I Am Your Portion [Numbers 18]

 ⁶"Behold, I Myself have taken your fellow Levites from among the sons of Israel; they are a gift to you, dedicated to the LORD, to perform the service for the tent of meeting. ⁷"But you and your sons with you shall attend to your priesthood for everything concerning the altar and inside the veil, and you are to perform service I am giving you the priesthood as a bestowed service, but the outsider who comes near shall be put to death."

 ¹⁹"All the offerings of the holy gifts, which the sons of Israel offer to the LORD, I have given to you and your sons and your daughters with you, as a perpetual allotment It is an everlasting covenant of salt before the LORD to you and your descendants with you." ²⁰Then the LORD said to Aaron, "You shall have no inheritance in their land nor own any portion among them; I am your portion and your inheritance among the sons of Israel. ²¹"To the sons of Levi, behold, I have given all the tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they perform, the service of the tent of meeting.

In this discourse God has with Aaron He tells him that He is giving him the work of priesthood as a gift.  He has chosen just the Levite tribe to minister in this way.  He then reminded Aaron that He is taking care of their and their families' needs for food and shelter through the gifts and offerings of the people. God had planned very carefully to make sure the priests, who were taking care of the people's spiritual needs, were well taken care of. God promised to be their portion and their inheritance.  

There is a large focus on planning for retirement and having an inheritance to leave to our children in America today.   As I read this chapter I saw a contrast again between what the world values and what God values. 

Lord, we praise You that You are the One who provides for Your people.  Thank You that You give us the work of ministry as a wonderful gift.  We praise You that You are our portion and our inheritance.  You promise to provide all we need.