Isaiah 61:6 English Standard Version (ESV) but you shall be called the priests of the Lord; they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God; you shall eat the wealth of the nations, and in their glory you shall boast.

This passage takes me back to the Levitical priesthood.

Deuteronomy 10:9 English Standard Version (ESV) Therefore Levi has no portion or inheritance with his brothers. The Lord is his inheritance, as the Lord your God said to him.

The land was divided up among other tribes of Israel, Levi did not receive a portion.

Deuteronomy 12:11-12 English Standard Version

¹¹ then to the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name dwell there, there you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution that you present, and all your finest vow offerings that you vow to the Lord. ¹² And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your sons and your daughters, your male servants and your female servants, and the Levite that is within your towns, since he has no portion or inheritance with you.

If the region prospered the Levites prospered.

1 Timothy 5:17-18 English Standard Version

¹⁷ Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. ¹⁸ For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.”

Understand that we are not of the tribe of Levi and our priesthood is not Levitical.

Hebrews 7:11-13 English Standard Version

Jesus Compared to Melchizedek

¹¹ Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron? ¹² For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well. ¹³ For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar.

Isaiah 61:5 English Standard Version (ESV) Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks; foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers;

Clarity has returned. I am a stranger. I am a foreigner. I can relate.

Isaiah’s words to his people are in reference to a day when we would take over being shepherds and work in the field of the Lord, to prepare the way and to harvest the fruits of the labors of others.

We live in the Lord’s field. It is His Vineyard in which we labor.

This is my understanding because I serve the Lord. These words were penned to Israel when the thought of having their flock tended by strangers would have taken on a different understanding. We cannot put ourselves in their historical position. They are from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob which is a different heritage and emotional connection than our adoption.

I know how it feels to be adopted but those that feel like God is their heritage have a different perspective. Strangers and foreigners may feel like the enemy to them. The word usurper comes to mind. Being unfairly replaced is something I do not relate to in the spirit.

Romans 11:11 English Standard Version (ESV)

Gentiles Grafted In

¹¹ So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous.

Paul was a Jew’s Jew, of the tribe of Benjamin, trained by the best in his time in the scriptures. We might take these passages lightly because we have received the blessing associated with their heritage. Paul is trying to show us how it felt to be a Jew during those times.

Don’t expect scripture to mean the same thing to others as it does to you. People of a different heritage will see things from their prospective, via genetics and training.