Sunday, March 6, 2016

Provisions for Priests

(Deuteronomy 18:1 - 18:8)
“Take note that the Levitical priests, that is, the entire tribe of Levi, receive no allotment of land along with the other tribes of Israel.  Instead, the priests and Levites consume the food sacrifices dedicated to Jehovah: that is their portion.  They do not share in the inheritance given to their fellow Israelites; Jehovah himself is their inheritance, as he promised them.

“From those who sacrifice a bull or a sheep, the priests' share is the meat from the shoulder, the cheeks, and internals organs.  You must also give to the priests the first fruits of your grain, your new wine, and your olive oil, and the first shearing of wool from your sheep, for Jehovah your god has chosen them and their descendants, from out of all the tribes of Israel, to stand before the altar and minister in Jehovah's name for all time.

“If a Levite leaves a town in Israel in which he is living and goes to place chosen by Jehovah for his worship, then he may minister there in the name of Jehovah along with the other Levites who are already serving Jehovah there.  He may also partake of their share of food offerings, (regardless of what he may have realized from the sale of family property).”

Note
1. This reiterates the rights and privileges of the Levites, but also mentions another, the right of a Levite priest to leave one of the Israelite towns set aside for his tribe and become a priest in one of the Jehovan places of worship.  One wonders how this would work in practice.  It would be as if Catholic priests were allowed to go to any parish they wished and be allowed to officiate.  Wouldn't this result in chaos?  Wouldn’t this result in an over abundance of priests at more desirable places of worship?  One assumes that the high priest, the descendant of Aaron, would have authority over all matters affecting the tribe, but here there no provision to create the hierarchy necessary for the exercise of that authority or a protocol put in place for the delegation of his powers.

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