The Priesthood Isn’t Free

Synopsis     Joshua 21:23-42     5/21/2018

The Gershonite clan came from the tribe of Levi. Because none of the Levites received territory in the Promised Land, they all ended up living in cities within the territory of the other tribes. So, the Gershonites received cities from the tribe of Manasseh, including the sanctuary city of Golan.

After the Gershonites received their cities, the Merarites, the final clan of Levites, received cities from the tribe of Zebulun.  As a result, the total number of cities given over to the the Levites from all of the other tribes was forty-eight.

The Priesthood Wasn’t Free

Moses introduced the Israelites to a system of worship that required the labor of approximately one-tenth of the population. So, about one out of every ten Israelites functioned in full-time paid ministry. The people valued and willingly invested in the keeping the ministry strong.

The Priesthood Isn’t Free

What’s necessary for the Authentic Community to survive today? It takes two things: People willing to be wholly devoted to ministry as priests, religious and other full time ministers, and the natural commitment to support from all community members.

In the Authentic Community, support for ministry is a component of God’s covenant with us. God makes a claim on a portion of the goods that come to us as a result of our labor. Historically, this has never been understood as optional. It is a component of the economy of redemption. Somehow contributing to the good of the Authentic Community can’t be legitimately separated from the experience of salvation.

“You pay tithesof mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier things of the law: judgment and mercy and fidelity. [But] these you should have done, without neglecting the others.” Matt 23:23