I’ve never really noticed until going through Deuteronomy this time just how much of an emphasis God places on a centralized location of worship. I always knew Jerusalem was important, but its distinction as being the only designated sacrificial site places it in stark contrast to surrounding countries.
The only issue at this point in Israel’s history is where exactly this place would be. Originally, it was Shiloh (Joshua 18:1), but its permanent location was Jerusalem (1 Kings 8).
By the time Jerusalem was solidified, however, Israel was already established. Home had existed in their various locations for generations—a few hundred years, at least. Many of those locations already had informal places of worship with priests who also had ancestral homes.
This posed a problem for the worship at Jerusalem, because a building of this size and scale required more priests than Jerusalem had. The solution, as Moses saw it, was to have priests move into Jerusalem from other areas.
It wasn’t mandatory—the Text explicitly says “whenever he desires” to come—but if they did, Moses wanted to make sure that person received the same amount of pay as any other priest already in Jerusalem.
That may sound common-sense; equal pay for equal work, after all. But I guarantee you it’s not as common as you may think.
My wife is a teacher, for instance, and her pay goes up with every year of experience. If someone were to move here from Germany, though, those years may or may not qualify on a one-to-one basis. Twelve years of teaching time in Germany may not directly translate to twelve years of teaching time in Texas. As such, that person’s pay may be reduced.
That’s how this situation could develop. A priest who has served for years in Gad, then decides to move to Jerusalem when they open up the Temple, may be viewed as an outsider. That reputation may prevent that priest from receiving the same support as a native Jerusalemite.
Deuteronomy 18:6-8 covers this situation. If a priest moves to Jerusalem to serve at the Temple, they receive the same support as every other priest, no matter where they came from. And that’s in addition to any money they may bring with them from their old life.
It’s a protective measure that seeks to establish fairness across the board. If someone purposes in their heart to serve at the heart of Israel worship, they should be treated the same as others. That includes moving expenses.