Leviticus 7 — Thoughts

What Meets Your Needs?

When the Hebrews dreamt about the Promised Land, they probably talked together about their plans for when they got there. This one plans to plant a vineyard. That one will ranch sheep. This other will start a stone masonry business. Each knew that, in the “Land of Milk and Honey,” they were sure to be a success and enjoy the fruits of their labor.

The priests, however, wouldn’t get the opportunity. Their full-time role was to serve God and the people in the Tabernacle. And it’s hard to plant, ranch, or start a business while performing sacrifices all day. I wonder if the priests were a little anxious about what life in the Promised Land would look like for them.

Brother Andrew, the founder of Open Doors, recalls missionaries-in-training setting out in faith that God would provide for their needs as they told people about Jesus. 

“I saw God meet their practical needs in the most unusual ways,” he wrote in God’s Smuggler. “Never once did I see anyone go hungry or coatless…”

It makes me think of Jesus’ instructions when sending out His own disciples:

“He told them: “Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt.”

He wanted them to rely on the Lord while serving the Lord — and that’s what God is asking the priests to do in this chapter.

As Paul writes: “…the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.”

So if we know people who are going out to share the Gospel, we should be willing to be used by God to meet their needs. And if we’re going out ourselves to tell people about Jesus, we should go with the expectation that God will provide for our needs once we get there.