Scripture Daily

Context No. 4310 of 4322 · Deuteronomy

Context · Reflection

Deuteronomy 18:1-5: in context

1The priests and the Levites—all the tribe of Levi—shall have no portion nor inheritance with Israel. They shall eat the offerings of the LORD made by fire and his portion. 2They shall have no inheritance among their brothers. The LORD is their inheritance, as he has spoken to them. 3This shall be the priests’ due from the people, from those who offer a sacrifice, whether it be ox or sheep, that they shall give to the priest: the shoulder, the two cheeks, and the inner parts. 4You shall give him the first fruits of your grain, of your new wine, and of your oil, and the first of the fleece of your sheep. 5For the LORD your God has chosen him out of all your tribes to stand to minister in the LORD’s name, him and his sons forever.

The tribe of Levi, set apart for God's service, received no portion of land as the other tribes did, no fields or territory to call their own. Instead, God gave them something else, and something greater: the LORD is their inheritance, he says, as he promised them. Where the other tribes had land, the Levites had God himself as their portion. What they gave up in earthly possession, they gained in a closer claim on God.

What stands out is what God gave the Levites in place of land: himself. The LORD is their inheritance. This was not a lesser provision but a higher one. The Levites' security and portion were not in acres and boundaries but in God, who was their possession and their support. They had, in a sense, exchanged an earthly inheritance for the LORD himself.

The inheritance that matters above all, the real and lasting portion, is not our possessions, our property, or our earthly security, but God himself. Those who have God have the one possession that does not fade, cannot be taken, and satisfies the soul. Like the Levites, we may hold our earthly portion loosely, because our real inheritance is the LORD. To be able to say, the LORD is my portion, is to possess more than all the land and wealth in the world.

Can I say with the Levites, the LORD is my inheritance, holding my earthly possessions loosely because my real and lasting portion is God himself, the one possession that does not fade, cannot be taken, and satisfies the soul?

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