The Portion That Cannot Be Taken

Last night, while preparing for my small group study on Numbers 17–20, I found myself lingering in Numbers 18 longer than I expected. At the same time, I’ve been working through a core disciplines class at church where we’re reading Desiring God— learning what it means to truly delight in the Lord, not just serve Him.

That overlapping of studies led me to a verse that jumped out at me in a way it hadn’t before — and that’s what I want to reflect on here. What began as a chapter filled with priestly assignments and regulations ended up drawing my attention to something eternal: that the Lord Himself is our portion. Our inheritance. Our joy.

Aaron and the Weight of the Priesthood

Numbers 18 comes right after one of the most intense leadership challenges in Israel’s early history. Korah and others rebelled against Aaron’s role as high priest. In response, God acted decisively — consuming the rebels, affirming Aaron through the miraculous budding of his staff, and making it unmistakably clear: Aaron had been chosen by God to intercede for His people.

Then, in chapter 18, God speaks directly to Aaron — a rare moment in Scripture. And the first thing He says?

“You and your sons will bear the iniquity of the sanctuary.” (v. 1)

That phrase carries enormous theological weight. It means Aaron, as high priest, is accountable for the sins and failures connected to God’s holy place. His job is to carry the burden of Israel’s iniquity — to intercede, to offer sacrifices, to guard the holiness of God’s presence.

This isn’t symbolic work. It’s life-and-death ministry.

But it’s also deeply prophetic. Aaron, in his role, becomes a living foreshadowing of someone greater: Jesus Christ, our ultimate High Priest.

From Aaron to Jesus: The Iniquity Bearer

The phrase “bear the iniquity” doesn’t disappear after Numbers 18. It reappears — climactically — in Isaiah 53:

“Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows… the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:4–6)

Jesus doesn’t just step into the role of high priest. He embodies it fully. He doesn’t offer another sacrifice — He is the sacrifice. And like Aaron, He bears the iniquity of others. But unlike Aaron, Jesus does it perfectly, eternally, and completely.

“He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily… since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.”

(Hebrews 7:27)

So when God tells Aaron in Numbers 18 that he must bear the iniquity of the people, we’re not just reading ancient priestly protocol. We’re looking through a window into the gospel. Aaron was a type. Christ is the fulfillment.

No Inheritance… Except God

And then comes verse 20, the one that hit me hardest:

“You shall have no inheritance in their land… I am your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel.”

The other tribes would receive land. Territory. Something visible and quantifiable. But the priests — Aaron and his sons — would receive something else: God Himself.

That’s not a consolation prize. That’s the whole point.

God is saying: Your reward is not something I give. Your reward is Me.

And that truth brings everything into focus. It exposes the way we so often think about inheritance or blessing — in terms of what God does or provides, rather than in terms of who He is.

But here, God doesn’t offer Aaron something from His hand. He offers Himself.

A Royal Priesthood: Our Role Today

That moment in Numbers 18 wasn’t just about Aaron. It was about us.

“You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation…”

(1 Peter 2:9)

This isn’t metaphor. This is identity. In Christ, we are not only forgiven — we are called to priestly service. Not with temple rituals or animal offerings, but as bearers of God’s presence, ministers of reconciliation, and intercessors for a world that desperately needs truth.

The call to bear spiritual responsibility didn’t end with the Old Testament priesthood — it deepened. Galatians 6:2 says:

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

That’s priestly language. And it means that our lives, as believers, are not just about personal holiness but about carrying one another, lifting each other in prayer, serving sacrificially, and walking in humility.

But here’s the key: we don’t bear iniquity to earn grace. We serve because Jesus already bore ours — fully, finally, at the cross.

Everything we do flows from what He has already finished.

Jesus Is Our Portion

Let’s come back to that phrase again: “I am your portion.”

This promise isn’t isolated. It echoes all throughout Scripture.

“The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.”

(Psalm 16:5)

“God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

(Psalm 73:26)

“The LORD is my portion, says my soul, therefore I will hope in Him.”

(Lamentations 3:24)

And then in the New Testament:

“…an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.”

(1 Peter 1:4)

Jesus is not merely the one who opens the way to blessing — He is the blessing.

He is the portion. The treasure. The inheritance.

So when God told Aaron, “You get Me,” He was revealing a pattern that would be fulfilled in Christ — and extended to all who are in Him.

Living Like He’s Enough

So what do we do with this?

We remember that priesthood is a call to holiness, yes — but it’s also a call to delight. To know and enjoy the One who is our portion.

It means we don’t serve to be seen.

We don’t give to get.

We don’t measure fruitfulness by earthly results.

We measure it by faithfulness to the One who cannot be lost.

Aaron’s priesthood came with weight. He carried iniquity. He made sacrifices. He stood in the gap. But in the end, he was given something greater than land or legacy — he was given God.

Now, through Jesus, that same inheritance has been given to us.

Not land.

Not prosperity.

Not clarity.

Christ.

“I am your portion,” He says.

And maybe that’s enough for today.

And maybe — if we really believe it — that’s enough for eternity.

And maybe that’s what Numbers 18 reminds us of most clearly — that Jesus isn’t just enough; He’s everything. He’s the portion that satisfies when everything else runs dry, the inheritance that cannot fade, the joy that cannot be stolen. When God said to Aaron, “I am your portion,” He was pointing forward to the One who would fulfill it completely.