Verses 1-32
The service and income of the priests and Levites ch. 18
A complete and comprehensive explanation of the official duties and revenues of the priests and Levites appropriately follows the confirmation of Aaron’s priesthood. This was God’s reply to the frightened cries of the people in Numbers 17:12-13.
". . . the modern reader comes to chapters 18-19 with a sense of foreboding; what, we may wonder, is in these chapters for me? The answer to that question is fivefold:
"1. The reader of Scripture needs to have general knowledge about the major institutions of the biblical period just for Scripture to make sense.
"2. Our understanding of the true worship of God begins with the sense that he controls and directs true worship; who the priests are and how they function are first his concerns. This means that worship is not a game where we may make up the rules as we play.
"3. A general knowledge of the work of the priests in the Hebrew Bible gives many insights to the modern reader as to the interests of God in our own worship. Often we think of worship in terms of what we like and appreciate. This misses the mark; worship is principally for God’s pleasure.
"4. A general knowledge of the work of priests in the time of Hebrew worship gives the Christian reader significant insights into the priestly work of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Book of Hebrews has an intense priestly orientation in its presentation of the Lord Jesus Christ, priest of God in the manner of Melchizedek.
"5. In contrast with the highly regulated, highly strictured patterns demanded of the priests of the Hebrew economy, the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ today has a direct access to God through the Savior that is nearly unbelievable. We are all priests; we can come near the presence of the Lord without an intermediary. Yet our privilege as believer-priests can only really be appreciated against the background of priests in the biblical period." [Note: Allen, p. 850.]
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