Deuteronomy 10-- The Lord is his inheritance

Scripture: Deuteronomy 10:1-9 (especially verses 6-9)

Returning from our reflection on God's command to destroy, let's recap where we are in Deuteronomy: 

Moses is giving his final discourse to Israel before he dies and they enter the promised land. In chapters 1-3, Moses recounted Israel's recent history in the wilderness. Now, in chapters 4-11, he gives warnings and exhortations for them once they've entered the land. Next time we'll look at the second half of chapter ten and at chapter 11, and we'll see some beautiful summaries of all these final encouragements. 

But first, an interesting aside on the tribe of Levi...


A big part of settling in the promised land, as we'll see if we follow Israel's history, is dividing up the land. There were twelve tribes in the nation, corresponding to Jacob's sons, so you'd think each tribe is going to get 1/12 of the region. However, in Numbers 18, God declares that one of the tribes, Levi, will serve as priests and receive none of the land as their own. They won't farm the land or fish like their fellow Israelites. Their full-time job will be to mediate between God and the people. [Joseph's tribe was split in two (Manasseh and Ephraim), so their will still 12 tribes each receiving a 1/12 portion of the land.]

This "setting apart" of Levi is what Moses remembers, in parentheses, in Deut. 10:6-9. Moses' aside brings to my mind two encouraging thoughts:

1. God provides for those who serve Him
When you do the math, Levi ended up with even more wealth at its disposal than the other tribes. They received a tithe from each, meaning their share of the nation's GDP was (1/10)*(1/12 + 1/12 + ... + 1/12) = (1/10)*1 = 1/10. Each other tribe's cut was their initial wealth minus the tithe, or (1/12)*(9/10) = 3/40, or 7.5%. Now, I'm not saying you'll be rich if you join the clergy (in fact, a recent article shows that you won't), but here's what I am saying-- when you give up your time, money, and energy to invest in God's people and kingdom, He will take care of you.

2. This system enables the rest of Israel to give to the Lord
Back in Numbers 18, when God sets apart the tribe of Levi, he says, "Instead, I give to the Levites as their inheritance the tithes that the Israelites present as an offering to the Lord." The other tribes weren't just giving stuff to the Levites to say Thanks. These gifts of animals, gold, wine, and spices were used in offerings and the temple, and thus they weren't really given to the Levites at all, but to the Lord. So not only is God providing for His servants, but He's doing it in a way that allows His people to experience giving, sacrifice, and worship.

How are you serving God with your resources? Do you trust, as you move forward in faith and giving, that He will take care of you?