 12-13). Literally, the Hebrew word translated "best" means fat. The fat of the oil signifies Christ's best part, which was for God, and the best of the new wine and of the grain signify the Christ who was poured out to God. The firstfruits and the first ripe of all that is in the land both signify the resurrected Christ. These portions were given to be eaten by the priests and by every clean one who was in the priests' houses.
"Every devoted thing in Israel shall be yours" (v. 14). These devoted things also refer to Christ.
We need to give ourselves to know Christ. The Apostle Paul desired "to know Him and the power of His resurrection" (Phil. 3:10). This "Him" is too great; He is the One who fills all in all (Eph. 1:23). Because we have the Bible, it is possible for us to know such a One. I hope that many of the saints, especially the young people, will devote themselves to know Christ not only according to the New Testament revelation but even more according to the Old Testament typology.
