Deu 18:4 | KingComments | STEP | In what is said in Deuteronomy of the priests, their service or their clothing is not paramount, as is the case in Leviticus where a people go through the wilderness. In Deuteronomy, priests are seen as part of a people who have the inheritance and whose position must now be determined in more detail. This distinction can also be seen in the food of the priests. In Leviticus we read about the food of the priests, but there it is connected with the most holy. Here it is about sacrifices that the people both bring and partake of, regardless of the priesthood class, in which the people share with the priests. The priests are kept alive by the sacrifices of the people, as are the Levies. This means that priestly service in the church, that is to say, worship, only flourishes when every member of the church in his daily life – so to speak, as a member of the people – presents their bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God ( ). Without daily dedication to God, not much will come of the priestly service. It is good to see the difference between the priest and the Levite and what that means to us. Priests are offerors, they are worshipers. Levites are given to help the priests. Priests serve God, Levites serve the priests. The Levites maintain the priestly service. Levite service is all the service aimed at promoting priestly service. We are both priests and Levites. The believer is both a worshiper and someone who helps to perform the priestly service. This help is particularly evident in the ministry of the Word. The ministry of the Word is especially focused on this and not primarily on our practical walk. Our practical walk is the means by which the priestly service can be performed in a good way. The food and income of priests and Levites are described in detail in Numbers 18 ( ). Here it happens briefly, in accordance with the book that is not so much about priests and Levites, but about the whole people. This emphasizes the importance of our everyday life, how we behave in it. If we behave in a manner befitting one who is a member of God’s people, it will strengthen both the Levite service and the priestly service. If we have a slovenly way of life, little will come of our service as Levites and priests. Of the sacrifices the people bring, three parts must be given to the priest. The sacrifices mentioned here are those sacrifices that the people themselves are allowed to eat. The only sacrifice from which the people may eat is the peace offering. In a spiritual sense, food has the meaning that what we think and absorb in our mind forms our character. In other words: our character is partly determined by what we read and listen to. The priest receives as his food “the shoulder and the two cheeks and the stomach”. “The shoulder” of the sacrifice speaks of spiritual energy that the Lord Jesus has shown. He continued under all circumstances and completed the work in obedience to His God and Father. If the shoulder is my food, it creates this character trait in me. I then will also go my way in persevering obedience. It is from this that priestly service proceeds. But if it is only priestly service, without first having been food, it is quickly only form. “The two cheeks and the stomach” have connection to the digestive system. The food ingested and the processes of digestion will be made manifest in various aspects of one’s character. These things apply to the Lord Jesus during His life on earth. He always walked in the way of His God, He contemplated God’s law day and night ( ), for God’s law is within His heart ( ). The things of His Father ( ) were His constant occupation.. There is also an application for us. As priests we must always be in the things of God. It is not enough only to hear the Word. It is important that we think about it, that we process it. The priest also receives food from the first fruits. The first fruits are that which has just come from the land. So it is about what is fresh and not something that has been in the barns for years. This indicates how important it is that we keep on using “grain”, which speaks of the Lord Jesus as the grain of wheat that fell into the earth and died, through which we received eternal life ( ). Every time, every day, we must experience a new joy, “the new wine” in the Lord, through what we read of Him in the Word. Every time, every new day, we must feed on new, fresh food and experience the new power of the Holy Spirit, “oil”. When our life of faith loses its freshness and we rely on old knowledge and experiences, dead orthodoxy arises. In the meetings this will manifest itself in following a pattern of habits or even the drafting of a liturgy. In both cases a human order is followed and there is nothing to be noticed of freshness and spontaneity in the coming together. Then we eat from old stock. This is the consequence if we do not feed the priest within us and if we forget the Levite, if we do not have an eye for what he distributes to promote the priestly service. In addition to grain, new wine, and oil, “the first shearing of the sheep” must also be given to the priest. The wool of sheep here speaks of what comes from the new nature in the brothers and sisters. It is the warmth of the fellowship of the brothers and sisters. The first blessing is noticeable in the priestly service. Priestly worship shows how the “first shearing” is doing. There is a cold service if the ‘warmth of the wool’ is missing in the meetings. Then the priestly service is carried out of habit, without the awareness that we belong together as brothers and sisters. We do meet in the meetings, but during the week we don’t care about each other, we live alongside each other, without any interest in each other. Priestly service exists because of God’s sovereign election. He desires priests in His presence, that they may serve in His name. No priest can stand there and serve on account of who he is in himself, as if he personally has any quality that God can appreciate. God has placed His Name upon them. That is why priests are pleasant to Him. Priestly service never comes to an end. God wants it to be a continuous activity ( ).

‏ Deuteronomy 18:4

The Priests Due

In what is said in Deuteronomy of the priests, their service or their clothing is not paramount, as is the case in Leviticus where a people go through the wilderness. In Deuteronomy, priests are seen as part of a people who have the inheritance and whose position must now be determined in more detail. This distinction can also be seen in the food of the priests. In Leviticus we read about the food of the priests, but there it is connected with the most holy. Here it is about sacrifices that the people both bring and partake of, regardless of the priesthood class, in which the people share with the priests.

The priests are kept alive by the sacrifices of the people, as are the Levies. This means that priestly service in the church, that is to say, worship, only flourishes when every member of the church in his daily life – so to speak, as a member of the people – presents their bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God (Rom 12:1). Without daily dedication to God, not much will come of the priestly service.

It is good to see the difference between the priest and the Levite and what that means to us. Priests are offerors, they are worshipers. Levites are given to help the priests. Priests serve God, Levites serve the priests. The Levites maintain the priestly service. Levite service is all the service aimed at promoting priestly service.

We are both priests and Levites. The believer is both a worshiper and someone who helps to perform the priestly service. This help is particularly evident in the ministry of the Word. The ministry of the Word is especially focused on this and not primarily on our practical walk. Our practical walk is the means by which the priestly service can be performed in a good way.

The food and income of priests and Levites are described in detail in Numbers 18 (Num 18:2-32). Here it happens briefly, in accordance with the book that is not so much about priests and Levites, but about the whole people. This emphasizes the importance of our everyday life, how we behave in it. If we behave in a manner befitting one who is a member of God’s people, it will strengthen both the Levite service and the priestly service. If we have a slovenly way of life, little will come of our service as Levites and priests.

Of the sacrifices the people bring, three parts must be given to the priest. The sacrifices mentioned here are those sacrifices that the people themselves are allowed to eat. The only sacrifice from which the people may eat is the peace offering. In a spiritual sense, food has the meaning that what we think and absorb in our mind forms our character. In other words: our character is partly determined by what we read and listen to.

The priest receives as his food “the shoulder and the two cheeks and the stomach”. “The shoulder” of the sacrifice speaks of spiritual energy that the Lord Jesus has shown. He continued under all circumstances and completed the work in obedience to His God and Father. If the shoulder is my food, it creates this character trait in me. I then will also go my way in persevering obedience. It is from this that priestly service proceeds. But if it is only priestly service, without first having been food, it is quickly only form. “The two cheeks and the stomach” have connection to the digestive system. The food ingested and the processes of digestion will be made manifest in various aspects of one’s character.

These things apply to the Lord Jesus during His life on earth. He always walked in the way of His God, He contemplated God’s law day and night (Psa 1:2), for God’s law is within His heart (Psa 40:8). The things of His Father (Lk 2:49) were His constant occupation.. There is also an application for us. As priests we must always be in the things of God. It is not enough only to hear the Word. It is important that we think about it, that we process it.

The priest also receives food from the first fruits. The first fruits are that which has just come from the land. So it is about what is fresh and not something that has been in the barns for years. This indicates how important it is that we keep on using “grain”, which speaks of the Lord Jesus as the grain of wheat that fell into the earth and died, through which we received eternal life (Jn 12:24). Every time, every day, we must experience a new joy, “the new wine” in the Lord, through what we read of Him in the Word. Every time, every new day, we must feed on new, fresh food and experience the new power of the Holy Spirit, “oil”.

When our life of faith loses its freshness and we rely on old knowledge and experiences, dead orthodoxy arises. In the meetings this will manifest itself in following a pattern of habits or even the drafting of a liturgy. In both cases a human order is followed and there is nothing to be noticed of freshness and spontaneity in the coming together. Then we eat from old stock. This is the consequence if we do not feed the priest within us and if we forget the Levite, if we do not have an eye for what he distributes to promote the priestly service.

In addition to grain, new wine, and oil, “the first shearing of the sheep” must also be given to the priest. The wool of sheep here speaks of what comes from the new nature in the brothers and sisters. It is the warmth of the fellowship of the brothers and sisters. The first blessing is noticeable in the priestly service. Priestly worship shows how the “first shearing” is doing. There is a cold service if the ‘warmth of the wool’ is missing in the meetings. Then the priestly service is carried out of habit, without the awareness that we belong together as brothers and sisters. We do meet in the meetings, but during the week we don’t care about each other, we live alongside each other, without any interest in each other.

Priestly service exists because of God’s sovereign election. He desires priests in His presence, that they may serve in His name. No priest can stand there and serve on account of who he is in himself, as if he personally has any quality that God can appreciate. God has placed His Name upon them. That is why priests are pleasant to Him. Priestly service never comes to an end. God wants it to be a continuous activity (Heb 13:15).