Numbers 18  The Lord gives Aaron a sober message about the duties of the priesthood and the service of the Levites.  The priests "shall bear the guilt in connection with the sanctuary; and you and your sons shall bear the guilt in connection with your priesthood." ( v.1)  The solemn responsibility of keeping the sanctuary holy and undefiled; of keeping up with all the required sacrifices and offerings; and of leading the whole nation of Israel... rebellious as they were... into acceptable worship and vital relationship with the living God;  all fell on the shoulders of Aaron and his 2 sons.

The Levites were assigned to help the priests with their "obligation" - the obligation or duty of the sanctuary and the altar.  The Levites were a gift to the priests and were dedicated to the Lord for this service.

The priests were also in charge of the offerings and gifts presented to the Lord.  Everything offered to God was to be considered holy.  The responsibility of rightly handling that which was holy to the Lord needed to be taken seriously and with great care.  Wrong use would result in death.   They needed to know what parts they could eat; where they could eat it; and who couldn't eat it.

But, this was also an amazing gift, for the best of the fresh oil, wine, grand and first fruits... required offerings to the Lord.. were given to the priests and their families to have.  In fact, anything that was devoted to the Lord was theirs... all the firstborn animals and the redemption paid for first born children.  They would not receive any other inheritance, but the Lord, Himself was their full inheritance. And He provided for them bountifully! ( as long as they did their jobs)

Now, the tithes that were offered to the Lord, were given to the Levites for their inheritance.  They had to offer a tithe of the tithe, but the rest was their "pay" for the work that they did in serving the tent of meeting.   Again there is a solemn warning given..  the best had to be offered to the Lord and nothing profaned.  The punishment for that was death.

The tithes were the tenths - a portion from all their crops and increases.  The offerings were for burnt offerings, sin offerings, peace offerings, etc.  God provided for the priests and Levites through these means.  It was a great responsibility and a great gift.  We know that all these offerings have been completed in the death of Jesus on the cross.  He paid it all.  But, we still practice the giving of tithes.. at least many of us do.  To honor the Lord, who has given us all that we have, we present to Him, a tenth, a tithe of our income.  And it is right to do this. It is a joyful giver that pleases the Lord, we are told.  It is a responsibility and a gift to be able to worship the Lord in this way.

We have personally found that we can never out -give the Lord.  God has allowed us the gift of giving with liberality.... and He has provided all we need.

Father, Glorious in heaven above, we worship and adore You.  You are good .. always good.  Your mercies are over all Your works and we bless Your holy name.  Guide us in giving our tithes and offerings with love and joy in our hearts,  worshiping You with all our beings.  We pray this in Jesus' Name, amen.