Numbers 18:20-24: a reflection

20The LORD said to Aaron, “You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the children of Israel. 21“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. 22Henceforth the children of Israel shall not come near the Tent of Meeting, lest they bear sin, and die. 23But the Levites shall do the service of the Tent of Meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. Among the children of Israel, they shall have no inheritance. 24For the tithe of the children of Israel, which they offer as a wave offering to the LORD, 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.’”

God tells Aaron and the Levites that they will have no inheritance of land in Israel, no portion of their own like the other tribes. Instead, they will live from the tithes the people bring, and above all, God himself will be their portion: I am your portion and your inheritance. Having no land, they would depend on God's provision, given through the faithfulness of his people; their security rested not on holdings of their own, but on God and his provision.

Notice the arrangement: the Levites had no land, no holdings of their own, but depended on God's provision through the tithes of the people. This required real trust, for they could not point to their own fields and flocks as their security; their provision came through God, from the offerings of others. They had to trust God to provide, rather than relying on holdings they controlled themselves. Their security was in God's provision, not their own possessions.

That kind of trust, depending on God's provision rather than on holdings of our own, is a trust we can find hard. We prefer the security of our own holdings, things we control, that we can point to as our safety. But the Levites had none of that; they depended on God to provide, through means outside their control. There is a freedom, and a deeper trust, in depending on God's provision rather than on our own accumulated holdings. Do not rest your security only on the holdings you control, as though these were your true safety. Learn the Levites' trust: to depend on God's provision, which comes often through means outside our control, rather than only on what we can grasp and hold ourselves. God was the Levites' portion, their provision coming through his faithfulness; let God be your true security too, trusting his provision rather than resting only on holdings of your own, and finding in God himself a portion greater than any possession you could hold.

Lord, you told Aaron and the Levites they would have no inheritance of land, no portion of their own like the other tribes, but would live from the tithes the people brought, and above all, you yourself would be their portion; their security rested not on holdings of their own, but on you and your provision. Show me the trust that required: depending on your provision through means outside their control, rather than relying on holdings they controlled themselves. That kind of trust I can find hard. I prefer the security of my own holdings, things I control, that I can point to as my safety. But the Levites had none of that; they depended on you to provide. There is a freedom, and a deeper trust, in depending on your provision rather than on my own accumulated holdings. Keep me from resting my security only on the holdings I control, as though these were my true safety. Help me learn the Levites' trust: to depend on your provision, which comes often through means outside my control, rather than only on what I can grasp and hold myself. You were the Levites' portion; be my true security too, Lord, that I may trust your provision rather than resting only on holdings of my own, finding in you a portion greater than any possession.