Numbers 18:28, commentary and pictures

Israel was to give a tenth of all its increase, and those tithes were assigned to the Levites as their inheritance and support for their tabernacle service because they had no share in the land. The Levites were then to set apart a tenth of all the tithes they received as a heave offering to the Lord and give that Lord's offering to Aaron the priest and the priesthood. The tithe belongs to the Lord, so the Levites' portion was not wholly theirs, and what God assigned to support His ministry must not be diverted to another use. This arrangement proves that sacred ministers are supported by tithes, which applies to the support of Christian ministers and those specially charged with God's work who devote their time to gospel work. Those who receive means dedicated to God also have the privilege of giving a tithe of what they receive and sharing in its blessing, and the Lord requires no less of His people now when time is short and a great work remains to be done.

Words and Setting

The verse requires the children of Israel to give a tenth, or tithe, of all their increase. Those tithes were assigned to the Levites as their inheritance and support for their tabernacle service, because they had no share in the land. The tithe thus belonged to the Lord and was set apart to sustain those serving in the ministry.

The Levites were then to set apart a tenth of all the tithes they received as a heave offering to the Lord and give that Lord's offering to Aaron the priest and the priesthood, including Aaron and his priestly family. This was a further offering laid upon the Israelites' tithe itself, requiring those who received the tithes as an inheritance themselves to tithe what they received. The tenth of the tithe supported the central or general sanctuary service at Jerusalem, while the remaining nine tenths of the first tithe supported the Lord's workers outside Jerusalem in the forty-eight Levitical districts where their homes were, but for the same purpose and not a different use. After faithfully tithing all they received, the priests were to regard the remaining nine tenths as their own.

This second offering was reckoned as the Levites' own increase, like produce from a threshing floor or winepress, and withholding it made them guilty of sin for using what had come to them from the people. They were to give the Lord the best of what they received. Since they had no inheritance in Israel and no vineyards, they were dependent on the tithe given them for what they needed to present before the Lord like the other tribes, including wine for their drink-offerings and sacrifices, with a tithe of the wine of Israel given to the tribe of Levi and then offered from what they received.

The law here is the regular first Levitical tithe, belonging to the Levites and priests, in which the children of Israel give the tithe to the Levites and the Levites tithe what they receive for the benefit of the priests. It is distinct from the second festival tithe taken afterward, the tithe in Deuteronomy 14:26-28 that the owner eats and uses for what his soul desires or later gives to the poor, so the first tithe cannot be used by the owner for what his soul desires. The passage stands among the chapters showing how God designated the tribe to which the priesthood belonged, and belongs to the strict order for Israel's ceremonies and service that taught discipline and helped form systematic character. It gives directions for thank-offerings to bring when coming up to the feast of the Lord, meaning to come the day before, spend the whole time seeking God, bring families and friends to be converted, bring thank-offerings, and God will meet with those who come.

Doctrine and Application

The tithe belongs to the Lord, and He assigned it to support those serving in the ministry, so it must not be diverted to another use. The Levites received Israel's tithes for their support and tabernacle service, yet they were themselves to set aside a tenth of those tithes as a heave offering to the Lord and give it to Aaron the priest. Their portion was therefore not wholly theirs, for the returned tenth affirmed that the tithe belonged to the Lord.

The Lord Himself directly paid the priests for their service, because Aaron was to have no inheritance and part among the people. The priests who received the tithes of the children of Israel were themselves required to tithe what they received and give the Lord's heave offering to Aaron the priest. After faithfully tithing all they received, the priests were to regard the remaining nine tenths as their own.

This arrangement is evidence that sacred ministers were supported by tithes, and that principle applies to the support of Christian ministers who devote their time to gospel work and to those specially charged with God's work. It applies also to the house of the Lord where they minister, for the regular tithe is for the house of the Lord and the support of those who minister there. The regular tithe is not to be appropriated as one pleases but is brought to the Levites, with the Levites bringing their tithes up to the house of God to the priests, since the regular tithe belongs to the Levites and the tithe of the Levites belongs to the priests.

Those who receive means dedicated or consecrated to God also have the privilege of giving a tithe of what they receive to the Lord as a heave offering and of sharing in its blessing. Ministers who receive tithes from the people have the privilege of giving something that abounds to their own account. If those who receive fail to give they are the losers, letting the blessing that might have been theirs rest upon others. Whether they receive much or little, withholding sells the privilege very cheaply, cheaper than Esau sold his birthright, for if they receive much they cannot afford to lose it, and if they receive but little they sell it very cheaply by withholding.

The children of Israel were required to give a tithe, or tenth, of all their increase, and the Lord requires no less of His people now. Time is now emphatically short, and a great work is to be accomplished in the use of means in giving the last merciful message to the world.