EVERYTHING DEVOTED God was most gracious in providing for Aaron and his -- Monday:
" Everything devoted in Israel shall be thine." (Number 18:14)
sons. They had been set aside for exclusive service to God. They had no property, and neither planted nor reaped from their own fields. God provided their sustenance from the offerings of the people–offerings presented to the Lord Himself. Every grain offering, every sin offering, and every guilt offering, was given to them as a perpetual allotment (18:9). These were all to be eaten in the holy place, and in personal purity, or cleanness (18:18:10-11). As if this were not enough, the Lord also gave them "All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat," and "whatsoever is first ripe in the land" (18:12-13). Our text then summarizes Divine provision for the priesthood: "Everything devoted in Israel shall be thine." If it was not devoted, or consecrated to God, they could not have it. If it was unclean, they could not have it. Only what was "devoted" to God was lawful for them.
The law was very particular on this point. Even the "firstborn" of both man and beast belonged to them. The man for service, and beast for offering and consumption. "Every thing that openeth the matrix in all flesh, which they bring unto the LORD, whether it be of men or beasts, shall be thine: nevertheless the firstborn of man shalt thou surely redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts shalt thou redeem" (v 15). Notice how the men are classed with the unclean beasts. Both were unclean by nature–the beasts by Divine definition, the man because of sin. Both had to be "redeemed" before they could truly belong to the priests.
These laws shed some light on the circumstances of the children of God, made accepted in Christ Jesus. In similar language, the saints of God are told, "Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's" (1 Cor 3:21-23). However, all of them must be devoted to the Lord! Before Paul, Apollos, and Cephas, could be given to us, they were first given to the Lord. When He received them, they became profitable to us–and not before.
When it comes to the things of this world, they also are to be devoted to the Lord. Take, for example, the ordinary matter of food. The Spirit witnesses, "For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer" (1 Tim 4:5). Divine sanction and the prayer of the believer precedes the consumption of food. Thus Jesus blessed the loaves and fishes before having them distributed to the multitudes (Lk 9:16). He also blessed the bread that He brake on the night of His betrayal (Matt 26:26). When Paul was aboard a ship about to be wrecked, he took bread and "gave thanks to God in presence of them all" (Acts 27:35). Holy men have always taken seriously the matter of devoting things to God–whether it be themselves or their possessions.
Thus, we see that nothing is to be taken for granted. We are not simply to assume everything belongs to God, but are to honor that reality by deliberately, and with our whole heart, presenting it to God. Just as with the early priests of Israel, nothing really belongs to us that has not been devoted first to God. Therefore, the Spirit testifies, "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him" (Col 3:17).
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank You for the abundance You have given to Your children. I honor You by first giving them to You, dedicating them to Your service.