THROUGH THE BIBLE - Numbers..

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com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. Numbers chapter 18 from verse 1. So the Lord said to Aaron, you and your sons and your father's house with you shall bear iniquity connected with the sanctuary and you and your sons with you shall bear iniquity connected with your priesthood.

And with you bring your brothers also, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may join you and minister to you while you and your sons with you are before the tent of testimony. They shall keep guard over you and over the whole tent, but shall not come near to the vessels of the sanctuary or to the altar, lest they and you die. They shall join you and keep guard over the tent of meeting for all the service of the tent, and no outsider shall come near you. And you shall keep guard over the sanctuary and over the altar, that there may never again be wrath on the people of Israel." And behold, I have taken your brothers the Levites from among the people of Israel.

They are a gift to you, given to the Lord to do the service of the tent of meeting. And you and your sons with you shall guard the priesthood for all that concerns the altar that is within the veil, and you shall serve. I give your priesthood as a gift, any and any outsider who comes near shall be put to death." Verse 8, Then the Lord spoke to Aaron, Behold, I have given you charge over the contributions made to me, all the consecrated things of the people of Israel. I have given them to you as a portion and to your sons as a perpetual due.

This shall be yours of the most holy things, reserved from the fire. Every offering of theirs, every grain offering of theirs, and every sin offering of theirs, and every guilt offering of theirs, which they render to me, shall be most holy to you and to your sons. In a most holy place shall you eat it. Every male may eat it, It is holy to you. This also is yours, the contribution of their gift, all the wave offerings of the people of Israel.

I have given them to you and to your sons and daughters with you as a perpetual Jew. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it. All the best of the oil and all the best of the wine and of the grain, the first fruits of what they give to the Lord, I give to you. The first ripe fruits of all that is in their land which they bring to the Lord shall be yours. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it.

Every devoted thing in Israel shall be yours. Everything that opens the womb of all flesh, whether man or beast, which they offer to the Lord shall be yours. Nevertheless, the firstborn of man you shall redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem. their redemption price at a month old, you shall redeem them. You shall fix at five shekels in silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty geras.

But the firstborn of a cow, or the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat, you shall redeem. They are holy. You shall not redeem. They are holy." You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar and shall burn their fat as a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

But their flesh shall be yours as the breast that is weighed and as the right thigh are yours. all the holy contributions that the people of Israel present to the Lord, I give to you and to your sons and daughters with you as a perpetual Jew. It is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord for you and for your offspring with you. And the Lord said to Aaron, you shall have no inheritance in the land, neither shall you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel.

To the Levites, I have given every tithe in Israel for an inheritance in return for their service that they do their service in the tent of meeting, so that the people of Israel do not come near the tent of meeting, lest they bear sin and die. But the Levites shall do the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, and among the people of Israel they shall have no inheritance. For the tithe of the people of Israel, which they present as a contribution to the Lord, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance. Therefore I have said to them that they shall have no inheritance among the people of Israel.

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Moreover, you shall speak and say to the Levites, When you take from the people of Israel the tithe that I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall present a contribution from it to the Lord, a tithe of the tithe. And your contribution shall be counted to you as though it were the grain of the threshing floor and as the fullness of the winepress. So you shall also present a contribution to the Lord from all your tithes, which you receive from the people of Israel. And from it you shall give the Lord's contribution to Aaron the priest. Out of all the gifts to you, you shall present every contribution due to the Lord.

For each its best part is to be dedicated. Therefore you shall say to them, when you have offered from it the best of it, then the rest shall be counted to the Levites as produce of the threshing floor and as produce of the wine press. And 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. And you shall bear no sin by reason of it, when you have contributed the best of it, but you shall not profane the holy things of the people of Israel, lest you die.

Amen. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord, it remains forever. Brothers and sisters, here before us we have another passage where the emphasis of the passage, the overarching emphasis, is that the Lord is once again confirming His choice, His selection of the Aaronic priesthood to be the very priest that would come before Him, draw before Him in the tent of meeting on behalf of the people of God, on behalf of the people of Israel. You've heard us say in the last couple of weeks that this is part of a three chapter message to the people of Israel. Chapter 16 and 17 and 18 all began in chapter 16, but on the back of some hostility, some anger from a portion of the people of Israel.

It began back then in Korah's rebellion. You remember the Kohathite, Korah and some of his clansmen that were quite upset with the fact that they were second in line. They weren't the priests and they felt, he felt at least in some of his men, that they were worthy to be the priests. That they were worthy to come into the presence of God and supplicate on behalf of the people of God. That they were worthy to be priests.

But you see, they did not understand in their pride and in their covetousness that that's not how God chooses. That's not how God elects. He's not looking at those who are worthy or those who are more righteous than others. This is what they must have thought. That we're just as righteous as Aaron and his sons.

Why can't we be the ones that serve God in the temple as priests? But Aaron and his sons weren't that. They weren't more righteous than the rest. In fact, an argument can be made to the contrary. Both his oldest sons died.

How? They died because the righteous fury of God fell from heaven upon unrighteousness, because they were blatantly disobedient to Yahweh. That is unrighteousness. And Aaron? Well, we know what Aaron was doing when his brother Moses was on Mount Sinai before the Lord, receiving the law.

You remember what he was doing at the base of the mountain. Now Aaron and his posterity was chosen by God, not because they were more righteous than the rest, not because they merited or earned their way into the priesthood. That's not it at all. They were elected by God simply because they were elected by God. That's it.

There is only reasons known to God why he chose Aaron or the clan from Aaron and not the clan from the Kohathites. It was God's choice, and that's all there was to it. And the people of Israel would do well, as we would do well, to obey God in everything that He says and does, because He knows best, and we may not know why He does what He does. Corrie didn't understand this, and so they paid for that sin with their lives. Now God was also confirming the Aaronic priesthood, not only in chapter 16, but we saw that in chapter 17.

And you remember, it was only Aaron's staff that budded. Twelve pieces of wood, sticks, essentially, were sat before the Lord in the temple or in the tabernacle. And on the next day, only one, only one, Aaron's staff had life. It budded. It produces fruitfulness.

It sat before the living God and only one staff produced a blossom and produced fruit. And that was God's way of saying, I have made a decision. I have made a choice. I have elected Aaron and his sons to represent the people of Israel and to serve me and draw near to me and to my presence and serve me in the inner sanctum of the tabernacle. God's choice.

God's choice is clear. And it's at the end of chapter 17 that we see a very interesting thing, the response of the people of Israel. Because the people of Israel were all apprised to what was going on, and they could see what was going on, and they were fearful. Finally, the weight of what it is to stand before the Lord and what the Lord has done in choosing a priesthood has now fallen upon their shoulders. And I think at the end of 17, chapter 17, they begin to feel the brunt, the weightiness of that.

And they call out, they call out, are we undone? Are we all going to perish? That's what they're saying. Are we all going to perish? Are we going to die?

Of course, the answer to that question that comes in chapter 19 is the opposite. Because God indirectly, through the words of Aaron—my apologies—through the words of God to Aaron, the answer is no. No, you don't need to all die precisely because God has made an appointment. God has chosen the Aaronic priesthood to be their intercessors, to be their mediators. that Aaron will draw before the Lord.

And because he draws before the Lord and guards the sanctuary from outsiders and from those who defile the sanctuary, you will live. You will live. Because it's Aaron's neck and his son's neck that is on the line. You saw that in the text. If there's any defilement that comes within the sanctuary, who is it that will die?

Not just those who defiled the sanctuary, but Aaron and his sons were at risk as well. So in other words, you have a priesthood. God has ordained and selected and elected a priesthood, mediators. And they will risk their life, Aaron in particular, will risk his life to save yours. Now, one would have to wonder at this point, knowing with the people of Israel, knowing the tremendous risks in approaching God in the temple, you would think that those who had in their hearts the desire to be the priests may actually have done an about face.

And they're thinking now at this point, we're glad it's not us. We're glad it's him. Because there are risks involved. Aaron would put his life and his sons on the line because approaching God is a serious thing. that come to appreciate, I believe now, the weightiness of this reality.

And so what we have before us in chapter 18 is we have before us what is required to maintain the service of the tabernacle and to provide for the needs of the priests and the Levites. And what we have before us is God actually articulating what that looks like. And it will come at an expense to the people of Israel. They'll have to put their hands in their pocket and provide. You would think now, after knowing what they know, that they'll be joyfully providing.

They'll be joyful in obedience to the stipulations that the Lord has placed before them, because now they know the critical and absolute need they have for someone to represent them before holy God, the Aaronic priesthood in particular. So they will be providing for Aaron and his clan and the whole of the tribe of Levites, who will be the helpers of the priests in the tabernacle. They will be their intercessors, their mediators. And beloved, without these mediators, they will perish before the Lord. So their concern, will we perish, was a true concern.

But God made a way where there seemed to be no way. Now there's much detail in this chapter as to the specifics of what that provision would look like, how the people of Israel will actually provide for the practical functioning of the tabernacle and the practical providing of the needs of the Levites and in particular Aaron and his sons. There's details of how Israel will be obligated to do so, because God's commanding them to do so. It speaks of tithes, that they were to give a tenth of what they had. It speaks of all sorts of offerings, the firstfruits of the land, as well as the firstfruits of whatever opens the womb, whether it's man or whether it's beast.

Whether it's sacrificed or whether it's redeemed like the firstborn child or an animal without blemish. Now the child is obvious to us because God won't accept human sacrifices. He's completely against it. So a child would be redeemed by paying a certain amount of money into the temple and the child is thus redeemed. And a lot of the details that we have before us is actually found in Leviticus chapter 27.

So in a sense, much of the chapter may seem like details of what the people of Israel are required to provide in order to maintain the functioning of the tabernacle and the priesthood. That's what it seems. But is it really? Is it really the generosity of the people of Israel that is in view before us? Do you think that's what's in view in chapter 18?

Is that what the chapter is given to us for? To give us an indication, an insight about how generous the people of Israel were meant to be? Or is it something else? Beloved, I'd say to you, if we have a closer look at this text, that is indeed something else completely. Because it's the generosity and the goodness of God that is in view here.

He is behind every good gift. He is behind it all. From verse 7, God makes it clear that even the priesthood are a gift from Him. As I said earlier, Aaron didn't merit the priesthood. He didn't earn the priesthood.

He didn't do anything to become a priest. Simply God made him a priest. God chose him to be a priest. The author of Hebrews tells us as much when he's speaking about the high priest in Hebrews chapter 5. He says, "...

and no one takes this honor, high priest, upon himself, but he receives it when called by God, just as Aaron was." God called Aaron, and the priesthood was given to Aaron and his sons as a gift. They were called. They were chosen. They were elect of God.

And the priesthood, as I said, is a gift from God. But not only to Aaron, but a gift to actually the people of Israel. Because the priest is the one who would draw near to God and provide what is necessary for the atonement and the forgiveness of their sins, without which they will perish. Because God is serious about sin. And even the tithes and the offerings mentioned in this chapter, are they really initiated from the people themselves?

No, they're from God as well. Because God is generous even in those offerings. How can the people produce an offering of their crop if God doesn't first make it grow? How can they bring in their wine and their oil and the grain, the best of which, if God is not one who makes it rain and brings about the increase? How can they come and bring the firstborn of, whether it's cattle or flock or human beings, to be redeemed in the temple space, if God doesn't produce fruit in the womb?

God is the one who gives good gifts. Now yes, the offerings of the people of Israel were meant to teach the people trust. Because here's the thing, when you give up your first fruits, there's never a guarantee there's going to be more. Who says that the womb will open once again? You don't know.

But he teaches them trust. The God who has always been with them, who has always been faithful to them and incredibly generous, they are to trust that he will continually provide for their every single need. Beloved, as we read through the text here in chapter 18, over and over again, we see that indeed God is the one who is the giver and not the taker, although it may seem the other way around. Even what is given back to him, even the grain, and as I said, the wine and the olive oil, or the first fruits of whatever it may be, they're only giving back a tiny portion of what God gave them in the first place. But this is so profound here because people in and of themselves, whether it's the Israelites or it's you and I, we have absolutely nothing in and of ourselves that we can give to God that is of any value at all.

At all. We are bankrupt. There's nothing but corruption in our hands. Zero. Absolutely zero.

Whatever they give back to God is a portion, a tiny little portion, of what He gave to them. There is no reason for boasting here. I just wish I had time to unpack that, but we won't go there because of time. So I think as we read through this text, Not only is chapter 18 also a confirmation of God upon the Aaronic priesthood, and as well as the Levites being set aside as the tribe who will assist the priests in the temple or the tabernacle. Not only do we see that, but we also see through the multiple passages that God is the generous giver of all good gifts.

All good gifts. Because over and over again we see in the text, God's saying, I am the one who gives. I give, or I have given to you, or this is a gift. You remember that? I emphasized it as I was reading.

What are some of the gifts that God has given us? What are some of the gifts that God has given these people? In verse 6, it's the Levites. In verse 7, it's the priesthood. In verse 8, it's the consecrated things.

Offerings in verse 9. Firstfruits of the lamb in verse 12. Firstfruits of the womb in verse 15. Holy contributions in verse 19. And we're told that the people's tithes were given to the priests, and the priests were supposed to tithe back, but that was given by God.

All are said to be given by God. He says, I give. You realize that language? It's God who's giving, but it's coming from the people. Yes, but it's God who's giving because God owns all things.

He gave the people in abundance and they're giving small portions back. It is God who deserves all the glory and the credit for giving. He is the generous one. He's the generous one. God knows how to give generous gifts to His people.

And the text before us shows us that only He alone is the one who gives good gifts to His old covenant people. And at this point, I can take you to the New Testament in Ephesians chapter 4 and show you there how when Christ was ascended upon high, it was Him who gave gifts to His new covenant church, all gifts to his new covenant church. He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the preachers, the teachers, God, Christ gave them all to the church. So they would equip the saints unto perfection until that day when they presented to God in without spot and without blemish as the beautiful bride of Jesus Christ. And that in itself we can show and prove the deity of Jesus Christ.

Because if it's God who gives gifts, And only in Christ is said to be the one who gives all good gifts to the new covenant people. That is the claim to His deity. But I'm not going to take you there. Instead, I want to finish this evening by taking your attention to verse 20. Verse 20 is where I want to take you.

A chapter that so emphatically speaks of all the generous giving of God to His chosen. his elect, to the ones that he is appointed. Now in verse 20, it seems like God is pushing the brakes on his generosity. Did you see that? Because the Lord says to Aaron, you shall have no, no inheritance in the land, neither shall you have any portion among them.

We can stop there. Aaron, I'm going to provide for your needs, you and your sons, perpetually. There's going to be a covenant that will provide for you. However, I'm not going to give you any part of that land. None of it.

None of the promised land will go to the people or the tribe of Levi. I'm not going to give you any of it. Beloved, from the time the promise was given to Abraham, throughout His posterity, the one thing that was overarching, the one thing that they were so eager to receive from the hands of God was what? The land flowing with milk and honey. Finally, we become a nation with a land.

This is what they wanted. This is what their hearts desired. And God is saying to Aaron, He's saying to the Levites, the ones who would serve Him in the tabernacle, He's saying, you're not going to get a part of that. You're not going to get any of that land flowing with milk and honey. You're not going to get land to pass down to your children.

No inheritance to pass down to your children's children. And then beyond that point, God, are you holding back? Are you holding back from your elect, the ones you have chosen? Are you now holding back? If Aaron only had his earthly needs met, which we know God will meet through the offerings and the first fruits and the tithes.

If he only had his earthly needs met, my apologies, then beloved, let me tell you, every other tribe in the people of Israel had a better off. Because they were given a land. They were given real estate. And upon that real estate, they're able to cultivate the land. They're able to produce crop from the land.

And they're able also to have cattle and they're able to have flocks and animals to graze on that land. And all the daily needs are met through the land. But above that, they also have a land to pass on to their children and their children's children and so forth. Both ways they have their daily needs met. But their people, the other 11 tribes, have a land, a heritage to pass on.

But Aaron and the Levites don't. Did he get the raw end of the deal? Absolutely not. I believe that God has given Aaron the very best of the deal. In fact, in this passage here, in verse 20, we see God's incredible love and his mind-blowing generosity.

It's seen for what it is, and beloved, it is absolutely glorious. Verse 20, You shall have no inheritance in the land, neither shall you have any portion among them. And he continues, I am your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel. Aaron, I'm not going to give you any of the land, but I am giving you myself. I am your inheritance.

I will be your portion. Aaron, I will be your treasure. You will know me in an intimate way that the others won't. You'll be near to me, Aaron. Is there a greater gift than the nearness of God of the universe?

Is there a greater gift than to know God in an intimate way? I suspect at this point Aaron's thinking, take it all. You give me God. You are my treasure. You are sufficient for me.

Beloved, the weight, the weight of those words that God is saying, I'm not going to give you the inheritance, but I'm going to give you myself. I will be your portion. The weight of those words are really, really felt in the New Testament in these words. For God so loved the world that he gave gift. He gave his only begotten Son.

God the Father gives God the Son. God the Father is giving God the Son. To whom? To whom does He give them? To whoever believes in Him.

They will not perish, but they will have everlasting life. The gift of God, the greatest, the greatest gift of God, is God Himself. And God has given Himself through His Son to sinful people like us. And beloved, if we know the weightiness of those words, if we believe in those words, then we would not be willing to part with that gift. If you give us all the gold in the world, all the silver on the planet, if you give us every single land flowing with milk and honey, you would say, take it, but give me Christ.

Because in Christ, I know God. In Christ, I'm near to God. In Christ, my sins have been forgiven. In Christ, there's an intimate relationship with the God of the universe, which, beloved, is the absolute greatest privilege to mankind. There is no other.

I think the greatest gift that we can ever experience is the gift of God. And as I said earlier, as I said earlier, every good gift comes from God. He gives it to us so that we can know him. And beloved, I pray that even now, every one of you here has in your heart a true understanding of these words. an intimate understanding of these words so that you'll be able to look at everything this world gives, everything that this world apprises or prizes as elevated and good and worthwhile, that you'll be prepared to say, take it all, but give me God in Christ Jesus.

Let's pray.