In the book of Joshua, we learned how Joshua said to the people of Israel, “Give out from among you three men for each tribe: and I will send them, and they shall rise, and go through the land, and describe it according to the inheritance of them; and they shall come again to me. And they shall divide it into seven parts: Judah shall abide in their coast on the south, and the house of Joseph shall abide in their coasts on the north. You shall therefore describe the land into seven parts, and bring the description here to me, that I may cast lots for you here before the LORD our God”, and in chapter eighteen and verse seven of Joshua we learn how Joshua said, “the Levites have no part among you” where we read,
But the Levites have no part among you; for the priesthood of the LORD is their inheritance:
and Gad, and Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh, have received their inheritance beyond Jordan on the east, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave them.
The verse reads, “But the Levites have no part among you; for the priesthood of the LORD is their inheritance:” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “but the Levites” or “however, nonetheless, notwithstanding and moreover the descendants of Levi whose name means ‘joined to’ and were specially set aside by God for His service” “have no part among you” which means “do not have any share or portion in the midst and middle of you, the people of Israel”: “for the priesthood of the LORD” or “because, since and on account sacred and pure office of the people who operated as the ‘priests” belonging to Jehovah who is the existing One and the proper name for the One True God” “is their inheritance” which means “exists as their, the Levites’, heritage, portion or share”. Joshua stated how the “Levites” did not own or possess any property within the promise land, but rather received the office of Jehovah God’s “priesthood”.
The verse goes on to say, “… and Gad, and Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh, have received their inheritance beyond Jordan on the east, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave them.” Joshua or the writer continued with the words, “and Gad” whose name means “troop” and was seventh son of Jacob by Zilpah, Leah's handmaid, and full brother of Asher., “and Reuben” whose name means ‘behold a son’ and was the eldest son of Jacob by Leah”, “and half the tribe of Manasseh” which means “and one-half of the clan or people group belonging to Manasseh whose name means ‘causing to forget’ and was the eldest son of Joseph and progenitor of the tribe of Manasseh” “have received their inheritance” or “have taken in hand, seized and acquired their, Gad, Reuben and the half tribe of Manasseh’s, portion or share” “beyond Jordan on the east” which means “across the Jordan whose name means ‘descender’ and was the river of Palestine running from the roots of Anti-Lebanon to the Dead Sea a distance of approximately 200 miles (320 km)”, “which Moses” or “that Moses whose name means ‘drawn out’ and was the lawgiver, prophet and leader of the exodus” “the servant of the LORD” which means “the bondman, man of servile condition and ” “gave them” or “granted, bestowed and assigned to them, the people of Israel”. Joshua reminded the people of Israel that the “tribes of Gad, Reuben and one-half of the tribe of Manasseh” hand already received their allotment of territory on the eastern side of the “Jordan” river.
When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we see how Joshua continued to speak to the people of “Israel” about their allotment within the promise land. The “Levites” were not to receive any inheritance of land because the office of the “priesthood” before Jehovah God was to be their portion, and the “tribes of Gad, Reuben and one-half of the tribe of Manasseh” had already been assigned their territory on the eastern side of the Jordan River which Moses granted to them. God was providing for His people “Israel”, and lot by lot and “tribe by tribe”, they were meant to receive the promise land. God wants to provide for us as well, and when we yield to His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was resurrected from the grave after three day as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and equip us with His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and teach us to receive from Him all He desires to provide. (See John 3:16; 16:13; Acts 1:8; Ephesians 3:20)
Next time Joshua or the writer says, “the men arose, and went away”, 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".
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