Josh 21.1-45 tells us about the claim of the Levites for cities to live in, once the land is divided to the tribes, and everyone knew aht cities belonged to them. They had to live somewhere. So, the Lord gave Israel all the land which he had promised to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in it. He gave them rest on every side and the Lord gave all their enemies into their hands. Not one promise which the Lord made failed or did it not come to pass.
These chapters tell us that Yehovah is concerned with the spiritual, but he is also concerned with the physical promises as well. The concept of “lots” (purim) in the Scriptures is a major theme. Lots were cast in the Temple daily; on Yom Kippur; the replacement of Judas in Acts 1.26, Yeshua’s garments and the book of Esther. The land was allotted to the tribes by lot.
So if a tribe got good land you could say, “Look what the Lord gave us as an inheritance.” If you got a desert and mountains you could say, “Look what the Lord gave us, so there must be a blessing in it.” This teaches several messages. Why is it God calls one person to teach the Torah and not another? Why is it one person is born into a rich land and another isn’t? Sometimes we wonder what the Lord is thinking. Like a “lot” it seems random but it really isn’t There is a sophistication and a plan involved.
We are told in the Torah that Israel was not o “trade” their land with others (Num 36.7-8. If Israel cannot transfer their inheritance from tribe to tribe, what makes Israel think they can do it today with non-Jews?
v 1…Then the heads of the households (gifted leaders) of the Levites approached Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun and the heads of the households of the tribes of the sons of Israel.
v 2…And they spoke to them in Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, “The Lord commanded through Moses to give us cities to live in, with their pasture lands for our cattle.”
v 3…So the sons of Israel gave the Levites from their inheritance these cities with their pasture lands, according to the command of the Lord (willingly; they will be “sprinkled” throughout the land).
v 4…Then the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites. And the sons of Aaron the priest, who were of the Levites, received thirteen cities by lot from the tribe of Judah (praise) and from the tribe of the Simeonites (to hear and obey) and from the tribe of Benjamin (where there is praise and obedience, we will see the Messiah).
v 5…And the rest of the sons of Kohath received ten (judgement) cities by lot from the families of the tribe of Ephraim (fruitful) and from the tribe of Dan (judge) and from the half-tribe of Manasseh (to forget; leaders should be fruitful and wise in judgement and forget the past).
v 6…And the sons of Gershon (stranger there) received thirteen cities by lot from the families of the tribe of Issachar (my hiring) and from the tribe of Asher (happy) and from the tribe of Naphtali (I will wrestle) and from the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan (we are strangers in this world but service to God makes us happy and we will wrestle and battle against our enemies, but we eventually will forget the past).
v 7…The sons of Merari (bitterness) according to their families received twelve cities from the tribe of Reuben (see, a son) and from the tribe of Gad (to cut, troop) and from the tribe of Zebulon (dwelling-meaning Yeshua the son’s bitter battle with death where he was cut off gives us a dwelling place).
v 8…Now the sons of Israel gave by lot to the Levites these cities with their pasture lands, as the Lord had commanded through Moses.
v 9…And they gave these cities which are here mentioned by name from the tribe of the sons of Judah and from the tribe of the sons of Simeon:
v 10…and they were for the sons of Aaron, one of the families of the Kohathites, of the sons of Levi, for their lot was theirs first.
v 11…Thus they gave them Kiriath-arba (city of Arba/four), Arba being the father of Anak (pride), that is, Hebron (communion), in the hill country of Judah (praise), with its surrounding pasture lands (if we give up our pride we have communion with God and we will praise him).
v 12…But the fields of the city and its villages, they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as his possession (as Moses had promised).
v 13…So to the sons of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron, the city of refuge for the manslayer, with pasture lands, and Libnah (whiteness) with its pasture lands,
v 14…and Jattir (excellent) with its pasture lands and Eshtemoa (I will be heard) with its pasture lands,
v 15…and Holon (anguished) with its pasture lands and Debir (word) with its pasture lands,
v 16…and Ain (eye) with its pasture lands and Juttah (I will be turned aside/Satan) with its pasture lands and Beth-shemesh (house of the sun) with its pasture lands, nine cities from these two tribes.
v 17…And from the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon (hill/mountain town) with its pasture lands and Geba (hill) with its pasture lands,
v 18…Anathoth (affliction) with its pasture lands and Almon (concealment) with its pasture lands; four cities (v 13- 18 means that we hear an excellent story of the anguished Messiah in the word of God and see him; then Satan is turned aside and after much affliction, we make a place for the sun of righteousness and be concealed in the kingdom of God).
v 19…All the cities of the sons of Aaron, the priests, was thirteen cities with their pasture lands.
v 20…Then the cities from the tribe of Ephraim were allotted to the families of the sons of Kohath the Levites, even to the rest of the sons of Kohath.
v 21…And they gave them Shechem (shoulder) the city of refuge for the manslayer with its pasture lands, in the hill country of Ephraim, and Gezer (a portion is cut off) with its pasture lands (we are fruitful on Yeshua’s shoulders cut off from the world),
v 22…and Kibzaim (let the people arise) with its pasture lands and Beth-horon (cavernous house) with its pasture lands; four cities (we can arise from our cavernous graves) .
v 23…And from the tribe of Dan, Elteke (God is dread) with its pasture lands, Gibbethon (lofty) with its pasture lands (we have a fear of God and have been judged and are on lofty ground),
v 24…Aijalon (deer field) with its pasture lands, Gath-rimmon (winepress of pomegranates) with its pasture lands (walking steady on deer’s feet in the Torah with kingship and authority); four cities.
v 25…and from the half-tribe of Manasseh they allotted Taanach (she will afflict you ) with its pasture lands and Gath-rimmon (winepress of pomegranates=authority and kingship) with its pasture lands (the world and false religious authorities will persecute us); two cities.
v 26…All the cities with their pasture lands for the families of the rest of the sons of Kohath were ten.
v 27…And for the sons of Gershon, one of the families of the Levites, from the half-tribe of Manasseh they gave Golan (circle) in Bashan (shame) the city of refuge for the manslayer with its pasture lands, and Be-eshterah (in her flock) with its pasture lands; two cities (we were a stranger and forgotten and encircled by shame and enemies but now we are in the flock).
v 28…And from the tribe of Issachar, they gave Kishion (hardening) with its pasture lands, Daberath (you spoke) with its pasture lands,
v 29…Jarmuth (heights) with its pasture lands, En-gannim (fountained gardens) with its pasture lands; four cities (our hearts were hardened but God spoke and lifted us up to the heights where we are washed by the water of the word of God).
v 30…And from the tribe of Asher (happy), Mishal (parables) with its pasture lands, Abdon (servant) with its pasture lands
v 31…Helkath (portion field) with its pasture lands and Rehob (open space, broad; safety and salvation) with its pasture lands; four cities (God was happy to speak in parables and teach us as servants the mysteries of his word to give us a portion in his safety and salvation).
v 32…And from the tribe of Naphtali (my wrestling) they gave Kedesh (sanctuary) in Galilee the city for the manslayer, with its pasture lands and Hammoth-dor (habitation) with its pasture lands and Kartan (city); three cities (we wrestled with the Lord but he has given us sanctuary and a habitation the New Jerusalem/Olam Haba).
v 33…All the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their pasture lands.
v 34…And to the families of the sons of Merari (my bitterness) the rest of the Levites, they gave from the tribe of Zebulon; Jokneam (let the people acquire) with its pasture lands and Kartah (city) with its pasture lands.
v 35…Dimnah (dung heap) with its pasture lands, Nahalah (strength) with its pasture lands; four cities (we dwelt in bitterness but acquired a city leaving our fleshly dung heap of dead works, then acquiring strength).
v 36…And from the tribe of Reuben (see, a son) they gave Bezer (fortress) with its pasture lands and Jahaz (trodden down) with its pasture lands,
v 37…Kedemoth (antiquity/beginning) with its pasture lands and Mephaath (place of radiance) with its pasture lands; four cities (the son Yeshua is a strong fortress where are enemies are trodden down by his radiance and glory from antiquity and the beginning).
v 38…And from the tribe of Gad, they gave Ramoth (heights) in Gilead (heap of witness), the city of refuge for the manslayer, with its pasture lands and Mahanaim (two camps) with its pasture lands,
v 39…Heshbon (human reason) with its pasture lands, Jazer (let him help) with its pasture lands; four cities (God in heaven has given us his witness and watches over us in two camps from human reason to help us spiritually).
v 40…All these were the cities of the sons of Merari (my bitterness) according to their families, the rest of the families of the Levites; and their lot was twelve cities.
v 41…All the cities of the Levites in the midst of the possession of the sons of Israel were forty-eight (testing and new beginnings) cities with their pasture lands.
v 42…These cities each had its surrounding pasture lands; thus it was with all these cities.
v 43…So the Lord gave Israel all the land which he had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in it.
v 44…And the Lord gave them rest on every side, according to all the he had sworn to their fathers, and no one of all their enemies stood before them (to hinder them); the Lord gave all their enemies into their hand (but not all were dead, and its the same spiritually with us).
v 45…Not one of the good promises which the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass.
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