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Scripture Reading: Num. 18:15-32
In this message we will continue to consider the Levitical service and the Aaronic priesthood, with their reward, which is Christ. First, we will see some further matters related to the reward to Aaron and his sons as the priests. Then we will see the reward to the Levites.
Every firstborn of man or beast was given by God to Aaron and his sons as a reward (vv. 15-18).
"Everything that opens the womb of all flesh, whether man or beast, which they offer to Jehovah, shall be yours; nevertheless, the firstborn of man you shall surely redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts you shall redeem" (v. 15). Each firstborn son did not belong to his parents but to the priests. Therefore, the parents were to redeem him at a cost (v. 16). Even the firstling of an unclean beast, though it was not acceptable for offering to Jehovah, had to be redeemed.
"But the firstling of a cow, or the firstling of a sheep, or the firstling of a goat, you shall not redeem; they are holy. You shall sprinkle their blood upon the altar, and shall offer up in smoke their fat as an offering by fire for a satisfying fragrance to Jehovah; but their flesh shall be yours, as the breast of the wave offering and as the right thigh are yours" (vv. 17-18). Here we see that the firstling of an ox, of a sheep, or of a goat (which typifies the crucified Christ) was not to be redeemed. Their fat was to be offered by fire for a satisfying fragrance to God. Their flesh, their meat, was for the priests, even as the breast of the wave offering and the right thigh of the heave offering (signifying respectively Christ in resurrection and in ascension as food to the serving ones) were the priests'.
"All the heave offerings of the holy things which the sons of Israel offer to Jehovah I give to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due; it is a covenant of salt forever before Jehovah for you and for your seed with you" (v. 19). A particular portion — the heave offerings — of the things offered to God as holy things was always to be set aside for the priests and for their sons and daughters.
The priests had no inheritance nor any portion in the land of Israel. God Himself was their portion and their inheritance among the sons of Israel (v. 20). Not only was God's food their portion (vv. 8-10) — God Himself was their portion and their inheritance. Because God was their portion and inheritance, they did not need any other portion or inheritance.
Verses 21 through 32 speak of the reward to the Levites as the serving ones in the tent of meeting.
"To the sons of Levi, behold I have given every tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they serve, the service in the tent of meeting" (v. 21). This verse reveals that the Levites, the serving ones in the tent of meeting, were to receive every tithe in Israel for their inheritance. Of the harvest from the vineyard, the grain of the threshing floor, the flocks, the herds of bulls, oxen, sheep, and goats, one-tenth was to go to God (Lev. 27:30-32). This portion, called the tithe, was to go to God for the Levites and was considered the Levites' inheritance. As a result, the Levites possessed one-tenth of the wealth of the entire nation of Israel.
The Levites were to offer to Jehovah a heave offering (the ascended Christ) from the tithes they received of the sons of Israel, a tithe of the tithe (Num. 18:26). This offering was reckoned as though it were the grain of the threshing floor and the fullness of the winepress (v. 27).
Suppose an Israelite produced one hundred goats. Since he was required to offer a tithe to God, this means that he would offer ten goats to Him. These ten goats would then go to the Levites. After receiving this tithe of ten goats, the Levites would set apart one goat to be offered to God. This goat was a tithe of the tithe. The offering of the tithe may be likened to today's practice of paying income tax.
"So shall you also offer a heave offering to Jehovah from all your tithes, which you take from the sons of Israel; and from it you shall give Jehovah's heave offering to Aaron the priest" (v. 28). This verse tells us clearly that the heave offering offered by the Levites to Jehovah was to be given to Aaron the priest. The tithe from the people went to the Levites, and the tithe from the Levites went to Aaron the priest.
Why is the tithe of the tithe called a heave offering? We have pointed out that in typology the heave offering refers to the ascension of Christ, to the ascending of Christ to the heavens. This thought corresponds to the Lord's word in Matthew 6:19 and 20, where we are told to "lay up treasures in heaven" rather than on earth. To lay up treasures in heaven is to "send" our money to heaven, and to do this is to "heave up" our money. According to typology, whatever is heaved to God becomes a type of the ascended Christ. For example, suppose a particular heave offering consisted of one hundred goats. These goats, which were heaved up to the heavens, became a type of Christ in ascension. Today, we, the children of God, should also offer some of the things God has given us. When we offer these things, we heave them up, lifting them up to the heavens. What we offer in this way becomes the ascended Christ.
The living of the children of Israel in the wilderness was a matter of doing everything for Christ. They took care of the ark, a type of Christ, and also of the tabernacle, the lodging place of the ark. Inside the tabernacle were different aspects of Christ — the showbread table, the lampstand, the incense altar, and the ark with its contents — and outside the tabernacle was the altar, which signifies the cross of Christ.
In 1 Corinthians 2:2 Paul said, "I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ, and this One crucified." Paul cared for Christ and His cross. His life on earth was a life of handling Christ and the cross. While Paul was handling Christ, he sometimes handled tents as well (Acts 18:3). Eventually, all the tents he made became Christ, because he did not make them for himself but for Christ. All the tents made by Paul were heaved up to the heavens; hence, they all became Christ.
The principle should be the same with us today. No matter what our profession or occupation may be, in actuality we should not be handling the things related to our work; rather, we should be handling Christ all the time. Whether or not this is our situation depends on a basic factor — working at our profession or occupation for Christ and not for ourselves. If we do our work for Christ, then what we offer to God will become a heave offering. It will become something of Christ heaved up to the heavens.
What are we Christians doing on earth? What is our center? The ark was the center of the children of Israel. According to typology, this indicates that our center should be Christ. The type further indicates that we should handle Christ as the ark and as all the contents of the tabernacle, and we should also handle His cross. Then whatever we do, we will work for Christ and handle Christ. This will become the factor, the cause, the element, and the essence of our living on earth, and it will cause our living to be absolutely Christ. Then whatever we give to the Lord will be heaved up to Him and will become Christ.
"You may eat it in any place, you and your households; for it is your reward in return for your service in the tent of meeting" (v. 31). The tithe offered to the Levites by the sons of Israel could be eaten by the Levites and their households in any place.
Neither the priests nor the Levites had any inheritance among the sons of Israel (vv. 23b, 24b). Their inheritance was God. The very God whom they enjoyed was their reward in return for their service. Today our reward for our service is Christ. Unfortunately, however, many believers know Christ only in a very limited way. Because they do not know Him adequately, they do not enjoy Him adequately. Thus, we are studying Numbers in order that we may know Christ in a fuller way and enjoy Him more.
Korah, Dathan, and Abiram had defied the priesthood, but God strongly vindicated it. God vindicated the priesthood not only by causing Aaron's rod to bud but, even more, by giving such a reward to the priests. By comparing the reward given to the priests with that given to the Levites, it is clear that the Levites' reward was much inferior. It is possible that the enjoyment of the superior reward given to the priests was one of the primary motives, besides ambition for power and position, for the rebellion led by Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.
Our service to God today is not in the realm of material things, and therefore our reward is not in the realm of material things. Our reward is Christ. If we serve as priests, we will enjoy more of Christ. If we serve merely as Levites, we will enjoy less of Christ. Strictly speaking, however, God's New Testament economy combines the priesthood and the Levitical service. In the New Testament, the priesthood includes the service of the Levites. Since these two have become one, the reward also is one — Christ as everything.
I would encourage all the saints, especially the young people, to save their time for studying the holy Word and for reading our publications. The riches in the Word will reconstitute your entire being. I hope that the holy Word will eventually become your constitution, and that you will become a person constituted with the holy Word concerning Christ.
