11 Then Hezekiah commanded them to prepare rooms in the house of the Lord, and they prepared them. 12 They faithfully brought in the contributions and the tithes and the consecrated things; and Conaniah the Levite was the officer in charge of them and his brother Shimei was second. 13 Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath and Benaiah were overseers [h]under the authority of Conaniah and Shimei his brother by the appointment of King Hezekiah, and Azariah was the chief officer of the house of God. 14 Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, the keeper of the eastern gate, was over the freewill offerings of God, to apportion the contributions for the Lord and the most holy things. 15 [i]Under his authority were Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah and Shecaniah in the cities of the priests, to distribute faithfully their portions to their brothers by divisions, whether great or small, 16 without regard to their genealogical enrollment, to the males from [j]thirty years old and upward—everyone who entered the house of the Lord for his daily obligations—for their work in their duties according to their divisions; 17 as well as the priests who were enrolled genealogically according to their fathers’ households, and the Levites from twenty years old and upwards, by their duties and their divisions. 18 The genealogical enrollment included [k]all their little children, their wives, their sons and their daughters, for the whole assembly, for they consecrated themselves [l]faithfully in holiness. 19 Also for the sons of Aaron the priests who were in the pasture lands of their cities, or in each and every city, there were men who were designated by name to distribute portions to every male among the priests and to everyone genealogically enrolled among the Levites.
20 Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah; and he did what was good, right and true before the Lord his God. 21 Every work which he began in the service of the house of God in law and in commandment, seeking his God, he did with all his heart and prospered.
Everything Hezekiah did was right and true, and we see a big portion of this being the fact that the priests and Levites were taken care of by contributions from the people. From the days of Moses, the sons of Aaron (priests) and their family (the Levites) were set apart for the service of God. This was their occupation, and unless the people brought their sacrifices and offerings, they would starve and go hungry.
In reality, they probably found other jobs before they starved when the people were in rebellion. Regardless, the care of the Levites and priests depended on the devotion of the people, and this in turn largely followed the leading of the king.
Today, we have no king to tell us to serve God or not, and truthfully our president’s would lose power very quickly if they dared to suggest anything religious. No, it is up to us to serve God faithfully, and just like the people of Israel, God gives us the care of our churches and pastors. If we do not step up, their ministry suffers. Ultimately, part of showing our love and devotion for God is in the way that we care for those in the ministry.
So don’t fret about how much your pastor is making, unless it is to worry that he (or she) makes too little. Do your part, be generous with the resources God has blessed you with. Whether they are great or small in your eyes, be a blessing to your church and those in ministry, and make God smile all the more!