20 And Jehovah saith unto Aaron, 'In their land thou dost not inherit, and a portion thou hast not in their midst: I 'am' thy portion, and thine inheritance in the midst of the sons of Israel; 21 and to the sons of Levi, lo, I have given all the tenth in Israel for inheritance in exchange for their service which they are serving—the service of the tent of meeting. 22 'And the sons of Israel come no more near unto the tent of meeting, to bear sin, to die, 23 and the Levites have done the service of the tent of meeting, and they—they bear their iniquity; a statute age-during to your generations, that in the midst of the sons of Israel they have no inheritance; 24 but the tithe of the sons of Israel which they lift up to Jehovah, a heave-offering, I have given to the Levites for inheritance; therefore I have said of them, In the midst of the sons of Israel they have no inheritance.' 25 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying, 26 'And unto the Levites thou dost speak; and thou hast said unto them, When ye take from the sons of Israel the tithe which I have given to you from them, for your inheritance, then ye have lifted up from it the heave-offering of Jehovah, a tithe of the tithe; 27 and your heave-offering hath been reckoned to you as corn from the threshing-floor, and as fulness from the wine-vat; 28 so ye do lift up—ye also—the heave-offering of Jehovah from all your tithes which ye receive from the sons of Israel; and ye have given from it the heave-offering of Jehovah to Aaron the priest; 29 out of all your gifts ye do lift up the whole heave-offering of Jehovah; out of all its fat,—its hallowed part—out of it. 30 'And thou hast said unto them, In your lifting up its fat out of it, then it hath been reckoned to the Levites, as increase of a threshing-floor, and as increase of a wine-vat; 31 and ye have eaten it in every place, ye and your households, for it 'is' your hire in exchange for your service in the tent of meeting; 32 and ye bear no sin for it, in your lifting up its fat out of it, and the holy things of the sons of Israel ye do not pollute, and ye die not.'
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.