What does it really mean to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength? Well, at least in part that depends on the particular work God as placed before you. Most ancient Israelites were either farmers or herdsmen, and therefore they were allotted land so they could care for their crops, flocks and herds. The part they were called to play in the ceremonies and rituals that were central to the worship of God at that time was simply to give offerings (v. 4).

But the tribe of Levi received no land on which to farm or raise animals. Instead, they were called to maintain and transport the Tabernacle, which was the backdrop for all the Old Testament sacrifices God wanted His people to perform in those days. Later, after a Temple was built, the Levites were still called to make sure that the building was in good repair and that everything necessary was on hand for the priests to carry out all the ceremonies involved in God’s worship. The Levites were thus principally called to give their service, and in order for them to do their job, the rest of the Israelites had to support them financially.

The priests came from one particular family within the tribe of Levi. They were the only ones who were allowed to perform the ceremonies and rituals in the Temple – killing the sacrificial animals and offering their meat and blood on the altar at different times, placing the Bread of the Presence in the Holy Place, making sure that the lamps in the Temple were kept burning, and offering incense to God at the time the people offered their prayers twice a day. Like the Levites, they relied on the offerings of the people to support them and enable them to do their jobs.

What can any of this mean to us? Today, none of us have jobs that are determined by what family we belong to. And since all that Old Testament ritual was just a foreshadowing of the work of Christ on the cross, we don’t need to do any of it anymore. So what can we learn from this passage? Simply this: there are many different ways each of us can participate in the work of God’s kingdom, and all of them are necessary.

Sometimes, we are on the front line like the priests – sharing the good news of Jesus directly with our neighbors and friends, and enduring the persecution that increasingly comes to those who insist on Biblical truth. At other times, we are called to play supporting roles like the Levites – maintaining our own places of worship, praying for those who are planting churches in other cities, or traveling to foreign fields to help and encourage the missionaries working there. And just as in Ancient Israel, much of the work of the Kingdom still requires our financial contributions.

So, however we are called to participate in God’s mission to the world today, let’s give and serve and work as hard as we can, so that Christ may be seen more clearly in all of us.

Deuteronomy 18:1-5 (ESV)

“The Levitical priests, all the tribe of Levi, shall have no portion or inheritance with Israel. They shall eat the LORD’s food offerings as their inheritance.
2 They shall have no inheritance among their brothers; the LORD is their inheritance, as he promised them.
3 And this shall be the priests’ due from the people, from those offering a sacrifice, whether an ox or a sheep: they shall give to the priest the shoulder and the two cheeks and the stomach.
4 The firstfruits of your grain, of your wine and of your oil, and the first fleece of your sheep, you shall give him.
5 For the LORD your God has chosen him out of all your tribes to stand and minister in the name of the LORD, him and his sons for all time.