Numbers 18 -- The Priests & Levites Inherit God

The priests and Levites weren’t going to be receiving any land once God allowed them into the Promised Land.  Instead, He told them, “I will be yours.  Out of all the Israelites, only you will inherit Me.”  Aaron and the priestly line were given all of the unburned portions of the grain, sin, and penalty offerings.  The Levites were to receive the 10% tithe as their pay.  But they were also told to tithe back 10% of that to Aaron and the priestly line as well.  Out of everything they were to receive, God gave them this instruction:  “”And if you always give the best part to the Lord, you will never be guilty.”  They had to make sure to trust that God would provide for them, giving away the very best that He’d given them.

In my Bible’s sidebar today, something really caught my attention.  It said, “To Jesus’ listeners, the heart was the totality of the inner person – the control tower, the cockpit.  The heart was thought of as the seat of character – the origin of desires, affection, perceptions, thoughts, reasoning, imagination, conscience, intentions, purpose, will, and faith.  Thus a proverb admonished, ‘Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.’ … If a person’s actions are evil, it’s not enough to change habits; you have to go deeper.  You have to go to the heart of the problem, which is the problem of the heart.”

Father, thank You for helping me with the condition of my heart.  Like David, I cry out, “Create in me a clean heart.”  I want to start from there, so that my desires, affections, perceptions, thoughts, reasoning, imagination, conscience, intentions, purpose, will and faith will reflect the One who created me.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford