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2 Chronicles 13 9
But you banished the LORD’s priests, Aaron’s descendants, and the Levites, and appointed your own priests just as the surrounding nations do! Anyone who comes to consecrate himself with a young bull or seven rams becomes a priest of these fake gods!
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Numbers 35:2-5
“ Instruct the Israelites to give the Levites towns to live in from the inheritance the Israelites will possess. You must also give the Levites grazing land around the towns.Thus they will have towns in which to live, and their grazing lands will be for their cattle, for their possessions, and for all their animals.The grazing lands around the towns that you will give to the Levites must extend to a distance of 500 yards from the town wall.“ You must measure from outside the wall of the town on the east 1,000 yards, and on the south side 1,000 yards, and on the west side 1,000 yards, and on the north side 1,000 yards, with the town in the middle. This territory must belong to them as grazing land for the towns.
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1 Kings 12 28-1 Kings 12 33
After the king had consulted with his advisers, he made two golden calves. Then he said to the people,“ It is too much trouble for you to go up to Jerusalem. Look, Israel, here are your gods who brought you up from the land of Egypt.”He put one in Bethel and the other in Dan.This caused Israel to sin; the people went to Bethel and Dan to worship the calves.He built temples on the high places and appointed as priests people who were not Levites.Jeroboam inaugurated a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the festival celebrated in Judah. On the altar in Bethel he offered sacrifices to the calves he had made. In Bethel he also appointed priests for the high places he had made.On the fifteenth day of the eighth month( a date he had arbitrarily chosen) Jeroboam offered sacrifices on the altar he had made in Bethel. He inaugurated a festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to offer sacrifices.
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1 Chronicles 6 66-1 Chronicles 6 81
The clans of Kohath’s descendants also received territory within the tribe of Ephraim.They were allotted as cities of refuge Shechem and its pasturelands( in the hill country of Ephraim), Gezer and its pasturelands,Jokmeam and its pasturelands, Beth Horon and its pasturelands,Aijalon and its pasturelands, and Gath Rimmon and its pasturelands.Within the territory of the half-tribe of Manasseh, the rest of Kohath’s descendants received Aner and its pasturelands and Bileam and its pasturelands.The following belonged to Gershom’s descendants: Within the territory of the half-tribe of Manasseh: Golan in Bashan and its pasturelands and Ashtaroth and its pasturelands.Within the territory of the tribe of Issachar: Kedesh and its pasturelands, Daberath and its pasturelands,Ramoth and its pasturelands, and Anem and its pasturelands.Within the territory of the tribe of Asher: Mashal and its pasturelands, Abdon and its pasturelands,Hukok and its pasturelands, and Rehob and its pasturelands.Within the territory of the tribe of Naphtali: Kedesh in Galilee and its pasturelands, Hammon and its pasturelands, and Kiriathaim and its pasturelands.The following belonged to the rest of Merari’s descendants: Within the territory of the tribe of Zebulun: Rimmono and its pasturelands, and Tabor and its pasturelands.Within the territory of the tribe of Reuben across the Jordan River east of Jericho: Bezer in the desert and its pasturelands, Jahzah and its pasturelands,Kedemoth and its pasturelands, and Mephaath and its pasturelands.Within the territory of the tribe of Gad: Ramoth in Gilead and its pasturelands, Mahanaim and its pasturelands,Heshbon and its pasturelands, and Jazer and its pasturelands.
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Numbers 18:21-28
See, I have given the Levites all the tithes in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they perform– the service of the tent of meeting.No longer may the Israelites approach the tent of meeting, or else they will bear their sin and die.But the Levites must perform the service of the tent of meeting, and they must bear their iniquity. It will be a perpetual ordinance throughout your generations that among the Israelites the Levites have no inheritance.But I have given to the Levites for an inheritance the tithes of the Israelites that are offered to the LORD as a raised offering. That is why I said to them that among the Israelites they are to have no inheritance.”The LORD spoke to Moses:“ You are to speak to the Levites, and you must tell them,‘ When you receive from the Israelites the tithe that I have given you from them as your inheritance, then you are to offer up from it as a raised offering to the LORD a tenth of the tithe.And your raised offering will be credited to you as though it were grain from the threshing floor or as new wine from the winepress.Thus you are to offer up a raised offering to the LORD of all your tithes which you receive from the Israelites; and you must give the LORD’s raised offering from it to Aaron the priest.
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Leviticus 27:30-34
“‘ Any tithe of the land, from the grain of the land or from the fruit of the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD.If a man redeems part of his tithe, however, he must add one fifth to it.All the tithe of herd or flock, everything which passes under the rod, the tenth one will be holy to the LORD.The owner must not examine the animals to distinguish between good and bad, and he must not exchange it. If, however, he does exchange it, both the original animal and its substitute will be holy. It must not be redeemed.’”These are the commandments which the LORD commanded Moses to tell the Israelites at Mount Sinai.
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Joshua 21:20-42
The rest of the Kohathite clans of the Levites were allotted cities from the tribe of Ephraim.They assigned them Shechem( a city of refuge for one who committed manslaughter) in the hill country of Ephraim, Gezer,Kibzaim, and Beth Horon, along with the grazing areas of each– a total of four cities.From the tribe of Dan they assigned Eltekeh, Gibbethon,Aijalon, and Gath Rimmon, along with the grazing areas of each– a total of four cities.From the half-tribe of Manasseh they assigned Taanach and Gath Rimmon, along with the grazing areas of each– a total of two cities.The rest of the Kohathite clans received ten cities and their grazing areas.They assigned to the Gershonite clans of the Levites the following cities: from the half-tribe of Manasseh: Golan in Bashan( a city of refuge for one who committed manslaughter) and Beeshtarah, along with the grazing areas of each– a total of two cities;from the tribe of Issachar: Kishon, Daberath,Jarmuth, and En Gannim, along with the grazing areas of each– a total of four cities;from the tribe of Asher: Mishal, Abdon,Helkath, and Rehob, along with the grazing areas of each– a total of four cities;from the tribe of Naphtali: Kedesh in Galilee( a city of refuge for one who committed manslaughter), Hammoth Dor, and Kartan, along with the grazing areas of each– a total of three cities.The Gershonite clans received thirteen cities and their grazing areas.They assigned to the Merarite clans( the remaining Levites) the following cities: from the tribe of Zebulun: Jokneam, Kartah,Dimnah, and Nahalal, along with the grazing areas of each– a total of four cities;from the tribe of Reuben: Bezer, Jahaz,Kedemoth, and Mephaath, along with the grazing areas of each– a total of four cities;from the tribe of Gad: Ramoth in Gilead( a city of refuge for one who committed manslaughter), Mahanaim,Heshbon, and Jazer, along with the grazing areas of each– a total of four cities.The Merarite clans( the remaining Levites) were allotted twelve cities.The Levites received within the land owned by the Israelites forty-eight cities in all and their grazing areas.Each of these cities had grazing areas around it; they were alike in this regard.
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1 Kings 13 33
After this happened, Jeroboam still did not change his evil ways; he continued to appoint common people as priests at the high places. Anyone who wanted the job he consecrated as a priest.
