“Be Examples to the Flock (Numbers 17-18)”, Will DuVal | 4/6/25

Numbers 17-18 | 4/6/25 | Will DuVal

But this morning we pick up the Israelites’ story where we left off last week, at the end of Numbers 16. This sermon’s gonna be a “part 2” of sorts: last week in ch16, we were warned by the story of Korah’s rebellion and reminded that God calls us to “submit to your leaders” (Heb 13:17). This Sunday in chapters 17 & 18, we are reminded of God’s calling on leaders to “shepherd the flock of God that is among you… being examples to the flock” (1 Pet 5:2-3). And the example offered to us in these chapters in particular is that of the priests and the Levites, Israel’s leaders, appointed by God to be in charge of the tabernacle, the place where God himself would MEET with his people. Important work! 

Which makes it all the more astounding then, that the apostle PETER, in the NT, calls US, the CHURCH, a “holy priesthood” (1 Pet 2:9). How so? Well, in TWO ways, according to Peter. As Israel’s MEDIATORS, between a holy God and a sinful nation, the priests really served two functions: they represented the PEOPLE to God, and they represented GOD to the PEOPLE. The priests facilitated the sacrificial system, whereby sinners could express repentance and worship and find forgiveness and atonement, be reconciled back to GOD… AND the priests were called to serve as EXAMPLES to all of Israel, in their personal holiness. So 1) bring the people to God, and 2) represent God to the people. Now here’s how Peter describes the CHURCH’s role today: “you are being built up as… a holy priesthood to offer spiritual SACRIFICES acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (2:5). No longer bulls and goats, but SPIRITUAL sacrifices; our calling is STILL to please and worship the Lord, first and foremost. 

But secondly, Peter says, “you are… a royal priesthood… that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (2:9) So we also represent God to others; we are Christ’s AMBASSADORS. Every Christian, as I mentioned last week, is a leader; we are ALL called, at a minimum, to lead others toward Christ, which is really a MAXIMUM; what a HIGH calling! Aside from “offering spiritual sacrifices - WORSHIP - that is pleasing to GOD”, our SECOND greatest calling in life is leading and influencing OTHERS to do the SAME! We are ALL priests, if you belong to the Lord. 

So as God outlines for us the role and responsibilities of Aaron and his sons here - the priests - as well as the Levites, we are once again going to consider the text from 3 angles, like last week: 1) the PRINCIPLE for leadership that we find in the example of these OT priests, 2) the PERSONAL application we ought to glean for our OWN leadership, as God’s “holy/royal priesthood” today, and most importantly, 3) the PROPHETIC fulfillment of each of these principles that we find in the priesthood of Jesus Christ, our “great high priest”. We want to learn from THEIR leadership, to inform our OWN leadership, but MOST of all, we want to glory in CHRIST’S leadership.

I invite you to stand with me… (SCRIPTURE: Num 17-18) 

“The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel, and get from them staffs, one for each fathers' house, from all their chiefs according to their fathers' houses, twelve staffs. Write each man's name on his staff, 3 and write Aaron's name on the staff of Levi. For there shall be one staff for the head of each fathers' house. 4 Then you shall deposit them in the tent of meeting before the testimony, where I meet with you. 5 And the staff of the man whom I choose shall sprout. Thus I will make to cease from me the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against you.” 6 Moses spoke to the people of Israel. And all their chiefs gave him staffs, one for each chief, according to their fathers' houses, twelve staffs. And the staff of Aaron was among their staffs. 7 And Moses deposited the staffs before the Lord in the tent of the testimony.

8 On the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony, and behold, the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted and put forth buds and produced blossoms, and it bore ripe almonds. 9 Then Moses brought out all the staffs from before the Lord to all the people of Israel. And they looked, and each man took his staff. 10 And the Lord said to Moses, “Put back the staff of Aaron before the testimony, to be kept as a sign for the rebels, that you may make an end of their grumblings against me, lest they die.” 11 Thus did Moses; as the Lord commanded him, so he did.

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  12 And the people of Israel said to Moses, “Behold, we perish, we are undone, we are all undone. 13 Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of the Lord, shall die. Are we all to perish?”

  18:1 So the Lord said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your father's house with you shall bear iniquity connected with the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear iniquity connected with your priesthood. 2 And with you bring your brothers also, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may join you and minister to you while you and your sons with you are before the tent of the testimony. 3 They shall keep guard over you and over the whole tent, but shall not come near to the vessels of the sanctuary or to the altar lest they, and you, die. 4 They shall join you and keep guard over the tent of meeting for all the service of the tent, and no outsider shall come near you. 5 And you shall keep guard over the sanctuary and over the altar, that there may never again be wrath on the people of Israel. 6 And behold, I have taken your brothers the Levites from among the people of Israel. They are a gift to you, given to the Lord, to do the service of the tent of meeting. 7 And you and your sons with you shall guard your priesthood for all that concerns the altar and that is within the veil; and you shall serve. I give your priesthood as a gift, and any outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”

  8 Then the Lord spoke to Aaron, “Behold, I have given you charge of the contributions made to me, all the consecrated things of the people of Israel. I have given them to you as a portion and to your sons as a perpetual due. 9 This shall be yours of the most holy things, reserved from the fire: every offering of theirs, every grain offering of theirs and every sin offering of theirs and every guilt offering of theirs, which they render to me, shall be most holy to you and to your sons. 10 In a most holy place shall you eat it. Every male may eat it; it is holy to you. 11 This also is yours: the contribution of their gift, all the wave offerings of the people of Israel. I have given them to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it. 12 All the best of the oil and all the best of the wine and of the grain, the firstfruits of what they give to the Lord, I give to you. 13 The first ripe fruits of all that is in their land, which they bring to the Lord, shall be yours. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it. 14 Every devoted thing in Israel shall be yours. 15 Everything that opens the womb of all flesh, whether man or beast, which they offer to the Lord, shall be yours. Nevertheless, the firstborn of man you shall redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem. 16 And their redemption price (at a month old you shall redeem them) you shall fix at five shekels in silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs. 17 But the firstborn of a cow, or the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat, you shall not redeem; they are holy. You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar and shall burn their fat as a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 18 But their flesh shall be yours, as the breast that is waved and as the right thigh are yours. 19 All the holy contributions that the people of Israel present to the Lord I give to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due. It is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord for you and for your offspring with you.” 20 And the Lord said to Aaron, “You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel.

  21 “To the Levites I have given every tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service that they do, their service in the tent of meeting, 22 so that the people of Israel do not come near the tent of meeting, lest they bear sin and die. 23 But the Levites shall do the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, and among the people of Israel they shall have no inheritance. 24 For the tithe of the people of Israel, which they present as a contribution to the Lord, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance. Therefore I have said of them that they shall have no inheritance among the people of Israel.”

  25 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 26 “Moreover, you shall speak and say to the Levites, ‘When you take from the people of Israel the tithe that I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall present a contribution from it to the Lord, a tithe of the tithe. 27 And your contribution shall be counted to you as though it were the grain of the threshing floor, and as the fullness of the winepress. 28 So you shall also present a contribution to the Lord from all your tithes, which you receive from the people of Israel. And from it you shall give the Lord's contribution to Aaron the priest. 29 Out of all the gifts to you, you shall present every contribution due to the Lord; from each its best part is to be dedicated.’ 30 Therefore you shall say to them, ‘When you have offered from it the best of it, then the rest shall be counted to the Levites as produce of the threshing floor, and as produce of the winepress. 31 And you may eat it in any place, you and your households, for it is your reward in return for your service in the tent of meeting. 32 And you shall bear no sin by reason of it, when you have contributed the best of it. But you shall not profane the holy things of the people of Israel, lest you die.’”” [This is the word of God…]

  4 duties that leaders - PRIESTS - are called to here, both them back then, as well as us still today, each of which finds its ultimate fulfillment in CHRIST: 

  The FIRST is itself a four-parter: #1- Godly leaders SHEPHERD their followers (17:1-11).

  The symbolism of the STAFF here in ch17 is not coincidental. The staff symbolizes leadership, generally, but SHEPHERDING, specifically. “The Lord is my shepherd… he LEADS me in paths of righteousness… your rod and your STAFF comfort me” (Ps 23:1-4). 

  And that symbolism carries through into the NEW Testament as well, with shepherding being the primary metaphor used of leadership there too. We already read PETER’s words, to the elder-leaders charged with oversight of the churches that he had planted, to “shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight” (1 Pet 5:2-3). 

  But now God instructs Aaron HOW to shepherd them, in 4 ways. And this list is not EXHAUSTIVE, by the way. There are LOTS of duties we could ADD to this shepherding list, that godly leaders are called to: FEEDING the flock (the word of God; Jesus said, “Peter, if you love me, feed my sheep!”), PURSUING the flock (Jesus was the Good Shepherd who would leave the 99 to seek out the 1 lost, straying sheep, and he calls us to do the same). So there are lots of responsibilities we could ADD to this list. But here are the 4 means of shepherding we find here in Numbers 17, specifically: 

  For starters, godly leaders shepherd others by making sure that they THEMSELVES are a) FOLLOWING the Lord’s leading (vv1, 11). Any leader of GOD’S people must him or herself be first and foremost a FOLLOWER! Godly shepherding begins with the recognition - the constant reminder - that I myself am a SHEEP. That the LORD is MY shepherd, that he must lead ME in paths of righteousness, for HIS names’ sake. 

  Those are the BOOKENDS of ch17 here -at the very beginning in v1 and at the END in v11. The chapter opens not with MOSES asserting his OWN leadership, but with “the LORD” speaking TO Moses: instructing, guiding, LEADING Moses. And it ENDS by confirming for us: “Thus did Moses; as the Lord commanded him, so he did” (v11). 

  This principle ALONE is worth the price of admission this morning: you wanna be a good leader? Be LED, by the LORD! The single most important attribute to look for in a leader, is that they’re faithfully FOLLOWING the Lord. 

  Even JESUS said, the greatest LEADER of all time, earned that superlative by being the greatest FOLLOWER: ““I do nothing on my own… I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.”  (Jn 5:30) He said, “I love the Father and I do exactly what [He] has commanded me” (Jn 14:31, NIV). 

  If JESUS led by FOLLOWING, how much MORE so must WE. 

  Second, godly leaders shepherd by CALLING the flock. (vv2-10)

  God’s initial instruction here to Moses is to “SPEAK” to the people of Israel”; to CALL them to ACTION. Godly leaders follow the Lord - they listen for his voice - and when God SPEAKS, and CALLS his people to something, those leaders then CONVEY the message and CALL the flock to action. 

  Jesus said of HIMSELF, the Good Shepherd, that “The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his sheep by name and leads them… [my sheep] listen to my voice.” (Jn 10:3, 16). 

  And godly SHEEP know that OFTEN God speaks to them THROUGH his undershepherds, their leaders. 

  Take, for example, the apostle PAUL’s letter and encouragement to his disciple TIMOTHY, who he had left in charge of the church in EPHESUS; Paul says, I LEFT you there “so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine”; CALL them to ORTHODOXY (1 Tim 1:3). “The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith”; call them to LOVE, purity and FAITH (1:5). “This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child… wage the good warfare” (1:18); call the church to fight the good fight, against sin and Satan. 

  “Put these things before the brothers,” (4:6) Paul exhorts him; YOUR calling, Timothy, is to call THEM to holiness. Godly leaders call God’s people to godly LIVING.

  And speaking of “CALLING”, let’s not forget that that is once again the overarching context of Numbers 17 here. In ch16, Korah, Dathan, and Abiram had called into question Moses & AARON’s CALLING from God, to lead His people. “What’s so special about Y’ALL?”, they asked? 

  God answered, “I CALLED them”.

  And then God CONFIRMED Moses & Aaron’s calling by PUNISHING those who had opposed them - opening up the earth to swallow Korah alive… sending FIRE to consume the 250 rebellious leaders who had followed him… and sending a PLAGUE that killed nearly 15,000 Israelites who STILL rejected Moses & Aaron. 

  But God wanted to make it ABUNDANTLY clear to everyone who He had called to lead. Hence, Aaron’s budding staff here. It is “to be kept as a sign for the rebels” (v10). When Moses or Aaron say, “Jump”, the only question the REST of y’all should ask is, “how HIGH?” 

  Because THEY speak on MY behalf, God says. THEIR calling is MY calling. 

  So too, Jesus declared, “The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me [speaks]” (Jn 14:10). And in light of his OWN calling, Jesus now calls US to “(Come), FOLLOW me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Mt 4:19).  

  “take up [your] cross daily and follow me. ” (Lk 9:23)

  Third, godly leaders shepherd by PROTECTING the flock (vv5, 10). In the context of Numbers 17, God calls Moses & Aaron to protect the Israelites from THEMSELVES! Their own sinful tendency toward REBELLION: “Put back the staff of Aaron before the testimony, to be kept as a sign for the rebels, that you may make an end of their grumblings against me, lest they die” (v10). God says, “I don’t want to have to keep sending PLAGUE after PLAGUE, in my righteous WRATH against their SIN; so hang ONTO this miraculous STAFF as a REMINDER to them of whom I have truly CHOSEN to LEAD, to preventatively PROTECT them against future rebellion.”

  And God’s shepherds today are called to the same - to protect the sheep against their OWN sin. To WARN them, for instance, as Paul does in 1 Corinthians 11, against eating the Lord’s Supper “in an unworthy manner” (v27). “That is why… some of you have even died”, Paul says. Therefore “Let a person examine himself” before taking communion, to guard against your own secret sins. 

  We protect the flock against OTHERS’ sins as well. A few chapters before that in 1 Corinthians, Paul exhorted them to “Purge the evil person from among you,” because “a little leaven leavens the whole lump” - a little SIN can SPREAD and corrupt the whole CHURCH. So don’t allow conscious, public, egregious, unrepentant sinners to remain in your fellowship. 

  We protect the flock against those who CLAIM to be sheep, but are really WOLVES in sheep’s clothing: Paul told the Ephesians elders to so warn and protect their flock in Acts 20: “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock… to care for the church… for after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock… speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert” (vv28-31). 

  And of course his protection of his flock was yet another reason that JESUS was truly the “Good Shepherd”. After warning those in Jerusalem about the JUDGMENT they would incur for REJECTING him, Jesus lamented, “How often would I have gathered [you] together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings” (Lk 13:34); to PROTECT you, if you’d just LET me, COME to me. 

  Later, when he was arrested, Jesus told the soldiers, “if you seek me, let these men [my followers] go.”” John adds, “This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: “Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one.”” (18:9) The Good Shepherd protects his sheep, even “lays down his life for the sheep” (Jn 10:11), so he can PROMISE: “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. ” (10:28)

  Lastly, still under duty #1: Godly leaders shepherd those under their care by FLOURISHING the flock (v8).

  Once Again, the symbolism here isn’t coincidental; how does God confirm Aaron’s calling as priest? By causing his staff to “sprout… put forth buds… produce blossoms… it bore ripe almonds” (v8).

  Godly leaders are LIFE-giving; Jesus said, “I came that [you] might have LIFE, and life to the FULLEST” (Jn 10:10). And good leaders will follow in his footsteps, bringing LIFE to those around them, bringing out the BEST in others, helping them GROW and BLOSSOM. 

  But the symbolism here is even more loaded than THAT, isn’t it? Because God didn’t just bring LIFE from Aaron’s staff; he brought it BACK to life from the DEAD! This is a picture of RESURRECTION! His staff - a life-LESS branch - now in full bloom. Remind you of any Messianic prophecies, from later in the OT? 

  Maybe Isaiah 11? “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, [the line of King David]

      and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.

  And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him…”

  God’s Spirit rested upon JESUS. Who resurrected not only Israel’s HOPE in God’s deliverance, “judging the poor with righteousness… decid[ing] with equity for the meek… striking the earth and killing the wicked…” (Isa 11:4) - Jesus not only resurrected their hopes of a godly ruler over Israel once more; he DID so by BEING resurrected himself! How does Jesus BRING us “life to the FULLEST”? Through his RESURRECTION: “I am the resurrection and the life, whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he LIVE!!” “Just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too [can now] walk in newness of life… we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his… that we [may] no longer be enslaved to sin.” (Rom 6:4-6).

  And speaking of bringing us LIFE, notice how God instructed Moses to put Aaron’s staff BACK “before the testimony” - according to Hebrews 9:4, there were THREE items kept inside the ark of the covenant; anyone remember them? “Aaron's staff that budded… a golden urn holding the manna… and the stone tablets of the covenant”. 

  God brings us LIFE through godly LEADERS, through his provision, and through his WORD. 

  Now, we’ve still got all of ch18! 

  #2- Godly leaders SACRIFICIALLY SERVE their followers. (17:12 - 18:7; 18:15b-17)

  What is Israel’s REACTION to Aaron’s budding staff?
  TERROR!  “Behold, we perish, we’re undone!” Quite a SWING of the pendulum, isn’t it, from NO fear of God in ch16 to TOTAL fear of Him! 

  And why are they afraid? V13: “Everyone who comes near… to the tabernacle of the Lord, shall die.” They are finally getting the message loud and CLEAR: God chose AARON to draw near as priest; all OTHERS better stay AWAY! For you OWN safety! 

  HOWEVER… How could JOE or JILL ISRAELITE “draw near” to God? Receive “atonement” - AT-ONE-MENT, forgiveness and intimacy again with GOD? They did so THROUGH the priests, and specifically, through the sacrifices made on their behalf BY the priests. Leviticus 17:11- “I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls”, through sacrifice… which could only be OFFERED by the priests. That is their primary function and SERVICE for the people. V7: “I give your priesthood as a gift… for all that concerns the altar and is within the veil; and you shall serve”. God declares to Aaron in v1: “You and your sons… shall bear iniquity connected with the sanctuary” (18:1).

  In other words, NO ONE deserves to approach God; he’s too holy and we’re too sinful. But God gives the PRIESTS the ability - the DUTY - of symbolically TRANSFERRING sins from people TO an ANIMAL that would then DIE in their place. But here’s the thing: because the PRIESTS were sinful too, in order to “draw near” to God, they had to atone for their OWN sins with every sacrifice they offered TOO! “you shall bear iniquity connected with your priesthood” (v1). 

  And THEN they are called to “keep guard over the tent of meeting” to make sure “no outsider comes near” and is “put to death” (v4, 7). 

  Commentator Iain Duguid explains (224): “The job of the priests and Levites is in some ways like the work of Secret Service agents who are charged with protecting the President of the United States. The[y] surround and guard him against anyone who would try to get too close to him… They are required to bear the danger of death on his behalf…. Unlike the Secret Service… it was not on God’s behalf that (these priests) risked death, but on behalf of the people… They freed the people from the fear of death by being willing to substitute for the people in paying the penalty of death should someone sin by trespassing on holy ground.” 

  Does that job description remind you of anyone else? JESUS! Our great high priest! We have all SINNED by “trespassing” - do you understand how RIDICULOUS it is that ANY of us would DARE to PRAY?! The Bible describes prayer as “approaching the throne of God” (Heb 4:16). You can’t just waltz into the presence of a king, or the President, whenever you feel like it; how much LESS so the King of the UNIVERSE! Whose holiness BURNS like a “consuming fire”! 

  But friends, Jesus Christ, the ONLY holy person, who alone deserved that access and relationship with God his heavenly Father “paid the penalty of death” in our place, as our substitutionary atoning sacrifice, that he might “free us from the fear of death” and allow sinners like us back into God’s holy presence. Jesus sacrificially served us, not ONLY as our high priest, but as our sacrifice. “we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Heb 10:10); “Christ loved us and gave himself up for us [as a] sacrifice to God” (Eph 5:2). 

  Now, you might be thinking, “I see the prophetic fulfillment of this priestly principle, in the person and work of CHRIST… but what about the PERSONAL application?” Certainly as a leader I am called to “sacrificially serve” those under my care; Jesus said, “those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them… But it shall not be so among you. Whoever would be great among you must be your servant” (Mk 10:42-43). You think: “I know that’s true GENERALLY” - I SERVE my kids, I SERVE my employees, I SERVE the people of this church as an small group leader or elder or deacon. But is there any DEEPER, more SPECIFIC application of this principle for me? Because 1 Timothy 2 says, “there is [only] one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all” (v5). So NO more need for priestly intercessors in THAT kind of technical sense. But is there ANY sense in which you and I are called to “bear iniquity connected with our priesthood” still today, by sacrificially SERVING others? 

  And I would answer that with an emphatic YES! Think about it: the job of a PRIEST as it is outlined here in vv1-7 was really TWOfold: 1) to warn others against approaching God in the wrong manner, and then 2) restore them to God in the RIGHT way, God’s PRESCRIBED way: through a SACRIFICE. Isn’t that exactly what God is calling US to do today in our EVANGELISM, when he calls us to lead others to Him?

  The first thing we have to do is WARN them against trying to get to God the WRONG way. Half the people you know think the way to get to God is through GOOD WORKS - “Just try your best to be a good person, and surely God will forgive the rest and accept you”. But the Bible says, “by [good] works no human being[c] will be justified in God’s sight” (Rom 3:20). The OTHER half of people you know think the path is even WIDER than that: they believe that ALL roads ultimately lead to God! “You may follow the Bible, HE may follow the Quran, I follow my HEART… but really they ALL lead us to God eventually, one way or another…” 

  But the Bible says there is but ONE way to God; Jesus declared ““I am the way [not “A” way; “THE” way!]... No one comes to the Father except through me.” (Jn 14:6)

  And Church: like the priests of old, you and I are called to “sacrificially serve” the lost by warning them against trying to get to God any OTHER way… and by INFORMING them of the once-for-all-time sacrifice that Jesus made on their behalf, to reconcile them to God, if they will simply trust in HIM. 

  That is OUR job description now, as “royal priests”, to “proclaim the excellencies of CHRIST who brought us out of darkness into his marvelous light,” and then invite OTHERS to come JOIN us. 

  And ALSO like the priests of old, you and I “bear iniquity” for that; we will be held RESPONSIBLE for the extent to which we actually DID that, in the time God that allowed us to REMAIN here on earth. We’re still here for ONE reason; yes, to worship God. But we can do that - we WILL do that - for the rest of ETERNITY in HEAVEN. We can “offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” for the rest of ETERNITY; the ONLY function of our “holy priesthood” that we can EXCLUSIVELY perform in THIS life, however, is bearing witness to the gospel for others. Pointing them to JESUS, and pleading with them - interceding on their behalf, as priests - with God the Father, bringing them to HIM… in prayer.

  #3) At the SAME time, and lest we get too self-important, we must ALSO remember that Godly leaders must be SUPPORTED BY their followers. (18:2-6, 8-15a, 18-24)

  And God’s prescribed help for the priests here comes in two FORMS: a supporting CAST, and supporting CONTRIBUTIONS. Assistants and assets. 

  In vv2-6, God gives the LEVITES as ASSISTANTS to Aaron and his sons: “bring your brothers also, the tribe of Levi… that they may join you and minister TO you while you… are in the tent of the testimony… I have taken your brothers the Levites from among the people of Israel. They are a gift to you… to do the service of the tent of meeting.” (2, 6). 

  And then in vv8-24, God outlines the CONTRIBUTIONS that the priests and Levites were to receive from the people of Israel as their “perpetual due”, their “portion” and “inheritance”; the REWARD for their service. 

  And we’re not gonna get bogged down in the minutiae here; if you have questions you’d like answered (MOST of which I hope we’ve already addressed by this point, somewhere in our studies of Exodus, Leviticus, earlier in Numbers), but if you wanna know why only the “males” got to eat the sin and guilt offerings… or what it meant to be “CLEAN” before eating… or about this whole “redemption” process for the “clean vs UN-clean” firstborn animals - I think we’ve covered ALL that in the somewhat recent past… why does God call this “a covenant of SALT” in v19 - lots of MAYBE interesting questions you could submit for our “After the Sermon” podcast tomorrow. “Are we still supposed to TITHE today? Isn’t that an OT thing? Why do we still talk about ‘tithes and offerings’ around here sometimes?” 

  But for sake of time, I’m gonna keep it pretty high level, and simply point out the overarching PRINCIPLE here: that even those who SERVE need SUPPORT, need to BE served. 

  Even JESUS, allowed others to SERVE him. Wash his feet, anoint him for burial, pray for him while he was in the Garden of Gethsemane. And if we flesh the analogy out, we might say that if JESUS is the HIGH PRIEST, then those of us who have been “called according to his purpose”, enlisted in the Lord’s service, we’re kinda like the LEVITES, the ASSISTANTS. 

  And of course when it comes to our OWN leadership, we must recognize that we ALL need the SUPPORT even of those we are leading. Elders need deacons. Supervisors need administrative assistants. Sometimes PARENTS need their KIDS. Any of you ever hit a wall, and you’re like, “I’m DONE; ELLERY, YOU’RE in charge.” She’s 9. She’s pretty responsible; what’s the worst that could happen? 🙂

  There is HUMILITY in recognizing that even the BEST leaders need SUPPORT. The best priest back in the OT, the best PASTOR still today - this is a concept found all over the NEW Testament as well: Lk 10:7; Mt 10:10; Gal 6:6-10; Phil 4:10-19; 1 Tim 5:17-18; 1 Cor 9:14 - “the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel” - but if God’s people IGNORE His command, to bring your contributions as my “due portion”, then MY kids go HUNGRY. Your obedience is my paycheck. And so as ALWAYS when we come to a text like this, I want to take it as an opportunity to THANK you for your faithful support, that in 9 ½ years now, I have never missed a paycheck. 

  And ALSO… I want to take the opportunity to CALL you to CONTINUE to contribute, more and more generously. Duguid notes (231): “Strikingly, the pattern laid down here suggests that this material support (for the priests) should be generous… God ordained that 10 percent of the national produce be given to support a tribe that comprised only about 4 percent of the total population.” 

  We’ve only got 5 ½ paid staff positions, here at a church of over 500, all called to give your 10%; if we’d quit improving the building I could be ROLLING in the dough! 

  But we’re still WAY behind budget right now, for the first time in my 6 years as lead pastor. We were hoping to be AHEAD of budgeted giving, gearing up for this big capital layout. Y’all know I’m competitive - Kirk of the Hills, just down the road here, is gearing up for a 13 million dollar project; they just announced they did an “early pledge drive” last week and raised 9 million dollars. Now, our project is NOT 13 million; MAYBE 3. Probably less. But we’re not even halfway there, on the fundraising. Maybe some of you are waiting to see the finalized PLANS - “Do I REALLY wanna give to this thing?” - maybe you’re waiting on us to pull out the giant thermometer… I don’t know. 

  But I DO know, Numbers 18 here makes it CLEAR, that we are called to support the cause - GOD’S cause - GENEROUSLY. God is moving here, FLOURISHING this church; don’t you wanna see it CONTINUE? Don’t you wanna be able to find a PARKING spot on Sunday mornings? Find a SEAT? Don’t you want our elderly and disabled congregants to be able to JOIN us down in Joy Hall? Don’t you want our kitchen team to be able to COOK down there without risking their LIVES, with all the fire codes we’re in violation of? Don’t you want your kids and your teens to have their own spaces, and not have to fight for the Doxa? Don’t you a decent BATHROOM? 

  You gotta GIVE. Support the cause. 

  But lastly, #4) Godly leaders SIGNIFY SUBORDINATION to their followers. (18:25-32)

  It’s not just Y’ALL who are called to tithe; God instructs the LEVITES: “When you take from the people of Israel the tithe that I have given you from them… then you shall present a contribution from it to the Lord, a tithe of the tithe.”

  Priests tithe, PASTORS tithe too! 

  V29: “from each its best part is to be dedicated” - not the LAST 10%, the leftovers, if I’ve got ROOM for it in the budget, but the “FIRSTfruits”. 

  Why? Because shepherds are sheep too. We are first and foremost FOLLOWERS of the Lord, who alone deserves our best. The highest authority in THIS world - Moses, Aaron - is still under an infinitely GREATER authority, to whom we ALL submit. And the best leaders, the best SHEPHERDS, serve as “EXAMPLES to the flock”, in their selfless surrender to Christ. “Not my will but YOURS be done, O Lord”. 

  
  CONCLUSION: Leaders - hear and heed God’s calling this morning: to Shepherd your people - calling them to obedience, protecting them, flourishing them; SERVE your people sacrificially, as CHRIST did; but HUMBLE yourself and allow yourself to BEserved and supportedBY them as well; but most importantly: serve as an example of godlySUBMISSION to them. “Submit yourselves [SURRENDER] to God… Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” (Jas 4:7,10).