Deuteronomy 18:1-8--Provision for Priests and Levites

Deuteronomy 18:1-8
English Standard Version
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Provision for Priests and Levites
18 “The Levitical priests, all the tribe of Levi, shall have no portion or inheritance with Israel. They shall eat the LORD's food offerings as their inheritance. 2 They shall have no inheritance among their brothers; the LORD is their inheritance, as he promised them. 3 And this shall be the priests' due from the people, from those offering a sacrifice, whether an ox or a sheep: they shall give to the priest the shoulder and the two cheeks and the stomach. 4 The firstfruits of your grain, of your wine and of your oil, and the first fleece of your sheep, you shall give him. 5 For the LORD your God has chosen him out of all your tribes to stand and minister in the name of the LORD, him and his sons for all time.

6 “And if a Levite comes from any of your towns out of all Israel, where he lives—and he may come when he desires—to the place that the LORD will choose, 7 and ministers in the name of the LORD his God, like all his fellow Levites who stand to minister there before the LORD, 8 then he may have equal portions to eat, besides what he receives from the sale of his patrimony.

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Do you know these lyrics?  "God is the strength of my heart....and my portion forever."  That relates to the theme of today's passage.  The priests and Levites in general were not to be looking for a physical inheritance and clinging to this world, but they were to hope for a better inheritance and the LORD would be their portion (their inheritance) forever.  In the here and now though, they got to participate in the process of atonement by eating of the offerings made on the LORD's altar--they and their families, but in doing so, they took the guilt and sin of the people upon themselves so that the first sacrifice that was made on the Day of Atonement was for the High Priest and all the sins of the people that he had taken upon himself, and the second sacrifice was for all the sins of the people that had yet remained unconfessed and the sacrifices were the same as they both were sacrifices made for the entire nation.

The parts of the sacrifices reserved for the priests were the shoulder, the two cheeks and the stomach.  The offerings of firstfruits of grain, wine, oil and fleece also belonged to the priest who mediated the sacrifice.

The tribe of Levi was chosen from all the tribes to be special and unique so that they would stand and minister before the LORD (as a mediator between God and man), but they would be imperfect mediators until the true Mediator between God and man, the God-Man Christ Jesus came.  He is our Great High Priest and He made a better atonement where He offered Himself once for all (see our study in the book of Hebrews).

The Levites were free to move about the Land and live among the people in their towns even though they had no physical allotment other than the Cities of Refuge, but it seems that the LORD says that he was to come and minister at the Tabernacle or Temple, and then he would receive his portion of those sacrifices while he was ministering--it did not matter whether his ministry was "full time" or "part time," he was entitled to an equal portion.  However, if he sold his family estate for money, then it appears that he would not be entitled to as much of the offerings.