Basically, what we have in chapter 18 to 21 is the remaining land to be divided, the cities of refuge, and the cities for the Levites. So I just want to read chapter 18, the first 10 verses, and then read chapter 21, the last three verses, and then we'll get started. So Joshua chapter 18, beginning in verse 1. Now the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh and set up the tabernacle of meeting there.
And the land was subdued before them. But there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes which had not yet received their inheritance. Then Joshua said to the children of Israel, How long will you neglect to go and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers has given you? Pick out from among you three men for each tribe, and I will send them.
They shall rise and go through the land, survey it according to their inheritance, and come back to me. And they shall divide it into seven parts. Judah shall remain in their territory on the south, and the house of Joseph shall remain in their territory on the north. You shall therefore survey the land in seven parts and bring the survey here to me, that I may cast lots for you here before the Lord our God.
But the Levites have no part among you, for the priesthood of the Lord is their inheritance. And Gad, Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan on the east, which Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave them. Then the men arose to go away, and Joshua charged those who went to survey the land, saying, Go, walk through the land, survey it, and come back to me, that I may cast lots for you here before the Lord in Shiloh. So the men went, passed through the land, and wrote the survey in a book in seven parts by cities.
And they came to Joshua at the camp in Shiloh. Then Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord. And there Joshua divided the land to the children of Israel according to their divisions. And then chapter 21, beginning in verse 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. 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.
Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass. Amen."
Introduction and Outline
Well, as I said, this deals with the remaining land, the cities of refuge, and then the cities for the Levites. We're going to look at these several chapters under these particular considerations. First, the remaining land, chapter 18, verses 1 to 10, and then the remaining tribes and divisions, 1811 to 1951. We won't look at every jot and tittle there.
The Cities of Refuge, Chapter 20, Verses 1 to 9. The Cities for the Levites is Chapter 21, Verses 1 to 42. And then the Faithfulness of God, Chapter 21, Verses 43 to 45. That's actually the theological center of the book itself.
It summarizes the entirety of the book of Joshua.
The Remaining Land
So let's look first at the remaining land, chapter 18, verses 1 to 10. Notice the primary rallying point where the children of Israel had been was in Gilgal. Now they're in Shiloh. This is the first time Shiloh is mentioned, at least as a formal gathering place.
And it does seem to be the centralized place for worship prior to the monarchy. So before the monarchy and before the fact that Jerusalem became the central sanctuary, Shiloh, is mentioned several times in Joshua and in Judges, and then as well in 1 Samuel chapters 1 and 2, as the place where God is worshipped. And then note the reference to the tabernacle, again the first time mentioned here in the book of Joshua. They're in Shiloh, they set up the tabernacle of meeting there.
If you look at 1951, You see another reference to the tabernacle. It's as if it's bracketing this entire section. It teaches us the centrality of God. It teaches us the centrality of God's house and the fact that the people rally around that.
Verse 51 of chapter 19 speaks of Shiloh there before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. And then the report is given in verse 2 that the land was subdued. Again, not something new to us in our studies here in Joshua. Several times along the way we see the land had rest from war.
The land was subdued, though not perfectly. We see there's pockets and places along the way where there hasn't been the eradication of Canaanites, that does set the stage for what will happen later in the book of Judges. But here specifically in verse 2 it says, the land was subdued before them. And then this problem is given in verse 2, but there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes which had not yet received their inheritance.
So if you've been doing the math along the way, that's how many tribes are left. There's the seven that have yet to receive their tribal allotments. And then that brings us to Joshua's instruction in verses 3 to 10. Notice their danger.
Verse 4, I'm sorry, verse 3. Then Joshua said to the children of Israel, how long will you neglect to go and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers has given you? So it's something of a rebuke. It's something of a chiding.
The Lord had given this land to the children of Israel. That's highlighted again in verse 3. We see it throughout the Pentateuch. We saw it throughout our studies in the book of Deuteronomy.
We see it here in the book of Joshua, this idea that the land is a gift, it's grace, it's God's mercy to his people. Well, they still needed to act upon that. You know,
Sovereignty and Responsibility
sovereignty does not destroy responsibility. The fact that God gives this gift to these people doesn't mean that they need to neglect to go and possess the land. Rather, the fact that God gives them this as a gift is the motivation for them to not neglect but to rather go and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers has given you. The seven tribes were not acting on the promise of God.
Unbelief and the Unpossessed Land
What do we call that when people do not act upon the promise of God? We call that unbelief. We have a different story when we see Caleb, for instance, the daughters of Zelophehad, and later when we see the Levites. They knew that God had promised, they knew that God had spoken, and so they plead that promise and they go and pursue the particular gift that God has promised to that.
This is a display of unbelief. How long will you neglect to go and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers has given you?" These seven tribes were just milling about. These seven tribes are in a land that had been subdued. They're in a land that now has rest from the war And yet, they're not taking their tribal allotments.
Unbelief and perhaps some ingratitude. When God gives a gift, he wants us to gratefully and thankfully and happily receive it and then act upon it. And as well, there might be something of a complacency involved. In other words, they like the way things are going, right?
If we go and start to carve up the land, that means further or added responsibility. A commentator by the name of Ellison says the slackness blamed by Joshua may well have been due to an unwillingness to settle down. He says, it was fine to have a promised land, but the reality showed the need for learning new skills and engaging in hard work. That is for many the disappointing side of God's gifts.
They are always given that we may serve the better. Even His rest is linked with a yoke, according to Matthew 11, 28 to 30. Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. And then the Lord Jesus says, take my yoke upon you.
This idea of sovereignty not diminishing man's responsibility is vividly displayed in 2 Peter chapter 1. If you want to turn there for a moment, we see a similar or at least an analogy to what we find here with these seven tribes. The Lord God has promised to your fathers, the Lord God has brought you into this land, you have gained victory and supremacy in the land, the land is now subdued of all of the enemies, not They're all eradicated, but the land is in a position of having been conquered and subdued. You need to not neglect.
You need to go and take the land. Notice in 2 Peter 1 verse 2, Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. As, notice verse 3, His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." I mean, what a statement of God's grace! What an ascription of God's kindness!
What a gift that has been given to us! He has given to us, verse 3, all things that pertain to life and godliness. Now notice in verse 5, but also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue. to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. You see, the fact that God begraced us does not mean that we lay on the couch.
The fact that God gives them this land, they are not to neglect the reality that they are to go and take the land, carve it up, and possess various allotments for the various tribes in Israel. These things are held constantly before us in the Scriptures. God's grace does not diminish our response or our responsibility to those blessed gifts that the Lord has given to us. So back to Joshua chapter 18, the man of God, the leader of Israel here chides them or reproves them.
How long will you neglect to go and possess the land? There is a dangerous laxity, to use Dale Ralph Davis's term, a dangerous laxity that has settled in to these seven tribes. And so Joshua is motivating them. Joshua is calling them to action.
Joshua is telling them to do what God the Lord has commanded in terms of carving up the land. Back to Joshua 18, we see the unity of Israel is stressed again in verses 5 to 7. We have seen this over and over and over again. The author does not want us to lose sight of the fact that Israel is 12 tribes.
He doesn't want us to lose sight of the fact that this is a unified people. that the people of God stand or fall together. This is stressed in verse 5. They shall divide it into seven parts. Judah shall remain in their territory on the south.
They've already gotten their tribal allotment. And the house of Joseph shall remain in their territory on the north. They've gotten their tribal allotment. You shall therefore survey the land in several parts and bring the survey here to me that I may cast lots for you here before the Lord our God.
But the Levites have no part among you, for the priesthood of the Lord is their inheritance. And Gad, Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh, there's those three, Transjordan tribes. You see? He is stressing the unity of Israel.
Every time he rehearses the reality that these several persons or these several tribes have already received their allotment, there is theology behind it. He's not just repeating himself just to repeat himself. He is stressing the unity of God's people. That these seven tribes are part of the twelve tribes of Israel.
And this is held before us continuously here in Joshua's book. And then the authority of God Almighty is stressed in this whole procedure. Notice several times, verses 6, 8, and 10, he says that this will be done before the Lord. Before the Lord our God.
It is the authority of God Most High. Remember the lot is cast into the lot, but it's every decision is from the Lord. We mustn't ever forget that with reference to this gift of the land, the Lord God is sovereign, not only in granting, but the Lord God is sovereign in partitioning and in carving it up for the people of Israel. And then the response to Joshua is in verses 8 to 10.
These mapmakers, essentially is what they are, cartographers, they go out, they survey the land, they write it down in their books, they bring it back to Joshua and then Joshua according to verse 10 cast lots for them in Shiloh, here it is, before the Lord and there Joshua divided the land to the children of Israel according to their divisions. So that's what is stipulated with reference to the remaining land And
The Remaining Tribes and Divisions
that brings us to the remaining tribes and divisions. This is chapter 18, verses 11 to chapter 19, verse 51. Woodstra says, verse 3, remember back in verse 3, I just went over it several times, the reality that the Lord God has given, or the Lord God of your fathers has given you this land. Woodstress says verse 3 has once again recalled the significance that the allotment has within the scheme of the book of Joshua.
The rationale for more lengthy boundary descriptions lies therefore in the awareness that these boundaries give concrete shape to the promises of God. So as they go through these tribal allotments, that's what's being fleshed out. The boundaries give concrete shape to the promises of God. And so basically what we have in chapter 18, verses 11 to 28, the tribe of Benjamin.
Chapter 19, verses 1 to 9, we have the tribe of Simeon. 19, 10 to 16, Zebulun. Issachar in 1917 to 23, Asher 24 to 31, Naphtali 32 to 39, and then Dan in verses 40 to 48 in chapter 19. So the remaining land, Joshua tells the seven tribes they need not neglect, rather they need to go in and possess the land. These cartographers or mapmakers go out, they survey the land, they write it down in the book, they bring it back to Joshua at Shiloh.
Joshua then brings it before the Lord, or they cast the lot, and then this is the report. This is how the land. is to be distributed among the Israelites. And that brings us to chapter 19 verses 49 and 50. Now the immediate context in this section is 18.1 to 19.51.
But the larger context begins back in 13. Remember, 13-1 and following, 13-1 to 1951, is the division of the land, the tribal allotments of the land. And you remember in that larger context, we have seen Caleb, And he's a positive example of faithfulness. After Caleb, the next sort of example that we see is a negative one.
And that was the Josephite tribes. Remember in chapter 17, they're kind of whiny. This isn't enough land for us. Joshua said, well, then go and take more.
They said, well, wait a minute. They've got chariots, and they're big and strong. And Joshua sends them out and says, Go and take the land. So we've got Caleb who's positive.
We've got the Josephite tribes who are positive. We come into chapter 18, we have these seven tribes just sort of sitting on their hands. Another negative. But it ends on a positive note with Joshua.
We have Caleb, positive, Josephite, negative, seven tribes, negative, Joshua, positive. The bookend of this large section is on the faithfulness of these two spies that went in Numbers 13 and 14 and did what they were supposed to do. They believed God and they wanted to act upon the promises of God. So when we get to 1949, it says, when they had made an end of dividing the land as an inheritance, according to their borders, the children of Israel gave an inheritance among them to Joshua, the son of Nun.
According to the word of the Lord, they gave him the city which he asked for, Timnath-serah, in the mountains of Ephraim, and he built the city and dwelt in it. These were the inheritances which Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel divided as an inheritance by lot in Shiloh before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. So they made an end of dividing the country. So we need to understand or appreciate this.
Caleb and Joshua as Models of Faithfulness
We've got Caleb, we've got Joshua. Remember a couple of weeks ago, or perhaps I think it was when we were in 14, I quoted from Ralph Davis, and how he said that this would have been a help for the time of the judges. The book of Joshua would have stood as a helpful encouragement to the people of Israel to conduct themselves in the manner of Caleb and Joshua. Don't follow the Josephite tribes.
Don't follow these seven tribes that are sitting around on their hands. Rather, follow these two men of God who have a pedigree of faithfulness that goes all the way back to Kadesh Barnea in Numbers 13 and 14 when they originally went out to spy out the land. So again, it's not just history, it's not just boundaries, it's not just cities, it's theology, it's encouragement, it is to strengthen the people of God and to cause them to grow in faith. Davis says it this way with reference to 49 and 50, which by the way, if I haven't commended this to you enough, please get Davis's commentary on the book of Joshua.
I think you'll find it very helpful and very encouraging. He says, so 1949 to 50, is no useless tailpiece. Though the notes are not visible in the text, it's really music. It is simply, great is thy faithfulness in a different key.
It is a standing witness to the fact that the majority may be neither faithful nor right, Numbers 13, 14. It is a witness to the fact that Yahweh keeps his promises even if he must preserve his two faithful men from Anakim chariots and high waters to do so. There are lots of lots in chapters 14 to 19. That's what he calls his discussion of 17 and 18 or 18 and 19, lots of lots.
Lots of parcels, right? Lots of lots. He says, there are lots of lots in 14 to 19. As they begin with Caleb, so they close with Joshua.
What a fulfillment of Numbers 13 and 14. There is far more theology in Hebron and Timnath-serah than one usually hears. So when you study this particular section of the book of Joshua, what is being held out to us is what faithfulness looks like in terms of God's people. Not to say these other tribes are necessarily the worst things that ever lived, but those Josephite tribes, they grumbled.
These seven tribes didn't act upon the promise of God. It was an expression of unfaithfulness. It was an expression of ingratitude. The faithful man of God, the faithful woman of God, receives the promises of God and acts upon them, just like Caleb does, just like the daughters of Zelophehad, and just like we'll see in a few moments, the Levites.
They remember what God has spoken and they plead that promise and then they act upon it by the grace of God. There are lessons here. for us as Christian people living in this world that the Lord God has given us in this sack shed.
The Cities of Refuge
That brings us third to the cities of refuge, chapter 20, verses 1 to 9. Chapter 20, verses 1 to 9. Remember the cities of refuge. They're spoken of back in Exodus 21.
Numbers 35, 9 to 34 is probably the longest development of the cities of refuge. They're told again, Deuteronomy 4, 41 to 43, but then again in Deuteronomy 19, verses 1 to 13. The cities of refuge played a very important part in the nation of Israel." Notice the command, verses 1 and 2. The Lord also spoke to Joshua, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint for yourselves cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you through Moses.
So he hearkens back to that law given previously in Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. The land is now being possessed by the people and so they have to carve out or they have to specify these cities of refuge. The purpose is given in verses 3 to 6, a reminder, if you will, concerning the doctrine or the cities of refuge.
Justice: Murder Versus Manslaughter
The first thing we need to understand with reference to the purpose for these cities of refuge, it's to highlight the justice of God. You see, when God sends his people into the land of Canaan, they're not supposed to live like Canaanites. They're not supposed to be a law unto themselves. They're not supposed to engage in barbarism, child sacrifice, homosexuality. all manner of wickedness and lawlessness.
They have a code spoken by the God of Israel on the mounts called Sinai. It is a decalogue. It is ten words. They are supposed to live in those boundaries.
When they transgress those boundaries, there is a judicial system in place to punish transgressors. There is a judicial system in place to protect the innocent. There is a system in place so that society can be a decent and orderly place where people can raise families, where they can have jobs, where they can go to worship, where they can engage like civilized human beings, like image bearers of the living God. And so when we come to this situation of the cities of refuge, we need to think in terms of justice.
One of the points of justice that jumps out at us is that God makes a distinction between murder and manslaughter. Murder and manslaughter are two different things. Murder assumes intent. Murder has to do with malice of forethought.
I have hatred or enmity in my heart toward a person, and then I end his or her life. With reference to manslaughter, the idea here is accidental death. The biblical example is if I'm swinging my ax and my neighbor's next to me, and the axe head flies off and falls on his head and kills him, I didn't have premeditation. I didn't have evil intent.
I didn't have malice in my heart. So as a result of having committed this particular act, the cities of refuge are established so that I can flee there and escape the Avenger of Blood. The Avenger of Blood would be a family member to the party that was dead. they would be the ones to go out and try and put to death the one who killed their loved one. But as well, when we get to this idea of the cities of refuge, it's not that any criminal could just wander in.
I mean, what a convention that would be, right? You go out and you rob a liquor store and you shoot the owner in the head, and then you run to the city of refuge and say, oh, I really didn't do anything wrong. There's a hearing. There's a judicial process.
Notice the text. Verse 3, the slayer who kills a person accidentally or unintentionally may flee there and they shall be a refuge from the avenger of blood. And when he flees to one of those cities and stands at the entrance of the gate of the city and declares his case in the hearing of the elders of that city. You see, there is a process.
We saw this when we went through the Book of Deuteronomy. It wasn't the case that this was a convention for a murderer so he could escape justice. There was a hearing. The elders heard it.
They would weigh the witness testimony. Remember, there were two or three witnesses in any capital offense or any capital crime. So it was all done on the up and up. So the justice of God is being held out in these cities.
There is a distinction between murder. There's a distinction between murder and manslaughter. As well, there is a juridical process that is given here and specifies that there is a hearing and there is a judgment rendered. Then notice the end of verse 4.
They shall take him into the city as one of them and give him a place that he may dwell among them. Then if the avenger of blood pursues him, they shall not deliver the slayer into his hand because he struck his neighbor unintentionally but did not hate him beforehand. You see, if he was a manslayer, not a murderer, I know manslaughter sounds pretty brutal. It's hard to say manslaughter in a pleasant way.
You know, it just bespeaks terror. But manslaughter is the conventional term for an unintentional act of homicide. There's no malice. There's no intent there to do murder.
And so in this instance, if he's gone, he's been hurt, the elders render the verdict, he stays in the city of refuge, and the slayer, the avenger of blood, cannot kill him. But you notice something about this convention. The man has to stay in the city of refuge. That's not his home, is it?
I mean, if he kills unintentionally over here and he has to run to this city of refuge, he has to stay in that city of refuge until something happens. He has to stay in that city of refuge until the high priest dies, which probably underscores the reality that for death, whether it be murder or accidental homicide, the only ransom is blood. In this case, it's not the man who committed the accidental homicide, but there is somebody who dies. When the high priest dies, then the man is free to leave the city of refuge and go back to his home.
So on the one hand, it is a protection for him. But on the other hand, there is a bit of deprivation to him. And all of this to say this,
The Sanctity of Human Life
the value of the image of God is highlighted in these cities of refuge. OK? Not only for the man who accidentally committed a homicide, his life is protected in the city of refuge, but for the person who died. Because the man must stay there until the death of the high priest, until some blood has been shed.
This does highlight the reality of the sanctity of life in the image of God. Davis says it this way we can clearly see that the concern with these cities assumes a the preciousness of the unintentional manslayer's life, right? If you accidentally kill your neighbor, you shouldn't be put to death. That is God's justice.
You are an innocent person in terms of malice, and in terms of intent, and in terms of a hatred in your heart. So you shouldn't be put to death. The city of refuge is there for you. He says, but we may not so clearly see that the slain man's life is presumed sacred as well.
For the city of refuge is not only a place of safety for the manslayer, but also of exile. Things have to change. Even when you accidentally kill somebody, there's value in that person who's been accidentally killed. And your life is going to be disrupted as a result.
If anything, it should teach us to make sure ax heads are securely fastened on our handles. It ought to teach us that we ought to drive in an appropriate manner. It ought to teach us that we ought to exercise ourselves with responsibility because if we kill the life of an image bearer, even if it was unintentional, it's still a bad thing. I mean to hit somebody with your car and send them into eternity would be a very difficult thing to have to live with.
He goes on to say, he, the manslayer that is in the city of refuge, enjoys protection but also suffers penalty. He cannot, assuming the case was decided in his favor, return to his hometown and resume normal life. He must stay in the city of refuge until the death of the current high priest. Now that could have been a month, it could have been a year, it could have been several years, right?
But you're in a city that's not yours. He says Trent C. Butler, this is a commentator in the Word Biblical Commentary series, no relation to Jim Butler. Trent C.
Butler says, the city is at the same time refuge and prison. Such is the costliness of destroying human life. Even when that life is taken unintentionally, the consequences of that wrong must be carried. Life made in God's image always remains exceedingly sacred.
That was a very wonderful observation. on this particular passage. He shall dwell in that city until he stands before the congregation for judgment and until the death of the one who is high priest in those days. Then the slayer may return and come to his own city and his own house to the city from which he fled. So you see there's a process.
What is built in to Israel as a body politic is a system of justice. This is why the Canaanites are being dispossessed from the land. Canaanites had relations with animals. Canaanites engaged in sodomy.
Canaanites murdered each other. Canaanites offered their children as sacrifices to their gods. Canaanites took no regard to human life. So the Lord God says, when you get in there and you dispossess those Canaanites from the land, things must be different under your watch.
Things must be different when the people of God, covenanted with God, occupy the land. They need to do so in a just and in a righteous manner. These cities of refuge aren't some throwback to an archaic way of living, but rather they speak to the issues of justice and liberty and righteousness and decency that we as a society have all but forgotten. And then he highlights the particular locations in verses 7 to 9.
Remember, they had to be available. You didn't hide the cities. They had to have an accessibility. These things would happen.
These things would be necessary. put these cities in places where they could be reached so that if a man accidentally killed somebody he could run there and he could find refuge, he could find protection, he would not lose his life. He may lose some liberty for a time but he would not lose his life and at the death of the high priest he would be able to return home once again. Verse 9 summarizes the cities of refuge. These were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel and for the stranger who dwelt among them, that whoever killed a person accidentally might flee there and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood until he stood before the congregation.
The Cities for the Levites
And then the next section, verses 1 to 42, is the cities for the Levites.
The Levites' Claim on God's Promise
Notice, verses 1 to 3, their claim. 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. 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. So the children of Israel gave to the Levites from their inheritance, at the commandment of the Lord these cities and their common land." So the precedent is in Numbers 35 verses 1 to 8, these cities for the Levites.
The precedent is further established or at least seen or illustrated in Joshua 13 and 14. They've been told along the way that the Levites do not get a tribal allotment. They will get cities in the land to be sure, but they don't have a piece. If you look at your map, the division of the land, you don't see a big circle or a big square or a big shape that says Levi in the middle of it.
They did not get that in terms of a tribal allotment. their inheritance was the Lord himself. Notice as well, like Caleb, I've already mentioned, and like Zelophehad's daughters, the Levites plead the promise of God. They come, they say, the Lord commanded through Moses. We want what God commanded.
We want what God promised. That's not presumption. That's faith. When we take God at His word and we bring His promises to Him, He can't but bless.
That's what it's all about. When you pray, you plead the promises of God. I remember reading a Spurgeon sermon. He talks about the decrees and our pleas.
They kind of meet each other on the way. What God promises, we pray back, and there's this blessed unity between the two, and God gives to His people. And then something else that we need to appreciate here. Notice verse 2, the Lord commanded through Moses to give us cities to dwell in with their common lands for our livestock.
The Levites were charged with spiritual labor. This, however, did not diminish the need for physical sustenance. The Levites were charged with spiritual labor. This did not diminish the need for physical sustenance.
They did not live on love and fresh air, did they? They didn't live on the blessing of God's people. They lived in cities, and they needed land for their livestock. The Levites needed these things in order to sustain their bodies.
So just because they engage in the spiritual does not mean that they're disembodied spirits. Rather, they need breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They need clothes. They're not in the eschaton strumming harps and flying around with wings.
You see why Paul in the New Testament says that those who preach the gospel will live from the gospel? Not necessarily driving big shiny cars and big houses and all the things that Benny Hinn has, but neither should they be living in a dumpster. The Levites come to Joshua and say, God commanded, we need these things. Then as well, notice verse 3, the children of Israel gave to the Levites from their inheritance at the commandment of the Lord these cities and their common lands.
The determination is made in verses 4 to 8 and the identification in 9 to 42. But
Levites as Teachers in Every Tribe
consider the Levites living in the cities. would have a good effect upon the people. One of the tasks of the Levites, according to the book of Deuteronomy, was to be teachers of the law. Calvin says they were appointed as a kind of guardian in every district to retain the people in the pure worship of God. They should have had a positive effect upon the people.
They would teach. They would encourage. They would exhort. They would press upon the people the necessity for corporate worship and all those things.
He says, it is true, they were everywhere strangers or sojourners, but still it was with the very high dignity of acting as stewards for God and preventing their countrymen from revolting from piety. This is the reason for stating so carefully how many cities they obtained from each tribe. They were everywhere to keep watch and preserve the purity of sacred rights unimpaired. another man by the name of Hugenberger. I think that's the proper pronunciation.
The Levitical cities were meant to serve as bases of operation so that the Levites could better infiltrate each of the tribes to instruct them in Yahweh's covenant. doesn't sound that much different than local churches being taught by faithful shepherds, right? The same idea. God isn't, you know, he doesn't use these means that are outlandish and, you know, beyond our reach. He uses things that are quite simple and very appropriate for the people of God.
Whether you're in Old Covenant Israel or you're in New Covenant Israel, the means that God has ordained are primarily or essentially the same. You need lots of the word, you need worship, you need the house of God, you need those things for your health, your well-being, and for your prosperity as God's holy people. So that's the cities of the Levites. We won't read all of those.
The Faithfulness of God
And then notice the last few verses in chapter 21. As I said, this is the theological heart of the book. 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.
Isn't that what we just studied? That verse, verse 43, summarizes chapters 13 to 19, right? Isn't that exactly what happens in chapters 13 to 19? 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.
Verse 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. Doesn't that summarize chapters 1 to 12?
They enter the land and they conquer the land. You see, verses 43 to 45, if you have this down, you've got the whole book of Joshua. So that if your children or your grandchildren ever say to you, or somebody you meet on the street ever says, what's that book of Joshua all about? All you gotta do is go right here, because this is exactly what that book of Joshua is all about.
And then it's underscored with a summary of the whole, verse 45. Not a word failed. Literally, there were no falling words. No misspent words.
Not a word failed. of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel all came to pass." That's it. That's what Joshua is all about. You ever wonder? There it is.
There's your answer. Before we leave this particular passage, note verse 44. Something that we need to appreciate. He says, 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 hands.
Peace Requires the Defeat of God's Enemies
The presence of peace does not come without the defeat of the opposition. The presence of peace does not come without the defeat of the opposition. Now, I think, unfortunately, New Testament Christians miss this. It's good that Yahweh said to our Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool.
You see, we need to appreciate the justice of God. We need to appreciate the judgment of God. And we need to appreciate the reality that all of his enemies are going to be subdued. This is as much a new covenant theme as it is here.
You do not have possession of the land. You certainly don't have rest in the land until your enemies are destroyed, until their throats are cut, and their heads are bashed in and they're bleeding in a ditch. That's when you get rest. You say, well, that doesn't sound like a New Covenant theme.
May I direct you to 2 Thessalonians 1. 2 Thessalonians 1 at verse 6. The Apostle Paul, well, let's back up to verse 3 so we can get the context. We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other, so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith and all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure, which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God for which you also suffer." Now somebody out there in internet land tuning in might have thought that was some bizarre imagery to talk about throats cut and heads bashed in. Well, that's what they did in Canaan to dispossess the land of their enemies.
And I would submit that that was a walk in the park for the enemies of God compared to what Paul says here in 2 Thessalonians 1.6. He says, since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you. And to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power when he comes in that day to be glorified in his saints and to be admired among all those who believe because our testimony among you was believed.
So you see, in verse 44, in Joshua 21, it gives us this principle, that God the Lord destroys the enemies of the Lord and of his people. And it is based on that, or that's one part of his comprehensive plan, to bring peace to his people. This is what the Apostle is saying here to the Thessalonians. This is what John speaks of in Revelation 21.
Have you ever wondered why in the midst of Revelation 21 and 22, these descriptions of the new heavens and the new earth, we get this snapshot of what the wicked get? Revelation 21, some of the most glorious language in terms of the new heaven, new earth coming down out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And in Revelation 21.8, but the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. Now, probably there's a bit of a warning there. for any professing Christian that was tampering or entertaining the idea of maybe turning back or recanting.
But there is a promise of blessing there. The new Jerusalem is going to be glorious because the enemies of God are gone. The new Jerusalem is going to be glorious because there's no abortionists there. Because there's no God-hating rebels there.
Because there's nobody that's going to cut the throat of a believer because he's a believer. So we see in the midst of these descriptions of the New Jerusalem, it is imperative to understand the enemies are gone. They've been dealt with. They have been excluded.
They are not going to menace and affect the people of God. This is an important theme or an important principle that we need to understand with reference to peace. In order to achieve peace, God must deal with his enemies. And we see that ultimately in the cross, but we see that in the new heavens and the new earth. which I think to some degree Joshua 21, 44 does foreshadow or at least intimates that there is a day coming, that rest, that Sabbath rest that waits for the people of God is going to be marked by a peace such that there are no enemies, there are no threats, there is no hindrance whatsoever between God and his people communing forever and ever together.
That is a blessed reality. The Psalter makes clear a demarcation between the righteous and the unrighteous. Much of modern hymnody doesn't get. You're not singing about God's judgment upon the wicked in the modern hymns, especially the Jesus is my boyfriend sort.
You hear nothing of the psalmist crying out to the Lord God Almighty for the vengeance of the Lord to be targeted on his people. C.S. Lewis was wrong. The imprecatory Psalms are for us.
They are for the church. They are the prayers of God's people. We need to understand them. We need to take them.
And we need to, with the Apostle Paul, Romans chapter 12, he says, do not avenge yourselves, but give place to wrath. How does the Christian do that, but at the throne of grace, praying the Psalms of David, that God will indeed take care of his enemies, just like he did in Canaan with those who molested the people of God in the Old Covenant. Well, that's Joshua 21. 18 to 21, why don't we close in prayer?
Closing Prayer
Our Father, we thank you for your word and we thank you for your grace and we thank you that you have made us your friends. What a terrifying view that the godless have for the future, Lord. We thank you for your grace and mercy. We thank you for the Lord Jesus.
We thank you, God, that you made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. We just pray now that you would go with us, that you would help us to learn the lessons of the possession of the land in Joshua. And we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.