Provision For the Levites - the Tithes Are to Be Their Inheritance (Numbers 18:21-24).
We are now informed of the fact that the tithe, one tenth of all produce whether of domestic animals, grain, olive oil, or vintage, was to belong to Yahweh and be given to the Levites. During the period in the wilderness this would all be necessary in order to ensure that the Levites had a reasonable supply of food. Thus here the command is that the whole tithe be given to the Levites, although even then as a small tribe they would have sufficient and to spare. Thus it is probable that they made some of the tithe available at the regular feasts. Once they were in the land this one tenth would become so much that the Levites would have overabundance. Then it would be made official that a portion of the tithe could be used at the feasts to provide food for the people who attended. And every third year the tithe would be set aside for the Levites and for the needy of the land, the fatherless, the widows and resident aliens, probably stored by and distributed by the Levites (Deuteronomy 14:28-29).
Analysis.
a The tithe of Israel to be the Levites' inheritance in return for their service (Numbers 18:21).
b The children of Israel not to come near to the Tent of meeting from now on lest they bear sin (Numbers 18:22)
b The Levites are to do service in the Tent of meeting, and bear their iniquity (Numbers 18:23). Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.
a The tithe is to be their inheritance. Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance (Numbers 18:24).
Note within the chiastic order the ‘out of harmony' double reference to ‘among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance'. This parallels the same feature earlier with regard to ‘no stranger coming near' in Numbers 18:4; Numbers 18:7; (also see Exodus 18:21-22 a with Exodus 18:25-26 a; Deuteronomy 2:21 with Deuteronomy 2:22) and is clearly intended.
“ And to the children of Levi, behold, I have given all the tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they serve, even the service of the tent of meeting.”
This is the first specific reference to the fact that the tithe should be given to the Levites. Leviticus 27:30-33 regulates the tithing but does not name its recipient. Tithing was an ancient custom in the Ancient Near East and we only have to turn to Genesis 14 to see it in operation. There Abraham had to pay a tithe to the King of Salem as feudal dues, or possibly as a kind of rental for the use of land for grazing, and as fealty while dwelling on his land. In return he received use of the land and provisioning after the battle which had just been fought. But Yahweh was Israel's Overlord and in Israel that tithe was due to Yahweh. It was His and at His disposal. Here He declared that it should then go to the Levites as His servants, as their inheritance from Him.
“ And from now on the children of Israel shall not come near the tent of meeting, lest they bear sin, and die.”
And because the Levites now served the Dwellingplace of Yahweh, where He met with His people, instead of the firstborn sons of Israel, no children of Israel could come near the Tent of meeting in order to serve there lest they come under judgment (bear sin) and die. They could, of course, approach the court of the Tent with their offerings, but they came as approved suppliants and not as those who had a right of entry.
“ But the Levites shall do the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity. It shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations. And among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.”
For now it was the Levites who were to do the service of the Tent of meeting, guarding the approach and entry, assisting the people when they brought their offerings, erecting, dismantling and carrying it on its travels, supervising the collection of the tithes and ensuring that the priests received their portion.
“They shall bear their iniquity.” Their work carried with it certain dangers. If it was carried out carelessly or without due regard to the sanctity of what they carried they might well find themselves in peril. It was because they had to be well enough experienced not to make foolish or blasphemous errors that they could not bear the Dwellingplace and its furniture and accessories until they were thirty. We can understand why five years training connected with it was necessary before they actually physically participated (compare Numbers 4:3-39; Numbers 4:47 with Numbers 8:24).
“ For the tithe of the children of Israel, which they offer as a contribution/heave-offering to Yahweh, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance. Therefore I have said to them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.”
And that is why the tithe, which was a ‘contribution offering' to Yahweh, was then given to the Levites. It was their inheritance from Yahweh. And that is why it was doubly stressed that they had no inheritance among the people. Yahweh was their inheritance.