Numbers 18: Morning Repost: Duties of Priests and Levites
1 Then the Lord said to Aaron: “You and your sons and your father’s house with you shall bear the iniquity related to the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear the iniquity associated with your priesthood. 2 Also bring with you your brethren of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may be joined with you and serve you while you and your sons are with you before the tabernacle of witness. 3 They shall attend to your needs and all the needs of the tabernacle; but they shall not come near the articles of the sanctuary and the altar, lest they die—they and you also. 4 They shall be joined with you and attend to the needs of the tabernacle of meeting, for all the work of the tabernacle; but an outsider shall not come near you. 5 And you shall attend to the duties of the sanctuary and the duties of the altar, that there may be no more wrath on the children of Israel. 6 Behold, I Myself have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel; they are a gift to you, given by the Lord, to do the work of the tabernacle of meeting. 7 Therefore you and your sons with you shall attend to your priesthood for everything at the altar and behind the veil; and you shall serve. I give your priesthood to you as a gift for service, but the outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”
“Security is here given to the people from the fears expressed (Nu 17:12)…” (Jamieson, Faussett, and Brown) “Here we have a divine answer to the question raised by the children of Israel, ‘Shall we be consumed with dying?’ ‘No,’ says the God of all grace and mercy. And why not? Because ‘Aaron and his sons with him shall keep the charge of the sanctuary, and the charge of the altar; that there be no wrath any more upon the children of Israel.’ Thus the people are taught that in that very priesthood which had been so despised and spoken against, they were to find their security.”
(C. H. Mackintosh's Notes on the Pentateuch)
Then Yahweh said to Aaron: “You and your sons and your father’s house with you shall bear the iniquity related to the sanctuary… and the priesthood.” “That is, They must be answerable for its legal pollutions, and must make the necessary atonements and expiations. By this they must feel that though they had got a high and important office confirmed to them by a miraculous interference, yet it was a place of the highest responsibility; and that they must not be high-minded, but fear.” (Adam Clarke)
“Thus the people are in good measure secured against their fears. Also they are informed that Aaron's high dignity was attended with great burdens, having not only his own, but the people's sins to answer for; and therefore they had no such reason to envy him, if the benefits and dangers were equally considered.” (Wesley Notes)
“The greater the trust of work and power that is committed to us, the greater danger there is of betraying that trust. This is a good reason why we should neither envy others' honours, nor desire high places.” (Matthew Henry) “This teaches us a fine lesson, and one much needed by Christians at the present moment. We all want to bear in mind that service, to be intelligent and acceptable, must be rendered in subjection to priestly authority and guidance.” (C. H. Mackintosh's Notes on the Pentateuch)
Also bring with you your brethren of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may be joined with you and serve you while you and your sons are with you before the tabernacle of witness. “The Levites are said to minister to Aaron here… [but] they shall not contend with thee for superiority, as they have done, but shall be subordinate to thee.” (Wesley) “The departments of the sacred office, to be filled respectively by the priests and Levites, are here assigned to each. To the priests was committed the charge of the sanctuary and the altar, while the Levites were to take care of everything else about the tabernacle. The Levites were to attend the priests as servants--bestowed on them as ‘gifts’ to aid in the service of the tabernacle--while the high and dignified office of the priesthood was a ‘service of gift.’” (Jamieson, Faussett, and Brown)
“This stamped its distinct character upon the entire range of Levite service. The whole tribe of workers were associated with and subject to the great high priest. All was under his immediate control and guidance. So must it be now, in reference to all God's workers. All Christian service must be rendered in fellowship with our great High Priest, and in holy subjection to His authority. It is of no value otherwise. There may be a great deal of work done, there may be a great deal of activity; but if Christ be not the immediate object before the heart, if His guidance and authority be not fully owned, the work must go for nothing.
But, on the other hand, the smallest act of service the meanest work done under the eye of Christ, done with direct reference to Him, has its value in God's estimation, and shall, most assuredly, receive its due reward. This is truly encouraging, and consolatory to the heart of every earnest worker. The Levites had to work under Aaron. Christians have to work under Christ. We are responsible to Him. It is very well and very beautiful to walk in fellowship with our dear fellow-workmen, and to be subject one to another, in the fear of the Lord. Nothing is further from our thoughts that to foster or countenance a spirit of haughty independence, or that temper of soul which would hinder our genial and hearty co-operation with our brethren in every good work. All the Levites were ‘joined unto Aaron,’ in their work, and therefore they were joined one to another. Hence, they had to work together. If a Levite had turned his back upon his brethren, he would have turned his back upon Aaron. We may imagine a Levite, taking offence at something or other in the conduct of his fellows, and saying to Himself, ‘I cannot get on with my brethren. I must walk alone. I can serve God, and work under Aaron; but I must beep aloof from my brethren inasmuch as I find it impossible to agree with them as to the mode of working.’ But we can easily see through the fallacy of all this. For a, Levite to adopt such a line of action would have produced nothing but confusion. All were called to work together, how varied soever their work might be.”
(C. H. Mackintosh's Notes on the Pentateuch)
In the Christian era, all in the church service are either priests or Levites. “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” (1 John 1:5-10)
Only Aaron and his sons with him could attend the altar, “and the area behind the veil.” “This phrase here comprehends both the holy and the most holy place. As a gift which I have freely conferred upon you, and upon you alone; and therefore let no man henceforth dare either to charge you with arrogance in appropriating this to yourselves, or to invade your office.” (Wesley) Yet at Christ’s death, “And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom;” (Matthew 27:51)
“Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God.” (Hebrews 10:19-21)
“Outsiders, non-priests, and Levites could not intrude on the priestly office or they would die ( Numbers 18:7)." (Dr. Thomas Constable) This includes those of the other tribes of the rebellious people of Israel. The meaning of "intrude", "goes beyond simple, physical approach to the more abstract amplifications: ‘have access to,’ ‘be admitted to,’ ‘be associated with.’ In prohibitions ... it means ‘encroach.’” [Jacob Milgrom, ‘The Cultic Use of qrb/ngs,’ in Proceedings of the Fifth World Congress of Jewish Studies] Again, the penalty annexed to transgression is death,
Numbers 18: Next-day Repost: The Priestly Heave Offerings
8 And the Lord spoke to Aaron: “Here, I Myself have also given you charge of My heave offerings, all the holy gifts of the children of Israel; I have given them as a portion to you and your sons, as an ordinance forever. 9 This shall be yours of the most holy things reserved from the fire: every offering of theirs, every grain offering and every sin offering and every trespass offering which they render to Me, shall be most holy for you and your sons. 10 In a most holy place you shall eat it; every male shall eat it. It shall be holy to you.
I strove very hard yesterday and did not find this until this morning. While it is certainly true, as most commentaries point out, that God promises to take care of his people with both food that perishes, as well as that which endures to eternal life, there is a much deeper meaning that I missed yesterday. "Here we have a type of the people of God looked at in another aspect. They are here presented, … not as Levites, but as priests... It demands a very large measure of spiritual capacity to enter into the depth and meaning of this marvellous passage. To eat the sin offering, or the trespass offering is, in figure, to make another's sin or trespass one's own. This is very holy work. It is not every one who can, in spirit, identify himself with the sin of his brother.
To do so in fact, in the way of atonement, is, we need hardly say, wholly out of question. There was but One who could do this; and He — adored forever be His name! — has done it perfectly.
But there is such a thing as making my brother's sin my own, and bearing it in spirit before God, as though it were my own. This is shadowed forth by Aaron's sons eating the sin offering, in the most holy place. It was only the sons who did so. 'Every male shall eat it.' It was the very highest order of priestly service. 'in the most holy place shalt thou eat it.' We need to be very near to Christ in order to enter into the spiritual meaning and application of all this. It is a wonderfully blessed and holy exercise; and it can only be known in the immediate presence of God. How little we really know of this the heart can testify. Our tendency is, when a brother has sinned, to sit in judgement upon him; to take the place of a severe censor, to look upon his sin as a something with which we have nothing whatever to do. This is to fail sadly in our priestly functions. It is refusing to eat the sin offering in the most holy place. It is a most precious fruit of grace to be able so to identify oneself with an erring brother as to make his sin one's own — to bear it in spirit before God. This truly is a very high order of priestly service, and demands a large measure of the spirit and mind of Christ. It is only the spiritual who really enter into this; and alas! how few of us are truly spiritual! 'Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.' (Galatians 6:1-2) May the Lord give us grace to fulfil this blessed 'law!' How unlike it is to everything in us! How it rebukes our harshness and selfishness! Oh! to be more like Christ in this as in ALL beside!”
(C. H. Mackintosh's Notes on the Pentateuch)
11 "This also is yours: the heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel; I have given them to you, and your sons and daughters with you, as an ordinance forever. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it. 12 All the best of the oil, all the best of the new wine and the grain, their firstfruits which they offer to the Lord, I have given them to you. 13 Whatever first ripe fruit is in their land, which they bring to the Lord, shall be yours. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it.
“As a general principle, the ‘son’ presents the divine idea; the ‘daughter,’ the human apprehension thereof: the ‘male’ sets forth the thing as God gives it; the ‘female’ as we realise and exhibit it… [So ] there was another order of priestly privilege, not so high as that which we have been considering. ’And this is thine: the heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel: I have given them unto thee, and to thy sons, and to the daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: every one that is clean in thy house shall eat of it.’ (Verse 11) The daughters of Aaron were not to eat of the sin offerings or the trespass offerings. They were provided for according to the utmost limit of their capacity; but there were certain functions which they could not discharge — certain privileges which lay beyond their range — certain responsibilities too weighty for them to sustain. It is far easier to have fellowship with another in the presentation of a thank offering than it is to make his sin our own. This matter demands a measure of priestly energy which finds its type in Aaron's ‘sons,’ not in his ‘daughters.’ We must be prepared for those varied measures amongst the members of the priestly household. We are all blessed be God, on the same ground; we all stand in the same title; we are all in the same relationship; but our capabilities vary; and while we should all aim at the very highest standard of priestly service, and the very highest measure of priestly capacity, it is of no possible use to pretend to what we do not possess.
One thing, however, is clearly taught in verse 11 and that is, we must be ‘clean’ in order to enjoy any priestly privilege, or eat of any priestly food — clean, through the precious blood of Christ applied to our conscience — clean, through the application of the word, by the Spirit, to our habits, associations, and ways. When thus clean, whatever be our capacity, we have the richest provision made for our souls, through the precious grace of God. Hearken to the following Words: ‘All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the firstfruits of them which they shall offer unto the Lord, them have I given thee. And whatsoever is first ripe in the land, which they shall bring unto the Lord, shall be thine; every one who is clean in thy house shall eat of it.’ (Verses 12, 13)
Let the reader consider what the moral effect must be of taking the above passage literally and applying it to a certain priestly class in the Church of God: Take it typically and spiritually, and you have a striking and beautiful figure of the spiritual food provided for all the members of the priestly family, which is, in one word Christ in all His preciousness and fullness.
Here, assuredly, we have a princely portion provided for those who are made priests unto God. They were to have the very best, and the very first of everything which the Lord's land produced. There was ‘The wine which maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart.’ (Psalms 104:15)
What a figure have we, in all this, of our portion in Christ! The olive, the grape, and the finest of the wheat were pressed and bruised, in order to feed and gladden the priests of God; and the blessed Antitype of all these has, in infinite grace, been bruised and crushed in death, in order that by His flesh and blood, He might minister life, strength, and gladness to His household. He, the precious corn of wheat, fell into the ground and died, that we might live; and the juices of the living vine were pressed to till that cup of salvation of which we drink, now, and shall drink for ever, in the presence of our God.
What, therefore, remains? What do we want, save an enlarged capacity to enjoy the fullness and blessedness of our portion in a crucified, risen, and glorified Saviour? We may well say, ‘We have all and abound.’ God has given us all that even He could give — the very best He had. He has given us His own portion. He has called us to sit down with Himself, in holy, happy fellowship, and feast upon the fatted calf. He has caused our ears to hear, and our hearts, in some small degree, to enter into these most marvellous words, ‘let us eat and be merry.’ How wonderful to think that nothing could satisfy the heart and mind of God but to gather His people round Himself and feed them with that in which He Himself delights! ‘Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son, Jesus Christ.’ (1 John 1:1-10) ”
(C. H. Mackintosh's Notes on the Pentateuch)
Are you called to the priesthood of believers? Can you eat of Jesus' flesh and drink of His cup? Of necessity, all of the burnt offering, except the skin, was consumed on the brazen altar, Christ suffering destruction for us. But these were “heave offerings” of various other gifts to God which were “reserved from the fire” (Num 18:9), heave-- “the technical term developed from a root signifying ‘to be high’ and meaning ‘that which is lifted up…” (Tyndale) symbolizing salvation from wrath by the resurrection of Christ. Eating a portion of these sacrifices- lifted from the fire, as ascribed by Yahweh, teaches us some important precepts about the life and death of Jesus. As we prepare to partake of Holy Communion in the community of faith, let us search out leaven or sin in our lives and rid ourselves of it: “Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” (1 Corinthians 5:8)
Numbers 18: Every Devoted Thing in Israel is The High Priest's
14 “Every devoted thing in Israel shall be yours. 15 Everything that first opens the womb of all flesh, which they bring to the Lord, whether man or beast, shall be yours; nevertheless the firstborn of man you shall surely redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem.
Every devoted thing in Israel shall be yours..."All things belong to you, and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God." (1 Cor 3:22-23) Every thing that openeth the matrix, whether man or beast, shall be yours... "All the first born of man and beast along with the first fruits of the field shall belong to the high priest of Aaron, as an allegory that they shall belong to the New Covenant High Priest Jesus Christ and his priesthood." (TheShiningLIght- COG) Nevertheless the firstborn of man you shall SURELY redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem... "A stronger expression is intentionally used in reference to the redemption of the first-born of man than in reference to that of unclean beasts. For the rule as to the former admitted of no exception: the owner of the latter, if unwilling to redeem, might destroy the beasts." (Barnes)
As for those redeemed, Aaron was "not to keep the humans, but redeem them, and also unclean animals, which could not be offered. Of course the owner would be responsible to bring the sacrifice for their redemption.” (Grant) Yet unclean animals not redeemed by their owners must be destroyed by them. Thus it will be for humans when the One who is qualified and willing to be our Kinsman Redeemer comes again and judges an unclean and unredeemed man or woman.
"The firstborn of man were to be consecrated to Jehovah as a sacrifice, not after the manner of the heathen, by slaying and burning upon the altar, but by presenting them to the Lord as living sacrifices, devoting all their powers of body and mind to his service. Romans 12:1, note. ‘As the Egyptians were judged in their firstborn children because of their guilt, so that the children took the place of the whole nation, and bore as a sacrifice the curse of extermination which lay on all; so, on the contrary, Israel — the people chosen by Jehovah and redeemed from the bondage of man — in testimony that it owes its existence and possessions to divine grace alone,… shall bring to God, as payment, the firstling blessings of his house in place of the whole.’ — Oehler. Since the first birth represented all the births, the whole nation was to consecrate itself to Jehovah, and present itself as a priestly nation in the consecration of the firstborn, thus fore-shadowing the ‘royal priesthood’ of every individual believer in Christ. See the Septuagint of Exodus 19:6, and 1 Peter 2:9. " (Whedon) It seems to me that the firstborn of types of living are a sort of heave offering lifted out of the fire.
16 And those redeemed of the devoted things you shall redeem when one month old, according to your valuation, for five shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs.
And this is how you are to do it: you shall redeem when one month old…, that is men “not of unclean beasts last mentioned, as is manifest from the time and price of redemption here mentioned, both which agree to men; the time, Numbers 18:16; the price, Numbers 3:46,47; but neither agree to unclean beasts, which were to be redeemed with a sheep, Exodus 13:13, and that after it was eight days old... According to thine estimation… that whereas women newly delivered of a child continued in their uncleanness either a longer or shorter time, according to the quality of the birth, as it was male or female, Leviticus 12:4,5, and the temper of the mother, the priest was to take that time when he judged the mother to be clean, that so the mother might be purified and the child redeemed at the same time.“ (Poole) For five shekels of silver, which is twenty gerahs… which “is the [same] price given for the redemption of the firstborn, when the Levites were taken in their stead, Numbers 3:47.” (Gill) According to the silver of the sanctuary... The foundation of sanctuary had been established by half a shekel of silver for each man of the sons of Israel. (Exo 30: 11-13) "It was melted down..., so as to be a ‘memorial’ permanently present to God when His people met with Him. The greater portion was made into bases for the boards of the sanctuary. That is, God’s dwelling with men and our communion with Him all rest on the basis of ransom.” (MacLaren) "We may remark that man is placed on a level with the unclean beast. Both had to be redeemed. The unclean beast was unfit for God; and so was man, unless redeemed...” (Mackintosh)
“And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. (1 Peter 1:17-21)
17 But the firstborn of a cow, 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 burn their fat as an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma to the Lord. 18 And their flesh shall be yours, just as the wave breast and the right thigh are yours.
In stark contrast, the firstborn of clean animals was not to be redeemed. So God distinguishes between clean and unclean. "What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy." (Acts 10:15) The cow, the sheep, the goat-- these animals were clean, according to the Word of God, and thus fit to be offered for sacrifice. And so the firstborn of each mother, as a type of Christ, was considered holy and was to be consumed by the high priest. The blood was to be sprinkled on the altar for ceremonial cleansing. And the fat was to be burned as an offering to Yahweh... denoting "the richest part of the animal... the best of any production (Gen 45:18; Num 18:12; Ps 81:16; 147:47)...” (Easton)-- a sweet aroma to Him. And the flesh was Aaron's. Jesus is the firstborn of mankind. His blood cleanses the altar because He lived a perfect life and died for our sins. The fat of His offering is a sweet aroma to Yahweh. And His body and blood are for the daily sustenance of His people until He comes again for their salvation.
19 "All of the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer to the Lord, I have given to you and your sons and daughters with you as an ordinance forever; it is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord with you and your descendants with you."
So now the portion of each has been established-- that of the sons and daughters (as different types of a single believer), as well as for the high priest (a type of Christ)
Salt preserves. These are a covenant of salt, ”that is, incorruptible; for the word of the Lord is clean, and abideth for ever. See on Lev 2:13; 2 Chron 13:5." (Sutcliffe) “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.” (1 Cor 11:23-26)
Numbers 18: Care of the Priests and Levites
20 Then the Lord said to Aaron: “You shall have no inheritance in their land, nor shall you have any portion among them; I am your portion and your inheritance among the children of Israel."
"The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein," (Ps 24:1) and He had given the earthly Canaan to Israel, including all of it's produce. "And the Lord spake unto Aaron,.... What is said, being what concerned the tribe of Levi, at the head of which Aaron was, even concerning the maintenance of the Levites: thou shalt have no inheritance in their land; in the land of Israel when they come to possess it, as the rest of the tribes had: neither shalt thou have any part among them; any part of the land when it is divided by lot, as it was in the times of Joshua, when taken from the Canaanites;... no, not even in the spoil of the cities of the land of Canaan, when they were conquered; this Maimonides says they were warned not to take; and a son of Levi that took any part of the spoil was to be beaten;... the reason of all this was, because they had a sufficient provision made for them in another way, and that they might not be entangled in worldly affairs, or spend their time in the culture of fields and vineyards, but wholly give themselves to the service of God in his..." (Gill)— to making disciples, the eternal redemption of Israelites.
"As Israel was a peculiar people, and not to be numbered among the nations, so Levi was a peculiar tribe, and not to be settled as the rest of the tribes, but in all respects distinguished from them. A good reason is given why they must have no inheritance in the land, for, says God, I am thy part, and thy inheritance." (Matthew Henry Commentary)
Aaron received a special portion-- Yahweh Himself-- to be shared with the priests, Levites and other tribes. The image "of the inheritance is a two-way one: if Israel is Yahweh's inheritance, Yahweh is also Israel's inheritance, in a particular sense for the Levites (Num. 18.20; Dt. 10.9; 18.2), in a general sense for the body of the faithful (Ps. 16.5-6).’” (E. Jacob) By sharing, the faithful Levite's portion was not diminished! "Precious fact. 'All our springs are in Him.' What more do we want? Shall we turn to man or to this world for relief or resource? God forbid! Nay, rather let it be our one grand object to prove, in our entire history, in every phase of our character, and in every department of our work, that God is enough for our hearts.
It is truly deplorable. to find God's people, and Christ's servants, looking to the world for support, and trembling at the thought of that support being withheld." (C. H. Mackintosh Notes on the Pentateuch)
IT WAS NOT the provision of food or that of the silver that sustained Aaron and his spiritual children in this world;
IT WAS the breath of Yahweh and the Promise of the World to Come.
21 “Behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work which they perform, the work of the tabernacle of meeting. 22 Hereafter the children of Israel shall not come near the tabernacle of meeting, lest they bear sin and die. 23 But the Levites shall perform the work of the tabernacle of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be a statute forever, throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance. 24 For the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer up as a heave offering to the Lord, I have given to the Levites as an inheritance; therefore I have said to them, ‘Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.’”
The priests and Levites — “God's worshippers and workers, were to have no inheritance among the children of Israel, but were to be absolutely shut up to God Himself, for the supply of all their need. Most blessed position. Nothing can be more lovely than the picture here presented. The children of Israel were to bring their offerings, and lay them down at the feet of Jehovah, and He, in His infinite grace, commanded His workers to pick up these precious offerings… and feed upon them, in His own blessed presence, with thankful hearts. “ (C. H. Mackintosh's Notes on the Pentateuch) The Levites did not share in the sacrificial offerings of the people to Yahweh, “but God provided for them in His requiring tithes (one tenth of income) from all Israel. This was a fair return for the work they were given. It was their work alone: others of the children of Israel were not to come near to take any part in the service God had given the Levites, no more than they were to infringe on the service of the priests (v.22). In their measure the Levites also were to ‘bear their iniquity,’ that is, to take the responsibility for the iniquity of the children of Israel as identified with the priests, who of course alone could offer the sacrifices for that iniquity (v.23).The tithes were necessary for their support since they, as well as the priests, had no inheritance among the children of Israel. They were scattered among the tribes, rather than having any property for their own tribe (v.24).” (L. M. Grant's Commentary on the Bible)
25 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 26 “Speak thus to the Levites, and say to them: ‘When you take from the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them as your inheritance, then you shall offer up a heave offering of it to the Lord, a tenth of the tithe. 27 And your heave offering shall be reckoned to you as though it were the grain of the threshing floor and as the fullness of the winepress. 28 Thus you shall also offer a heave offering to the Lord from all your tithes which you receive from the children of Israel, and you shall give the Lord’s heave offering from it to Aaron the priest. 29 Of all your gifts you shall offer up every heave offering due to the Lord, from all the best of them, the consecrated part of them.’ 30 Therefore you shall say to them: ‘When you have lifted up the best of it, then the rest shall be accounted to the Levites as the produce of the threshing floor and as the produce of the winepress. 31 You may eat it in any place, you and your households, for it is your reward for your work in the tabernacle of meeting.
The heave offering of the sacrifices of the children of Israel was lifted out of the fire and consumed by Aaron and his sons and daughters- not the Levites. Here, the children of Israel were commanded to give one tenth of their income, including the produce of the land directly to the Levites. But a part— a sort of heave offering— is lifted out by Moses and given to the Lord. And again, the Lord allotted His part to Aaron- the high priest. “The apostle Paul hath made one general observation to this amount, in relation to our great High Priest, when he tells us, that the Levitical priesthood payed tithes to the unchangeable everlasting priesthood of JESUS, Hebrews 7:9-10. A precious instruction this, to teach us that all things bend and give way to Him, who is not made a priest after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life. Hebrews 7:16.
Oh! thou Almighty Aaron of our Gospel profession, thou dearest JESUS! who hast indeed, in thine own precious body on the tree, borne the burden of the sins, and of the most holy things, of thy people! In what I read in this chapter of Aaron and his sons, I behold thine unequalled person represented. It is thou, and thou alone, who hast sustained the dreadful pressure of sin and transgression. It is thou alone to whom the LORD JEHOVAH could say, ‘Thou shalt bear the iniquity of the sanctuary, and the iniquity of the priesthood’: for when neither the blood of bulls nor of goats could take away sin; then did the Saviour cry, ‘Lo! I come.’ Oh! do thou still bear for me, and all thy ministering servants, both our sins and sorrows: do thou bear, LORD, the care of all thy churches; do thou bear our names upon thine arm, and upon thine heart, when going in before the mercy-seat; and when thou hast borne all thy people safely through every temptation, do thou bear them home to thy throne of glory, that where thou art there they may be also. Amen.” (Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary)
32 "And you shall bear no sin because of it, when you have lifted up the best of it. But you shall not profane the holy gifts of the children of Israel, lest you die.’”
“Neither shall ye pollute the holy things — As you will do, if you abuse their holy offerings, by reserving that entirely to yourselves, which they offer to God to be disposed as he hath appointed, namely, part to you, and part to the priests.” (John Wesley’s Explanatory Notes)