14 " Every devoted thing in Israel shall be yours. 15 " Every first issue of the womb of all flesh , whether man or animal , which they offer to the Lord , shall be yours; nevertheless the firstborn of man you shall surely redeem , and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem . 16 "As to their redemption price , from a month old you shall redeem them, by your valuation , five shekels in silver , according to the shekel of the sanctuary , which is twenty gerahs . 17 "But the firstborn of an ox or the firstborn of a sheep or the firstborn of a goat , you shall not redeem ; they are holy . You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar and shall offer up their fat in smoke as an offering by fire , for a soothing aroma to the Lord . 18 "Their meat shall be yours; it shall be yours like the breast of a wave offering and like the right thigh . 19 " All the offerings of the holy gifts, which the sons of Israel offer to the Lord , I have given to you and your sons and your daughters with you, as a perpetual allotment . It is an everlasting covenant of salt before the Lord to you and your descendants with you."
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Numbers 18:14-19
Commentary on Numbers 18:8-19
(Read Numbers 18:8-19)
All believers are spiritual priests, and God has promised to take care of them. Godliness has the promise of the life that now is. And from the provision here made for the priests, the apostle shows that it is the duty of christian churches to maintain their ministers. Scandalous maintenance makes scandalous ministers. The priests were to be wholly devoted to their ministry, not diverted from it, or disturbed in it, by worldly care or business. Also, that they might be examples of living by faith, not only in God's providence, but in his ordinances. The best should be offered for the first-fruits unto the Lord. Those who think to save, by putting God off with the refuse, deceive themselves, for God is not mocked.