20 Then the Lord said to Aaron , " You shall have no inheritance in their land nor own any portion among them; I am your portion and your inheritance among the sons of Israel . 21 "To the sons of Levi , behold , I have given all the tithe in Israel for an inheritance , in return for their service which they perform , the service of the tent of meeting . 22 " The sons of Israel shall not come near the tent of meeting again , or they will bear sin and die . 23 "Only the Levites shall perform 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 sons of Israel they shall have no inheritance . 24 "For the tithe of the sons of Israel , which they offer as an offering to the Lord , I have given to the Levites for an inheritance ; therefore e I have said concerning them, ' They shall have no inheritance among the sons of Israel .' " 25 Then the Lord spoke to Moses , saying , 26 "Moreover, you shall speak to the Levites and say to them, 'When you take from the sons of Israel the tithe which I have given you from them for your inheritance , then you shall present an offering from it to the Lord , a tithe of the tithe . 27 'Your offering shall be reckoned to you as the grain from the threshing floor or the full produce from the wine vat . 28 'So you shall also present an offering to the Lord from your tithes , which you receive from the sons of Israel ; and from it you shall give the Lord'S offering to Aaron the priest . 29 'Out of all your gifts you shall present every offering due to the Lord , from all the best of them, the sacred part from them.' 30 "You shall say to them, 'When you have offered from it the best of it, then the rest shall be reckoned to the Levites as the product of the threshing floor , and as the product of the wine vat . 31 'You may eat it anywhere e , you and your households , for it is your compensation in return for your service in the tent of meeting . 32 'You will bear no sin by reason of it when you have offered the best of it. But you shall not profane the sacred gifts of the sons of Israel , or you will die .' "
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Numbers 18:20-32
Commentary on Numbers 18:20-32
(Read Numbers 18:20-32)
As Israel was a people not to be numbered among the nations, so Levi was a tribe to be distinguished from the rest. Those who have God for their Inheritance and their Portion for ever, ought to look with holy contempt and indifference upon the possessions of this world. The Levites were to give God his dues out of their tithes, as well as the Israelites out of their increase. See, in 2 Thessalonians 3:10. 2. We must be sure that God has his dues out of it. We have the comfort of our substance, when we have honoured the Lord with it. Ye shall bear no sin by reason of it, when ye have heaved the best from it. We should give alms of such things as we have, that all may be holy and comfortable to us.