In the book of Joshua, we learned how, “all the cities for the children of Merari by their families, which were remaining of the families of the Levites, were by their lot twelve cities“, and in chapter twenty-one and verse forty-one of Joshua we learn the number of, “All the cities of the Levites” where we read,
All the cities of the Levites within the possession of the children of Israel
were forty and eight cities with their suburbs.
The verse reads, “All the cities of the Levites within the possession of the children of Israel …” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “all the cities” which means “each, every and the whole of the dwelling places and places of wakening” “of the Levites” or “belonging to the descendants of Levi whose name means ‘joined to’ and was the third son of Jacob by Leah and the tribe specially set aside by God for His service” “within the possession” which means “in the property, land and inheritance” “of the children of Israel” or “pertaining to the offspring and progeny belonging to Israel whose name means ‘God prevails’ and is the name of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob” were according to the following. Joshua or the writer said every one of the dwelling places possessed by the “Levites” were in keeping with the portion belonging to the offspring belonging to “Israel”.
The verse goes on to say, “… were forty and eight cities with their suburbs.” Joshua or the writer continued with the words, “were forty and eight cities” which means “existed as forty-eight dwelling places or places of wakening” “with their suburbs” or “alongside or accompanying their, the Levites’, open and common lands”. Joshua or the writer shared how there were “forty-eight” dwelling places along with their common lands that were provided to the “Levites” on behalf of “Israel”.
When we consider the words in this verse, we discover that “forty-eight” dwelling places and their accompanying common lands were provided to “Levites” and ultimately to the people of “Israel”. God wants people to know He loves and provides for them. He sent His Son Jesus to be crucified on the cross for the sins of all mankind and to be raised from the dead after three days, and when we yield our lives to Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and give us His Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth and to equip us to live in a way that bears witness of Him to the world. (See John 3:16; 16:13; Acts 1:8; Revelation 4:11)
Next time we learn how, “these cities were every one with their suburbs round about them”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
















































