Appreciating Our Spiritual Leaders [Numbers 8]

¹³"You shall have the Levites stand before Aaron and before his sons so as to present them as a wave offering to the LORD. ¹⁴"Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the sons of Israel, and the Levites shall be Mine. ¹⁵"Then after that the Levites may go in to serve the tent of meeting. But you shall cleanse them and present them as a wave offering; ¹⁶for they are wholly given to Me from among the sons of Israel I have taken them for Myself instead of every first issue of the womb, the firstborn of all the sons of Israel. ¹⁷"For every firstborn among the sons of Israel is Mine, among the men and among the animals; on the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for Myself. ¹⁸"But I have taken the Levites instead of every firstborn among the sons of Israel. ¹⁹"I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the sons of Israel, to perform the service of the sons of Israel at the tent of meeting and to make atonement on behalf of the sons of Israel, so that there will be no plague among the sons of Israel by their coming near to the sanctuary."

In the other times that I have this passage I guess I never noticed that God took the Levites for Himself "instead of every first issue of the womb, the firstborn of all the sons of Israel."  The Levites became the ones dedicated to God so that each family did not have to give up their firstborn for this service.  It was a substitution, one that each family should have been extremely grateful for.  Others were set apart for God's work instead of each first-born child.  No wonder there was a sense of duty to feed and care for the Levites. 

Lord, fill us with gratitude for those who You have chosen to serve You today.  Cause us to freely give to take care of their needs.  Give us Your power to fulfill the request You made to "appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another." (1 Thes. 5:12-13)