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Wednesday Night Bible Study….(Announcements): www.ebcnc.com (calendar & information) Cities of the Levites Joshua 21:1 Then the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites came near to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes of the children of Israel. :2 And they spoke to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, “The Lord commanded through Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with their common-lands for our livestock.” :3 So the children of Israel gave to the Levites from their inheritance, at the commandment of the Lord, these cities and their common-lands: The descendants of Levi were not given a specific inheritance, but were scattered throughout Israel (see Gen 49:7) so they may teach the law to the tribes and exert spiritual influence on them. When the heads of the Levites appeared before Eleazar and Joshua at Shiloh, they reminded them that the Lord had commanded Moses (Num 35) to give them cities to dwell in and suburbs (Heb migrash, lit., “pasture lands”). Summary of Joshua 21:4-12 Again, the lot was used to appor3on the ci3es. This referred the ma9er en3rely to God. “The method followed by Israel in selec3ng the Levi3cal ci3es appears to have been something like this. First, the court, aCer duly considering the size of its inheritance, appointed how many ci3es should be taken out of each tribe. Then the ‘fathers of the tribes’ agreed among themselves which ci3es were most suitable. ACer that had been se9led, the forty-eight ci3es were divided into four groups, for the four branches of the Levi3cal tribe. Lots were cast to determine the distribu3on of them. The ‘children of Aaron’ (Josh 21:4) were not only Levites, but priests too, whose more immediate work was to serve at the altar. It should be duly noted that though this was the least numerous of the four branches, yet, in keeping with the prominence of the priesthood throughout the book of Joshua, ‘the first lot’ (vs. 10) was for the children of Aaron, and thus was honor placed again upon this Divine ins3tu3on. It is further to be observed that more ci3es were assigned unto them than to any other branch of Levi” (Pink, p. 394). Summary of Joshua 21:13-42 From Benjamin they received Gibeon, Geba, Anathoth (the birthplace of Jeremiah, Jer 1:1), and Almon. These were the ci3es of the priests of Aaron who were the descendants of Kohath. Joshua 21:43 So the Lord gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it. This verse must be read in the light of other Scripture. It does not mean that Israel occupied all the land from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates; instead, it means that the land which Joshua divided was in fulfillment of God’s promise that He would give them every place that the sole of their feet walked upon (Josh. 1:3). Joshua 21:44 The Lord gave them rest all around, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers. And not a man of all their enemies stood against them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand Likewise, verse 44 must be interpreted carefully. There were s3ll enemies within the land; not all the Canaanites had been destroyed. But that was not God’s fault; He fulfilled His promise by defea3ng every foe against which the Israelites fought. If there were s3ll undefeated foes and pockets of resistance, it was because Israel did not claim God’s promise. What can we learn from this? Joshua 21:45 Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass. The Lord had fulfilled every promise. Not one word failed. What a tribute to God’s faithfulness! But Israel did not appropriate every promise. Eastern Tribes Return to Their Lands Joshua 22:1 Then Joshua called the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, ACer the ini3al conquest of the land, the allotment of the territories, and the establishment of the refuge and Levi3cal ci3es, Joshua summoned the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh to Shiloh. His purpose in doing so is clearly stated in verse 6, So Joshua blessed them, and sent them away. 1 Digital Copies can be found at: http://bit.ly/19k0HFJ Joshua’s blessing consisted of three aspects: (1) to commend them on their faithful and valiant service to the other tribes (vss 2–3); (2) to commission them to return to the land of their inheritance (vs. 4); and (3) to charge them concerning their con3nued responsibili3es to the Lord God (vs. 5). What can we learn from this? Joshua 22:2 and said to them: “You have kept all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you. :3 You have not leP your brethren these many days, up to this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of the Lord your God. Moses originally promised these two and one-half tribes permission to se9le east of the Jordan River, provided they assisted their brethren in the conquest of Canaan (Num 32:1–42). This they had done. Not only so, but they also obeyed the commands of Joshua subsequent to Moses’ death. They deserved commenda3on, having stayed in the thick of the bathe these many days (lit., “great many days,” indica3ng a prolonged and difficult period of 3me). They had fought a good fight, finished the course, and kept the faith (2 Tim 4:7). Joshua 22:4 And now the Lord your God has given rest to your brethren, as He promised them; now therefore, return and go to your tents and to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the other side of the Jordan. Having publicly thanked these tribes, Joshua now commissions them to return to the land of your possession. Since the Lord God had given rest unto their brethren, these tribes were released from further military commitments. Their possession was on the other side of the Jordan. They are now free to possess their possession. Joshua 22:5 But take careful heed to do the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.” Although their military commitments were ended, their spiritual commitments would never end. The writer employs six infini3ves to emphasize the seriousness of Joshua’s charge. The passage is a series of quota3ons from the book of Deuteronomy (6:5; 10:12; 11:13–22; 30:6, 16, 20; etc.). The tribes are: (1) To do (perform) all the commandments of the law (Deut 6:1); (2) to love the Lord always (Deut 6:5). But love is an emo3on which is not contained but expressed. Jesus taught, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (Jn 14:15). As a Chris3an you are not obligated to believe someone who claims to love the Lord Jesus if you don’t see in that person a willingness to obey the Lord’s commands. These tribes could only truly say they “loved” God when they were willing to express that love in obedience; (3) to walk in the Lord God’s commandments. Remember how frequently Paul challenged the believer to “… walk worthy of the voca3on wherewith ye are called” (Eph 4:1; see also Col 1:10; 1 Thess 2:12); (4) to keep the commandments of the Lord (see Deut 6:2); (5) to cleave unto Him hear3ly (the Hebrew is to cleave “into” Him as a branch unto a vine [Jn 15] and as the believer is “rooted and grounded” in the love of Christ, Eph 3:17); (6) to serve the Lord with all your heart and soul (1 Sam 12:24). Joshua 22:6 So Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents. :7 Now to half the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given a possession in Bashan, but to the other half of it Joshua gave a possession among their brethren on this side of the Jordan, westward. And indeed, when Joshua sent them Page 2 Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 121). Nashville: Thomas Nelson. MacArthur, J. F., Jr., MacDonald, Farstad, Believers Bible; Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 2195). Nashville: Thomas Nelson. away to their tents, he blessed them, :8 and spoke to them, saying, “Return with much riches to your tents, with very much livestock, with silver, with gold, with bronze, with iron, and with very much clothing. Divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren.” :9 So the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh returned, and departed from the children of Israel at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the country of Gilead, to the land of their possession, which they had obtained according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses. Having been commended, commissioned, and charged, the one-half tribe of Manasseh began to return to Bashan.
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