What is the significance of the offering being "reckoned to you as grain" in Numbers 18:27? Immediate Setting Yahweh has just assigned the Levites the tithe of Israel’s produce as their inheritance (Numbers 18:21–24). Verses 25-29 command the Levites to give a “tithe of the tithe” to Aaronic priests. Verse 27 explains how that tithe is viewed: God credits (Heb. חָשַׁב ḥāšab) the Levites’ presentation “as grain” or “as wine,” i.e., as if it were their own first harvest. Covenantal Logic 1. Ownership: “All the earth is Mine” (Exodus 19:5). 2. Delegation: Israel receives land; Levites receive tithes in lieu of land (Numbers 18:20-24). 3. Representation: Levites stand between lay Israel and priests; their tithe represents the people’s gratitude before God. Cultic Function Acceptability: Produce taken off the threshing floor/winepress is the freshest, first and best (cf. Exodus 34:26). God insists that the Levites’ tithe be of identical quality, not leftovers from what they received. The reckoning clause assures the priests that the gift is ceremonially clean and of first-fruit status. Typological Trajectory • Firstfruits ➜ Christ: “Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20). • Imputation of righteousness: Abraham’s faith “was credited to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:22). Numbers 18:27 foreshadows this Gospel principle—God counts a substitute offering as entirely sufficient when properly given. Support of Gospel Ministry Paul cites the Levitical economy to defend material support for New-Covenant ministers (1 Corinthians 9:13-14). The reckoning clause thus grounds a timeless ethical principle: those who labor in Word and sacrament should live from the offerings of God’s people, and such offerings are to be treated as holy firstfruits. Archaeological Corroboration Hezekiah’s “storehouses” discovered at Khirbet Qeiyafa and the LMLK jar handles demonstrate large-scale royal handling of grain/wine tithes (2 Chronicles 31:11-12). The socioeconomic infrastructure presupposed in Numbers is historically realistic. Practical Application 1. Give the best, not the rest. 2. Ministry support is not optional; it is sacred. 3. Understand that in Christ our offerings—material and spiritual—are credited with full covenantal worth. Summary “Reckoned…as grain” guarantees that the Levites’ tithe of the tithe is: • legally equivalent to Israel’s firstfruits, • ceremonially acceptable, • theologically illustrative of imputation, • exemplary for New-Covenant stewardship, • textually secure, historically plausible, and devotionally compelling. |
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