Adonai said to Moshe, “Take all the booty, both people and animals, you, El‘azar the cohen and the leaders of clans in the community; and divide the booty into two parts: half for the experienced soldiers who went out to battle, and half for the rest of the community.”-Numbers 31:25-27
In the latter half of Numbers chapter 31, following the slaughter of the Midianites, we are told how the spoils of war were to be divvied up.
Here’s how it was done and the math is actually pretty darn simple.
The 12,000 soldiers who did the fighting got to keep 50% of all the booty and the other half was given to the remaining 3 million citizens of Israel.
Is this not a far cry from how the nations of the world treat their militaries where it’s usually the common soldiers who get paid the least?
After the booty was halved between the soldiers and the citizens, the next order of the day was to give the Lord His portion which meant giving the priesthood their due.
It’s important to understand that as a foundational principle, ultimately everything gained in a Holy War was the Lord’s property, so it was only fair and just that God (represented by the Levitical Priesthood) got His portion.
Here’s how it was done:
The soldiers were to tithe back 1/500th of their share (only 2/10ths of 1 percent!!!)
On the other hand, the citizens of Israel were to tithe a full 1/50th or 2% from what they had received.
After the priesthood got their portion, let’s see how it was divvied up.
First, according to the records we have access to, we know that there were 10 Levites for each one priest who was serving at the temple.
This 10-to-1 ratio was the norm.
And I remind you that although all priests were Levites, the opposite was NOT true.
Not all Levites were priests.
There were “common Levites” and “priestly Levites“, so to speak and it was ONLY the priests who officiated over the sacrifices and rituals.
Getting back to the priesthood’s division of the booty, how it worked is that the common Levites received a 1/50th tithe and the Priests received a 1/500th tithe.
Now at first glance it would appear that the common Levites received 10 times more than the Priests.
But don’t forget what I just told you.
There were 10 Levites established for every one priest.
So at the end of the day, every priest and every Levite received EXACTLY THE SAME AMOUNT.
Again, this is a far cry from how salaries are broken down in most churches where the senior minister receives the lion’s share of the money that comes in followed by the junior ministers who get what’s left over which is usually a lot less.
Wow, the Biblical example established here is opposite from how the world works, isn’t it?!
The common foot soldier in ancient Israel received a whopping 50% of the booty he gained from risking his life in battle.
And when the Levites received their portion, it was divided equally per man.
In a Godly economy where the Lord instead of greed and lust for money is placed first, things are so much more fair and evenly distributed.
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