Dear Neighbor,
In the U.S.A. we pay income tax to the federal government and in the state of Texas we pay property tax and sales tax to the state, county and city. So, we are taxed when we earn a dollar, when we spend a dollar and we are taxed if we own property. The federal government also taxes our aires when we die.
This morning I read Joshua 11-15; the conquest of the land and distribution of the land among the tribes of Israel just as the Lord commend Moses His servant. (Joshua 11:15) There were no king in Israel like the nations that they dispossessed. Israel followed the Lord their God. When the land was divided among the tribes, the tribe of Levi did not receive an inheritance, the Lord God is their inheritance. (Joshua 13:33)
Portion of the Levites
“The Levitical priests, the whole tribe of Levi, shall have no portion or inheritance with Israel; they shall eat the LORD’S offerings by fire and His portion. They shall have no inheritance among their countrymen; the LORD is their inheritance, as He promised them.” (Deuteronomy 18:1-2)
The Lord God created a dependent class of people in Israel. There was no government or king to extract taxes but the Israelites were to give offerings to the Lord and it was from these offerings that the Levites ate.
In his farewell address to the Elders at Ephesus, the apostle Paul said: “In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:35)
Michael Peek
Your Servant for Jesus’ Sake
