Numbers 18 Devotional

God Himself as Their Portion

“Then the LORD said to Aaron, “You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the Israelites.”Numbers 18:20 (BSB)

Numbers 17 ended in terror, with the people sure that coming near the tabernacle would kill them all (17:12-13). Numbers 18 is God's answer. Aaron and his sons will bear responsibility for the sanctuary, and the Levites will help guard it, so that God's anger will not break out on Israel again (18:1-5). The people's fear is met with an appointed way to live near him safely.

Then God provides for those who serve. The priests receive portions of the holy offerings and the firstfruits by a lasting covenant of salt (18:12-13, 19). The Levites receive the tithe, and they must give the LORD the best part of what they receive (18:26, 29). But Aaron will have no land among the tribes. God tells him that he himself will be Aaron's share (18:20). A psalmist later says that even when body and heart fail, God remains his share forever (Psalm 73:26). Whatever you have or lack, the greatest inheritance is God himself, and he gives himself to his people.

To think about: If God himself is your portion, how might that loosen your grip on something you have been afraid to lose?