Daily Devotion | Numbers 18:21–32 | 2026 May 20

Title: Daily Devotion | Numbers 18:21–32 | 2026 May 20

Scripture: Numbers 18:21–32 (ESV, reference only)

Date: 2026 May 20

Speaker: Rev. John Chen

Transcribed, translated & edited by: Joseph Wang (Yufan)

All right, dear brothers and sisters, peace to you. We thank God for His grace. We have come to a new day to study the Daily Devotion. The Scripture we are studying today is Numbers chapter 18, verses 21 through 32. All right, let us pray. O God, we thank You. We thank You that You are willing to show us such favor and mercy. Lord, mainly so that we may be able to understand the office of the priest. Lord, thank You for Your mercy. Thank You that You have become our great High Priest. Lord, enable us to come and to experience Your lovingkindness more deeply. May You have mercy on us and help us, so that we may know You more deeply. In the name of Christ, amen.

All right, let us look at Numbers chapter 18, verses 21 through 32. In this passage, what it mainly speaks about is how the Levites received offerings, and they also had to give a tithe. The content is relatively easy to understand. Today we need to spend a little more time understanding what the function of the Levites was among the tribes of Israel. What was the function of the priestly class? I think that, on this point, sometimes we do not understand very much, and because of that we may also not understand certain aspects of the work of Jesus Christ very clearly. This also causes loss and damage to our own spiritual life. So we need to speak about this class of Levites and priests: what exactly were they doing?

Yesterday we mentioned that, because of mankind’s sin, mankind had already been driven out of the Garden of Eden. This is the background concerning mankind that Genesis gives to us. But later in Genesis, among the saved line, including Noah and the ancestors of Noah, that line, that redemptive line, forms a contrast with the line of the descendants of Cain. Cain’s line had many people, and they had material wealth on the earth. But this saved line had very few people. In the end, when it came to Noah, only Noah’s family, eight people, were saved. Then later it was from Noah to Abraham. This was one line. Finally from Abraham to Isaac to Jacob, and finally to the people of Israel.

Actually, this is God’s whole plan of salvation. After mankind sinned, God did not abandon man. God would accomplish the promise that He gave to Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:15, namely that a seed of the woman would be born. So later you can also understand why, in Genesis, the matter of a woman giving birth to a child is so important. First, Sarah could not give birth. Rebekah could not give birth. Why is the matter of women giving birth to children so important in Genesis? It is because this is a matter of redemption: the Lord had to be born, and He had to accomplish this redemption.

Later, when it came to the people of Israel coming out of Egypt, we will not go into all the details. They came out of Egypt, and now they were in the wilderness. This whole process, including later in Exodus, shows us this: God instructed Moses to build the tabernacle, because God wanted to dwell among them. All these things—you will discover—are a detailed reversal of Genesis. In Genesis, God drove man out of the Garden of Eden. But this God has always been a God who delights to dwell among His people. Therefore God instructed Moses to build the tabernacle, to build the Holy Place, the Most Holy Place, and all the various furnishings, in order to make clear His attributes and to show that He was willing to be with man.

In this tabernacle, we know that one first had to pass by the altar and the basin—the altar and the basin—and then come to the Holy Place. We will not speak one by one about the furnishings inside this place. There was the lampstand, the table for the bread of the Presence, and the altar of incense. Behind the Holy Place, behind the curtain, in the Most Holy Place, there was the ark of the covenant. We will not speak about all of these one by one. In short, what do these regulations tell us? They tell us that God is willing to dwell among men. But God is holy. This infinitely holy God, even after He established the tabernacle, was still in the midst of such a camp of Israel, and Israel was still a group of unclean people. What should be done?

When the infinitely holy God came into the midst of His people, if they drew near to this tabernacle, obviously they would be struck down. What should be done? So here God Himself designed a system, a system by which people could draw near to Him. We already mentioned this yesterday, and today you need to think carefully about it again.

The establishment of this system shows that God had already prescribed a way, a way by which one could come before Him. Because in the Most Holy Place, the mercy seat was God’s footstool. What does “footstool” mean? It is the place where heaven and earth are joined together. In that place heaven and earth can be connected. God can speak with man there, and man’s prayers can reach before God’s throne of grace. So next, in order that this tabernacle might be preserved on the earth, and in order that the Israelites might be able to enter into relation with this tabernacle, what should be done? God specially established one tribe, and this tribe was the tribe of Levi. This tribe did not do anything else. They only served the tabernacle. This included what we have spoken about before: setting it up and taking it down. This was the responsibility of the Levites. They also carried it. First, they took it down, carried it, and set it up. In the tabernacle, this was the work they did.

All right, this was the work of the Levites. What did the Levites do? They had to pay very careful attention to maintaining their own holiness, that is, they had to be separated from the Israelites. There are several layers of consecration here. First, the Israelites were set apart from all the surrounding nations. Then the Levites, compared with the Israelites, were again set apart. Then there was also the priestly class, represented by Aaron. Compared with the Levites, they were again set apart. Each class had different regulations of holiness. Their dietary habits, whether they could draw near to certain things—these were all prescribed by strict regulations.

Then what was this group of Levites called out to do? They were called out to take care of the matters of the tabernacle. As I said, this included carrying it, taking it down, and setting it up. Only they could do these things, because they were holy; they were clean. If they were not clean, they themselves would be struck down. And as for the Israelites, because in your life you were not that clean, right? You were not that clean. If you went to do the work of the Levites, you would be struck down by God. So you had to support a separate class, so that they could learn how to be clean and learn how to do this work. Therefore you needed to support them specially and separately, right?

Because the existence of the tabernacle is the reality that God is with us. The Israelites’ source of all blessing was that the tabernacle was there. This is a concept we must understand: the only reason the Israelites could be victorious in battle, could have land, and could have produce, was because the tabernacle was there, because God blessed them. Therefore they had all these things on the earth.

All right, next, you had to specially support one class, this priestly class. They were holy. They had to serve this tabernacle. Of course, they could not do these secular kinds of work, right? They had to serve specifically, and they had to learn these regulations in order to maintain their own holiness, lest they themselves be struck down. So here, in chapter 18, it is repeatedly mentioned that they must not bear sin and die, that they must not bear sin in connection with these holy things, and that they must not profane the holy things.

What does this mean? It means that when they carried, took down, and set up the tabernacle, there were very clear regulations. If one thing was done wrong, they would be struck down, because God’s requirement is holiness. So this is the function of this class. They did this work. Of course, they also received one-tenth from among the Israelites. This is the content we saw earlier. This supported their whole class. They had no other income. The purpose of their life was to practice continually, so that they would become very skilled in carrying, setting up, and taking down this tabernacle, and in serving this altar.

They served this tabernacle. Next, among this group of people, there was another priestly class. They were the ones who specially represented the Israelites in making atonement, going before God to burn incense. The high priest had the precious stones of the twelve tribes on his garments. What was the purpose? It was to represent the people before God and to bring the prayers of the people in. At the same time, the priests also went into the Holy Place and brought God’s blessing out.

This is the kind of system it was. I think you need to understand this. If you do not understand this system, if you do not have a complete picture in your mind, then you will not understand very well the content spoken of in the New Testament. So here there are many key factors. For example, the Israelites lived a tabernacle-centered life. All their blessings came from the tabernacle. You must firmly establish this concept.

Another point is that serving the tabernacle required holiness. Among the holy Levites, there also had to be a priestly class called out. They could enter the Holy Place, offer sacrifices, burn incense, and pray. They served in the Holy Place. There was the table for the bread of the Presence, and there was the golden lampstand. This showed that they were to bring light down. It showed that they were to offer sacrifices before God and bring God’s blessing out from the tabernacle. This was their function and usefulness.

But we also know very clearly that this entire priestly system points to Jesus Christ. Why? You can think of it this way. First, we say that among people there were levels of cleanness: Gentiles, Israelites, Levites, and the high priest. Their entire priestly system was a system that became more and more holy. Think about it. Can a person really become holy simply because the food he eats is different, or because he has not touched certain things? Right? This is actually a very questionable matter. Although ritually you became holy, were you really that holy? Is God’s requirement of holiness really like this? Right?

Then the Levites cared for the tabernacle, and the priests offered sacrifices. This showed that there needed to be a regulation of sacrifice and atonement before man could reach God’s throne of grace, and before the Israelites could receive God’s blessing.

If this regulation, if the blood of bulls and goats could truly atone for sin, then could this matter really be accomplished? This is the question raised by the author of Hebrews. Therefore he finally explains that these things were actually types. There could not truly be some shortcut, nor could there be the blood of bulls and goats that could truly remove sin. That is impossible. It is because Jesus Christ removes sin. Jesus Christ is the true great High Priest. Jesus Christ accomplished all these things. Jesus Christ brought the blessing down. Therefore when we come into Jesus Christ, He is that eternal great High Priest. He has offered for us an eternal sacrifice, so that we may come before God’s throne of grace.

The whole sacrificial system was only a type. It typified the way in which we sinners come before God. Our sin needs to be redeemed. A lamb needs to be killed. Jesus Christ needs to clothe us with His righteousness, so that we may come boldly and without fear before the Father’s throne of grace. So this priestly system was finally fulfilled in Jesus Christ. This is what we mean.

But speaking from the other side, when we say that Jesus Christ is the great High Priest, and that Jesus Christ is the sacrifice, if you completely do not understand this Old Testament priestly system, then actually you do not understand the work of the Lord Jesus very well. You also will not truly love the Lord Jesus, and you will not express thanksgiving for the fulfillment of this priestly system in Jesus Christ. Although these things were types, and in the Old Testament they were types, these types were nevertheless truly carried out on the earth for more than one thousand years, nearly two thousand years. Moses should be around 1500 B.C. The regulations he established, the sacrificial regulations, were truly carried out on the earth for 1,500 years, all the way until the coming of the Lord Jesus. During these 1,500 years, such complicated things were truly done so that man could come before God. Therefore we must often give thanks. Why? Because of the Lord Jesus Christ. Today, as long as we trust in Him, we can be exempted from all these regulations. This is the place where we must give thanks to Jesus.

Second, the meaning expressed by the priestly system still exists. Brothers and sisters, do not think that because Jesus Christ came and fulfilled these things for us, the Old Testament has nothing to do with us. This is a completely wrong idea. For example, I said that the tabernacle was the center of the Israelites, and blessing came from the tabernacle. This concept is equally true for us Christians today. We Christians—then let me ask you, where does our blessing come from? Does it not come from the tabernacle? Does it not come from the Lord Jesus Christ? Can we still find blessing outside the tabernacle? That is impossible. So this concept is still true. In this way, the Old and New Testaments mutually illuminate and complete one another.

Many of us do not know how to read the Old Testament, and we cannot grasp these essential points of the Old Testament. This priestly system and this Levitical system in the Old Testament are in fact telling us certain spiritual truths. Although this spiritual truth is typological, it is actually real. So we must follow it. That is, all our blessings come from the tabernacle. Therefore we must draw near to God. We originally should have been like the Israelites: through supporting the Levites, and the Levites supporting the priests, such a priestly system could be made complete. This was originally what we should have done. But the Lord Jesus Christ came and has already opened the curtain of the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. God’s blessing has already flowed to us in Him. We express our thanksgiving to the Lord Jesus Christ: Lord, we thank You. Thank You for bringing God’s grace to us.

But within this, it absolutely has not abolished, first, our knowledge of God, namely that all blessings come from God. They come from the tabernacle. For the Israelites, this was deeply rooted in them. Their blessing came from the temple, from the tabernacle. Our blessing comes from Jesus Christ. We must have this concept. Therefore, in this life, we must live a God-centered life. We must keep God’s statutes and ordinances, because this is the will of God.

Next, we must obey God’s law and conform to the commands of Jesus Christ. This is a natural and proper thing. Why? Because God has already accepted us in Jesus Christ. We are citizens of heaven. Therefore we must pay attention to our moral attributes, right? We must carefully, in every area of life, obey God’s laws, statutes, and ordinances. This is what is naturally included in the matter.

So we must carefully follow Jesus Christ, just as the Old Testament Israelites followed the tabernacle. The principle is the same. It is only that now we see more and more clearly. So I think that the theological thought behind the operation of this whole priestly system is still true and correct today. Therefore we must still live a tabernacle-centered life. This is what we must do. As for the specific content, it is all spoken of here. They had to go, the Levites had to pay one-tenth, in order to support the Levites, and so that they themselves would not bear sin and guilt, right? Because you cannot serve God, yet your blessing also comes from God. Then what should you do? You have to support some people to serve this tabernacle.

The Levites likewise also had to give one-tenth to the priestly class. Grace came from the priestly class to the Levites, and from the Levites to the whole people of Israel. This was the kind of order. Of course, they had to offer the best to the priests, so that these vessels used by God could also have income and food. This meant giving the best among them. They had no food; they had no produce. Then what was their produce? The offerings they received were their produce. Roughly speaking, these two sections mean this.

So we must understand such a system. Then we will know the function of Christ more deeply, and we can also calibrate our lives. We can still apply the theology of Numbers to our lives. It is still effective, and it is still correct. In the same way, this system can still be used in the church today. Our church needs to support some Levites, so that they can go and study theology, right? So that they can carefully research and study, become theological students, and so that in the future they can grow into preachers, pastors, and elders. There needs to be such a class. This actually can be transferred to the church today. It is the same. Everyone is very busy. You may not have that much time to read the Bible, and you may not have that much time to understand the word of God. Then what should be done? A very large function of everyone’s tithe is to support the Levites, to support these theological students.

Preachers, pastors, elders—what is the purpose? It is so that they may bring God’s word to us, because our blessing is in God’s word, and because the only source of our life, the source of blessing, comes from God’s word. Therefore we respect these holy offices and office-bearers that God has established in the church. They bring down blessing from God. So this system is still valid in the church. In this way we will understand, oh, why do you need to pay a tithe? Why do you need to do this? Why do the Levites need to study theology? Because this is God’s will. Because we understand God’s word very poorly. This is a specialized body of knowledge, and they need to study it.

So brothers and sisters, do not have this kind of idea. It is like in some churches there are part-time preachers, and they seem to be very good. They say, “Look, I am part-time, and I still serve the church, and I still preach,” as if it were something very glorious. Actually, this is not something glorious. In our denomination, we do not allow preachers and pastors to be part-time. What is the reason? Because this is a very specialized matter. Preaching and proclaiming the word is a very specialized matter. Understanding theological knowledge is a very specialized matter. It is not very possible for someone to say, “I can do it well part-time,” right? I go run a supermarket, or I go run a restaurant, and then suddenly I can also preach. This is impossible and unrealistic. This is all too idealistic. It treats preaching as something far too simple.

Of course, the depth of what such people teach is also not enough, and they also cannot shepherd the flock very well. Therefore a preacher must be full-time. If he is full-time, then he needs to be supported. So this is this kind of system. It is just like the Levites. When they had to go set up, carry, and take down the tabernacle, this was a very specialized matter. They also needed continual practice, and they needed to maintain very high physical strength in order to do it well. In the same way, serving the word of God also requires continual practice. So this system can still be used in our church today.

So may God have mercy on us. In Numbers, these regulations may seem as though they have nothing to do with you. In fact, every place must be reflected in our church. Every matter, and every theological thought expressed within it, remains effective today. So may God help us to have more wisdom to understand the book of Numbers, including the Pentateuch. At the same time, in these sacrificial regulations and in these regulations concerning support, we again offer thanksgiving and praise to the Lord Jesus Christ for the salvation He has accomplished for us, right? Because Jesus Christ has accomplished all these things, we therefore do not need, like the Old Testament Israelites, to offer sacrifices in such a complicated way. Thanks be to the Lord for His grace. He also leads us, within the grace of Jesus Christ, to live earnestly a God-centered life, and in life to earnestly follow God’s statutes and ordinances. All right, today’s sharing will simply end here. Thank you, everyone.