Numbers 18:27, commentary and pictures

The verse belongs to the law giving the first regular tithe to the Levites for their service of the tabernacle, because having no inheritance in the land they were to live on the tenth of all Israel's increase, which is God's and holy to Him. What the Levites received from the people was counted to them as though it were their own grain from the threshingfloor and wine from the winepress, so that the Lord Himself paid them and they gave their own offering to God from their own increase. From that tithe they were to set apart its best tenth for Aaron the priest and bring it to the house of God, so the people's tithe supported the Levites and the Levites' tithe supported the priests. That tithing requirement is not lessened but still rests on God's people now, and ministers who receive consecrated means are themselves required to pay tithe. It is a privilege that abounds to their own account with blessing, which they lose if they withhold, whether they receive much or little.

The Tithe System Described

The verse belongs to the instructions about the duties of the priests and Levites, declaring that their heave offering shall be reckoned as grain of the threshingfloor and as fullness of the winepress. It stands in a chapter profitable for those who challenge God's appointed order, coming after Korah's revolt against the priests and the Levites' attempt to take authority not assigned to them. The tribe of Levi was set apart from the other tribes for the service of the tabernacle and given no inheritance in the land, and God provided for them by giving them the tithes of the children of Israel for that appointed service. Those tithes are His and holy unto Him, paid by each member of the other tribes into the treasury, and Israel was required to give a tithe or tenth of all its increase.

The first or regular tithe belonged to the Levites and priests and is distinct from the second tithe taken afterward. That second tithe was eaten before the Lord by its owners and in the third year was given to the poor. The law of the first regular tithe given to the Levites is the law to which the verse belongs, and the Levites were to tithe what they received for the benefit of the priests. Deuteronomy 14:22 recalls this earlier tithe legislation but refers more particularly to the second or festival tithe, which was used in connection with the three yearly feasts and in the third year for charity at home. That festival tithe was an exclusively vegetable one, with one computation of the increase of the field serving for both tithes, so that one tenth belonged to the Levites and the second tenth remained with the landowner for religious, hospitable, and charitable use.

What the Levites and priests received from the people was reckoned to them as though it were their own produce, like grain from the threshingfloor and wine from the winepress. The Lord thereby directly paid the priesthood for their service, and what they received became their own increase from which their own offering to God was given. Their tithe offering to the Lord was credited to them as produce from the threshingfloor and winepress when they set apart its best portion for the sanctuary service. Even when assigned to the Levites the tenth still belonged to God, and after faithfully tithing all they received they were to regard the remaining nine tenths as their own.

The Levites' tenth of the tithe was counted as an offering to the Lord, with the same standing as produce from the threshingfloor or winepress. It was to be given to Aaron the priest, and the Levites were to bring their tithes up to the house of God to the priests, for the house of the Lord and the support of those who ministered there. Thus the people's tithe supported the Levites and the Levites' tithe supported the priests. This tithe paid by the Levites to the priests stands apart from and in addition to the tithes required from the people. A tithe of the wine of ancient Israel was given to the tribe of Levi, and the Levites were expected to bring the usual offerings before the Lord just as the other tribes did. Having no inheritance in Israel they had no vineyards from which to secure wine for their drink-offerings, so they were dependent upon the tithe given them for the things necessary for their sacrifices.

Tithe Obligation Continues Today

God required the children of Israel to give a tenth of all their increase, and that requirement is not lessened for His people now. The same requirement still rests upon them when time is emphatically short. A great work must be accomplished with their means in giving the last merciful message to the world, and the Lord does not require less of them now in that work.

The ancient system of tithing continues today. Under that continuing system ministers are required to pay tithe. The law to which the verse belongs required the Levites who received the people's tithe to give a tithe of what they received for the support of the priests who had special charge of God's work. Alongside that there was a separate tithe for the poor, and the tithing system is a blessing that cultivates liberality.

The Levites' tithe offering from the tithes they received was reckoned as though it were produce from the threshingfloor and the fullness of the winepress. Those who receive means consecrated to God, like ministers, likewise have the privilege of returning a tithe. What they give in this way abounds to their own account with blessing. If they fail to give they are losers because they let the blessing that could be theirs rest upon others. Withholding means losing the blessing that could have been theirs. Those who receive much cannot afford to lose this privilege, and those who receive little sell it very cheaply by withholding, cheaper than Esau sold his birthright.